It all started in the summer of 1973, when the city and surrounding areas of Swansea were shocked by two incidents of girls going out partying but not returning home. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. It was the first kind thing anyone had ever done for me.". In 1973, Joseph Kappen killed three young women in Port Talbot, South Wales, but it wasn't until 2001 that detectives were able to catch the killer. It took nearly 30 years for detectives to catch the killer following advances in DNA technology. But Joseph Kappen had died of cancer in 1990. Who is murderer Joseph Kappen and where is he now? Joseph Kappen was born on month day 1919, at birth place, to Jacob Kappen and Elisabeth Kappen (born Krautmacher). Here we explain the Steeltown Murders true story, including who the killer was discovered to be and where Joseph Kappen is now. Read about our approach to external linking. Due to the massive national interest in the case, 150 detectives ended up investigating the murders. There were semen stains on Geraldine and Pauline's clothing that matched the same man, but the man in question wasn't on the new DNA database. Book Lists The shock of young girls going out for fun and never getting home created a real sense of fear - and this man was still at large. 15 May 2023 Steeltown Murders left me bored and furious There are countless other series just like this true crime drama. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, A year into the newly established Operation Magnum inquiry, it was then discovered that tests ran on Sandra's underwear showed DNA present from the unknown male also - this pieced together that the same man was responsible for the three murders. At midnight in May 2002, the exhumation went ahead and after Kappens DNA was examined in Swansea, it was determined without any doubt that Joseph Kappen had been responsible for the murders of Sandra, Geraldine and Pauline. As the drama unfolds, viewers will follow two vividly different timelines 1973 when the murders occurred and 2002 when DNA yielded the tantalising possibility the killer might finally be brought to justice. But for his father, it was another story. A witness claimed the girls had climbed into a white Austin 1100 which led the investigation to track down and question every owner of an Austin 1100 within a fifty-mile radius. Aneurin Barnard plays Joseph Kappen in Steeltown Murders BBC/Severn Screen/Tom Jackson Unfortunately, the DNA found on all three of the girls' clothes was not logged on the national database,. It lay there for nearly 30 years. Car thief Paul Kappen had his DNA on the databases but given he was only seven when the murders were committed, police suspected that his father Joseph could be the criminal theyd spent almost 30 years looking for. "I recognised straight away from a particular feature of the DNA - this was the Llandarcy killer," said forensic scientist Dr Colin Dark. Determined to prove once and for all whether Joseph Kappen was definitely the "Saturday Night Strangler", police faced a serious obstacle in their investigation in 2001. Lorraine Warren He is known for being the first person ever to be posthumously identified as a serial killer via familial DNA profiling. How was the Steeltown Murders culprit caught? The - inkl Joseph Kappen - The Forensics Library Harriet Buswell By mid-1974, the murder inquiry had run out of leads, and the killer was still on the loose. Led by Sherwoods Robert Glenister and Gavin & Stacey star Steffan Rhodri as DCI Paul Bethell and DC Phil Bach Rees, Steeltown Murders follows in the footsteps of other recent true crime dramas. While some of the boxes of statements got damaged, the most valuable forensic material, the girls underwear, was retained in dry storerooms at the Home Offices forensic science labs in Chepstow. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Geraldine Hughes was 16 years old when she fell victim to Joseph Kappen's evil actions. Rees had to check her claim against the local death register and reallocate Kappen to the dead pool - nominals who awaited final elimination by crosschecking with. Joseph Kappen married Christine Powell, 17, in February 1964. Detectives needed to go to the top for permission and seek the home secretary's approval. Tragically, his car was actually logged by police as being on the road in the days after the murder of Hughes and Floyd, but technology at the time meant that without a computerised system for cross-referencing this went unnoticed by detectives. Kappen was even questioned by police at the time, but had an alibi from his wife. Steeltown Murders true story and where is Joseph Kappen now? | Woman & Home In 1964 Kappen attempted to force himself on a 15-year-old schoolgirl in his Sandfields housing estate, but she escaped. Steeltown Murders true story: Joseph Kappen killed three women Suspect number 200 was a night club bouncer and petty thief from Port Talbot called Joseph Kappen. She had been hit over the head and strangled with her own skirt. Whilst show viewers might be wondering who the Steeltown killer was, the term used at the time was the Saturday Night Strangler. With this development, investigators were able to convince family members of Kappen to provide swabs for DNA. Initial investigations into the murders lasted about a year, before being scaled down in mid-1974. There were three known victims of Joseph Kappen. Heres how it works. Meanwhile, Sandra Newton also 16 went missing three months prior. The police were subsequently able to pinpoint Joseph Kappen as the killer, when they tested his son, a known thief called Paul Kappen. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Steeltown Murders highlights the other victims of Joseph Kappen | Radio The journey to uncover his identity and prove his guilt is explored in both Steeltown Murders and the BBCs accompanying The Steeltown Murders: Hunting a Serial Killer documentary which was released on May 15, the same day the drama premiered. Its also understood that around 150 police officers interviewed around 35,000 people who in any way resembled the description of the man that Geraldine and Pauline were last seen with. (History of True Crime), The Black Dahlia Murder, Forever Unsolved, The First Internet Serial Killer: John Edward Robinson the Slave Master, 25 True Crime Podcasts for a CHILLING Halloween. It wasnt until 2001 that DNA testing was able to identify Newtons killer as the same person who killed as Hughes and Floyd. Just weeks ago Christine said: "Joe was a loving family man. Philip Glenister and Steffan Rhodri lead the cast of the BBC's latest prestige drama Steeltown Murders, which depicts a real murder investigation that unfolded in Wales in the 1970s and early 2000s. Who is murderer Joseph Kappen and where is he now? They had hitched a lift, a common practice at the time, but never made it home. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Kappen died of lung cancer in June, 1990, 12 years after he killed Sandra, Pauline and Geraldine. By Rachel Cooke Photo by BBC/Severn Screen/Tom Jackson Two girls get into a stranger's car. Joseph Kappen body dig/ murder case - Getty Images The findings led to the decision to exhume Joseph Kappen's body in 2002. The DNA profile of car thief Paul Kappen was found, sharing 50% of the murderer's DNA. Thirty years after the three murders, police were finally able to find the culprit. "That gave us two-thirds of a full profile for Joe Kappen," said Dr Dark, whose team were based at the old forensic laboratory in Chepstow, Monmouthshire. Joseph Kappen raped and murdered three teenage girls - Sandra Newton on 14 July, and Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd just over two months later on 16 September. Kappen and his wife Christine first met in 1962 on the beach in Port Talbot. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Forensic DNA examination at nearby Morrison hospital in Swansea proved Kappen was the killer of all three girls, after almost three decades. 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Who is Albert II, Prince of Monaco and what is his net worth? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Unsolved murders are never officially closed. KAPPEN: A PROVEN KILLER; 12 years after Joe died, DNA reveals he was Steeltown Murders - Wikipedia Over a period of time in 1973 three women had gone missing after. The young woman had been hit over the head and strangled with her own skirt. This feature contains information from all four episodes of Steeltown Murders. Sign up to our free daily email for the latest royal and entertainment news, interesting opinion, expert advice on styling and beauty trends, and no-nonsense guides to the health and wellness questions you want answered. His dad, however, had been questioned back in 1973 because he fitted the description of the wanted man - and drove a light-coloured Morris 1100. The communities were desperate for somebody to be caught - but no-one was arrested and there were no strong leads. Kappen was one of them. This was a definite possibility.". It is thought he could be responsible for further. After that initial broadcast, all four episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer for those wishing to watch ahead. Witnesses saw the girls getting into a Morris 1100 that was being driven by a man who was described to be between 30 to 35-years-old, with a moustache and bushy hair. Grapevine Extraordinarily, the Home Secretary then gave the green light to exhume his body in 2002. It was paramount in bringing this case to court,' he says. The grave of Joseph Kappen at Goytre Cemetery near Port Talbot, South Wales. Other Crimes Of Joseph Kappen. Police believed she had tried to hitchhike her way home. He claims his evening was spent watching television at home with his wife, and that his car was out of action at the time. The case went cold in the 70s and in the early 2000s after advancements in DNA testing technology. 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She later had a son, Paul, who she claimed she conceived after being raped by her husband after his release from prison. The findings led to the decision to exhume Joseph Kappen's body in 2002. All three were driven to rural locations where they were subsequently raped, then killed bystrangulation. Sandra had left her boyfriend to walk home when she was picked up by Kappen. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. But, Geraldine and Pauline never made it home. Joseph liked young girls because he felt he could control them, despite being married. After his parents' marriage fell apart, it's reported his step-father raised him. He grew up in the industrial town Port Talbot which was dominated by the large steelworks. His identity was not known until 30 years after the last murder, thanks to advancements in DNA testing technology. In 1973, three young women were murdered in Port Talbot, south Wales. He killed all three victims by strangling them. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Among the challenges the police faced was the fact they were for looking for owners of an Austin 1100. Joe Biden does not have a twin brother, let alone a brother named Beau. Cheesy thrillers like Blindspot are your calling, On TV tonight, Ellie Simmonds searches for her birth mother on Finding My Secret Family, Do not sell or share my personal information. Unfortunately given that the identifying features were that he was between 30-35, had a mustache and bushy hair, there wasnt too much to go on. Hitchhiker Sandra was found strangled, her body dumped close to a local disused colliery. Determined to prove once and for all whether Joseph Kappen was definitely the Saturday Night Strangler, police faced a serious obstacle in their investigation in 2001. "It was the feeling that evil had been identified, it sent shivers down my spine.". Read more:Steeltown Murders: BBC confirm start date for true crime about Port Talbot serial killer Joseph Kappen. Just two months later, friends Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd, both aged 16, were also found dead after hitchhiking home from a party in Swansea. Christine testified that Joseph Kappen was physically abusive towards her and would rape her every two weeks. * 06/06/02 Police investigating the murders of three teenaged girls almost 30 years ago said today that they . But he had an alibi from his wife and claimed his car was broken down on the night of the murders. BBC's Steeltown Murders is a tragic true crime story about Joseph He eventually found a male fingerprint on one of the girls underwear, a rare piece of evidence that had survived storage. Christmas Who was Joseph Kappen in Steeltown Murders? | Radio Times So they were potentially children of the offender," he told the BBC's Steeltown Murders documentary. They reportedly requested samples from Kappens former wife and daughter and although these helped build up part of his profile, they had to be 100% sure. He described him as "a man of violent disposition" (via The Guardian), recalling an incident in which he hurled a young boy down a flight of stairs. The Steeltown Murders true story inspired the BBC drama's tale of the almost 30 year quest to identify Wales' first known serial killer. "When we compared that to the crime stain profile, we could see that matched - but we needed the full profile to make absolutely sure that we had identified the killer.". After this, they finally came up with a possible surname for the Saturday Night Strangler. "My beautiful friend. I feel like there should be more killers who use the internet especially in today's world. He was the serial killer responsible for the murders of three 16-year-old girls in and around Swansea, South Wales in 1973. They stunned an area where murders rarely happened. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Set in Port Talbot, South Wales, the story charts the devastating impact of three unsolved murders on a close-knit community over a 30-year period. The murders sent shockwaves around the nearby towns of Swansea, with young women too afraid to leave home at night. Nearly 30 years later in 2003 a small team of detectives were tasked with opening the cold case and finding the killer. It was September and cold. Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd were 16 years old and Sandra Newton was 15. He became the prime suspect after police looked at the DNA of his son, Paul, a car thief whose DNA was already on file. They came up with a shortlist of 500 men where they then looked for the previous description, if they owned that particular car model, and previous convictions of sexual assault. Step into summer with some specially selected products just for you! England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Sandra had left her boyfriend to walk home when she was picked up by Kappen. Joseph even had a light-toned Morris 1100 and resembled the description of the person they were looking for, although he was questioned at the time and he'd had an alibi. Charles Sobhraj Written by Ed Whitmore who also worked on Manhunt and Manhunt: The Night Stalker, Steeltown Murders poignantly dramatizes this chilling real case and the polices quest to achieve justice for the girls families. Officers, at the time, considered that the same person had killed all three girls - but someone was already in the frame for Sandra's murder. He would also seek out "boys and girls to commit crimes on his behalf", according to Wheadon. Instead, the murder team relied on a complex manual card index system and a wall-sized white board. "This was a ground breaking technique, the first time it's ever been done in the UK and possibly the world - and from there, the new investigative tool now known as familial DNA was developed.". Please refresh the page and try again. That same year, Kappen was identified after police did a DNA search for matches with possible living descendants of the killer. The girls were killed on two separate nights, but they had all hitched a ride from Kappen on their way home. To confirm police suspicions, scientists requested DNA swabs from Kappen's ex-wife and daughter to compare them to the killer's sample. Bizarre True Crime Three 16-year-old girls strangled, a country's biggest murder hunt and the ground-breaking way police found the serial killer - this is the real life story behind the BBC's latest drama. All rights reserved. In 1973, the dead bodies of two 16-year-old girls were found dumped in Llandarcy woodland in South Wales. Postmortem examinations revealed that the girls both virgins had been raped. Kappen also claimed he was at Neath Fair on the night of the murders and his wife gave him a false alibi. Paul Kappen, who was on the database after committing car theft offences in and around the area, stood out. A huge police murder team, with more than 150 detectives, was swiftly assembled, becoming the biggest murder inquiry in Welsh history. Two of the victims were 16, one was only 15. "Geraldine was a fantastic girl. Then, just two months after Sandras death, two teenagers were found dead in woodland in Llandarcy after a night out in Swansea. "He had a history of domestic violence and had been to prison on a number of occasions.". He got work as door security at pubs and clubs which gave him access to drunk teenage girls. Kappen worked alternately as a lorry or bus driver, and then as a bouncer. Trying to find a way to identify the killer, police tested the DNA profile against that of thousands of DNA profiles of men in the area in the hope that at the very least theyd uncover a match to a relative of his and be able to trace him that way. Scientists ended up with a printout of several thousand DNA profiles to see if there were any children of the offender in the database. As a BBC reporter, I helped to cover these killings back in 1973. In 2002, Kappen's body was exhumed and forensic testing proved him to be the murderer. He would rack up more than 30 convictions for car theft, petrol theft, burglary and assault, spending years in and out of prison. He drove her to a working coal mine where he raped her and strangled her to death. He was sent to jail for burglary 10 days after the wedding. Ronald DeFeo Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. . From the age of just 12, he began attracting police attention for petty offences. As a result of these girls' murders, a huge police task force was deployed to find the culprit. The police then collected swabs from Kappen's wife and daughter Deborah to build a more robust picture, bringing the probability of him being the perpetrator to 75 per cent. Three ageing detectives took on the case and whittled down the original suspect list to 500 persons of interest. Among them was Kappen, but when officers spoke to him, the vehicle was on blocks without wheels. 2023 BBC. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. When shes not writing about the next unmissable show to add to your to-watch list or delving into royal protocol, you can find Emma cooking and watching yet more crime dramas. Crypto Saturday Night Strangler - The True Crime Database Joe Kappen In 1998, a new Low Copy Number DNA test was developed that could utilise just a tiny speck of DNA material. The three victims, all 16 years of age, had been heading home from nightclubs when Kappen preyed on them, with the press labelling him the "Saturday Night Strangler". Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing. The technology used to catch the Saturday Night Strangler was later used across the world. Like Sherwood before it, the TV show is set in two timelines 1973 when the murders occurred, and the early 2000s when new advancements in forensics enabled the police force to find the killer. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Their deaths sparked Wales' biggest murder hunt and a team of 150 officers questioned 35,000 people who loosely fitted the description of the last person seen with Geraldine and Pauline. This was a time when there were no computers. After two years work, the scientists could get a partial profile of the killers DNA from Geraldine. However, in the early 2000s a DNA swab matched the DNA of a car thief, but the thief was only seven years old at the time of the murders. He is the oldest of four siblings and . Joseph Kappen was never arrested for his crimes, and he died of lung cancer in 1990. "Our shortlist was based on the description of the individual, did the owner have a 1100 car and did they have previous convictions for violence or sexual offences," recalled Det Insp Bethell. Nightclub bouncer Joseph Kappen murdered Geraldine Hughes, Pauline Floyd, Sandra Newton. He spent years in and out of prison, and worked as a lorry driver, bus driver, and bouncer. For the sake of everyone, finding the truth was really important.". Joseph Kappen was the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Geraldine Hughes, Pauline Floyd and Sandra Newton. Although he was just seven at the time of the crimes, therefore was immediately ruled out. The detectives also used another new technique psychological profiling. Joseph William Kappen (1941-1990) FamilySearch Despite this, however, no matches were made with any person arrested or charged since 1995, but investigations into the case continued. Familial DNA searching involves the use of DNA profiles of relatives, often from DNA databases or samples volunteered by individuals, to create new investigative leads to aid in the identification of the offender. He didnt change his ways and by the time he was in his Twenties, had racked up over thirty convictions. Then, in September, Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd were found dead in woodland in nearby Llandarcy after hitchhiking their way home from a night out in Swansea. Did a killer evade justice due to withheld evidence? | Science | The However when detectives visited the ex-wife of Kappen, they were unfortunately informed that he had passed away ten years previously due to lung cancer. Someone had tied a five foot rope around her neck several times and strangled her. Why Are True Crime Stories About Rape, Murder and Serial Killers, Popular with Females? "I still think about her now.
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how did joseph kappen die
