England
BAILEY
Leslie Patrick
Active from 1984-1985 in England
DID YOU KNOW...
Scary Fact
Police suspect there may be an additional 17 murders involving the gang
Cartoony Fact
Bailey's unkempt appearance earned him the nickname Catweazle, after a cartoon wizard
Killer Fact
Both of Bailey's killers were previously imprisoned for homicide
THE DISPATCH
The Others
An infamous gang of paedophiles, known as the Shoebury Sex Ring, were linked to the murders of three teenage boys. Members of the “Dirty Dozen” faced multiple serious charges including child sex assault. This dispatch concerns the only member to have been convicted of multiple murders.
The Beginning
Leslie Patrick Bailey, also known as Catweazle, was convicted of killing three boys, and was suspected in six additional murders. He allegedly used four other men – Stephen Barrel, Sydney Cooke, Robert Oliver, Lennie Smith – to facilitate the murders.
The Murders
Mark Anthony Tildesley
- June 1, 1984
- Wokingham, Berkshire
Mark Anthony Tildesley was just 7 years old when he went missing from Wokingham in Berkshire, on June 1, 1984. He left his family home and rode his bicycle to a visiting fair, and disappeared. He was abducted, drugged and sexually assaulted by men in the Shoebury Sex Ring. Tildesley was murdered and buried but his body had not been recovered.
Barry George Lewis
- September 15, 1985
- Walworth, Southwark
Six year old Barry George Lewis was Bailey’s youngest murder victim. He was last seen on September 15, 1985, leaving a friend’s home in Walworth, South London. He was kidnapped. Bailey and other members of the Shoebury Sex Ring drugged and sexually assaulted the boy. He was thought to be dead and the next day was placed in a car to be driven away for burial.
During the trial it was alleged that Bailey ran out of gas, and, quite fantastically, hitched a truck ride to a gas station while carrying the unconscious boy under his arm. Despite being confronted a few times about the boy, Bailey was able to convince people that Lewis was ill and otherwise in no danger. Bailey returned to the car with Lewis still under his arm, refilled the gas tank, and continued on his way. It was then that Lewis regained consciousness and tried to attract the attention of passing drivers. He was too weak from the drugs and assaults and blood loss.
Bailey suffocated him with a blanket either on the way to the field or at the field. Bailey buried him in a farmer’s field.
Jason Colin Peter Swift
- November 31, 1985
- Homerton, Hackney
Fourteen-year-old Jason Colin Peter Swift was reported missing in about September, 1985. He was murdered in a flat on the Kingsmead estate in Homerton, Hackney. Bailey and his cronies drugged and sexually assault the young teenager, then suffocated him. He dumped the victim’s body in a field in Chipping Ongar, Essex, more than 60 miles away. Swift was found on November 31, 1985, and identified on December 4.
Lewis Found Dead
- December 5, 1985
- Essex
On December 5, 1985, the body of Barry Lewis was found. He was recovered from a shallow grave in a field off Crooked Lane near Waltham Abbey, Essex. On December 19, he was identified in the press.
Arrest & Trial
Sex Ring Arrests
- May 17, 1987
- London
On May 17, 1987, police announced the arrest of three unnamed man – but not Leslie Bailey based on the ages provided – as part of a 13-month investigation into a child sex abuse ring. They estimated there were more than 100 victims, although they had only confirmed 44 at the time. They linked the murders of Lewis and Swift to the gang.
Bailey Charged in Swift Murder
- July 23, 1987
- London
As the police continued their investigation, the arrested Bailey and Steve Burrell. Both men were charged on July 23, 1987, with the murder of Jason Swift. Eventually, Sid Cooke and Robert Oliver were also arrested in Swift’s murder.
Swift's Killers Guilty
- May 12, 1989
- London
All four men, Bailey, Cooke, Oliver and Barrell, were found guilty of killing Swift on May 12, 1989. On May 15, the men were sentenced.
Sydney “Hissing Sid” Cooke received a 19 year sentence. He was granted parole for this offence in April, 1998. However, he was then jailed for sex assaults relating to minors and has been in jail ever since. He was denied parole for a 10th time on October 28 2021, and remains in jail.
Robert Oliver received a 15 year sentence and was released in 1997.
Stephen Edward Barrell, who changed name to Steven Cutting, was sentenced to a 13 1/2 year term.
Bailey was sentenced to 15 years for the manslaughter of Jason Swift.
Bailey Remanded for Lewis Murder
- July 30, 1990
- London
On July 30, 1990, Bailey was remanded for the murder of Barry Lewis.
Bailey Gets Life For Lewis Murder
- June 14, 1991
- London
Bailey was sentenced to life on June 14, 1991, after confessing to murdering Barry Lewis.
Bailey Gets Life for Tildesley Murder
- October 22, 1991
- London
Police charged Bailey and “persons unknown” with the murder of Tildesley.
On October 22, 1992, Bailey received life for the murder of Tildesley. This was the final trial for Bailey, but not for the other members of the Shoebury Sex Ring.
Bailey’s Murder
Serial Killer Leslie Patrick Bailey Murdered
- October 7, 1993
- Cambridgeshire
On October 7, 1993, Bailey was found strangled to death in the Whitemoor Prison, Cambridgeshire. Initially, police thought it was suicide, but later determined it was homicide. Two prisoners, Michael Cain and John Brookes, were convicted in May, 1995, of murdering Bailey.
BOOKS
Book including Leslie Patrick Bailey
Lambs to the Slaughter: A Web of Evil to Rival the Moors Murders by Ted Oliver and Ramsay Smith
Publisher: Sphere (March, 1993)
Length: 295 pages
ISBN: 9780751503371
Based on the authors’ access to police files, this is the story of the UK paedophile ring which abducted and murdered at least three boys – and possibly more than 20 others – in the mid-1980s. The first known victim was seven-year-old Mark Tildesley, who was lured from a fairground in 1984. His body has never been discovered, but he was drugged, stripped, abused and throttled. Barry Lewis, aged six, disappeared in 1985, and the body of Jason Swift, a sad 14-year-old who had slid into the sordid world of rent-boys, was found later that year. Both of them suffered the same fate at the hands of the same killers.
VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE
THE STATS
Statistical table for Leslie Patrick Bailey
| Killer Name | BAILEY, Leslie Patrick |
| Killer AKA | Catweazle |
| Partnership | Yes |
| Gender | M |
| Arrest Date | , 1987 |
| Conviction Date | May 12, 1989 |
| Sentence | 15 year term; life term; double life term |
| Birth Date | February , 1953 |
| Death Date | October 7, 1993 |
| Deceased | Yes |
| Killed in Prison | Yes |
| Cause of Death | Strangled by fellow inmates |
| Sexual Preference | paedophile |
| Marital Status | single |
| Number of Children | no |
| Killer Type | Sexual/Sadistic, Territorial |
| sk_killer_type2 | Territorial |
| Partner Name | Stephen Barrel, Sydney Cooke, Robert Oliver, Lennie Smith (1 murder each, no record) |
| Parnter Gender | M |
| Partner Relation | part of child sexual abuse ring |
| comment1 | Victims Jason Swift (Bailey & Cooke & Robert Oliver & Stephen Barrell) , Mark Tildesley (Bailey) , Barry Lewis (Bailey) suspected total 9 |
| comment2 | 15 years for manslaughter (with three accomplices), 1989; life term on second count, 1991; 2 life terms on third count, 1992; found dead in cell - Strangled by Michael Cain and John Brookes |
| comment3 | All four men, Bailey, Cooke, Oliver and Barrell, were found guilty of killing Swift on May 12, 1989. On May 15, the men were sentenced. Sydney "Hissing Sid" Cooke received a 19 year sentence. He was granted parole for this offence in April, 1998. However, he was then jailed for sex assaults relating to minors and has been in jail ever since. He was denied parole for a 10th time on October 28 2021, and remains in jail. Robert Oliver received a 15 year sentence and was released in 1997. Stephen Edward Barrell, who changed name to Steven Cutting, was sentenced to a 13 1/2 year term. Bailey was sentenced to 15 years for the manslaughter of Jason Swift. |
| comment4 | Name: Leslie Patrick Bailey Death Age: 41 Birth Date: 6 Feb 1953 Registration Date: Jan 1995 Registration District: Fenland Inferred County: Cambridgeshire |
| Total Dead Victims | 9 |
| Victims (Suspected) | 6 |
| Victims (Convicted) | 3 |
| Victim Gender | M |
| Victim Race | Black, White |
| Victim Age | 6, 7, 14 |
| Victim Type | children |
| Method of Killing | drugged and strangled |
| Abduction | Yes |
| Sex Assault | Yes |
| Sex Assault on Minor | Yes |
| Washing/Water | Yes |
| Body - Moved, Buried | Yes |
Killer Rating
RESOURCES
- Reading Evening Post (Jun 4, 1984)
- Daily Mirror (Jun 23, 1984 )
- Aberdeen Press and Journal (Sep 17, 1985)
- Sunday Mirror (Oct 20, 1985)
- Liverpool Echo (Dec 2, 1985 )
- Newcastle Journal (Dec 4, 1985)
- Aberdeen Evening Express (Dec 6, 1985)
- Liverpool Echo (Apr 16, 1986)
- Sunday Mirror (May 17, 1987)
- Reading Evening Post (Jul 23, 1987)
- Dundee Courier (Jul 7, 1987)
- Birmingham Mail (May 12, 1989)
- Dundee Courier (May 16, 1989)
- Daily Mirror (Jul 31, 1990)
- Daily Mirror (Jun 15, 1991)
- Dundee Courier (Oct 19, 1991)
- Daily Mirror (Oct 24, 1992)
- Liverpool Echo (Oct 8, 1993)
- Aberdeen Evening Express (Oct 19, 1993)
- Fenland Citizen (Nov 16, 1994)
- Daily Mirror (Jul 7, 1995)
- Sword and Scale (Oct 17, 2015)
- Yellow Advertiser (Feb 19, 2019)
- Zipped copies of paywalled articles