TREVOR JOSEPH HARDY "THE BEAST OF MANCHESTER"

Written by Amanda Wood

Trevor Joseph Hardy became known as "The Beast of Manchester" after the murder of three teenage girls in the Manchester area, between 1974-1976. Trevor Hardy was born on 11th June 1945 in Newton Heath, Manchester. He was brought up by a well-respected working-class family in an area of terraced houses where all the children knew each other and played together in the streets. Trevor was the second youngest of four children. It became apparent very early on that Trevor was the black sheep of the family. The birth of Trevor's younger brother Colin seemed to spark the start of Trevor's uncontrollable bad behaviour. In primary school Trevor

Trevor Hardy with the police.

Hardy began to bully his classmates, this soon led onto theft and burgling homes and businesses where he would aim to take cash rather than personal possessions, minimising his links to the crime and already working out "how to get away with it". Local people soon began to lock their doors as Hardy was well known in the area. He spent much of his early life locked up in institutions, borstal and approved schools but kept escaping. In order to keep him detained, at age 15 he became the youngest person to be locked up in Manchesters Strangeways adult prison.

This behaviour continued through the years and Trevor became increasingly more violent and volatile with age, he was a ticking time bomb, unpredictable, feared and well known for all the wrong reasons. "A trouble maker with a short fuse" handy with his fists and very quick to use them especially after a few drinks.

As a teenager, Hardy shot another young lad in the head with an air rifle. As his violence escalated, he began to carry a knife. In an unprovoked attack, he approached a man head butting him in the face then stabbed him in the leg narrowly missing an artery. Hardy was actually hailed a hero during 1972 when he rescued a couple from a burning building. This was short-lived however when it was found that Trevor Hardy started the fire. Hardy committed another brutal attack in 1972, assaulting a man with a pickaxe in a dispute over a round of drinks. He served 5 years in the Isle of Wight's, Albany prison. Walking free on the 18th November 1974. Hardy already had murder in mind and within weeks would commit his first brutal murder.

Hardy's first known murder victim was Janet Lesley Stuart, age 15 whom he mistook for a schoolgirl named Beverley with whom he had a friendship and was infatuated with. He was out looking for revenge on Beverley as she had told Hardy of her new boyfriend.

Janet Lesley Stuart

Janet Lesley Stuart had been dropped off in Newton Heath and was on her way to meet her boyfriend for a works party. Unfortunately, she bumped into the vengeful Hardy who stabbed her in the throat killing her on New Years Eve 1974. Hardy then took her in his car and buried her in a shallow grave in a clay pit in Newton Heath. In a morbid twist, the psychopath returned with an axe numerous times over the following months to dismember the body. he removed the young girls head and tossed it into a lake, her hands and feet were also removed and buried elsewhere in the vicinity. A ring was even removed from the dead girl's finger to give to a new love interest.

During this period Trevor Hardy began a serious relationship and fell in love with an older lady Shelagh Farrow.

Hardy's second victim was 17-year-old Wanda Skala who was murdered on 17th July 1975 on Lightbowne Road, Morton as she walked home from the Lightbowne Hotel, where she worked. Just minutes away from home, Wanda was bludgeoned repeatedly over the head with a brick shattering her skull and leaving her in an unrecognisable state, she was strangled with her own clothing, her socks tied around her neck. The brutal monster then proceeded to mutilate her body biting off one of her nipples and leaving his teeth marks embedded on her skin. her body was then stripped and left lying on her back arms and legs outstretched and partially buried under bricks and cardboard.

Wanda Skala

The following day she was spotted by a passer-by, her bare legs sticking out from beneath the pile of bricks and cardboard covering her torso. It was thought that Wanda's eyes were missing and police searched the vicinity, later they were discovered embedded in her torso. Hardy kept her blood-stained clothes and handbag as macabre trophies, he returned to the gruesome site the following day when the police had gone and left her shoes at the scene, possibly to taunt police and this would make him feel he was in control of the situation. Seven days after the murder Hardy and girlfriend Shelagh insisted on meeting his brother Colin in the Albian pub in Middleton for a drink. Hardy bragged to his brother about the murder saying "I did it", that night they all returned to Colin's home, things turned nasty and Hardy attacked Colin beating him unconscious.  The following morning Colin contacted the police and Trevor was arrested. However Hardy had already concocted an alibi with his girlfriend. Shelagh told police he had been with her the evening of the murder. While in custody, Hardy dramatically filed down his teeth with a nail file which had been smuggled into his cell in a bid to not be incriminated by the bite marks he had left on his victim.
Unfortunately, due to alibi given to him by his girlfriend and no other evidence to go off, Hardy was freed by the police. He'd gotten away with murder and would soon claim his third victim, much to the horror of his brother Colin, who now feared for his own safety.

Sharon Mosoph

Sharon Mosoph was aged 17 when she became Hardy's third victim. In March of 1976, Sharon was returning home from a work's party. She was seen getting off the bus at the bus stop by the Rochdale Canal a short distance from her home, sadly she would never make it to her front door. Shortly after getting off the bus, Sharon chanced upon a man attempting to break into her place of work and challenged him. Unfortunately for the young girl the man she had just crossed paths with was none other than Trevor Hardy. Hardy strangled Sharon with her own tights, she was also beaten badly around the head and had bite marks on her body, one of her nipples had been bitten completely off by the grotesque serial killer.  It was later found that Hardy had thrown Sharon into the canal, then had an afterthought, he decided to jump back into the canal to mutilate the areas where he had bitten her, to removed evidence. The next day Sharon's body was found in the canal by someone who worked at a nearby dairy. There had been a keen frost that night and Sharon's body was secured in the cold frozen water of Rochdale Canal.  Police Frogmen was seen retrieving her body from the Canal.

A huge murder hunt was launched to find the "Monster." Police linked the murders of Sharon Mosoph and Wanda Skala and realised they were now looking for a serial killer.

Realising that his days were numbered, a desperate Hardy went on the run. He lived in quarries, railway tunnels and on canal banks. During this time he also violently assaulted a woman in a nightclub toilet.

Trevor Hardy's girlfriend Shelagh Farrow recanted her previous statement she made to the police and informed them that the alibi she had given him was a lie.

Trevor Joseph Hardy was eventually apprehended in August 1976 for the murder of two girls, Wanda and Sharon. However, during his interviews, he also admitted to the murder of his first victim Janet Lesley Stuart. He showed no remorse as he led police to her burial site.

During the trial, Hardy sacked his QC and conducted his own defence, attempting to get a lesser charge of manslaughter. This was not accepted by the court and Hardy was found guilty on all three counts and sentenced to three life sentences. The killer never accepted his guilt and therefore showed no remorse.

Trevor Hardy appeared in high court once again in 2008 to settle the terms for his life sentence. Hardy asked for his minimum term to be set at 30 years, however, this was rejected by the judge. Mr Justice Teare remarked that "the utterly wicked" Hardy would serve a whole life sentence and die behind bars as the evidence had shown "sexual or sadistic conduct" and there were no "mitigating features".

Whilst in prison Hardy contacted Sharon Mosoph's family by letter and proceeded to blame his upbringing and parents for the way he had turned out. He never accepted the blame for his crimes and showed no remorse. On September 25th, 2012 Trevor Hardy collapsed in his cell at Wakefield prison after suffering a massive heart attack at the age of 67. He had been incarcerated for 35 years at the time of his death.

These are truly heart wrenching crimes, three young girls taken from this world in such horrific circumstances. Their families have been subjected to a lifetime of loss and torment. Sharon's life could have been spared if Hardy had remained in custody after the first arrest. I do wonder if Hardy had other victims, I find it hard to believe Janet Lesley Stuart was his first murder due to the viciousness of the murder and dismemberment of the body. Hardy seemed to know what he was doing and obviously got sexual gratification from the killings.

THE EAST LANCS RIPPER PART 1

Written by Scott Williams-Collier

PART 1


The A580 or as it is better known locally in the North West "East Lancs Road" is the first purpose-built inner-city highway in the UK. It links the city's of Liverpool and Salford and was built to provide better access between The Port Of Liverpool and industrial areas in East Lancashire around Manchester. The road was officially opened on 18th July 1934 by King George V.

Being born in the small mining town of Leigh situated just under 12 miles away from Salford, the East Lancs Road is one I am very familiar with and one I have used thousands of times over the years. The road is used by thousands of vehicles every day and gives great access to Liverpool, Salford and all the other towns situated along its path, as well as quick easy access to the M6 Motorway. However, it's a road which has links to a much darker story, one that shocked a nation and terrified the local communities!

On the 18th of October in the afternoon of 1988, an elderly couple pulled over on a remote road, Winick Lane in Lowton a short journey just outside Leigh. The couple had stopped to stretch their legs after a long car journey. While there they discovered a naked body dumped in a ditch in the farmer's field by the side of the road. They raised the alarm and alerted the police to their terrifying discovery. The body was that of Liverpool prostitute Linda Donaldson; she had been horribly mutilated, her breasts had been removed and an attempt had been made to take off her head.  The prostitute had two stab wounds to her back and seven others around the body. It must have been a terrible and macabre sight for the police officers that arrived on the scene.

Linda Donaldson

The murder shocked the town of leigh. I vividly remember my father speaking to my stepmother about the crime and seeing it on TV and in the papers. I distinctly remember the shock, fear and intrigue I felt, which was almost tangible, on learning of such a horrifying crime happening so close to home. In fact, it is one of the reasons why I believe I became so fascinated with the topic of true crime, in particular, serial killers and unsolved murders.

Linda was last seen on the corner of Canning Street in Liverpool at around 1.30 am on Tuesday 18th October. She was observed by a friend walking towards a dark car which was pulling into back Cannington Street. That would be the last time anyone would ever see Linda alive again.

At the time Linda Donaldson's body was found in the farmer's field there was a TV dramatisation of Jack the Ripper starring Michael Caine on TV, marking the 100th anniversary of the Whitechapel Murders. Police believed that the program had perhaps inspired the killer who they described as a maniac to commit this gruesome murder. Now although I agree certain material can sometimes serve as fuel for someone with an antisocial deviant personality, it's not the reason for someone committing a violent offence. At the end of the day if you are that way inclined you will go out and offend regardless of what material you look at. Having good morals and empathy for other human beings can never be undermined by looking at certain types of material.

Det Cheif Supt Ken Clarke of Greater Manchester Police said "we are looking for a maniac, a sadistic killer who could strike again. The type of man who could do this to another human defies description." Now the Detective was definitely correct on one thing; the killer would strike again. However, the perpetrator certainly is not a maniac. This is an individual who is cold, calculating, organised and forensically aware.

A Maroon Ford Granada was spotted parked at the location where Linda's body was discovered at around 5:45 am and was still there an hour later. Police requested that the owner of this vehicle come forward to give evidence as they may have seen something.  As the owner of the vehicle never came forward it's very likely that this was the killer's car.

Just a little over two years later, Det Cheif Supt Ken Clarks worst fears came true, when the dismembered body of prostitute Maria Requena was found in five bin bags stuffed inside a bed mattress just over three miles away at Pennington Flash nature reserve. The body parts were discovered by John Faulkner and his son who were out fishing at the west side of the lake near Slag

Maria Christina Requena

Lane car park. Maria had been strangled then dismembered, her clothes were also missing.

The last positive sighting of Maria was on New Years Day 1991 by one of her friends Debbie at around 10:15 pm. As Debbie was getting into a punters car, she said "see you later" to Maria and watched her walking away towards Canal Street in Manchester. That's the last time Debbie would see her friend again.

There are striking similarities in both the cases of Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena. They were both prostitutes, they were both picked up in cities (either end of the East Lancs Road in Liverpool and Manchester), brutally murdered then deposited in quiet rural areas a few miles apart, and all their clothes were missing. In both crimes, a knife was used. Linda Donaldson was killed with stab wounds and then horribly mutilated. Maria Requena was strangled and then dismembered. It's quite feasible that the killer may have intended to dismember Linda Donaldson too, but was disturbed during the process and decided to mutilate the corse instead and leave her dumped in the farmer's field. There are several reasons why a serial killer would mutilate and dismember a corpse. The most obvious is that mutilation and dismemberment make it harder for the body to be identified, dismembered will also make it easier to transport and conceal the body. We must also remember with deviant sociopaths who have the compulsion to kill, that everything in their violent behaviour is about power and control, something they never had in childhood. Being able to mutilate and dismember a corpse gives them ultimate power and control over the victim's body, it allows the murderer to unleash their rage and anger and demonstrate the power and control they have over the victim. I believe being able to do this and defile the victim's humanity is sexually gratifying and stimulating to the killer. I believe that Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena were killed by the same killer

There is at least one other crime close to the East Lancs Road which I now believe is linked to the murders of Linda and Maria. That is the 1994 murder of prostitute Julie Finley. Julie was last seen

Julie Finley.

alive at about 10:30 pm on Friday, August 5th 1994 near the rear of the Royal Liverpool Hospital. She was last seen in this area speaking to an unknown white male of average build and height in his 20s to 30s. The day after Julie's naked body was found dump in a carrot Field by a cyclist near the Rainford By-Pass about 4.4 miles from the East Lancs Road. Julie had been strangled.

Not long after the murder someone claiming to be Julie's friend called "Tina", called the police and informed them that Julie had said she was going to meet a taxi driver from Prescot. Tina promised the police that she would call back in to speak to them, but she never did.

Someone fitting Julie's description was seen outside the Wheatsheaf pub arguing with a white male who was trying to drag her into a white van on the evening she vanished. It's quite possible she went to the pub with the suspect. The day after she was found dead in a nearby carrot field.

It's quite possible that the suspect's attack was more of a spontaneous attack on Julie which is why she was quickly dumped and left in the nearby carrot field without any dismemberment or mutilations taking place. We must remember that serial killers don't always follow the exact same modus
operandi in every murder as well. What does ring true in these three cases is that they were all prostitutes, enticed into a vehicle in an urban area, murdered, then dumped in a quiet rural area and had all their belongings and clothes removed. They were all dumped close to the East Lancs Road. Linda Donaldson was killed with stab wounds, both Maria Requena and Julie Finley were killed by strangulation. In the murder of Maria Requena, the murderer obviously had more time to dismember her body.

Disposition sites of Linda, Maria and Julie

In the next part of this series of blogs on the East Lancs Ripper, we will look into the case further and at a possible suspect who the police should look into. I will be using material which was well researched and very kindly provided to me by ex-Police Officer and published author Chris Clark.

To be continued................