Necrophiliac David Fuller went under radar due to hospital failings, probe finds

28 November 2023 , 14:13

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A probe has uncovered serious failings which allowed monster David Fuller to abuse bodies at hospital mortuaries (Image: Sky UK)

Necrophiliac killer David Fuller who sexually abused the bodies of at least 101 women and girls was able to get away with his crimes for 15 years due to "serious failings", a probe has found.

The 69-year-old monster is currently serving a whole life sentence for the sexually-motivated murders of Wendy Knell, 25, and 20-year-old Caroline Pierce in 1987. Detectives who investigated the two separate murders uncovered his catalogue of abuse in mortuaries at the hospitals where the maintenance worker was employed.

It was later found Fuller abused bodies of female patients as young as nine and up to 100 years old at the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital, in Pembury, between 2005 and 2020. He was given two whole life orders in 2021 for the sick crimes.

Fuller's evil secrets went under the radar for 15 years (Sky UK)

An independent inquiry launched the same year has since been looking into how Fuller was able to carry on offending without raising suspicion for so long, with a focus on Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Findings now published reveal failures in the Trust's "management" and "governance" allowed him to "offend undetected".

Meanwhile senior bosses were said to be “aware of problems in the running of the mortuary from as early as 2008″, the probe found. There was “little regard” given to who was accessing the mortuary, with Fuller visiting 444 times in a year – something that went “unnoticed and unchecked”, reporters were told in a conference on Tuesday.

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At a press conference in Westminster on Tuesday, inquiry chairman Sir Jonathan Michael said: “The offences that Fuller committed were truly shocking and he will never be released from prison. Failures of management, of governance, of regulation, failure to follow standard policies and procedures, together with a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend, and to do so for 15 years without ever being suspected or caught.

Fuller used his hospital pass to access the mortuaries where he systematically carried out abuse on female bodies (Kent Police / SWNS)

“Over the years, there were missed opportunities to question Fuller’s working practices. He routinely worked beyond his contracted hours, undertaking tasks in the mortuary that were not necessary or which should not have been carried out by someone with his chronic back problems. This was never properly questioned.”

Sir Jonathan's report has now made several recommendations to the Trust to prevent further tragedies, including that maintenance staff only be allowed into mortuaries in pairs. Non-mortuary staff and contractors meanwhile should be “accompanied by another staff member when they visit the mortuary”, the report recommended.

It stated: “The practice of leaving deceased people out of mortuary fridges overnight, or while maintenance is undertaken” should stop, and “CCTV cameras must be installed in the mortuary and the post-mortem room.” The report also recommends the trust board “reviews its governance structures to make sure that the board has greater oversight”.

Susie Beever