Serial killer found gay victims online, dumped their bodies in London graveyard

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Jenny Taylor (left) and Donna Taylor (right) accompany their mother Jeanette Taylor, mother of slain Jack Taylor as they deliver a statement to the media outside the Central Criminal Court in London on Wednesday, where serial killer Stephen Port was found guilty on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:22am, 24 Nov 2016Updated: 8:20pm, 24 Nov 2016

A British chef was convicted Wednesday of murdering four young men whom he met online, plied with lethal drug-spiked drinks and raped, then left their bodies in and around a graveyard near his home.

Twelve jurors at London’s Central Criminal Court unanimously found serial killer Stephen Port guilty of three murders, and convicted him of a fourth killing by a majority of 11 to one.

He was also found guilty of 18 other offences, including four rapes and four sex assaults, against several other men who survived their encounters with Port.

Port, 41, denied all the charges against him.

An undated handout custody photograph released by the British Metropolitan Police Service in London shows serial killer Stephen Port following his arrest . Photo: AFP

The UK’s independent police watchdog is investigating why detectives did not initially link the deaths of the four men whose bodies were found near Port’s home in east London over a 15-month period.

Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police conceded that “from the evidence we’ve heard at trial there were potential opportunities that were missed.”

The force said it was re-examining 58 unexplained deaths in London involving the psychoactive drug GHB — which Port gave his victims — over a four-year period to see if any were suspicious.