Steven Keogh is a former Met police detective and estimates that in 30 years he has witnessed more than 100 dead bodies.
It is something that you have to get used too as a murder investigation. However, it is something you get used to in your job as a murder investigator. He said that his worst nightmares were caused by the constant sight of children dead. It reminded him of all the bad things in this world.
Steve (50) has written a book about his experiences as a Met detective, published just one week after he retired from the force.
The book – Murder Investigation Team: How Scotland Yard Really Catches a Killer – is a forensic look at the steps Met detectives take to solve the most serious crimes.
The former Detective Inspector worked on investigations which included the 7/7 bombings and some of the most horrific murders the capital has seen in the last decade such as the murder of three-year-old Daniel Evbuomwan who was killed by his uncle Ben Igbinedion for wetting the bed in 2013.
He speaks with MailOnline to discuss what it was like to be a Scotland Yard murder investigator and why it isn’t like the TV shows.
A former Met detective, who worked for 30 years investigating high-profile crime in London including the 7/7 Bombings, has now written a book. It draws from his best investigations and shares what it was like.
Steven Keogh, a former Met Police detective and murder investigator, has published a book about his experiences with the force. It reveals the true nature of the murder investigations at Scotland Yard.
One of the more recent murders investigated by DI Keogh was the death of Ayub Hassan, 17, who was fatally knifed in the heart behind a Waitrose supermarket in Kensington, in 2019. The murder of a drug gang member was committed by a 15-year old.
“Gang Crime has plagued London for centuries, but its victims are growing younger.”
“It was one the most horrible crime scenes that I’ve ever seen.”
Pictured are Killers Claudio Lamponi and Massimo Manai.
Steve uses anonymised case files in his book to show how detectives handle murder investigation.
Steve discusses a double murder that took place in a South London flat. This is to show just how open-minded detectives can be upon arriving at crime scenes.
This is about Donald MacPherson’s murder, 60. Luciano Schiano was his flatmate, at 49. They each sustained more than 100 stabbing wounds. Steve described it as one of the most horrible crime scenes he had ever seen.
This former detective recalls his thoughts as he arrived at flat where bodies were found.
He wrote, “I always try to put myself in the position of the victim.” It helped me understand the situation better. This is a picture of the last moments. This scene was quite chilling.
Scottish-born Mr MacPherson was left with 80 stabbing wounds. He also had his face broken by an iron while fighting back.
He was 49 years old and sustained 26 knife injuries. Blood evidence also showed that he tried to drag himself across the ground before sustaining his injuries.
Steve walks the readers through all the hypotheses that detectives could consider, even though there was very little evidence at the scene to support them.
After Mr Schiano made fun of one of his girlfriends, detectives learned that he had an altercation with them earlier in the year. This motive became the center of the investigation.
MacPherson, an innocent victim, was not known by the murderers.
Claudio Lamponi (30, from Naples) and Massimo Manai (41), both originally from Cagliari in Sardinia were found guilty at the Old Bailey.
Steve writes, “This was accomplished by initially following broad hypotheses when the information was scarce and then increasing detail as more details were available.”
Keogh held the rank Detective Inspector during his investigations into murders. He stated that although gang crime dominated the majority of his cases, the victims were usually men in their late teens or 20s when he started his career. But, over the years they have been getting younger.
MailOnline was informed by him that he knew of no other murders than those involving gang members. The drugs that they used might be the reason, and it may not necessarily be gang violence.
“It is very common for gang crime to occur.” [in London]It was always scary to me. The level of violence they use is beyond comprehension. Sometimes life seems too easy.
Steve explained that even though much has been said about the increase in violence in London, it still feels like it was always there.
He continued, “I was south London.” [when I started]Lewisham.
“There has been a long history of beef between Southwark gangs and Lambeth gangs. This has been ongoing for many years. The only thing that has happened is that younger gangsters are just continuing what they are doing. It is an endless cycle.
It’s usually tied to drug deals and there is a lot in drug dealing. There’s violence where there is a lot money. They’re trying to protect their interests. It’s unlikely that this will change anytime soon.
“It has been ongoing for generations. The cycle will not stop and I have no idea what the solution is.
Steve believes that one thing has improved is the age and gender of victims. In fact, 14-year-old boys were killed by knife violence in this year’s murder investigation. This is something he considers the most difficult part of his job.
‘If I recall when I dealt with the gangs members in my early teens, it seemed like they were still in their 20s and 30s. But now we are dealing with teenagers.
“I suppose it is natural that the knife culture will be so common now that knives culture will become more prominent among children and it will lead to them growing older. I cannot recall any of the kids in the past slashing each other.
He said, “I won’t get used to seeing dead kids.” This is the hardest thing that I’ve had to face. It’s been 100+ dead bodies that I have seen, and the only ones I remember are my children.
“It was comforting knowing that I am not so dehumanized that I can simply watch anyone’s death without being affected because it was my own death, which was undoubtedly caused by their death.
“I still can see their bodies if my eyes are closed and I think about them.” This is not a bad way to be carrying it. It’s just an example of what evil people can do. It would make me very anxious about my own health.
Steve feels that London is becoming more violently criminal. These statistics show London is set to have the most teenage-related murders ever recorded.
This year has seen 28 teenage victims of violence in London. The city could be the same as the 29 youths who were killed by violent crime last 2008.
This year, 27 were killed. Scotland Yard raised alarm that the number of deaths could exceed 30. The agency urged youngsters to stop using knives and warned them not to do so.
Ayub hassan (known as A1) was killed in the chest behind Waitrose in Kensington, West London in 2019.
DI Keogh is currently investigating the high-profile murders of Sian and her sons, Arthur Simpson Kent’s December 2015 killings. Pictured: The scene where the victims were found is shown here.
Steve’s book describes the evidence that Sian Blake was a victim of Simpson-Kent’s murder in Erith. After being extradited to Ghana, where he fled from, he was sentenced for life.
“Luther” is the most hated television show when it comes murder investigation.
One of the biggest motivating factors pushing Steve to write his book was to dispel the clichés that surround police detective work and are perpetuated on some of the country’s most popular TV shows.
His book dispels many common myths such as that senior detectives do the most work in the field, and that giant boards are used to map investigations.
The use of phone evidence by police to arrest a gunman on the run in Ghana
Arthur Simpson-Kent was brutally killed by Sian Blake (EastEnders actress), and his sons Zachary (8 years old) and Amon (4 years old) before placing the bodies in the backyard.
Steve walks the reader through all types of evidence that can be used to help detectives determine what happened.
Steve shares details about a triple murder that occurred in December 2015, to show how phone evidence could be vital for an investigation.
Arthur Simpson-Kent murdered Sian Blake, EastEnders actress, along with their sons Zachary and Amon. The bodies were then buried in the backyard of the couple’s home in Erith in Kent before they fled to Ghana.
Family members reported the victims missing and Simpson-Kent said that she took her sons with her to live with a friend.
The police conducted an investigation into the residence and found a surprising discovery beneath the newly painted walls.
“Blood is a lot of bleeding. It happened in the kitchen. And, perhaps most troubling, it was also in the children’s room. Steve wrote, “I can’t imagine anything more horrible than this scene.”
Two young boys are in the safest place. Their beds, filled with toys and surrounded by the people who they trust most. However, their father broke down that trust.
The three victims were found in a shallow grave behind the house by detectives. They suffered horrific injuries and the police launched a manhunt to locate Simpson-Kent.
In his book, Steve says detectives first looked at financial records and saw he had withdrawn £400 suggesting he had gone on the run and it was his phone records which set them ‘on the path to finding him’.
According to police, the murderer had called a friend and, according to inquiries, had booked a flight for him to Ghana.
Simpson-Kent worked with Ghanaian authorities to find Simpson-Kent and was extradited to Britain. He was sentenced to a life imprisonment for all his crimes.
He stated that he understood TV programs are entertainment. I find it helpful. [to what we do].
“The fact is, if you had a TV show that examined the truth behind murders it would probably be the boringest.
“Luther has the DCI on its heels, making it one of my worst programs in regards to investigating murder cases.
“The DCIs never leave their offices. While they might visit the crime scene one time, that is all. The best way to solve murders is by using a lot of people, being thorough and methodical.
It’s boring. Although people love to murder, they don’t want to see the truth of it.
“If you’re looking for an area in which people don’t realize the truth, I think it would be forensics.
Steve was inspired to write the book to share his knowledge and skills in solving London’s murders. However, he realized that there wasn’t much information on how to do it.
“I realized that true crime lovers would love to learn how this was done. Books can be focused on specific cases, how they were solved and what they do each time.
Two things were very important to me: the family and the second was religion. I do not refer to names. They were not my exploited names.
“That was very important to me, so everything I wrote in the book have been reported in court. I didn’t try to betray confidence or hide behind the backs of people.
“The other was that I did not want to appear to be turning against the police. It was therefore a delicate balance between giving an overview of what we do and not overstepping our bounds.
Asked about the cliché of ‘the one that got away’ that often haunts fictional murder detectives, Steve said for him that stems from how close detectives get to the victims’ families.
He stressed that rare murders were not being investigated and said that he was with the families from the very beginning.
Steve writes in his book about an investigation into a murder case where they failed to find a guilty verdict against the suspect accused of killing a 17year-old boy.
Ola Apena (22 years old) executed the gang’s execution from his prison cell. The victim was a teenager.
Anonymised in the book, Steve recalls the difficulties following the murder of 17-year-old Samuel Ogunro who was executed with a shot to the back of the head before the car he was in was set alight in June 2010.
Gang members thought Samuel was going to snitch in a firearms trials and Ola Apena of south London arranged Samuel’s murder using illegal mobile phones from an Oxfordshire prison.
Apena was 22 years old at the time. He was found guilty for conspiracy to kill and pervert the course justice. Apena was sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum 32 years. The pulling of the trigger was not a crime.
He said, “When you are with your family after that, it’s difficult because you want the best for them,” he continued.
“Even though I wasn’t at fault, it’d been a huge effort to obtain the evidence. The fact that you were found innocent really stays with me.
“I wrote about the incident in my book, where his father showed up at Lewisham Police Station with a Christmas gift. Although we convicted him of the crime, the perpetrator who killed his son remains at large. Because of the closeness I felt at that time with my family, it is difficult to accept.
Detective Keogh joined the investigation team that was brought in by Nicola Edgington, a mental patient to look into the 2011 murder of Sally Hodkin at Bexleyheath. Pictured: The scene is being preserved by officers near an east London shopping mall.
Paranoid schizophrenic Nicola Edgington was 31 when she nearly killed Sally Hodkin (58) with a butcher’s knife. It happened six years ago, after her death. Pictured below: flowers were left at the scene of the attack in south east London
“The motivation behind murder is usually boiled down to just one or two factors”
Steve’s book is a collection of his theories that he has developed from years spent on the job.
MailOnline was told by him that he is analytical and has always had an interest in the topic, but never actually written it down. This took me a great deal of time.
What can be done to establish motive?
Pictured left to right: Shihabouddin Choudhury, Akmol Miah and Nabiha Massud who were convicted for murdering Maleha (left).
Steve informs his readers that it is crucial to determine the motivation behind murder in order to identify a criminal.
Such was the case in the murders of 15-year-old Maleha Masud and her sister Nabiha, 21, who died after someone poured petrol through their letter box and set their south London home ablaze in June 2009.
Steve described the scene as follows: “Seeing that burnt-out house was a stark reminder of the horrific experiences that that family endured.” It is terrifying to wake up and find your house on fire.
Investigators originally considered that the mistaken identity was a false one, even though there weren’t any obvious animosities to the family.
However, detectives became interested in Maleha’s ex boyfriend after a family liaison officer told them that Maleha was upset about her breaking up with him.
Steve wrote: “However unlikely it may have been, it was our only possible lead and we decided to arrest the fourteen-year-old suspect on suspicion of murder.”
IT technicians searched his house and discovered that the boy, aged 14, had looked up “how to burn someone’s houses down” the day before.
It’s an understatement to say that we were amazed. Steve explained that even though he seemed to have an ulterior motive, he was still a child.
Akmol Miah was 14 years old when he attacked Maleha in retaliation for their relationship ending after three months.
Miah’s cousin Shihabuddin Chuudhury (21) poured petrol into the letterbox during their family’s sleep at Tooting, South London.
Maleha’s older brothers Zain and Rubina managed to escape through a window. Junaid survived after being saved by firefighters.
Maleha and Nabiha, her 21-year old sister, were also pulled from the flames but eventually died at hospital.
Miah was sentenced for a minimum term of 23 years, while his cousin was given 21 years.
I believe humans are driven by three factors: what we feel, how much we want to feel, and how it will benefit us.
“If you can relate it to any activity you do like going to the gym. Whatever reason an individual chooses to exercise, the outcome will be the same: how they feel, what they desire to feel and how much they get out of it.
‘In the book, I look at it quite simply and it’s not something we’re taught as police officers. That’s how I see why people murder.
“Some may disagree with me and claim that I have simplified it. For me, aside from mental health and the gains they’ll get, everything you return to is linked to an emotion or triggered feeling.
This was his time in SO13 – The Met’s Antiterrorism unit.
Steve said, “It’s scarier. Never in my twelve years of dealing with murders have I ever been uncomfortable about arresting one.
“I didn’t feel fear for my safety. I wasn’t attacked or assaulted.”
“We would rarely use armed police, but terrorists are just different.
They would kill you to increase their stature and advance their cause. It was the single difference that I saw in the terrorist branch.
He recounted how his team were one of the first in the country to be trained in specialist equipment to deal with dangerous hazards known as Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) materials.
Steve was one the officers who found ricin on a Wood Green address that was being used in terrorist plots against the London Underground.
He describes how experts discovered trace amounts of ricin during their search.
Kamel Bourgass, who was found guilty in connection with the plot, was already in prison for the murder of Stephen Noake (special branch officer) during his arrest in the course the investigation.
“That made me realize that these people were a completely different species to those with whom I had to work. There’s ricin all around. It’s made me realize that I am moving in different directions. They weren’t equipped, but were extremely scary.
After spending days underground crawling and collecting body parts, Steve received an official commendation for his contribution to the investigation of the 7/7 bombings.
Steve explains how he managed to cope with the shock of seeing the devastating attacks unfold.
“My colleague and me were among the first to reach one of these scenes as anti-terrorist police officers. It stayed there for over two weeks. The majority of our time was spent crawling through a tunnel on our hands and knees.
“Our team were responsible for the removal of dead victims and then fingertip searches on the entire scene to collect evidence. This included the collection of human remains. This took place at the height summer in enclosed areas.
Steve said that his family and friends worried about how he was handling the situation and that he began to worry that he wasn’t getting upset enough by what he saw.
“What I discovered was that my way of dealing with trauma is not to dwell on it. I compartmentalise. I can compartmentalise anything that might be bothersome.
Steve highlights some of his best-known cases throughout his book to help readers understand how the case was solved.
While the family was asleep, Akmol Miah (14) and Shihabuddin Choudhury (21), poured gasoline through the front door of Maleha’s house. Nabiha, Nabiha’s 21-year old sister (pictured right), and the 15-yearold victim were killed by the flames.
Pictured: Aldgate Station after the 7th July bombings in 2005 that killed 56 people and injured 784
The tube inside Edgware Road station, 7/7 after the bomb was dropped on it.
He writes that a career as a murder detective will include cases that are memorable. The book opens with the story of Nicola Edgington’s murder and Sally Hodkin’s murder.
Edgington (then 31) was a known schizophrenic and nearly killed Sally Hodkin. Kerry Clark was also attacked during an attack in Bexleyheath south-east London’s October 2011 rampage. This took place six years after Marion had died.
Steve describes the scene using an anonymous account.[An officer]Pointed across the street to find a corpse. It was full of blood. He said the victim had been attacked by a man with a big knife.
Steve became aware that Edgington was being held for what “appeared” to be an unrelated killing.
“I needed to see again to confirm what I saw.” It was her calm, half-smiled face that stood out to me.
The story follows Edington as she attempts to plead guilty for manslaughter because of diminished liability. Also, the book describes how Edington hired a top psychiatrist in order to prove that she was conscious of her actions and not acting out of anger over her treatment.
Nicola Edgington, 58 was convicted for the murder of Sally Hodkin and attempted murder of Kerry Clark, 22 years old. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years.
‘From a personal point of view, I hope she is never released from prison. Steve says that he has seen her behavior before, during, and after the incident. He isn’t convinced that she would kill again.
In 2006, Sir Ian Blair awarded Steve a Commissioner’s Commendation for his contribution to the investigation of the 7/7 terrorist attack.
Six years ago, Nicola Edgington (right), nearly decapitated Sally Hodkin in a random attack.
It is going through one of its most difficult periods. In the past two years alone, it has faced crisis after crisis including scrutiny over Carl Beech and the bungled VIP paedophile ring inquiry, failings surrounding the murder of Sarah Everard and findings that its commissioner obstructed the panel investigating potential corruption in the Daniel Morgan murder investigation.
Keogh served as a Met crime detective for over 30 years. The biggest problem facing Keogh’s force is rebuilding the trust of the public in their ability to serve the public.
He said: ‘It’s going to be difficult to restore people’s faith in the force. When I’ve seen that women are now mistrusting the police as a whole to the point where some are saying they don’t feel they could call the police if something was to happen, it’s just heartbreaking because it’s them they should be calling.
“And 99.9% of police officers, who are good people whose entire existence is to care for people and would risk their lives to do so.
‘It’s a bit of a cliché but when something bad happens, it really is the police that run to it when everyone else is running away and it actually makes me quite sad that the comments are people no longer trust the police.
‘This is the institution I’ve been part of for such a long time and I was proud to be part of it. I always felt if I said I was a police officer, the reaction I got was oh that’s good. To think now people could say I don’t trust you, I find that really quite sad.
‘How we get over that, I hope it’s just time. It’s right that the police do what they are doing. Once people get past the initial trauma, hopefully trust can be restored.
Murder Investigation Team: How Scotland Yard Really Catches a Killer is available in paperback (£8.99) and Kindle format (£4.99).
Steve launched also Murder Academy True Crime Fans will find the first place to get the truth on how murders are dealt with.