Crimes of necrophiliac killer David Fuller who abused at least 100 dead women and girls 'could be repeated'
The sickening crimes perpetrated by a necrophiliac murderer who abused the bodies of at least 100 women and girls "could be repeated," an inquiry has found.
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David Fuller sexually abused more than 100 dead women and girls aged between nine and 100 while employed at two Kent hospital mortuaries over 12 years. He also filmed some of the abuse.
The maintenance worker was in prison for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in Kent in 1987 when police uncovered his abuse in hospital mortuaries.
Fuller accessed the morgues using his employee swipe card, choosing times when staff had gone home.
The final report of an inquiry, which was sparked by his crimes, found "current arrangements for the regulation and oversight of the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and in significant areas completely absent".
Inquiry chair Sir Jonathan Michael said: "Despite the lack of legal status for the deceased, we all expect our loved ones, and indeed ourselves, to be looked after with the same security and dignity after death as whilst alive."
He said 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," Sir Jonathan said.
"The security and dignity of people after death, do not feature in the governance arrangements of many organisations which are caring for the deceased.
"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.”
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Fuller was given two life sentences 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.
He also received 16 years for abusing corpses, meaning he will die in prison.
Fuller, from Heathfield, East Sussex, worked at the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital, in Pembury, between 2005 and 2020.
He gained access to morgues using his employee swipe card, choosing times when he knew staff had gone home so the areas were left unattended.
