Following the premier episode of the second drama on the serial killer, viewers expressed outrage at the inability of police to identify the victims of Stephen Port’s ‘Grindr murderer’.
Four Lives, which aired on BBC1, last night, tells of the terrible stories of Anthony Walgate (Gabriel Kovari), Daniel Whitworth (and Jack Taylor) and their family and friends fighting for justice for the loved ones they lost to Port.
Port is played by Stephen Merchant. Port met his victims online, on dating apps and in person. Then he lured them to Barking, east London. There, he drugged them and then raped them and murdered them.
The episode’s opening minutes featured Mr Walgate, a Hull-based fashion student who was 23 years old. Port called 999 to report the death, but the police didn’t take the case seriously.
Port was later charged with perverting a course of justice. He claimed Mr Walgate had overdosed from consensual sex and that he died. Port was on police bail when he raped, killed, and then sex with Gabriel Kovari (22), a Slovakian male who was living at his flat.
Sheridan Smith played Sarah Sak, Mr Walgate’s mom. She pressed police for seriousness about her son’s suicide and was certain that this wasn’t an accident. At the end of episode, she had learned that Mr Kovari was dead and suggested they were both murdered.
In the last moments of the episode, her police liaison officer asserts that there is no way to link what happened to your child to other deaths, Mrs Saks.
This happens weeks later An inquest into Port’s deaths revealed that there were ‘fundamental errors’ made when examining Anthony Walgate’s demise. Jack Taylor, Daniel Whitworth, and Gabriel Kovari all died.
Following the debut of a drama series about the serial killer, viewers became outraged at how the police failed to identify the two first victims of Stephen Port’s “Grindr killer” murderer. Sheridan Smith plays Sarah Sak (pictured), the mother of Anthony Walgate’s first victim. She was sure from the beginning that her son’s murder was intentional.
Officers DC Slaymaker and Det. Sqt. Sqt.
The episode’s opening minutes featured Anthony Walgate, a Hull fashion student at 23. Port called 999 to report the body but police did not take him seriously. Tim Preston portrays Anthony
The viewers were shocked at how homophobia drove the failures of police officers in this episode, which was an observation that is shared by victim’s families in real life.
Viewers were shocked by how homophobia drove the failures of police officers in this episode, which was also the view shared by victim’s families.
Officers DC Slaymaker (a real officer played by Michael Jibson) and Det. Sqt. O’Donnell and Ben Cartwright are seen apparently latching on to the fact that Anthony met Joe Dean, an alias Port used for sexual sex after meeting him through an escort.
The victims had poppers at his apartment and they repeatedly referred to this fact as a link to their death.
One of Anthony’s friends was also turned down by the officers for offering valuable details, including his number and information about the man that he had made arrangements to meet.
One viewer wrote: “It is frightening that the police decide which victims are worthy of their time by their prejudice #FourLives.”
Another commented: “The police could stop this after an innocent boy died but their incompetence led to the deaths of three other people. #FourLives.’
Another wrote that he was amazed at the casual, dismissive, prejudiced and demeaning way in which the police dealt with this case. It makes him feel as if these were events from decades back, not just a matter of a few months.
Episode 1 opens with Anthony’s funeral and his mother Mrs Sak trying to obtain information from DC Slaymaker (her police liaison officer).
After finding Anthony on an escort-site, she called Anthony’s friends to ask for their help and then went to Hull to see her local MP, who managed to push some London support.
Anthony was still not allowed to be released, and Anthony complained that there had been insufficient transparency from the police.
Port was eventually taken into police custody and questioned by officers. They learned that he had been in contact with Mr Walgate just before his death.
Port had lied to officers and was charged with perverting the course justice. He claimed Mr Walgate died accidentally from overdosing on consensual sex.
As in real life, Mr Walgate was found dead outside Port’s apartment in last night’s episode.
Port, played by Stephen Merchant (right), first met his victims on the internet and through dating apps. He then lured them into his Barking home, east London. After drugging and raping their bodies, he dumped them nearby.
Mrs Sak (played by Sheridan Smith, above) took it upon herself to find Anthony on an escort site (above), phoned his friends for information and went to her local MP in Hull, who was able to lobby some support in London
Mrs Sak and Anthony’s entire family had to accept his passing.
Port was eventually taken into police custody and questioned by officers. They learned that he had been in contact with Mr Walgate just before his death. The scene of the police questioning.
The Metropolitan Police spent £25,000 and 980 man-hours on the investigation – but crucially never opened a murder investigation.
Port assaulted and murdered Gabriel Kovari while he was on bail from the police
Gabriel was introduced as a character last night. He was seen moving into Port Barking’s flat following his discovery of the listing via a couch surfing site.
Port’s former flatmate, and Port’s neighbor tried to get in touch with him when they became concerned about his whereabouts.
A dogwalker found his body in a cemetery, 400 meters from Port’s apartment.
Port assaulted and murdered Gabriel Kovari while he was on bail from the police. Gabriel was introduced as a character last night. He was seen moving into Port Barking’s flat, after having found the listing via a couch-surfing website. Right, Jakub Svec plays Gabriel in Four Lives
After becoming concerned about Gabriel’s whereabouts, Gabriel’s ex-flatmate and Port’s neighbor (above) try to get in touch with him.
Gabriel’s body was discovered by a dogwalker in a graveyard, just 400 yards from Port’s flat. Below is the scene in Four Lives where Gabriel’s corpse was discovered.
Mrs Sak suggested the link and made the connection to her liaison officer. However, she was dismissively dismissed.
This three-part series, which continues tonight, will explain how within a month following Mr Kovari’s passing, Mr Whitworth was discovered in the exact same graveyard by the dog walker.
Port left Mr Whitworth a false suicide note. It stated that Mr Whitworth accidentally killed Mr Kovari after giving him a high dose of GHB in a sex session.
He continued to write that the note said: “Please don’t blame me for being with him last night. I had only sex and then left.” He does not know anything about what I’ve done.
The note was accepted by police at face value, and they did not verify that it corresponded to Mr Whitworth’s handwriting. The police also didn’t look into Mr Whitworth’s last movements, and did not attempt to track ‘the guy with me last night.
Port’s three first victims were found in a sitting position, their clothing pulled up so that their stomachs could be exposed. This was due to the bodies being dragged.
Port was finally captured in October 2015. His fourth victim Jack Taylor had done his own research. Police were shown striking similarities between Taylor’s death and his three previous murders.
Port was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in November 2016 at the Old Bailey.
The inquest that examined all four deaths concluded last month. It found that there were ‘fundamental mistakes’ made when looking at Anthony Walgate’s death. These errors ‘probably’ led to the deaths of three other men.
Amidst homophobic allegations by police officers, the jury was informed that they cannot consider prejudice on legal grounds.
The relatives of the victims claimed that they are irritated by the way the police dismissed their complaint.
‘Our firmly held belief is that the Metropolitan Police’s actions were, in part, driven by homophobia. Had four, white, heterosexual girls been found dead in the same manner as Anthony, Gabriel, Daniel and Jack, then the police’s actions, and the likely outcomes, would have been different,’ they said in a statement.
Met Police stated that the managers of the nine officers with performance problems were able to properly deal with them.
Helen Ball, the Met’s Assistant Commissioner, apologized for the Met’s mistake but insisted that it was not homophobic.
She stated that she didn’t believe in institutional homophobia. Our officers don’t seem to have homophobia. All sorts of mistakes were made in our investigation. It was truly awful.