| Hateland -
Articles |
01/07/00
- How we nailed him
The Mirror
Exclusive by Gary Jones
THE MIRROR today reveals how we tricked David Copeland
into admitting he was bad not mad. As he awaited trial,
the bomber poured out his private thoughts to a woman
penfriend named Miss Patsy Scanlon.
But he was replying to letters sent by The Mirror. We
handed his notes to detectives and they were introduced
as evidence at his Old Bailey trial. One officer said
last night: "The letters are fascinating and tell
a lot about Copeland.
They show someone who had no great belief in some sick
cause, but a person who craved fame at any price. "Copeland
conies across as the sad, pathetic, lonely individual
he really is."
The killer was sent a photo chosen at random of a dark-haired
Russian, in her early 20s, who had advertised in a dating
agency for marriage to a partner in the West.
Copeland fell in love with the penfriend he believed wanted
to understand why he carried out his bombing campaign.
Over 12 months he wrote dozens of letters from Belmarsh
jail in London and Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.
Copeland admitted faking mental illness so he could escape
prison and live an easier life at Broadmoor. He said:
"I can't believe that I have fooled all the doctors.
"This place is a joke and so are the doctors. They
think they are clever, but they are as stupid as the fools
in here."
Trying to justify his crimes, he claimed: "I am no
monster but some kind of terrorist, someone who puts themselves
forward for his beliefs." Copeland eagerly awaited
letters from "Patsy" and pinned her photo above
his cell bed.
In one letter he said: "At night I stare at that
photo you sent and wonder what would have happened if
I didn't do what they say I've done, the only good thing
is that I've met you." Another time Copeland wrote:
"I just sit down and write to you, spilling my mind
out on the paper.
It is frustrating for me as well, not being able to phone
you as since writing to you I have become madly in love
with you, having you on my mind all day and night."
The bomber's letters are full of spelling mistakes and
errors of grammar.
He fantasises about the "Bonny and Clyde" life
he could have with his love, tries to justify his warped
beliefs by quoting from the Bible, and writes childish
verse. One effort read: In the morning the sun might shine
and I know that one day you'll be mine You know you 're
really the best I can't wait to nuzzle your breast.
Despite his own Nazi views, Copeland says he held far
right organisations like the British National Party in
contempt. He told Patsy how he was pictured in The Mirror
with former BNP leader John Tyndall.
"I was a member of the BNP for a very short time,"
he says. "I joined more for my curiosity." Copeland
pleaded: "Promise me Patsy that you will never forget
about me as you are the only good thing left in my life."
He only discovered that his penfriend did not exist just
before the trial. The killer hung his head in the dock
as the letters were introduced as evidence. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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