UK serial killer with 11 known victims could be released next month, MP thinks lack of notoriety will free him

Patrick Mackay, a cold-blooded psychopath who gave himself the nickname of the Devil's Disciple is a serial killer with multiple victims in the 1970s. He has been behind bars for 47 years, UK's longest-serving prisoner, but could be set free next month.

In 1975, Mackay was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for three murders. He butchered two elderly women in London and stabbed and bludgeoned Kent vicar Father Anthony Crean to death with an axe. The vicar's murder was committed after Mackay used water torture on him in a bath for an hour.

The serial killer initially confessed to eight other murders, including a 17-year-old au pair who he stabbed and threw off a train but he later withdrew his admission. These admissions remain on file with the police.

As the serial killer's potential release draws near, MP Gareth Johnson believes that the public has forgotten this killer and will help Mackay be released back into the world. He said: "The public aren't aware of Patrick Mackay and they should be, they really should be."

The Sun obtained an excerpt of Mackay's 60-page confession. The killer said: "I was classified as a psychopath but without mania. I have always believed I have not just the problem of being a psychopath on its own but with psychopathic mania. I believe no one can judge one's mind better than oneself, since the mind is such a complex machine."

Patrick Mackay has since changed his name to David Groves and in November, a planned parole board hearing saw the board ordering new reports from psychiatrists, jail staff and probation officers, much to the "fury" of the convicted killer.

Crime historian Nell Darby remarked: "He's had 40-odd years to be rehabilitated and we don't know whether that's going to have worked unless he is freed. It is like a game of Russian roulette. If you keep him locked up, you're never going to know."