David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue on HBO Max: The Case of the Bedsit Murders
Documentary series in two parts about David Fuller's murders in 1987 and the systematic abuses in hospitals in Kent
What is the series about?
David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue is a documentary series that sheds light on one of the most depraved criminal cases in British history. The series focuses on David Fuller, who lived a double life for decades as an ordinary family man and hospital employee, while in reality, he was a murderer and necrophilic serial offender. Through interviews with investigators, the victims' families, and archival material, the production outlines how Fuller was able to operate unseen within the British healthcare system, NHS, for over 30 years. The first episode, The Bedsit Murders and Discovery, is based on the brutal murders of two young women in 1987, which stood for decades as some of England's most notorious unsolved cases.
The real case
The real case behind the documentary began in 1987 in the town of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Here, 25-year-old Wendy Knell was found strangled and sexually assaulted in her apartment. Just five months later, 20-year-old Caroline Pierce disappeared under similar circumstances; her body was found several weeks later in a ditch. These crimes became known as the Bedsit Murders . Despite an extensive investigation, the murderer remained unknown for over three decades until modern DNA technology in 2020 matched biological traces from the crime scenes to David Fuller.
Upon David Fuller's arrest in December 2020, police made an even more shocking discovery. During a search of his home, investigators found hard drives containing thousands of hours of video recordings and photographs. The material documented how Fuller, in his capacity as maintenance manager at Kent and Sussex Hospital and later Tunbridge Wells Hospital, had gained access to the hospitals' chapels. Here, he systematically abused the bodies of over 100 women and girls aged 9 to 100 years. The case revealed massive security failures in the British hospital system, leading to a comprehensive public inquiry led by British authorities.
Timeline of the case
The case against David Fuller spans four decades. It started with the two murders in 1987, after which Fuller began his employment at the hospital where he later committed his abuses in 1989. Police have determined that the abuses in the chapels occurred continuously from 2008 until his arrest in 2020, but there is suspicion that the activities started much earlier. In 2021, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a so-called Whole Life Order, at