An inquest jury heard that a detective who was investigating the murder of Stephen Port’s two teenage victims wrongly believed they were drug addicts.
Peter Sweetman stated that Port’s fourth victim Jack Taylor was a man who could have used drugs. Sweetman also developed a working theory about Gabriel Kovari’s murder, another drug-rape victim in Barking.
Sweetman claimed that Taylor wasn’t his friend, although he denied making the mistake of assuming that Taylor was addicted to drugs. However, he also said that Taylor and Sweetman did not have any connection between the deaths, despite the similarities in the victim profiles and the locations they were located.
Port is being investigated to determine if it could have been stopped earlier.
Pictured is Stephen Port (now 46), who was sentenced to a life-long prison term in 2016 after he was convicted of the murders Anthony Walgate (23) and Daniel Whitworth (22) respectively.
Peter Sweetman, Detective Sergeant, stated that Port’s final victim Jack Taylor, right, had the “stature and appearance” of someone using drugs. He also had similar theories about Gabriel Kovari’s death (pictured), who was the second victim of the Barking drug-rape predator.
Inquest jury at Barking east London heard that Mr Sweetman gave an interview to Independent Office for Police Conduct. He said about the Taylor investigation, “Did this appear like the kind of person in terms stature and appearance who could take drugs?” “Yes,” is my answer.
The Taylor family used to describe Mr Taylor as anti-drugs.
Sweetman also said that Mr Kovari was extremely thin. I thought it possible that he could have been a drug addict.
The inquest jury heard Mr Sweetman tell the court that his thoughts were based on his experience with drug users.
Port, a sex predator, gave four gay young men fatal doses GHB, the date rape drug, and then dumped them near his Barking flat, east London.
Pictured is Mr Kovari’s grave in St Margaret’s cemetery, Barking. Later, Daniel Whitworth’s body was found there.
He declared:[Mr Kovari]Was of similar appearance. [drug addicts]In the past, I’ve dealt with them.
“He was thin and didn’t eat very much. If you are on drugs, it can suppress your appetite.”
Mr Sweetman stated that he didn’t link Mr Kovari’s August 2014 death to Mr Taylor’s September 2015 death, even though both were dumped at nearly identical places in St Margaret’s Churchyard, Barking.
He replied, “Yes, they are obvious similarities. But, I wasn’t struck at that time.”
“Maybe, in hindsight of course, maybe I shouldn’t’ have thought that way. I did not draw the link.
Inquests revealed that Port had met his victims through gay chat sites, before injecting them with fatal amounts of GHB and then disposing their bodies.
Port was 46 years old when he received a whole-life sentence in 2016 for the murders Anthony Walgate (23), Mr Kovari (22) and Daniel Whitworth (21) respectively.