Manchester’s Serial Killer? Documentary examines canal deaths

LOCALS are convinced a cunning serial killer is pushing people to their watery graves in this city’s canals, and the truth is about to come out.

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A CITY is gripped by fear amid rumours that a serial killer is on the loose.

Dubbed The Pusher by UK media, there is rising speculation that someone is stalking the Greater Manchester’s rivers and canals and responsible for the 85 waterway deaths since 2008.

The claims — repeatedly denied by police — gained prominence in January last year when it was suggested all the deaths could not be a coincidence.

Professor Craig Jackson, head of psychology at Birmingham City University, was quoted in Manchester papers as saying that the number of bodies pulled from the waterways could not all be accidental.

Prof Jackson later said his words were taken out of context and retracted his claim, according to Salford Online, but it was too late for the rumour mill.

Speculation circulated on Twitter that someone was deliberately pushing people to their deaths by drowning, creating an urban mystery that has seen the families of victims come forward demanding answers and placing pressure on authorities to open an investigation.

A documentary, titled Manchester’s Serial Killer?, airs in the UK on Tuesday and explores the truth behind the Twitter rumours.

The documentary features the family of design student Souvik Pal who was pulled from the water in the city’s Bridgewater Canal in January 2013.

Souvik Pal was found dead after a night out in Manchester.

The 18-year-old went missing after enjoying a night out with friends on New Year’s Eve where he was kicked out from the Warehouse Project dance night, The Mirror reported.

CCTV footage showed him with a mystery man that same night.

It is this footage which his father Santanu believes could prove once and for all his son’s death was no accident, or at least provide some clue as to his death.

Santanu Pal, father of Souvik Pal, distributes leaflets appealing for information regarding the whereabouts of his son.

A post-mortem examination revealed he suffered no injuries and the cause of his death was recorded as drowning, the BBC reported.

However, an inquest into his death heard it was still a “mystery” how and where he went into the water.

Witnesses told the inquest the student had consumed alcohol and drugs prior to him leaving the club.

“It needs to be investigated to find out if there is really a serial killer in this case,” Mr Pal told the documentary.

Souvik Pal’s family are not the only ones who believe there is more to their loved one’s death than meets the eye. The family of David Plunkett also claim his death was no accident.

The 21-year-old was found dead in Manchester Ship Canal in 2012 and his family claim they heard “screaming and howling” in his last phone call.

The family of Nathan Tomlinson also believe he was deliberately killed after his body was found in the River Irwell in 2011 with his coat, phone, passport and wallet missing.

A sign on Manchester’s Canal Street, which runs along the Rochdale Canal, warns of the “significant risk” of falling into the water.

Glass and metal barriers sit on top of the low stone wall, preventing it from being used as a seat from where you could topple backwards.

According to Salford Online, 85 bodies have been pulled from Greater Manchester’s canals, rivers, lakes and ponds since 2008.

Of these about 60 have been recovered from the city’s canals alone.

Nathan Tomlinson, found dead in a Manchester canal. Picture: Supplied

In a press release issued last year, Channel 4 said its documentary by filmmaker Darren Lovell aimed to explore the “truth behind the Twitter rumours pointing to this alleged serial murderer”.

“Meeting the bereaved looking for answers and the experts placing pressure on authorities to open an investigation, this complex film explores the facts at the heart of a 21st Century urban mystery,” it said.

Manchester’s canals are beautiful but do they hold a deadly secret?

In a 2015 interview with theManchester Evening News writer Thomas Sheridan said he remained convinced some of the deaths were the work of a serial killer or killers.

The researcher, who specialises in psychopathy, said he believed the deaths could be the work of a psychopath or “extremely disturbed individual” who has an excellent knowledge of the city’s streets and waterways.

Sheridan, who visited the city as part of his research, said he was followed by a tall man in a hood and it was terrifying.

He also speculated the “killer could be targeting gay men, or those he believes are gay, in a bid to assuage his own homosexual guilt”.

Canal Street is the centre of the Manchester Gay Village and is lined with gay bars and restaurants.

But Greater Manchester Police Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson dismissed the social media speculation and told Salford Online last year the most important thing for police was looking after the victims’ families.

“People have sadly lost loved ones in such circumstances and this (documentary) will have brought it all back to them, which is the most upsetting thing,” he said.

“I am satisfied that there is no evidence whatsoever of a serial killer.”