Peter Howard Moore (born 19 September 1946)[citation needed] is a Britishserial killer who managed cinemas in Bagillt, Holyhead, Kinmel Bay and Denbigh in North Wales at the time of his arrest.[1] He murdered four men in 1995. Due to his trademark attire of a black shirt and tie, he was dubbed the "man in black".[2]
Moore was known in the North Wales area for his work restoring and running the Focus Films chain of cinemas.[3] In 1991, he restored and reopened his first cinema in Bagillt. He went on to reopen the Empire Cinema in Holyhead on the 24 November 1994. The cinema had been closed for three years prior to Moore's renovations.[4] On 4 August 1995 he reopened the 120 seat Futura Cinema in Denbigh.[5][6] He also operated a cinema in Blaenau Ffestiniog.[7]
Moore would buy second hand cinema equipment, and would restore it himself to keep costs down and ensure he could offer low ticket prices.[4]
Moore's father ran a hardware shop out of their house in Denbighshire, and has been described by Moore as an "abusive alcoholic". He died in 1979, prompting Moore to take over the shop. Moore was close with his mother, living with her in the family home until her death in 1993.[8][9]
Crimes
Henry John Roberts was a 56-year-old man who lived alone in Caergeiliog, Anglesey. Moore faked a car breakdown outside Roberts' house and struck up a conversion. Roberts' invited Moore in, and showed him his extensive Nazi memorabilia collection. Several days later Moore approached Roberts' house at night, wearing dark clothing to avoid being spotted. He drew Roberts outside by creating a loud noise, and then stabbed him to death. Once Roberts was dead, Moore went through his house and stole one of Roberts' swastika flags.[9] His body was discovered on his driveway by a neighbour. He had been stabbed over 20 times and his trousers pulled down. Several of the stab wounds were focused on Robert's buttocks.[8][10]
Keith Randles was a 49-year-old nightwatchman, who had been hired to protect machinery being used to repair the A55 road leading to Llangefni. Randles was staying on site in a caravan when Moore murdered him on the 29 November 1995.[10] Moore told police he knocked on Randles caravan and pulled him outside. Randles begged for his life and began fighting back while Moore repeatedly stabbed him. He told detectives that he attacked Randles as a form of stress relief, as he was worried about his financial situation.[8]
Edward Carthy was a 28-year-old man whom Moore met in a gay bar.[9] Carthy was stabbed to death and his body dumped in the Clocaenog Forest in October 1995.[1]
Anthony Davies was a 40-year-old crematorium worker, who Moore stabbed to death on Pensarn Beach, Abergele on the 18 December 1995. Pensarn Beach car park was a well known spot for gay men who were cruising for sex, and Moore frequented the area often.[8] On the 17 December Moore met Davies, whom he claimed he spoke to for a short amount of time before exposing himself to Moore. Moore stabbed Davies repeatedly. Davies fought back before he died, causing a deep cut on Moore's hand.[8][10]
Arrest and trial
Moore was arrested on 21 December 1995, as part of the police investigation into the murder of Anthony Davies. Davies' body had been discovered on the 18 December by a dog walker on Pensarn beach. He'd been stabbed sixteen times in the abdomen, and a van similar to Moore's had been witnessed near the scene before the body's discovery. Police searched his home, and found a bloody knife, and a collection of Nazi memorabilia. A search of the pond on his land discovered belongings stolen from all of his victims.[10]
Police suspected Moore also committed the murders of Keith Randles and Anthony Davies due to his use of the A55 road to visit the various cinemas he owned. They knew that Roberts also collected Nazi memorabilia, strengthening their suspicions. Moore denied being involved in any of the murders.[10]
On the 24 of December, in the early hours of the morning, Moore called police to his cell and informed them he would like to make a confession to four murders he'd committed. This included the murder of Edward Carthy, of which the police weren't aware of.[9] Moore provided them with a hand drawn map to help them locate Carthy's body in the Clocaenog Forest.[8][10] At the time of his arrest Moore had also been planning to kill the bank manager of the Abergele HSBC, due to his frustration over a large debt he owed the bank.[10]
Moore also admitted to committing around 20 assaults, mostly on men, over the span of 20 years. He would drive around at night, dressed in a police or Nazi uniform, looking for someone walking alone whom he could attack.[11] Moore would beat them with a police truncheon, and occasionally would masturbate on the victim before leaving.[10]
Later the same day, Moore recanted his confession, telling police and his solicitor that he didn't commit the crimes, but rather his boyfriend Jason did.[9] Moore claimed that he met Jason through the gay community in North East Wales.[10]
During his trial, Moore told the jury the crimes were committed by his boyfriend, Alan Williams, whom he called Jason, a nickname that was a reference to the killer in the Friday the 13th horror films. Moore claimed Jason was a 48-year-old hotel worker who worked at the Empire Hotel in Llandudno and that they had met when Moore was cruising for sex on a beach in 1995.[12][13] The police searched extensively for Jason, requesting guest and employee records from every hotel in the Llandudno area.[10] Moore claimed he had been at the scenes of all the murders, but didn't participate. He claimed that the confession he had given to police was false, and that he'd done it to waste time and ensure that Jason could escape justice.[12]
On the stand he admitted to sexually assaulting men, and being involved in the gay sado-masochistic scene in Wales.[13][12]
During his time in Wakefield Prison, Moore befriended fellow serial killer Harold Shipman. Moore would call him "The Doctor", and often spoke about Shipman's English Literature course that he was taking at the prison. When Shipman committed suicide in January 2004, Moore was called upon for evidence in Shipman's inquest.[15] He was one of the last people to speak to Shipman before his death.[16][17]
In June 2008, Moore was told by the High Court that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.[1] On 3 March 2011, Moore challenged the ruling in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with a view to having his sentence quashed and such whole life order sentences outlawed throughout Europe.[18] On 17 January 2012, it was announced that his appeal had failed.[19] However, on 9 July 2013, it was announced the ECHR had ruled there had to be both a possibility of release and review to be compatible with human rights.[20]
In February 2015, the ECHR upheld the lawfulness of whole life orders, on the ground that they can be reviewed in exceptional circumstances, following a fresh challenge by murderer Arthur Hutchinson, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for a triple murder in Sheffield more than 30 years earlier. There are around 70 prisoners in England and Wales serving whole life sentences.[21]
Other
On 13 October 2011, it was falsely reported that Moore had died at Broadmoor hospital on 30 July 2011.[2]
Moore talked to the police and said that he knew the identity of Clocaenog Forest Man. It was reported that this theory was discounted due to conflicting dates.[22]
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