Crimes of necrophiliac killer Fuller ‘could be repeated’, inquiry finds
Harrowing mortuary crimes committed by necrophiliac killer David Fuller, who abused at least 100 deceased women and girls, could be repeated, an inquiry has found.
The final report of the inquiry sparked by his crimes also found that “current arrangements for the regulation and oversight of the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and in significant areas completely absent”.
The maintenance worker sexually abused the bodies of more than 100 women and girls aged between nine and 100 while employed at the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital, in Pembury, between 2005 and 2020.
Speaking as the report was published on Tuesday, chairman Sir Jonathan Michael said the inquiry is the first time that the “security and dignity” of people after death has been reviewed so comprehensively.
He said that the weaknesses that allowed Fuller to offend for so long were not confined to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust where the killer worked.
“I have found examples in other hospital and non-hospital settings across the country.
“The security and dignity of people after death, do not feature in the governance arrangements of many organisations which are caring for the deceased,” Sir Jonathan said.
“I have therefore come to the conclusion that the current arrangements for the regulation and oversight of the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and, in significant areas, completely absent.
“I have asked myself whether there could be a recurrence of the appalling crimes committed by David Fuller. I have concluded that yes, it is entirely possible that such offences could be repeated, particularly in those sectors that lack any form of statutory regulation.”
Fuller was already serving a whole-life sentence for the sexually motivated murders of Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1987 when police uncovered his abuse in hospital mortuaries.
In November 2023, the first phase of the inquiry, which looked at his employer Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, found Fuller was able to offend for 15 years without being caught due to “serious failings” at the hospitals where he worked.
Sir Jonathan said the Government “must” introduce statutory regulations to protect the “security and dignity” of people after death.
He said that “many organisations are failing to explore systemic risks or to ‘think the unthinkable'”.
There was “little regard” given to who was accessing the mortuary, with Fuller visiting 444 times in a year – something that went “unnoticed and unchecked”, the inquiry found.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government will “respond at pace” to the inquiry’s recommendations, by providing an interim update on progress this year and a final response by next summer.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Sir Jonathan said it was the victims’ families which have made him determined for the Government to introduce all the recommendations “as a matter of urgency”.
Reflecting on the inquiry, the chairman said: “The most moving thing is actually how awful the offences were, that Fuller committed, and the impact that has had on his victims and the victims’ families.
“What I’m confident is that the recommendations I’ve made are necessary and required to provide that protection against that risk of further offences being committed.”
Aside from the inquiry’s remit, Sir Jonathan said the families have expressed concern about sentences available under existing legislation to punish crimes such as those committed by Fuller.
He added: “I drew that to the attention of the justice ministry, and there is a Crime and Policing Bill going through Parliament at the moment where changes to the penalties for such offences is proposed.”
In October last year, Sir Jonathan called for urgent regulation of the funeral industry, which he called an “unregulated free-for-all”.
The interim review highlighted alleged incidents including a funeral assistant taking photos of a person being embalmed, of people being left to decompose or covered in mouldy sheets, and the sexual assault of a dead woman by a funeral director in the 1990s.
Warning that the system is fundamentally flawed, he found that due to lack of regulation anyone could set themselves up as a funeral director, work at home and keep bodies in their garages if they wished.
The final report, published on Tuesday, examined various different settings, and found that “gaps and vulnerabilities still exist in the security and governance systems” for NHS hospital mortuaries.
Similar issues were found for NHS body stores, which are not licensed by the Human Tissue Authority.
While the dead are only kept for a short time in independent hospitals, there may be vulnerabilities because of the reliance on senior staff controlling access to the deceased, the report found.
The inquiry found that the current regulatory system is “piecemeal” and there are no organisations which focus solely on protecting the “dignity” of the deceased.
It said: “There is no regulator or regulatory or oversight framework with the overriding objective of protecting the security and dignity of the deceased.”
It added: “The current system of regulation and oversight is partial, piecemeal and not universally mandated in its application to the issues examined by the inquiry.”
The Government recognises the urgency of the concerns raised by the inquiry’s recommendations and will respond at pace
It also recommended the strengthening of governance and security arrangements in hospices and medical education and training, although the inquiry found that donated bodies were treated with “appreciation and respect”.
There is “substantial variation” in local authority mortuaries to ensure the dignity of the dead, with managers who are “overly reliant on technical staff working in the mortuaries”, the report said.
It found one instance where keys were left in locks for coroner service staff to access a mortuary, and other cases of bodies being dropped.
There were “incidences of substantial, and in some cases long-standing, non-compliance with regulatory requirements”.
Some authorities are using non-regulated body stores due to lack of space and do not have mechanisms in place to make sure they are told about serious incidents involving contractors.
Responding to the inquiry, the Health Secretary said in a statement: “Every deceased individual deserves to receive the highest standard of care and dignity.
“The Government will work to ensure this is the case, across all settings, be that in the NHS or other settings including local authority mortuaries, hospices, ambulance services, care homes, funeral homes, and faith organisations.
“The Government recognises the urgency of the concerns raised by the inquiry’s recommendations and will respond at pace.
“This will include an interim update on progress this year and a final response by summer 2026.”
