Life for 'depraved' killer

David Mulcahy at the time of his arrest in 1999

A married father-of-four has been given three life sentences for carrying out a series of rapes and murders in the 1980s.

David Mulcahy was found guilty of the rape and murder of three women, seven more rapes and five counts of conspiracy to rape.

We have listened to the most dreadful accounts of what happened to those women

Michael Hyam
Recorder of London

He planned the attacks with his childhood friend John Duffy - the so-called "railway rapist", who is serving life imprisonment for rape and murder.

Mulcahy had denied being Duffy's accomplice and continued to live a normal life with his wife and children in north London for 18 years.

Duffy, 41, who was jailed in 1988, named Mulcahy as his partner in 15 attacks.

'Wicked soulmates'

The Old Bailey jury of six men and six women took five days to find Mulcahy guilty. He was sentenced to 24 years for the rape offences.

The Recorder of London Judge Michael Hyam said Mulcahy had "sunk to the depths of depravity" in committing the three murders.

Maartje Tamboezer, 15, killed on way to sweetshop

Mulcahy, a 41-year-old builder from Chalk Farm, north London, had planned a number of the attacks in the 1980s with his "wicked soulmate", the jury heard.

Duffy and Mulcahy stalked women at suburban railway stations.

Giving evidence in Mulcahy's trial, Duffy said they had planned their 'hunts' meticulously, considering them "a bit of a game."

'Horrific crimes'

He told the court he became determined to bring his partner to justice, saying he could never forget attacks.

But Mulcahy challenged his childhood friend from the dock, claiming his innocence.

Why don't you just tell the truth and get it over with? I was not there

David Mulcahy

Detective Superintendent Andy Murphy of Hertfordshire police said Mulcahy's jailing meant an end to one of the most horrific series of rapes and murders the UK had ever seen.

"Today's verdict will ensure David Mulcahy will never be able to terrorise the streets of London again," he said.

Alison Day was just 19 when she was killed

"Our thoughts are with the victims of these crimes and those who have had the courage to give evidence in this trial."

The court heard how in July 1984 the pair raped two girls on Hampstead Heath.

He said the two men had laughed about the rapes afterwards while listening to Michael Jackson tapes.

In 1985, the pair turned to murder.

Alison Day, was just 19 years old when she was raped and strangled at Hackney Wick station, east London, in December 1985.

The following April, schoolgirl Maartje Tamboezer, 15, was attacked by the men as she went to the shops to buy sweets.

She too was raped and strangled near her home in Horsley, Surrey.

A month later in May 1986, newly-married LWT employee Anne Lock, 29, was killed by Mulcahy - probably suffocated - as she returned to her home at Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire.