A documentary with over 250 hours of exclusive private recordings from the Fraserburgh serial killer’s prison cell hits Netflix today.
Just under an hour-and-a-half long, the documentary will narrate Nilsen’s life and explore how he was able to kill more than a dozen young men in the 1970s and 1980s, disposing of their bodies under the floorboards of his own home.
The Netflix production marks the first time Nilsen’s horrific crimes have been recalled for the public using his own voice.
Interviews with police, journalists, survivors and bereaved families will also help to narrate the events.
It will give true crime buffs a chance to unravel the truth behind how the killer lured young men back to his flat before strangling them to death.
Nilsen’s crimes
The murderer killed as many as 15 young men – many of which were homeless homosexuals – before burying their bodies under the floorboards in his own north London flat.
Arrested at the age of 37, his crimes were only discovered when a drain outside his Muswell Hill home became blocked by human remains he had tried to flush away.
He was jailed for life in 1983, with a recommendation to serve a minimum of 25 years, for six counts of murder and two of attempted murder.
Death and confessions ‘beyond the grave’
Two years before his death at age 72, Nilsen revealed in a series of letters to The Press and Journal why he never challenged or appealed his sentence.
He wrote: “I will not lodge any appeal for release from prison as I owe it to my victims and to justice to serve out whatever time has been allocated to me.
“I have never even thought about lodging an appeal against conviction or sentence and I have always felt this way since day one and nothing has changed in this.”
He also confessed to more murders from “beyond the grave” in a book released earlier this year, which was written based on notes he documented while serving his time in the high security prison.
Des
It’s not the first time Nilsen’s crimes have been brought to the small screen as interest in the Aberdeenshire-born killer rose to prominence when the ITV drama ‘Des’ aired in 2020.
The broadcasters biggest drama launch of the year starring Doctor Who actor David Tennant broke viewing records for ITV.
The series was told from the perspective of Nilsen, who died in prison in 2018 at the age of 72.