| Hateland -
Articles |
30/06/00
- David Copeland: a quiet introvert, obsessed with Hitler
and bombs
Guardian
Nick Hopkins and Sarah Hall examine the events leading
to the capture of London nail bomber
David Copeland, who was today found guilty of the murders
of Andrea Dykes, John Light and Nik Moore
David Copeland's terrifying campaign ended on a quiet
night in a Hampshire town as the dead and maimed were
still being counted from the wreckage of the Admiral Duncan
pub in Soho. Officers from Scotland Yard's Flying Squad
knocked on the door of a house in Sunnybank Road, Cove.
Copeland opened the front door, rubbed his eyes and mumbled:
"Yeah, they were all down to me. I did them on my
own." Any doubts the officers had disappeared when
Copeland led them to his bedroom. Two red-and-black Nazi
flags were hanging on a wall, alongside a macabre collage
of photos and newspaper stories.
The theme was bomb blasts. Copeland was eager to give
detectives a graphic account of how he had made and planted
the three devices. But there was one issue he could not
explain. Why? He was born in Isleworth on May 15, 1976.
Described as introverted but not aggressive by his classmates,
Copeland studied at Yateley comprehensive and passed seven
GSCEs. After leaving school at 16, Copeland drifted into
a few jobs, experimented with drink and drugs and had
a few minor brushes with the police.
After his arrest, Copeland claimed he had been having
sadistic dreams from the age of 12. He had thought about
killing his classmates and had wanted to be reincarnated
as an SS officer. In May 1997, he joined the British National
Party.
A year later, Copeland joined the National Socialist Movement.
In 1998, he was prescribed anti-depressants and told his
GP he was "losing his mind." Nobody doubts Copeland
was suffering from some form of mental illness, but the
severity of the condition was contested.
Five psychiatrists concluded he had been a paranoid schizophrenic
for several years. But this was challenged by prosecutors,
who were under pressure not to concede to his pleas of
guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Another consultant psychiatrist concluded that Copeland
did have a personality disorder but it was not serious
enough for him to avoid a murder charge. With a primed
bomb taped to the inside of a sports bag, Copeland had
taken a taxi to Brixton on Saturday, April 17, 1999. He
left the bag on the corner of Electric Avenue.
It was spotted by nearby street traders, who wondered
if it was a bomb. Just as the police arrived at 5.25pm,
the device exploded. Fifty people were injured. Detectives
began scanning CCTV coverage of Brixton.
The following Saturday, a second explosion took place,
this time in east London. Copeland had left a bomb in
a Head holdall in Hanbury Street but it was spotted by
a member of the public who called the police. "He
was dialling 999 from when the device went off,"
said a source.
Thirteen people were injured. Four days later, police
identified a man in Brixton who had been carrying a Head
sports bag. The CCTV images were given to the media on
Thursday. Copeland decided to bring forward his next attack
by a day. The Admiral Duncan pub was full when walked
in.
He left at 6.05pm and heard the explosion as he walked
back to his hotel. Three people died and four needed amputations.
Twenty-six people suffered serious burns, another 53 were
injured. Eighty minutes before the bomb went off, Paul
Mifsud rang a police hotline to say a work colleague resembled
the man caught on camera.
By 9pm, officers had Copeland's and by midnight, they
were planning a raid on his house. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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