Michael Lupo

Michele del Marco Lupo (19 January 1953 – 12 February 1995) was a serial killer originally from Italy, who was active in the UK. His most notable role was as branch manager at Yves Saint Laurent boutique in Brompton Road, London during the 1980s.

History

James George Burns On 16 March 1986, the body of 37-year-old James Burns was found strangled and partially clothed in the derelict basement of 32 Warwick Road, Kensington, London. Burns was a British rail train guard and worked at London's Liverpool Street station. The investigation made little progress because there was no obvious link between a perpetrator and the dead man. Although two witnesses came forward confirming James spent the day drinking and ended up meeting Lupo at The Coleherne Pub in Earls Court. Burns and Lupo were seen leaving together and getting into a taxi outside the pub.

Kevin McDonagh (Survived) After appeals made by the police and celebrities like Kenny Everett regarding the murder of James Burns, 31-year-old Kevin McDonagh on Oxford Street with a salary of £12,000 pa. At the time of his arrest, detectives established Lupo had been fired from Stravaganza only weeks earlier.

Lupo was originally from the village of Monte Donato, Bologna, Italy and had completed his national service in the Italian Bersaglieri, 22nd unit before coming to London in 1974.

The British tabloid press once or twice tried to dub Lupo "The Wolf Man" ("lupo" means "wolf" in Italian) but it never stuck or took off. He was occasionally referred to as the 'Silk Strangler' or 'Gay Executioner' but these never stuck nor took off. And while many gay men of the time recall the murders, Lupo and his crimes never really gained notoriety.

On 21 May, Lupo was charged with two other recent killings, those of hotel receptionist Damien McCloskey, who had been strangled in West London, and an unidentified man, who was murdered near Hungerford Bridge over the Thames. In addition to these four murders, Lupo was also charged with the attempted murder of Mark Leyland.

On 10 July 1987, at the Old Bailey, Lupo was sentenced to four life sentences, plus 14 years. Lupo had pleaded guilty to all charges.

Lupo had been remanded in Brixton Prison and then Frankland Prison after sentencing.

There were investigations in cities Lupo had visited in the early 1980s, such as New York City, Berlin and Los Angeles, to see if he was responsible for unsolved homicides in those locations, although no evidence of any further crimes committed by Lupo came to light.

AIDS and death On 12 February 1995, Lupo died in Frankland Prison, County Durham from AIDS. An AIDS death is always due to an AIDS-related complication but his death certificate merely states "AIDS" with no post-mortem to establish the actual cause of death.

Detectives investigating believe Lupo's HIV diagnosis had led to a "callous rationale" and an "urge to kill" in an act of revenge. However, Lupo denied this given he stated he too only learned of his HIV diagnosis upon entering custody after his arrest whereby in 1986 compulsory AIDS testing was underway given the spread of AIDS in UK Prisons. Detectives also conceded that this theory was too neat and further, there was no record of Lupo having undertaken an HIV test prior to his arrest. Lupo maintained his motive for killing was his feeling of being abused by friends and society and not AIDS.

He spent the last years of his life in a prison hospital.