Stephen Port: Coroner connected serial killer victims before Met

A coroner raised concerns with the Met Police about the death of a serial killer's final victim, an inquest has heard.

Stephen Port, now 46, killed Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth before poisoning Jack Taylor.

All had been given a fatal overdose of the "date rape" drug GHB.

An officer investigating Mr Taylor's murder was unaware that three other men had been killed in similar circumstances, jurors also heard.

Inquests are examining the adequacy of the Met's initial investigations.

Port killed the men, who were all in their early 20s, between 2014 and 2015. He was given a whole-life jail term in 2016.

The deaths were originally not thought to be suspicious, partly because Port planted drugs paraphernalia - and in the case of Mr Whitworth, a "suicide note" - on the bodies.

Three of his victims were left in a churchyard near his flat, and Mr Walgate was left on the pavement outside Port's home.

Insp Jason O'Donohue, who was called to the churchyard when Mr Taylor's body was found, told the inquest jury at Barking Town Hall he was "absolutely flabbergasted" when he learnt the others had been found nearby.

He said he only found out from court documents after the eventual trial of Stephen Port, despite the fact that two officers who went to the churchyard with him had each attended the scene of one of the earlier deaths.

Neither told Insp O'Donohue that all involved young gay men, found in close proximity, with drug paraphernalia present, and with their mobile phones missing.

Insp O'Donohue told the hearing he "might well have" called homicide officers and declared a critical incident had he been given the information.

He also said he "didn't go up close and personal" so did not see a blanket found with Mr Taylor's body, but he "would have expected that to be seized". The blanket was not seized or sent for forensic tests.

The court was shown an email sent to Insp O'Donuhue by a colleague three days after Mr Taylor, who had ambitions to become a police officer, was found.

It said the local coroner was a "little concerned that the circumstances are very similar to two other bodies found in the same location last year. I have explained that we could see no link (other than location) however it is likely to be asked about at some stage".

The jury heard the death was only treated as suspicious after Mr Taylor's family - who had insisted Jack was not a drug-user - urged police to make a public appeal to identify a man seen on CCTV with the 25-year-old the day before his body was found.

It was only when officers were looking at the images a month later that a detective recognised the man as Stephen Port. At that point, the four deaths were linked.

The inquests continue.