The Drifter Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern Ireland from the early to mid-nineteen nineties. The killer’s identity remains unknown. The Drifter murdered victims in Belfast, Omagh, Derry, Strabane, Craigavon and Rostrevor between December 1991 and July 1995. All of the killer’s victims were men between the ages of 22 and 28. The name of the killer originated after a news article dubbed the person ‘The Drifter Killer’.
Suspects have been named by law enforcement and amateur investigators, but no conclusive evidence has surfaced. The Police Service Of Northern Ireland marked the case "inactive" in April 2015.
Confirmed
Investigators agree on only six confirmed victims. They are:
Sebastian Jan Magnussen, 21: stabbed 16 times and killed on December 14th, 1991, His body was found in the river Lagan, near the Lagan Viaduct.
Curtis Stephen Wilson, 25: stabbed 7 times near Bell’s Bridge, Omagh on November 9th 1992. He initially survived the attack, but was pronounced dead on arrival at Tyrone & Fermanagh Hospital.
Raymond Francis Connor, 24; stabbed 13 times and killed on January 31st 1993. His body was found in the middle of the road on Craigavon Bridge at 2:13am by a passing motorist.
Tommy Shane Gilmore, 22; stabbed 10 times and killed on September 1993. His body was found on the banks of the Foyle River, underneath the Lifford Bridge.
Conall Diarmid Kelly, 28; stabbed 12 times and killed on July 7th 1994. His body was found on the ledge of the Rostrevor Bridge.
Brian McKinney, 24; stabbed 7 times and killed in March 1995. His body was found under the Egyptian Arch outside of Newry.
Suspected
The following murder victims are suspected to be victims of the Drifter Killer, though none have been confirmed:
Sorcha Denise Douglas, 47. Douglas was murdered on 24th January 1989. Possible connections to the Drifter Killings appeared many years after Douglas’ death and pointed to similar knife wounds as a similarity. Many believe that this crime was a crime of passion and that the Drifter Killer was linked romantically to Douglas.
Peter Collinson, 26. Collinson’s body was found near the Craigmore Viaduct on Febuary 4th 1990. His murder is widely believed to be related to the Troubles due to exit wounds on his left kneecap, but Collinson was also stabbed multiple times and his body left near a bridge, hallmarks of the Drifter Killer.
Timeline
The first murder largely attributed to the Drifter Killer was the stabbing of Swedish gap year student Sebastian Jan Magnussen on December 14th, 1991. Magnussen is believed to have been walking back to his hostel from a bar alone. A bartender at Laverys, Colin Ferguson is the last person to see him alive, saying that Magnussen left Laverys Bar around 12:30am. Magnussen’s body was found on the morning of December 14th by a walker who noticed the body at the side of the river Lagan stabbed 12 times around the heart. The Royal Ulster Constabulary investigated the crime, but no leads developed at the time.
to be continued!