Who was Natalie Clubb? Sex worker dismembered by Darren Adams and dumped in a Hull pumping station drain

SEX worker Natalie Clubb was killed and dismembered in 1998.

Here we take a look at the tragic events surrounding her murder featured in True Crime Presents Murder: The Tattoo Clue.

HullLive/MENNatalie Clubb was murdered in 1998[/caption]

Who was Natalie Clubb?

Part of Natalie Clubb’s arm was discovered in a Hull pumping station drain in July 1998.

She had been reported missing two months earlier by her boyfriend Darren Adams from a public phone box.

She had a distinctive “Chaos” tattoo on her wrist, which was a crucial clue in identifying her body.

At first, the section of Natalie’s arm was all of her body that had been recovered.

The following day investigators found her head.

As the search continued, more parts of Natalie’s dismembered body were discovered.

They were all tied up separately in polythene bin liners and thrown into a drainage ditch.

Natalie’s murder was part of a series of sex worker deaths in Hull during the late 1990s, raising fears of a potential serial killer operating in the area.

Impact

It came just months after the murder of Samantha Class, whose badly beaten and strangled body washed up on the banks of the Humber River in October 1997, as well as Hayley Morgan, who died of a heroin overdose.

The discovery of Natalie’s body sent shockwaves through the local community, particularly among sex workers who felt vulnerable and unprotected.

The police investigation into Natalie’s murder was led by Detective Chief Inspector Paul Davison.

Investigation

He faced the daunting task of piecing together clues from limited evidence.

Investigators had to navigate the often-secretive world of sex work, building trust with potential witnesses who were understandably wary of police involvement.

Forensic evidence gathered from the crime scenes, including the petrol station where Natalie was found, was meticulously analysed in hopes of uncovering the killer’s identity.

The murder squad also began by looking into Natalie’s background, which turned out to be a desperately sad story.

Darren Adams, the boyfriend who reported her missing on May 14, 1998, was also her pimp.

In the squalid house where the pair lived, he would wait for the johns she brought home and rob them armed with a baseball bat and knuckle dusters.

DCI Davison explained: “Darren Adams was obviously of interest to us but I thought it might be another prostitute murder.

“A man called Neil Pattison emerged as somebody close to Adams and Natalie.

“He actually owned the premises they lived in.

“He had a soft spot for Natalie but Pattison wasn’t an addict, which set him apart from most of the others we interviewed.

“Also, he was already arrested and charged and on remand for the vicious murder of an elderly lady during a robbery.”

Police officer Andy Marshall, who interviewed him in prison recalled: “I was surprised and shocked when he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Get me out of the prison, into police custody, and we’ll talk.’

“I spent some time trying to build a rapport with him and eventually, in the station interview room he said to me, ‘Darren served her up.’

“I wasn’t aware what he was referring to so I asked him what he meant and he said, ‘Darren stabbed her.’

In prison slang, being ‘served up’ is stabbing somebody.”