A terrifying sex attacker nicknamed ‘The Fox’ who went on a crime spree 40 years ago was caught partially due to his North East accent.
Malcolm Fairley, who was from Sunderland and also lived in Peterlee, County Durham, committed a series of burglaries, rapes and serious sexual assaults across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire during 1984. He was dubbed ‘The Fox’ because he broke in and built dens in the homes of his victims before escaping through the countryside.
The then-32-year-old would then commit crimes such as rape and indecent assault while masked and brandishing a shotgun. In response to his attacks, police sent hundreds of officers onto the streets in what become one of the country’s biggest manhunts.
Officers managed to narrow the search using two pieces of vital information – Fairley had a northern accent and he drove a harvest yellow Austin Allegro. He was caught and sentenced to six life sentences for his crimes at St Albans Crown Court in 1985.
Fairley became eligible for release when his tariff ended in 2000 and he has applied for parole three times. The Parole Board considered his case in October 2018, July 2022 and October 2023 but refused to release him from prison on each occasion.
Fairley’s crimes have recently been featured in a Channel 5 documentary called The Intruder: He’s Watching You From Within, which was released last month.
Attacks
Bedfordshire Live has reported how Fairley was originally from Wearside but moved down south to take on labouring jobs. He initially lived in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire before moving to London.
Fairley committed over 80 crimes during the summer of 1984 including rapes, serious sexual assaults and burglaries.
‘The Fox’ targeted both men and women, old and young – tying victims up and sexually assaulting them. In other instances he entered homes while residents were out. He set up dens using blankets and furniture, watched TV and looked through photos and clothes.
His first serious crime took place on April 11 in Linslade, a quiet suburb of Leighton Buzzard. Fairley broke into a house in the night and attempted to sexually assault a 74-year-old woman who was sleeping in her bed.
This soon developed into a pattern as residents in towns in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire woke up in the night to a masked man in their house brandishing a shotgun.
In one instance he shot a man in the hand while he was in bed. In another attack in Edlesborough he sexually assaulted two young men, aged 17 and 21, and a girl of 18.
Two of the attacks also took place in Peterlee, back in Fairley’s native North East.
Manhunt
The manhunt for Fairley was one of the biggest the country had ever seen. Bedfordshire Police invested £200,000 into the manhunt and set up an incident room in Dunstable Police Station.
Bedfordshire Live said police responded to these attacks by sending hundreds of officers onto the streets, including armed units. But despite the heavy police presence the attacks didn’t let up.
During the Yorkshire Ripper manhunt in 1981 police had so many files in their incident room that they had to reinforce the floor to hold the weight of them all.
Bedfordshire Police decided to make use of a new piece of technology, a computer they nicknamed ‘Metal Micky’.
Northern accent
Police managed to narrow the search using two pieces of vital information. The first was that ‘The Fox’ had a northern accent.
The second was that he drove a harvest yellow Austin Allegro – information they gained from a scratch on a tree he had hit while making an escape. This led police to start making enquiries into Fairley and officers attended his workplace in London.
In the boot of his Austin Allegro they found jean material from which he was cutting out masks, as well as screwdrivers that matched those used to break into houses. Officers arrested him there and then, just days after his latest attack.
It emerged that he was a married man with three children and had been living a sinister second life without his family knowing.
During Fairley’s sentencing hearing, his actions were described by the judge at St Albans Crown Court in 1985 as “wickedness beyond condemnatory description”. He was ordered to serve six life sentences for his offences.
Parole
Fairley’s tariff ended in 2000 and he became eligible for release. He applied for parole in October 2018, July 2022 and October 2023 but was refused release from prison.
The Parole Board said that during the last parole review he received a refusal of release by way of a paper review in October 2023. They said his case hasn’t been referred back to them since then.
In relation to the most recent decision, a spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Malcolm Fairley following a paper review. The panel also refused to recommend a move to open prison.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority. Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.”
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/twisted-burglar-rapist-nicknamed-the-29083970
