Body parts in Singapore led to the capture of John Martin Scripps, a killer with ties to the Isle of Wight, revealing shocking crimes.
The head and arms were missing, staying lost in the water. Two days before, a woman called, fearing for her husband, George Lowe, who went to Singapore to shop. Now, she had to identify a body.
Her trip from Johannesburg was a nightmare. She saw the body; it was George. The case became infamous in Singapore. But the horror spread far away.
The Isle of Wight was next. A quiet town would face a nightmare. Sandown had sea breezes and quiet lives, but they learned a killer lived among them.
John Martin Scripps was from London, hiding on the island. He committed the brutal crime, killing three more travelers. He died in Singapore, the first Briton executed there.
Sandown was shocked. How could they know him? He seemed normal, yet he committed terrible acts. People struggled to understand: Who was John Martin Scripps?
Was he a cold killer, or was he lost? He killed at Changi Prison. His life was sad and dark. His dad killed himself when he was nine.
School was hard for him. He could not read or write well. At 14, he ran away. This foreshadowed his life.
He often went to prison, with short times of freedom. Each crime became worse. Scripps traveled between prison stays. Drugs and theft paid for his trips.
He was good at lying. He moved between cocaine and heroin deals. He escaped prison in 1990, then sold drugs again.
He changed his name in Cambodia. Back in Britain, police caught him. He had heroin and cash, then he was released strangely. He lived with his mom, Jean Scripps.
Jean hid his past. She ran a shop in Sandown, hiding secrets. His freedom did not last long, as he got six years for drugs.
He learned to cut meat in prison. Later, he used this for horror. In 1994, he escaped prison, and visited his mother on the Isle of Wight.
She gave him money to return. Instead, he went to Mexico. He saw his ex-wife, Maria Arellanos. They met young and married, but prison split them up.
Maria refused him then. This rejection may have caused rage. Soon, Timothy McDowall disappeared, his money going to Scripps’ fake account.
Scripps went to Singapore. He met George Lowe there, calling himself Simon Davis. He stayed with Lowe in a hotel, hitting Lowe with a hammer, and cutting up and dumping the body.
Then, he went to Phuket, Thailand. He killed Sheila Damude and her son. Their bodies were in the bushes.
Scripps took the weapon back, also taking stolen goods to Singapore. Police caught him there.
He was tried for George Lowe’s murder. He said he acted in self-defense. The jury did not believe him. They said he was guilty, and he received the death penalty.
He wrote dark poems on death row. He thought he would survive death. His mother said goodbye. He was executed in April 1996. His family buried him secretly.