When Stottor had regained enough strength to question Nilsen as to his recollections of being strangled and immersed in cold water, Nilsen explained he had become caught in the zip of the sleeping bag following a nightmare, and that he had placed him in cold water as "you were in shock".

To counteract this argument, Green added: "The Crown says that even if there was mental abnormality, that was not sufficient to diminish substantially his responsibility for these killings". In another first, it provides an insight into his 35 years inside the maximum-security prison system, including his everyday life on the wings; his interactions with the authorities and other notorious prisoners; and his artistic endeavours of music, writing and drama. He bragged of this sexual encounter to his colleagues, but later stated he found intercourse with a female both "over-rated" and "depressing".After briefly succeeding in raising his head above the water, Stottor gasped the words, "No more, please! With exemplary discipline and cool assessment, Russ Coffey has examined Nilsen's moral and legal positions during the thirty years since his conviction, to determine whether his damaged personality has shown any sign of development.

On more than one occasion in the three months Nilsen lived in Strichen, his mother voiced her opinion as to her being more concerned with his lack of female companionship than his career path, and of her desire to see him marry and start a family. Upon cross-examination, the defence counsel sought to undermine Stewart's credibility, pointing to minor inconsistencies in the testimony, the fact he had consumed much alcohol on the night in question, and suggesting his memory had been selectively magnified as he had previously sold his story to the press. In my own conversations with Dennis Nilsen, over several years, he did not try to excuse what he did, nor trivialise the devastating effect his actions had upon the families and loved ones of his victims.

The first of these, Paul Nobbs, provided testimony which the prosecution asserted was evidence of Nilsen's self-control and ability to refrain from homicidal impulses. The body was usually dressed in socks and underpants, before Nilsen draped the victims around him as he talked to the corpse. At his workplace, Nilsen was known to be a quiet, conscientious employee who was active in the trade union movement. In another first, it provides an insight into his 35 years inside the maximum-security prison system including his everyday life on the wings; his interactions with the authorities and other notorious prisoners; and his artistic endeavours of music, writing and drama.

The families of Dennis Nilsen’s victims feel the killer is “laughing at them from beyond the grave”.In relation to the first of these three unidentified victims, he later casually reflected: "End of the day, end of the drink, end of a person . Nilsen became known as the Muswell Hill Murderer, as he committed his later murders in the Muswell Hill district of North London.