Manhunt: Chasing the Fox
Yorkshire played a key role in catching a serial rapist who broke into people's homes, hid out in dens waiting for them to return, and then tied people up, often raping the women.
The hunt for Malcolm Fairley is one of the most famous crime stories in the UK. Fairley, known as The Fox for his den-building exploits, struck fear into towns and villages across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire. After the police eventually caught him, he pleaded guilty to indecent assault, three rapes[1], three aggravated burglaries with intent to rape while carrying a firearm and five burglaries at St Albans Crown Court in February 1985.
He was sentenced to six life terms and died from a heart attack in HMP Hull in May 2024. Advertisement Advertisement
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Now a new Netflix documentary examines the police investigation to track down Fairley in the Summer of the Fox. The documentary, titled Manhunt: Chasing the Fox, showcases how South Yorkshire [2]played a crucial role in the capture of Fairley.
Former Det Ch Supt Brian Prickett, who led the criminal investigation, has spoken of the fear Fairley instilled in the local area and the operation to hunt him down.
"The amount of fear in the area was incredible," said the retired officer. "That summer was particularly hot, and people were having to bolt their windows, in some cases, screw them down, because of the fear.
We did everything we could to alleviate the fear by making sure people knew that we were working flat out." Advertisement Advertisement
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He added: "You cannot underestimate the fear that was felt by the public that summer. The pressure I and the whole team felt to catch him was immense but we were incredibly determined to get justice for his victims.
Much of the horrific details of what he did to his victims in their own homes were too depraved to be made public. The judge knew, but thankfully Fairley pleaded guilty."
Malcolm Fairley committed horrific sexual and violent attacks in the Home Counties and South Yorkshire -Credit:Getty Images
One week was so bad that Fairley committed three attacks. The attacks involved tying women up and raping them.
Sometimes he would tie the man up too while raping a woman, or they would even be tied together. Mr Prickett said: "He would break into people's homes when they were in bed at two or three o'clock in the morning, carrying a sawn-off shotgun, and wake the couple up at the side of the bed."
As police attempted to track down Fairley, a massive operation involving 200 officers unfolded, including many from Yorkshire. Mr Prickett said the police learned lessons from the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper earlier in the same decade.
Police learned that sharing information was vital to a successful operation. This was before the advent of CCTV, DNA, and other modern techniques, and the operation was receiving more than 300 calls per day.
The breakthrough came on August 17, 1984. A similar attack to that in the Home Counties occurred in Brampton in South Yorkshire.
A married couple had been tied up as Fairley raped the wife. He then buried his shotgun off the M18, which a farmer reported to the police. Needing to search the area, the police staged a crash on the motorway as they searched for evidence.
They found a speck of paint from his yellow Austin Allegro car. Advertisement Advertisement
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From this information, the police tracked down Fairley and arrested him in north-west London less than a month later. Scratches on his car's paintwork matched the flecks they had found.
Mr Prickett said: "The Summer of the Fox was certainly the most talked-about case of my career, and I am extremely proud of the work we did to catch him, but he never did give an explanation.
He told me he had tried to stop but couldn't."
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References
- ^ rapes (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ South Yorkshire (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ signing up to our newsletter here. (www.examinerlive.co.uk)