IT is a stomach-churning tale that involves a drowned and mutilated priest, a deadly hammer attack and a deranged ‘paedophile’ hit list.
But as Christopher Hunnisett’s horrific crimes were laid bare in court, a bashful wave to me from the docks hinted at another mystifying side to the killer I had come to know – one that still troubles me to this day.
Shutterstock EditorialChristopher Hunnisett was jailed for the ‘cold blooded’ murder of supermarket worker Peter Bick in 2011[/caption]
check copyrightHunnisett previously killed Reverend Ronald Glazebrook, hacking his body to pieces, before being dramatically acquitted and freed from jail[/caption]
Peter Bick was brutally bludgeoned with a hammer before being strangledBBC
Now known as Crystal following a botched ‘DIY’ sex change behind bars, the transgender woman is currently languishing in jail following the “cold blooded” murder of supermarket worker Peter Bick in 2011.
Yet her grisly story began in the early 2000s, when then-altar boy Hunnisett, who was having problems at home and was reportedly bullied, was taken in by the Reverend Donald Glazebrook in St Leonards, East Sussex.
In 2001, the priest’s severed head was found in a sports bag on a traffic island in nearby Hastings – his limbs and torso strewn across woodland in East Sussex.
Hunnisett, then 17, was charged and convicted of murder and pleaded guilty to conspiring to prevent the lawful burial of a body alongside pal Jason Groves. She was given an indefinite prison term, with a minimum of 11 years.
But eight years into the sentence, following a retrial, the conviction was quashed.
Hunnisett said she had been sexually assaulted by the Reverend. One night, as she bathed, she said he had attacked her and she had punched him, knocking him out, which caused him to drown.
With the court also hearing separate allegations of abuse against the Reverend, the story was enough to set her free.
Following Hunnisett’s bombshell acquittal, she appeared determined to rebuild her life. It was during this period – over a course of four strange months – that I came to know ‘Chris’, while working as crime editor for the Brighton Argus, which covered the whole of Sussex.
The Reverend’s killing had sent shockwaves across the UK, and I was determined to secure the first interview with Hunnisett to hear her side of the story.
I first contacted her over social media, though she was reluctant to talk.
Acquitted on September 17, 2010, on September 29 she wrote: “I’m good. Just trying to sort out 10 years worth of stuff. I appreciate your message… but at the moment im [sic] trying to keep out [of] the public eye.
“I need to get my life sorted out, job work etc.
“I hope regardless that if you do some sort of article you can at least use it to help others in the same position or have suffered the same sort of thing. You sound really nice, and I hope things go ok with you.”
But in October, Hunnisett had a change of heart and gave me her contact number.
‘Charming’ killer
Truthfully, as we began to chat, I found her charming. Friendly, gentle and calm, she did not sound like a murderer. Of course, at that point – having been cleared for the murder of Reverend Glazebrook – she wasn’t.
In the interview that followed, she told me: “I expected to be in prison for a long time. Life can mean life.
“Now I have my freedom. That’s the most important thing.”
Anna RobertsAnna Roberts struck up a correspondence with Hunnisett months before Peter’s horrific murder[/caption]
AlamyPolice comb the scene after Rev Glazebrook’s remains were found[/caption]
We chatted on and off for the next few months. Occasionally we did follow-up stories, but sometimes Hunnisett would simply message to say hello, as if I were an old friend.
She was chatty, jokey, and never rude. I was drawn in by her personable nature; one time, I even recall replying to her while out at a funfair, joking about feeling sick on the waltzers.
Unbeknownst to me, at the same time, Hunnisett was secretly composing a hit list of men she believed were paedophiles – men she was planning to kill.
Last message before murder
Her last message to me was on Boxing Day, 2010, apropos of nothing. She appeared to be doing well and was full of festive cheer.
“Have a good xmas and happy new year,” she said to me in a text, on December 26.
Exactly 31 days later, Hunnisett murdered an innocent man, Peter Bick, in Bexhill, East Sussex. In an instant, everything I had come to believe about her was turned on its head.
In 2012, the case came to court and I was there to report. Hunnisett gave me a small wave and nod from the dock – an acknowledgement that by that point we weren’t friends, but knew one another. I looked away awkwardly.
John Connor Press Associates ltdMurderer Hunnisett had a bizarre tattoo[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationHunnisett argued Rev Glazebrook had been sexually abusive[/caption]
The details surrounding 57-year-old Asda worker Peter’s death were horrific. But inwardly, what was equally chilling to me was that Hunnisett had been plotting it all the while we were chatting.
Sitting there, I learnt she had drawn up a ‘hit list’ of people she suspected were paedophiles. Top of the list was Peter. But Hunnisett, then 28, was wrong and there was no evidence innocent Peter was a sex offender.
The court was told Peter was hit repeatedly over the head with a hammer and strangled with a shoelace. Crime scene images were shown in court and they were among the most shockingly graphic I have ever seen.
‘Extremely dangerous’
Hunnisett – then still identifying as male – was found guilty and jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years. The judge, Mr Justice Saunders, warned the murderer was an “extremely dangerous man” who “may well kill again” if released in the foreseeable future.
He said: “He believes that the penalties handed out by the courts for child abuse are inadequate.
“For him the appropriate penalty, if he considers it necessary, is death. He has appointed himself judge, jury and executioner.
“However good the evidence of child abuse, the defendant was not entitled to take the law into his hands in the way he did but, as he demonstrated in this case, he was prepared to reach his conclusions on entirely inadequate evidence.”
Eddie MitchellA judge warned Hunnisett was ‘extremely dangerous’[/caption]
Kent News and PicturesChristine, the daughter of Rev Glazebrook, at an emotional press conference before his remains were found[/caption]
Peter Bick’s sister Yvonne Cowling speaking out after his murderBBC
In October 2015, Hunnisett began identifying as a woman, castrating herself and mutilating her genitals in a botched DIY surgery.
She claimed that her rights were being violated by prison staff who had been keeping her isolated from other lags for her own safety.
She told the High Court that she had been mistreated by staff who were showing contempt towards transgender prisoners – and claimed it was a violation of her human rights. Her claim was rejected.
In March 2021 she again argued for an appeal of her murder conviction, claiming a psychotic illness had caused her to believe Peter was a paedophile.
However, three judges examined the case and said there was no fresh evidence from 2012.
Looking back now, Hunnisett is and remains a mystery to me.
The person I spoke to was well-spoken, charming and deceptively sweet. But there is, of course, another person who was compiling a list of people to kill.
Perhaps it is proof that the most chilling monsters hide behind a polite smile.
Who are the UK’s worst serial killers?
THE UK’s most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor.
Here’s a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK.
British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women.
After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845.
Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain’s most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873.
Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903.
William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies.
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980.
Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail.
Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it’s believed he was responsible for many more deaths.
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