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Delroy Grant: The Night Stalker - How DCI Colin Sutton Caught a Serial Predator - Part 2
In part two of this True Criminals double episode, Martin Brunt and Helen Fospero are joined by retired DCI Colin Sutton to reveal how the hunt for Delroy Grant finally turned after years of failure. Known as the Night Stalker, Grant terrorised vulnerable elderly victims across South London for nearly two decades, committing burglary, rape and sexual assault while evading capture despite leaving DNA at multiple scenes. The investigation, Operation Minstead, became a test of modern policing, with mass screenings, huge suspect lists and mounting public fear. When Sutton took over in 2009, he rejected the DNA led focus and reframed the case as a pattern of burglary, using geographical profiling, behavioural insight and covert surveillance to predict where the offender would strike next.
What followed was a high stakes operation placing officers in hidden observation posts across South East London, leading to the moment Grant was finally caught and identified through DNA. The episode explores his chilling double life as a seemingly kind neighbour and carer hiding a predatory reality, as well as the devastating impact on victims, many of whom lived in lasting fear. Sutton also reflects on a critical missed opportunity in 1999 that allowed hundreds more offences to happen, exposing the consequences of human error in policing. Convicted in 2011 of 29 offences and sentenced to 27 years, Grant’s case remains one of the most disturbing in UK criminal history and a powerful example of how persistence, strategy and leadership can finally bring a serial offender to justice.
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Support the Show
Listen ad free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon at www.patreon.com/truecriminals.
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
Follow True Criminals
Follow us on Instagram at @true.criminals and subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@True-Criminals.
Connect with Martin Brunt
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY.
Connect with Helen Fospero
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575.
Credits
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals for more information.
Executive Producer: Lee Mann.
Producer: Russell Barnes.
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition: BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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By Audio Bleach GlobalIn part two of this True Criminals double episode, Martin Brunt and Helen Fospero are joined by retired DCI Colin Sutton to reveal how the hunt for Delroy Grant finally turned after years of failure. Known as the Night Stalker, Grant terrorised vulnerable elderly victims across South London for nearly two decades, committing burglary, rape and sexual assault while evading capture despite leaving DNA at multiple scenes. The investigation, Operation Minstead, became a test of modern policing, with mass screenings, huge suspect lists and mounting public fear. When Sutton took over in 2009, he rejected the DNA led focus and reframed the case as a pattern of burglary, using geographical profiling, behavioural insight and covert surveillance to predict where the offender would strike next.
What followed was a high stakes operation placing officers in hidden observation posts across South East London, leading to the moment Grant was finally caught and identified through DNA. The episode explores his chilling double life as a seemingly kind neighbour and carer hiding a predatory reality, as well as the devastating impact on victims, many of whom lived in lasting fear. Sutton also reflects on a critical missed opportunity in 1999 that allowed hundreds more offences to happen, exposing the consequences of human error in policing. Convicted in 2011 of 29 offences and sentenced to 27 years, Grant’s case remains one of the most disturbing in UK criminal history and a powerful example of how persistence, strategy and leadership can finally bring a serial offender to justice.
....................................
Support the Show
Listen ad free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon at www.patreon.com/truecriminals.
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
Follow True Criminals
Follow us on Instagram at @true.criminals and subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@True-Criminals.
Connect with Martin Brunt
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY.
Connect with Helen Fospero
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575.
Credits
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals for more information.
Executive Producer: Lee Mann.
Producer: Russell Barnes.
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition: BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices