Suzanne Capper Manchester 1992

The dreadful things people are capable of doing to each other never cease to amaze. Seriously warped events take place behind the nations net curtains every day and most of us just go on with our lives without a thought.

An example of this is the utterly horrifying case of 16 year old Suzanne Capper of Moston in Manchester. She was an ordinary girl who lived with her stepfather who had the misfortune to become friends with one Clifford Pook. Pook soon introduced Suzanne to his sister Jean Powell.

      

Jean Powell lived at 97 Langworthy Road (below right) with her children and another friend and neighbour Bernadette McNeilly who had her own place at no.91 but chose to stay with Jean Powell often inviting her 16 year old boyfriend Anthony Dudson to stay over. Other frequent visitors were Powells ex husband Glyn and 26 year old Jeffrey Leigh who would join the others to share drugs.

In November McNeilly and Dudson contracted pubic lice and ridiculously put the blame on Suzanne as she had slept in one of the beds they used at number 97. On top of this McNeilly insisted that Suzanne had stolen a £50 pink coat from her so on 7th December they invited Suzanne round on the pretext that there was a man who fancied her waiting to meet her. Once there her head was shaved and she was beaten with a 3ft long stick and bundled into a cupboard where she was forced to spend the night.

The next day she was moved to 97 as her desperate cries were upsetting the children in the house. There she was viciously tied to a bed frame with cords,chains and belts and left there for six days in her own urine and faeces with a sock stuffed into her mouth.

Suzanne was scrubbed with disinfectant and a yard brush until her skin blistered, was burnt between the eyes with a cigarette and had her teeth pulled out with pliers. A lodger at 91 Dave Hill heard the terrible sounds and Jeffrey Leigh allowed him to see Suzanne as she was tied to the bed frame. He said she was quiet and had no hair. Hill told police he was too frightened to do anything to help her.

The beatings continued regularly with headphones put on and had to listen to rave music at maximum volume particularly "Hi Im Chucky wanna play?" from the movie Child's Play. Dudson would shout the words from the song before each torture session making Suzanne scream in terror.

On 14th December Suzanne was bundled into a stolen vehicle and driven to the countryside where she was thrown out almost naked, head shaved and covered with burns, cuts and sores. She was doused in petrol and set alight and left to die. Her remarkable resilience enabled her to live long enough to find help and give the police the names of the gang who had tortured her. She died soon after however, from multiple organ failure arising from 80% burns.

Left: The bed
frame where Suzanne was held
Right : Suzanne Capper

91 Langworthy Road