Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the crimes of Stephen Port, "a serial rapist who became a serial killer"

A serial killer has been found guilty of murdering four young men by poisoning them with lethal doses of a date rape drug.

Stephen Port, 41, lured his victims to his London flat and secretly gave them GHB, the Old Bailey heard.

Scotland Yard believes there could be more victims and is reviewing 58 deaths in London spanning four years involving the drug.

Port, who denied 29 charges, will be sentenced on Friday.

The chef was also found guilty of 10 offences of administering a substance with intent, four rapes and four sexual assaults.

Image copyright Stephen Port/Met Police Image caption Port presented a very different version of himself online (left) where he claimed he'd been in the navy and graduated from Oxford University

Between August 2014 and September 2015, Port murdered Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, and Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, east London.

The jury also found him guilty of murdering Anthony Walgate, 23, from Dagenham, in June 2014 by a majority verdict.

Port met his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and coaxed them to his home in Barking for sex before giving them fatal doses of drugs.

Their bodies were all found dumped in or near a graveyard within 500m of his house.

How did police miss killer Stephen Port?

The Metropolitan Police admitted it missed "potential opportunities" in investigating the deaths and has urged any other victims to come forward.

The force's own LGBT independent advisory group and journalists from the website Pink News had raised concerns about a serial killer being at large but were told the deaths were unconnected.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating how the force handled the initial investigation into the deaths.

Seven officers have been served with gross misconduct notices advising them their conduct is under investigation. Another 10 have been served with misconduct notices.

Cdr Stuart Cundy, from the Met, said he was personally writing to the victims' families "to express our sincere condolences".

Image copyright PA Image caption Port murdered the men at his flat in Barking, east London, before dumping their bodies in and around a nearby graveyard

Port was found not guilty of three rapes relating to two living complainants.

The trial had heard he had an insatiable appetite for boyish-looking, smaller men, who he referred to as "Twinks".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In a police interview in 2015, Port tried to implicate Daniel Whitworth in the death of Gabriel Kovari

The Old Bailey was also told he trawled the internet for pornography involving impassive young men being "raped" by older men.

Home videos were played to the jury of 10 women and two men which appeared to show Port allegedly enacting his drug-rape obsession.

At court: Danny Shaw - BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

As the 12 jurors took their seats, there was an almost palpable sense of tension.

Every day since Monday of last week, when the jury's deliberations began, relatives of Port's victims have gathered waiting for the outcome of this harrowing case.

At 10:35, the jury forewoman was asked whether they'd reached unanimous verdicts on each of the counts and, if so, what that verdict was.

When the first reply of "guilty" came back Port just sighed.

But to his right, there were sobs, tears and hugs among the parents and siblings of those who were murdered.

The murders

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari were Port's first victims

Anthony Walgate occasionally worked as a male escort and met Port when he offered the 23-year-old student £800 for an overnight date.

Mr Walgate had told a friend about the date "in case I get killed" but was found dead outside Port's flat on 19 June 2014.

Port later admitted he had "panicked" over the death and was jailed for perverting the course of justice, but he continued to claim Mr Walgate died from taking his own drugs.

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Daniel Whitworth (L) was murdered a year before Jack Taylor (R) died

Gabriel Kovari was staying with Port as a temporary flatmate when he was killed in August 2014.

Port called his sister to confess he had his body in his bed then dragged the 22-year-old to a nearby graveyard.

He then constructed a web of deceit to divert suspicion, telling his neighbour that Mr Kovari had died of an infection in Spain.

Port also invented a Facebook identity via which he told the Slovakian's boyfriend Mr Kovari had gone to a sex party with a man named "Dan".

Image copyright Met Police Image caption The suicide note, written by Port, sought to absolve him of any part in Mr Whitworth's death

The same dog walker who found Mr Kovari's body also found Daniel Whitworth dead in the same spot in the churchyard and "lying in the exact same position" three weeks later.

A fake suicide note was found in his hand which purported to be a confession by Mr Whitworth for Mr Kovari's death.

It was later found to have been written by Port but at the time of Mr Whitworth's death police had treated his demise "at face value".

Image copyright PA Image caption Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth's bodies were found in the graveyard of St Margaret's Church

Jack Taylor died on 13 September 2015, hours after meeting with Port. The pair had earlier shared a conversation on Grindr.

Following his murder, Port disposed of Mr Taylor's mobile phone and deleted their communication on the dating app.

His body was found by a refuse collector with a needle and syringe in his pocket.

Image copyright AFP/NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Jack Taylor's family gave their reaction to Port's conviction at the Old Bailey

Speaking outside court following the verdicts, Daniel Whitworth's family said they were still "bereft at the loss of a such a clever, talented and much-loved boy".

His step-mother, Mandy Pearson, said the guilty verdict "has marked the end of a large part of our battle" but the family "have yet to concentrate on other areas of accountability".

"The fight goes on until all our questions are answered," she said.

Jack Taylor's family said they felt he would still be alive if the police "had done their job".

"The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life but Stephen Port would have been stopped," they said.

Image copyright AFP/ NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Mr Whitworth's family made only passing reference to the initial police probe of his death

Police believe there are many other victims and have urged people to come forward.

As Port used a variety of social networks and dating apps to meet men, the Met has released a list of his account details in a bid to aid any other possible victims.</s>Serial killer Stephen Port has been found guilty of murdering three young gay men to fulfil his sexual fantasies. 



The 41-year-old chef contacted his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard. 



Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London.

Port denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor as well as a range of sexual offences against other men. 



Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges, including those around the death of Port’s first alleged murder victim, Anthony Walgate. 



Mr Justice Openshaw gave the jurors a majority direction on the remaining counts and said he would accept a majority of at least 10 to two. He sent the jury of 10 women and two men back out to continue deliberating.

Taylor’s parents and sisters wept in court as the guilty verdicts were delivered but Port made no reaction. 



He was convicted of a total of 16 offences against nine out of 12 alleged victims, including the three murders. Other charges of which he was found guilty included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sex assaults.</s>Serial killer Stephen Port has been found guilty in the Old Bailey, London, of murdering four young gay men to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies.

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard.

Port then dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500m of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

Port denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, Anthony Walgate and Jack Taylor, as well as a range of sexual offences against more men.</s>Police faced a storm of criticism as serial killer Stephen Port was found guilty of murdering four young gay men to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies.

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious.

He dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey in London, Port was found guilty of the murders after a jury deliberated for 28 hours and 27 minutes. He could face spending the rest of his life behind bars.

The deaths of Jack Taylor, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth over 15 months bore striking similarities, but police allegedly failed to make the link until relatives of his final victim demanded answers.

Mr Taylor’s family, who are planning to sue, said: “We do believe Jack would still be here if they had done their job.

“The police should be held accountable for Jack’s death. We do understand it’s not them who took Jack’s life, but Stephen Port would have been stopped.”

The family refused to accept Mr Taylor would have taken drugs willingly and put pressure on officers to treat his death as suspicious.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “While timely and commendable, this verdict is no compensation for the loss of four young gay men who had their lives, hopes and dreams cut short.”

He accused the police of “class, gender and sexuality bias” and said lives would have been saved if police had acted on concerns sooner.

He said: “If four young well-off women had been murdered in Mayfair, I believe the police would have made a public appeal much sooner and mounted a far more comprehensive investigation.”

An Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry is ongoing into the handling of the case and 17 officers are facing investigation into possible misconduct.

Family quietly cheered as Port was found guilty of murdering Mr Walgate by a majority of 11 to one.

The court heard Port had an insatiable desire for boyish-looking men he referred to as “twinks”. He trawled the internet for pornography involving inert young men being “raped” by older men.</s>Serial killer Stephen Port will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced to a whole life term for the murder of four men.

The 41-year-old chef was found guilty of a total of 22 offences against 11 men including the four murders, four rapes, 10 counts of administering a substance and four sex assaults.

Port met his victims using online dating services including Grindr and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, before dumping their bodies near his east London flat.

After killing the men, he embarked upon an elaborate cover-up operation. He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

Mr Justice Openshaw gave Port the whole-life sentence after he was found guilty of all four murders after a trial at the Old Bailey.

The judge described Port as a “wicked and monstrous” killer and said Port had carried out the murders in order to “satisfy his lust” for sex with unconscious young men.

Port denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor.

Families of the victims cheered and clapped as Port was sent down.

Scotland Yard faces allegations it failed to link Port to all four murders, despite their marked similarities.

It was only after the death of his final victim, Mr Taylor, whose family urged the police to re-examine the previous deaths, that a full investigation was launched.

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Met’s Specialist Crime and Operations command, said 17 officers are facing investigation into possible misconduct during the case.

Following Port’s conviction, Mr Cundy offered the families personal letters of apology from the police for missing opportunities to catch Port earlier.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission will investigate the police force’s initial response to the murders, and will examine whether “discrimination played any part in actions and decisions”.

The Taylor family has said it is suing the Met Police, saying they believe that if the force had investigated the initial murders they would not have had to fight for a full investigation and Port would have been stopped sooner.

Port’s first victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead on Cooke Street on 19 June last year. He was a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet.

The second victim, Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found by a dog walker near St Margaret's churchyard on 28 August last year. He was originally from Slovakia but lived in Lewisham, south London.

Just under a month later, on 20 September last year, the same dog walker discovered the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, near the same churchyard.

Then on 14 September this year, Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift truck driver from Dagenham, was found dead near the abbey ruins close to North Street.

Following the conviction, the Met Police has appealed for information from any of Port’s other victims.

The force has also said it is reassessing 58 unexplained deaths involving date-rape drugs to make sure foul play has not been missed. Port is not linked to any of them, a spokeswoman said.</s>A STUDENT from Hull could have been one of the victims of serial killer Stephen Port, who was found guilty today of murdering young gay men to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies.

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard.

Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

Port denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor as well as a range of sexual offences against more men.

Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges including those around the death of Port’s first alleged murder victim, Anthony Walgate. 23, originally from Hull and renting a room in Golders Green, north-west London, while studying fashion at Middlesex University.

Mr Walgate occasionally worked as a male escort which is how he came into contact with Port through a website called Sleepyboys.

The student was cautious about the men he met through the site and always told his friends where he was going and showed them a photo of who he was meeting.

He agreed to Port’s offer of £800 for an overnight date and told his friend Ellie Green about it “in case I get killed”. As an extra precaution, he told her he had a small knife but was going to take scissors with him.

He was found dead outside the communal entrance to Port’s block of flats in the early hours of June 19 2014.

Port denies his murder and while jurors found him guilty of administering a substance to Mr Walgate, they are still deliberating on a murder charge.

Mr Justice Openshaw gave the jurors a majority direction on the remaining counts and said he would accept a majority of at least 10 to two.

Mr Taylor’s parents and sisters wept in court as the guilty verdicts were delivered but Port made no reaction.

He was convicted of a total of 16 offences against nine out of 12 alleged victims, including the three murders.

Other charges he was found guilty of included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sex assaults.

The deaths over 15 months bore striking similarities but police failed to make the link until relatives of his final victim demanded answers, jurors were told.

The court heard that Port had an insatiable desire for boyish-looking men he referred to as Twinks.

Port trawled the internet for pornography involving inert young men being “raped” by older men.

Many of the victims’ relatives sat through harrowing evidence which included home videos of Port allegedly enacting his drug rape obsession.

Mr Walgate, 23, was found dead in the communal hall of Port’s flat in Cooke Street after he called 999 anonymously in the early hours of June 19 2014.

When police tracked him down, Port lied to distance himself from the fashion student and occasional male escort.

He later claimed he “panicked” over the death of the young man he had engaged for sex through the Sleepyboys website.

Port was later jailed for perverting the course of justice over Mr Walgate’s death.

The second man to die was 22-year-old Slovakian Mr Kovari, who was staying on Port’s sofa as a temporary flatmate.

After killing him, Port spoke to his older sister Sharon on the phone and confessed he had a body in his bed.

But rather than going to police, he dragged the body to Barking Abbey graveyard where it was discovered by a dog walker.

Port constructed a complex web of deceit, telling his neighbour that Mr Kovari died of an infection in Spain.

Over months, he posed on Facebook as an American student to probe Mr Kovari’s grief-stricken Spanish boyfriend and divert suspicion by suggesting the victim had gone off to a sex party with “Dan”.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told jurors that the misinformation was to “lay the groundwork” for implicating his third victim, Daniel Whitworth.

Three weeks after the Slovakian was found dead, the same dog walker stumbled across the body of Mr Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, on September 20, 2014.

In his hand, was a suicide note taking the blame for Mr Kovari’s death, saying: “We was having some fun at a mate’s place and I got carried away and gave him another shot of G.”

It added a plea not to “blame the guy I was with last night”.

Police treated Mr Whitworth’s death “at face value” and no efforts were made to verify the sham note which turned out to be in Port’s handwriting.

Mr Taylor, 25, died within hours of hooking up with Port on Grindr in the early hours of September 13, 2015.

After murdering him, Port got rid of his mobile and deleted their communication on the dating app.

Just after 1pm the next day, Mr Taylor’s body was found by a refuse collector with a needle and syringe in his pocket.

Initially, his death was treated as “non-suspicious”.

But CCTV footage from Barking Station emerged linking him to Port, whose DNA was found on a bottle of GHB also planted in Mr Taylor’s pocket.

Giving evidence, Port denied all the charges and claimed he had left Mr Taylor “very much” alive after having “rampant” sex outside.

On why he lied to police, Port said: “The truth sounded like a lie, so I lied to make it sound like the truth.”

However, the prosecution rejected his explanations as absurd, ridiculous and cruel to the families who deserved to know the truth.</s>The grieving family of the final victim of serial killer Stephen Port have blasted bungling police for missing chances to halt the carnage.

The chef was convicted yesterday of the murders of four young men as well as a host of rapes and sexual assaults .

Port, 41, plied his victims, who he met on gay websites and dating apps, with lethal doses of date rape drug GHB to satisfy his fetish for sex with unconscious partners.

But Donna and Jenny Taylor, sisters of his fourth victim Jack Taylor, said: “The police should be held accountable for Jack’s death.

Woman who knocked out teeth of Royal Marine in pub row over him kissing another man avoids jail

"We do understand it's not them who have taken Jack's life, but if they had done their job, Jack would still be here. Stephen Port would have been stopped.”

They added: “We felt from the beginning it was just ‘another one’

to the police and nothing was taken seriously.

“We had to fight from the beginning. We kept pushing for an investigation.

“We read up, found out they [the murders] were all similar - too similar.”

Donna said Jack’s murder “absolutely devastated us”, adding: “It’s torn our family to pieces. He’s not just taken Jack’s life, he’s ruined all of our lives.”

Despite coming to the police’s attention after the death of student Anthony Walgate, 23, in June 2014, Port remained free to kill artist Gabriel Kovari, 22, chef Daniel Whitworth, 21, and forklift driver Jack.

Mr Walgate’s mother, Sarah Sak, from Hull, criticised the investigation into her son’s death in June 2014, saying: “Straight away I told police that I was 150% sure it will not have been drink or drugs.”

She said the police had “shown our family no compassion whatsoever”, adding: “It is appalling. We have had to chase them for information.”

Three victims were dumped in the same graveyard opposite Port’s flat in Barking, east London – but officers failed to link the cases, the Old Bailey heard.

Detectives continued to rule out foul play even when the body of Jack, 25, was found by a grave in September last year.

An inquiry has been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission with 17 officers being probed.

Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy said: “The evidence we have heard at the trial has identified that there were potential missed opportunities.”

Police are reviewing of 58 other drug deaths. Port, will be sentenced tomorrow after being found guilty of murder, rape, drugging victims and sexual assault.</s>Stephen Port has been found guilty of poisoning three young gay men.

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites such as Grindr and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard.

Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planting a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

He denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor as well as a range of sexual offences against more men.

Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges, including those around the death of Port's first alleged murder victim, Anthony Walgate.

His first alleged victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead on Cooke Street on 19 June last year. He was a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet.

The second victim, Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found by a dog walker near St Margaret's churchyard on 28 August last year. He was originally from Slovakia but lived in Lewisham, south London.

Just under a month later, on 20 September last year, the same dog walker discovered the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, near the same churchyard.

Then on 14 September this year, Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift truck driver from Dagenham, was found dead near the abbey ruins close to North Street.

The deaths were not initially linked but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on 14 October.

Port was convicted of a total of 16 offences against nine out of 12 alleged victims, including the three murders.

Other charges he was found guilty of included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sex assaults.

Mr Justice Openshaw gave the jurors a majority direction on the remaining counts and said he would accept a majority of at least 10 to two.

He sent the jury of 10 women and two men back out to continue deliberating. The case continues.</s>The Metropolitan police is reassessing 58 unexplained deaths involving date-rape drugs after serial killer Stephen Port was found guilty of poisoning four young gay men.

The deaths, involving the popular party drug GHB, occurred between June 2011 and October 2015 and are being reexamined to make sure foul play has not been missed.

There is nothing to suggest Port is linked to any of them, a Met Police spokeswoman said.

Scotland Yard faces allegations it missed opportunities to stop Port, who was found guilty of a total of 22 offences against 11 men including the four murders, four rapes, 10 counts of administering a substance and four sex assaults.

He met his victims on dating websites such as Grindr and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard.

Police chiefs said dating apps must take greater responsibility to protect their users' safety and said the Met Police was working with charities to raise awareness among users.

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Met's Specialist crime and Operations command, said 17 officers are facing investigation into possible misconduct during the case.

Port's first victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead in the communal hall of Port's apartment block in the early hours of 19 June 2014.

When police tracked him down, Port lied to officers to distance himself from the fashion student and occasional male escort. He was later jailed for perverting the course of justice but continued to claim Mr Walgate died from taking his own drugs.

Slovakian 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari was staying on Port's sofa as a temporary flatmate.

Three weeks after Mr Kovari was found dead, the same dog walker stumbled across the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, on 20 September, 2014. In his hand, was a suicide note taking the blame for Mr Kovari's death, saying he gave him too much GHB at a party.

Police treated Mr Whitworth's death "at face value" and no efforts were made to verify the sham note which turned out to be in Port's handwriting, jurors at the Old Bailey heard.

Some of the victims' loved ones, members of the Met's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) independent advisory group and journalists from website Pink News all raised concerns that a serial killer was at large, and were all told that there was no link between the deaths.

Jack Taylor, 25, died within hours of hooking up with Port through a dating app in the early hours of 13 September 2015.

Initially, his death was treated as "non-suspicious", the Old Bailey was told.

His mother, Donna Taylor, said police "should be held accountable for Jack's death" and they planned to sue after Port was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said a public appeal and investigation would have been far swifter and more comprehensive had the victims been "four well-off young women from Mayfair".

He accused the police of "class, gender and sexuality bias" and suggested lives may have been saved had they acted sooner.

“Although police relations with the LGBT community are vastly better than two decades ago, this case is a wake-up call regarding the apparent on-going negative attitudes and behaviour of some officers in some police districts,” Mr Tatchell added.

Port will be sentenced on Friday.</s>(CNN) It could be the plot of a TV murder mystery -- except viewers might struggle to believe the killer could keep getting away with it.

Over 15 months, Stephen Port, a 41-year-old chef from a working class east London borough drugged, raped, and killed four gay men he met on dating apps.

He then dragged their bodies a few hundred meters from his flat, planting drugs and even suicide notes penned in his own handwriting to make it appear as if they had overdosed.

Forklift truck driver Taylor lived with his parents in east London, not far from Port's home. After drinking with friends in a local gay club, he went home and saw his father, before hooking up with Port on gay dating app Grindr and taking a taxi to his flat. His body was found near the graveyard, in similar circumstances to Whitworth and Kovari.

Whitworth, a trainee chef, met Port through the Fitlads dating site. His body was found by the same dog walker in the same spot as Kovari. His phone was missing and Port had placed a fake suicide note in his hand, in which he appeared to confess to the death of the young Slovakian the month before.

Originally from Slovakia, police say Kovari came to London "to begin a new life." He moved into Port's apartment after they met on a dating website, and the killer agreed to put him up on the sofa, rent free. Kovari's body was found by a dog walker in a graveyard, some 500 meters from Port's flat. He was propped up against a wall, wearing sunglasses, next to a bag of his belongings.

Walgate, Stephen Port's first victim, was originally from Hull, northern England, but came to London to study fashion. He worked as a male escort to help fund his studies. After overdosing him with GHB, Port dumped his body and called the police, saying he had found the dead man by chance. Port was tracked down through his phone number, and after he was found to have lied to police, he was charged and later jailed for eight months.

Three of the victims were found slumped in the same churchyard -- two of those discovered by dog-walker Barbara Denham.

A fourth victim was found at the entrance to Port's block of flats.

"The serial killers which are most difficult to catch are transient -- they kill in one part of the country, then another," explained David Wilson, professor of criminology at Birmingham City University.

"But Stephen Port was not a transient serial killer. He killed in his flat, then dumped the bodies 300 meters away. They were all young men who died the same way," he told CNN.

"The idea that it wasn't linked beggars belief."

On Friday Port will be sentenced for the murders of fashion student Anthony Walgate, 23; Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia; fellow chef Daniel Whitworth, 21; and forklift truck driver Jack Taylor, 25 -- crimes that Port denied.

The force is now reviewing the deaths of dozens men who also used sex-enhancing drugs, amid concerns that cases previously dismissed as drug overdoses could be further victims.

What if the victims were women?

Leading gay rights activist Peter Tatchell questioned whether homophobia and class played a role in police handling of the case.

"The killing of low income gay men in working class Barking was treated very differently -- police officers stand accused of class, gender and sexuality bias."

Criminologist Wilson agreed that the case had "a great deal to do with the persistence of homophobia generally and within the police."

However he added that one group of female victims similarly ignored by the police were sex workers.

"One of the sad things is that everyone is equal before the law -- but the level of policing they get is often dependent on other issues."

"They told us there wasn't a link between what was at that point three deaths," Cohen told CNN. "Essentially, they gave the indication it would be a bad idea for us to report anything as it would cause people to be fearful.

"They were saying the deaths were not in suspicious circumstances," he added. "But if it were three young women murdered in Islington or Hampstead and they had an inquiry from the Daily Mail, I cannot believe that would happen," Cohen said of the high-end London boroughs.

Port went on to kill three more men, and Cohen expresses disbelief that police were able to let the killer slip through their fingers so easily.

"I can imagine Netflix making this into a 10-part series where the murderer just keeps getting ignored," he said.

'You don't have chemsex by yourself'

Prosecutors said Port targeted victims on Grindr and other gay dating sites and apps, then plied them with drinks laced with fatal amounts of the drug GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as liquid ecstasy.

Cohen believes another reason why police may have overlooked the serial killer's involvement, was "because of the use of the drug GHB and its prevalence among the gay community."

"It's quite a problem in the gay community in London, of people using these drugs in chemsex," he said of the group sex sessions often organized through dating apps.

"But the thing that's odd to me is, you don't have chemsex by yourself, you have chemsex with someone else," said Cohen. "So if all of these people had been taking this drug, they must have been sleeping with someone to do it."

That person was a lot closer than they thought.
Serial killer Stephen Port is found guilty of four rape-murders.