BBC One drama Four Lives tells the true story of the four young men who were murdered by Stephen Port, a killer who found his victims on the gay dating app Grindr.<\/p>\n
Writer Neil McKay and executive producer Jeff Pope are behind the three-part miniseries, having previously collaborated on fellow factual dramas See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Appropriate Adult and The Moorside.<\/p>\n
The project aims to keep focus primarily on the victims and their loved ones, with Port himself (portrayed by Stephen Merchant) being a secondary character in the story.<\/p>\n
It also draws attention to how authorities mishandled these linked cases, with an inquest jury recently concluding that failings by the Metropolitan Police \u201cprobably\u201d contributed to the deaths of Port\u2019s final three victims.<\/p>
Fashion student Anthony Walgate, 23, who had occasionally worked as an escort for some extra money, was contacted by Port in June 2014, with a message offering him \u00a3800 for a single overnight job.<\/p>\n
While there, Port poisoned him with a fatal overdose of the \u201cdate rape\u201d drug GHB, later moving him to just outside his apartment building and calling an ambulance.<\/p>\n
By the time help arrived, Anthony was already dead.<\/p>\n
The call was traced back to Port, who initially denied having any knowledge of how Anthony got there, but admitted one week later that the two had met for sex.<\/p>\n
He falsely claimed that Anthony himself had administered the drug during the encounter, with this radically altered statement seeing him arrested for perverting the course of justice \u2013 but released on bail.<\/p>\n
Matters which would later be scrutinised in the inquest included how the bruising underneath Anthony\u2019s arms was not considered signs of a possible assault, while an incriminating laptop seized from Port\u2019s flat was not submitted to forensic analysis for another 10 months.<\/p>\n
From the beginning, the police story that Anthony had died of an overdose didn\u2019t add up to his mother, Sarah Sak, who believed that her son had actually been murdered.<\/p>\n
In addition, the tragic news was broken to Anthony\u2019s father, Thomas, in a careless fashion, with an officer mistakenly telling him that his brother had died.<\/p>\n
![\""Anthony\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/four-lives-tim-preston-b5fca4f.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Anthony\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Port\u2019s next victim was Slovakian national Gabriel Kovari, 22, who was found dead in August 2014 by a local dog walker in St Margaret\u2019s Churchyard, where he had been propped up against a wall.<\/p>\n
Again, the cause of death had been a fatal overdose of GHB, but no connection was made between himself and Anthony, despite their bodies being discovered in close proximity \u2013 and in the vicinity of Port\u2019s flat.<\/p>\n
The death was considered unexplained, but not suspicious, with Gabriel\u2019s friend John Pape accusing the Met Police of \u201cinstitutionalised homophobia\u201d, after his efforts to provide information that might link the incidents went ignored.<\/p>\n
The Met Police denies this claim, and homophobia was not an issue for consideration by the jury at the later inquest.<\/p>\n
Gabriel was relatively new to London and had been staying with Port, who he\u2019d met online, as a temporary solution before finding a more stable home.<\/p>\n
Police failed to follow-up on a message Gabriel had sent to a friend explaining that he was living at Port\u2019s address, while the Kovari family\u2019s designated liaison officer admitted in an inquest that she had never contacted them.<\/p>\n
![\""Gabriel\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/four-lives-jakub-svec-a12c4ff.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Gabriel\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>A mere three weeks later, Port\u2019s third victim Daniel Whitworth, 21, was found in the same Churchyard by the very same dog walker, having also died from a fatal overdose of GHB.<\/p>\n
Again, his death was not ruled suspicious, as his body was found with a fake suicide note \u2013 penned by Port \u2013 claiming that Daniel had accidentally caused Gabriel\u2019s death and taken his own life out of guilt.<\/p>\n
Of course, this was a complete falsehood made up by Port, but the forgery was not discovered until later as the handwriting on the note was not verified through proper procedure.<\/p>\n
More missed evidence raised during the inquest includes forensic tests that were not carried out on the bedsheet that Daniel was found in and phone data proving that he was not in Barking on the night of Gabriel\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s stepmother Mandy and father Adam have heavily criticised the investigation, while his long-term partner Ricky Waumsley claimed he was \u201cpushed out\u201d and \u201cdismissed\u201d by detectives on the case.<\/p>\n
![\""Daniel\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/four-lives-leo-flanagan-c82d525.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Daniel\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Port took the life of his fourth and final victim in September 2015, shortly after serving three months of an eight-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.<\/p>\n
Jack Taylor, 25, was also found in the vicinity of St Margaret\u2019s Churchyard, having also died from a drug overdose, yet his death too was initially declared non-suspicious.<\/p>\n
The inspector who led the investigation later said that neither of the two detectives who attended the crime scene with him had informed him of the similarities between Jack\u2019s death and those of three other young men in the area.<\/p>\n
Jack\u2019s family insisted that his death was not an overdose as he was an aspiring police officer and firmly anti-drugs, with sisters Donna and Jenny providing authorities with information that linked the four deaths, but claiming it was not taken seriously.<\/p>\n
Ten days after Jack was found dead, a parks officer who had no prior experience with investigatory work visited the family to look into their concerns.<\/p>\n
Eventually, he found CCTV footage from Barking train station that showed Jack with a man later identified as Port, who was arrested on suspicion of causing all four deaths in October 2015.<\/p>\n
![\""Donna\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/four-lives-paddy-rowan-cb323f4.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Donna\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Following an inquest that ruled that failings by the Met Police \u201cprobably\u201d contributed to the deaths of Port\u2019s final three victims, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball made a formal apology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inquest jury has determined that Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor were unlawfully killed,\u201d she began.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have also found that the deaths of three of those young men \u2013 Gabriel, Daniel and Jack \u2013 could probably have been prevented had the initial police responses and investigations been better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a devastating finding,\u201d Ball continued. \u201cOur thoughts are with everybody who loved these young men. We are so sorry for their loss and we\u2019re also deeply sorry that there were failings in the police investigations and the responses to their murders.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI give my own, and the Met\u2019s, heartfelt apologies. All those who loved Anthony and Gabriel and Daniel and Jack expected a thorough and professional police investigation into their deaths, and it\u2019s a great sadness for me and for everybody at the Met that this didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four Lives premieres on BBC One at 9pm on Monday 3rd January 2022. Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Wednesday, 29 December 2021 at 12:00 am *This article contains themes that some readers may find upsetting.* BBC One drama Four Lives tells the true story of the four young men who were murdered by Stephen Port, a killer who found his victims on the gay dating app Grindr. Writer Neil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9329,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama.jpg",2000,1334,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/four-lives-true-story-behind-harrowing-sheridan-smith-drama.jpg",2000,1334,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Wednesday, 29 December 2021 at 12:00 am *This article contains themes that some readers may find upsetting.* BBC One drama Four Lives tells the true story of the four young men who were murdered by Stephen Port, a killer who found his victims on the gay dating app Grindr. Writer Neil…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/9328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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