'I wept when I heard my book helped victim escape evil woman-killing kidnapper'
Mirror doctor Miriam Stoppard wept when she was told she helped to save the life of a kidnap victim who was held by evil killer Michael Sams.
It was 30 years ago this month that former merchant seaman Sams, now 81, was jailed for life for killing sex worker Julie Dart and abducting estate agent Stephanie Slater.
One question many were left asking after his conviction was why he released Stephanie, 25, after holding her for ransom for eight days, when he had already murdered Julie. Now the answer has been revealed in a new series of BBC podcast The Kidnapping of Stephanie Slater.
Stephanie died of cancer aged 50 in 2017, but it emerged she had previously told the BBC that she had read Dr Miriam’s 1987 book Every Girl’s Life Guide and acted on her advice on what to do in danger situations.
Victim Stephanie with her parents Warren and Betty at a press conference (Birmingham Post and Mail)She said the book “was just lying around the office”. Podcast producer Andy Whittaker assumed Dr Miriam already knew this, but decided to check anyway. Frankly I was bowled over - gobsmacked,” says Dr Miriam, now 86. "I have never expected anything I’ve written to have such a big effect on somebody’s life. One of the chapters was about staying safe and I covered what to do if you’re physically assaulted or raped.
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Part of Stephanie's ransom money found at the workshop (Daily Record)“I wrote a list of things you might remember to do and one of them was to remind your abuser or rapist that you’re a human being, you have feelings and that you can be hurt and upset. People who abuse, assault or rape women see them as objects – they don’t see them as human beings.
"I don’t expect my words to have that kind of effect – I hope they’re helpful of course – but to the extent where it might have saved somebody’s life, no, I just couldn’t believe that. It just goes to show the power of the written word. She must have been a very brave, clear thinker and an exceptional person to put it into practice. To have the presence of mind and courage to act on it was extraordinary. I still can’t quite believe it. She’s the heroine!”
Sams kept Stephanie in a wheelie-bin (Daily Record)Journalist Andy recalls: “Miriam had no idea this advice had saved Stephanie’s life until I tracked her down and told her. She was moved to tears, it was so emotional. Stephanie was an amazing woman. She recognised an opportunity to build a rapport with her kidnapper which ultimately saved her life. She formed a friendship with him using her customer service skills so Sams saw her as human, not an object. It might not work in every situation but this was one occasion where it did make a difference.
Michael Sams was jailed for life after a trial in 1993 (Birmingham Mail)“She started off by asking him questions about Coronation Street and whether it had been on the night before. She never pushed it by asking him questions about himself, but she struck up a kind of friendship with him – it saved her life.”
Sams, who lost a leg to cancer while in prison for stealing a car in the 1970s, snatched Julie, 18, from Leeds’ red light district in July 1991. He drove her to his lair in Newark, Notts, stripped her, tied her to a chair and forced her to write a letter to her fiancé asking for money to be paid for her release. When she tried to escape, he murdered her with a hammer and dumped her body in a field.
The Mirror's Dr Miriam StoppardEven though his victim was dead, he demanded a £140,000 ransom through the personals column of a newspaper before scrapping his plans when her body was discovered. He tried for a ransom again in January 1992, with Stephanie his victim.
Posing as a house buyer, Sams, who has been married three times, lured the estate agent to a semi-detached house in the Great Barr area of Birmingham. The first her colleagues knew of the crime was when an office phone rang and a man’s voice told receptionist Sylvia Baker: “Stephanie’s been kidnapped. A ransom demand will be in the post tomorrow. If you contact police, she will die.”
Sams held a knife to Stephanie’s throat, then bundled her into a car and drove her to the same lair where he had kept Julie. After forcing Stephanie to strip, she was pushed inside a wheelie bin with a lockable lid. He then sent a ransom demand for £175,000.
After a trail of clues and a game of cat and mouse with the police, the ransom was paid by Stephanie’s estate agent boss and Sams got away with the money. At his lair he opened the bin and told Stephanie: “I’ve got the money, you’re going home.”
Dr Miriam's book which saved Stephanie's life
Murder victim Julie Dart (PA Archive/Press Association Images)Incredibly, having built up that precious rapport with her kidnapper, Stephanie was freed, and left at the end of her street in Birmingham. Her story and the continuing search for Sams captivated the nation unnerving him.
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He again rang her estate agent office, this time threatening receptionist Sylvia , not knowing the police were still recording calls. The tape was played on the BBC’s Crimewatch, Sams’ ex Susan Oake recognised her husband’s voice and called the police.
After a 1993 trial at Nottingham crown court, Sams was found guilty of the murder of Julie and the abduction of Stephanie and jailed for life. “Before the end of her life, Stephanie was diagnosed with PTSD,” Stephanie’s best friend Stacey Kettner tells the podcast.
“She would scurb herself until she was red raw and change her clothes multiple times. Seeing how this girl who had been this wonderful, vivacious person was broken was so difficult. She never recovered. She kind of became a hermit. She didn’t want to go anywhere or see anybody.”
Despite her ordeal, Stephanie also worked with police to advise them how to deal with kidnap victims, improving many other lives since. Andy says: “She wanted to make sure that people in the future were treated better. She changed the way victims of crime are treated today.”
■The Kidnapping of Stephanie Slater is available on the BBC Sounds app.
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