12 Disturbing Facts About Stephen Griffiths, AKA 'The Crossbow Cannibal'
The horrific true story of Stephen Griffiths - known as the Crossbow Cannibal - seems almost too crazy to be real. Griffiths had a predilection for murdering women with a crossbow and eating parts of their bodies, and he killed three women in 2009 and 2010. Though it seems his story is ripped from the plot of a television show, this creepy killer from England was captured on video as he killed his last victim.Â
The gruesome details of Griffiths's crimes are stomach churning and full of crazy twists and turns. On the outside, he seemed like a normal, studious guy living a typically average life. On the inside, he was a vicious killer who showed no remorse for his crimes.
He Killed (At Least) Three Women
Griffiths's three known victims are Susan Rushworth, who was last seen alive in June 2009, Shelley Armitage, who disappeared in April 2010, and Suzanne Blamires, who vanished a month later. When he was arrested, he couldn't tell police how many women he had killed. Instead, he simply stated that he'd "killed loads." Authorities are still trying to connect him with other women who vanished from the area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England near the location of his apartment.
He Ate Parts Of His Victims
Griffiths is called the Crossbow Cannibal for a reason - he ate parts of his victims. During Griffiths's murder trial, the prosecutor said Griffiths turned his bathroom into a "slaughterhouse." He dismembered two of his victims in his bathtub and ate parts of them. He cooked them on his stovetop. He lived on the third floor of his building, and apparently, his neighbors had no idea what he was doing inside his apartment. His landlords were keeping an eye on the building, and because of their surveillance video, Griffiths was caught.
His Weapons Of Choice Were A Samurai Sword And A Crossbow
Griffiths got his nickname - the Crossbow Cannibal - in a pretty obvious way: it was his weapon of choice. He would sometimes use a samurai sword on his victims as well. He picked up his victims on the street - many were sex workers and drug addicts - with the promise of money and drugs back at his apartment. Once there, he turned on them, slicing them with a large knife or samurai sword, and shooting them with his crossbow. Once they were dead, he dismembered their bodies.
A Security Camera Captured Him With His Crossbow Moments Before He Killed A Woman
The owners of his apartment building saw video of his victim Suzanne Blamires running from Griffiths. They then saw Griffiths in pursuit holding a crossbow. He even flipped off the camera after killing her. The building owner handed over the surveillance video from CCTV cameras in and around the building to police.
He Was Obsessed With Serial Killers And Told His Psychiatrist He Wanted To Be One
He had previously confessed to a psychiatrist that he wanted to become a serial killer. His apartment was full of books on serial killers, graphic videos, and he told at least one ex-girlfriend he liked to skin rats alive.
Griffiths's goal was to kill more people than his idol, Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper. Sutcliffe killed 13 women between the years of 1975 and 1980 in a similar part of England. Despite Sutcliffe's paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis, he was sentenced to 20 life sentences in prison, where he still is today. Like Griffiths, Sutcliffe preyed on sex workers.
He Deposited Body Parts In The River Aire
After dismembering the body of Suzanne Blamires, Griffiths walked out of his apartment with a loaded backpack and numerous other bags, according to CCTV footage. His destination? The River Aire. In order to get there, he had to take a train (with body parts in his bags). He then dumped Blamires's remains in the river. They were later recovered by divers.