Alan R. Warren - Dinner, Drinks & Death ; the True Story of Dennis Nilsen

In the middle-classed neighborhood of Muswell Hill, underneath a spectacular residence located at 23 Cranley Gardens, a gruesome discovery was about to be unearthed. While working on drainage pipes of the house at that location, a plumber discovered several bones and a flesh-like substance covering the inside of the pipes.

The pipes led to the top floor apartment of the residence. It was rented to Dennis Nilsen, a 37-year old, quiet, soft-spoken civil servant. Nilsen was also a retired policeman with military service.

Shockingly, the police were about to discover Dennis Nilsen was also one of Britains worst serial killers.

On February 8, 1983, Michael Cattran was sent out to check the drainpipes at the residence of 23 Cranley Gardens, in the middle-classed neighborhood of Muswell Hill, London. Cattran was an employee of Dyno-Rod, an emergency drainage and plumbing company. February was always the worst time of year to go on these types of calls, since the ground was frozen, the weather was cold, and working outside was brutal.

After arriving at the location that evening, he removed the drain cover on the side of the house. He discovered there was a strange fatty-like substance blocking the drain, with tiny bones mixed in. Cattran thought it was likely somebody had been flushing the bones and uneaten bits of Kentucky Fried Chicken in the toilet. It was getting dark by then and he knew he wouldnt have enough time to clean out the entire drain that night. He would have to return in the morning to finish the job.

The next morning at 7 a.m., Cattran informed his supervisor what he had found upon initial inspection of the Cranley residence the night before. His supervisor decided to go with him to see what it was they were dealing with. Throughout the day, the two men worked on the drainage system guessing that the bone and flesh-like substance was coming from the apartment on the top floor.

The job was going along as expected until they discovered what looked like a human hand. They called the police immediately. When the police arrived, they took the hand and some of the fleshy substance to the mortuary at Hornsey. The mortuary confirmed that those samples were all of human origin. The police returned to the house and waited for the upstairs tenant to come home.

Dennis Nilsen, who lived in the top floor apartment, returned home from work at precisely 5:15 p.m. He entered the lobby of the building, removed his jacket and shoes upon entering so he wouldnt track any of the snow and mud upstairs to his apartment.

Just then, the two policemen that had been waiting approached him and introduced themselves. They told Nilsen that they were there because of the problems with the apartment buildings drainage pipes. Nilsen asked, since when do the police care about drainage or plumbing? They responded that they needed to see Nilsens apartment to discuss the matter further.

Nilsen escorted Detective Chief Inspector Jay and another officer to his apartment and let them in. The detective informed Nilsen that the drains had been plugged by human flesh and bone. Nilsen responded that he thought it was awful. The detective, not wanting to waste time, asked him straight out where the body was. Nilsen, without hesitating, told him that it was in the plastic bags in the kitchen.

The policemen opened one of the bags and found several body parts inside. Nilsen was arrested and sent to the police station with two other officers to be interviewed. On the drive to the station, one of the officers asked Nilsen how many bodies there were. They had found 5 or 6 large kitchen bags full of bones and flesh before they left. So they knew there was more than one body. Nilsen responded by saying,

One body, no, 15 or 16.

D ennis Andrew Nilsen was born on November 23, 1945, in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, the largest shellfish port on the east coast of Scotland. As a result of its marine influence, and proximity to the sea, the climate is quite mild throughout the year with lots of rain.

Dennis was the middle child of three born to Elizabeth Whyte and Olav Moksheim. Olav Jr. was the oldest child, and Sylvia was the youngest. His parents were originally from Norway but relocated to Scotland during the Nazi occupation in 1942. The couple moved into her parents house after they were married. By all accounts, the marriage was a distant one. Olav was always away with the Free Norwegian Forces and made no attempt to spend any time with his family. By 1948, the couple had divorced. Olav left the area and was no longer part of his childrens life.

Dennis became close with his grandfather, Andrew Whyte. The two of them would spend most of their time walking the beach and sand dunes together. A fisherman by trade, his grandfather would be gone fishing for long bouts of time. His absence left Dennis feeling quite lonely at home. His siblings were around, however, he never grew to become close with them.

In October 1951, Dennis grandfather, only 62 years old, suddenly died of a heart attack while fishing in the North Sea. His body was brought back home and taken to his house for a funeral.

When Dennis returned home from school that day, he found his mother crying in their living room. He asked her what was wrong. She asked Dennis if he wanted to see his grandfather. Of course, he said yes. With no warning, Dennis mother took him to the kitchen, where his grandfather was laying dead in an open coffin.

Dennis had no idea that his grandfather was even sick. The shock of seeing his grandfather like that was something that would stay with him the rest of his life. It would also shape the way he dealt with all his future relationships. From then on, he had a great fear that people in his life would abandon him without notice.

Dennis became withdrawn after his grandfathers death and refused to be involved in any of his family events or activities. He would often be seen sitting alone in the harbor watching the herring boats.

One day, on one of his walks along the beach, he waded out into the ocean until he was submerged beneath the water. He could feel himself being dragged out into the sea. When he realized what was happening, he panicked and screamed. He believed that a great thing then happenedhis grandfather came to rescue him. A great sense of calm came over him. This event led to Dennis going out into the water more often, submerging himself like before, and waiting for his grandfather to come rescue him.