53 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
53 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
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The fantasies that led to evil crimes.
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Express & Star:Tuesday November 9 1982
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Unemployed Malcolm Smith, who used a web of lies to
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ensnare young girls into his perverted satanic sex ring, lived a
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life of total fantasy.
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The volunteer radio presenter told neighbours and friends
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that he was an SAS agent , that he had been a fighter pilot in the
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last war and that he had a luxurious flat in Mayfair.
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He also boasted that he was a secret service agent and had
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a rich uncle who owned a ranch in Dallas(Texas).
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But his harmless fantasy world lead him to an sinister
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interest in the occult-and eventually to a life of horrific sex
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crimes against children.
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FIGHT
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Smith and his wife , Susan, twice moved house in Telford
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each time leaving behind angry , suspicious neighbours.
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They lived in poverty , and each time they set up a new
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home , rumours soon began about strange activities at the house.
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Former neighbour Mrs Veronica Row, of Smallwood, Sutten
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Hill, said: "Everybody round here told their kids not to have
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anything to do with them and definitely not to go in the house.
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"He was always inviting little girls he was always
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grabbing hold of little kids , he liked that", she said .
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Mrs Row said that there were rumours about bizarre events
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taking place at the Smith Home around the time of a full moon.
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"Some people had heard noises like wolves howling. I have
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heard people say that it was him. He really believed in all that."
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she said.
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RADIO
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Although neither Smith nor his wife worked, he spent some
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time on a training opportunity scheme, painting and decorating at
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Wolverhampton. He was sacked because he kept taking days off.
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He worked as a volunteer presenter with his own weekly one
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hour spot on the community station, WSM Radio at Woodside ,
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Telford, reaching a potential 20,000 listeners.
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His show was a mixture of music and requests, together
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with a look into the supernatural, legends, and mysteries, such as
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the Marie Celeste.
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Fellow presenter, Richard Tyler said: "He had a very vivid
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imagination. He said he had been a fighter pilot and all sorts of
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other improbable things."
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BARRED
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And a woman who also worked at the station said: "He had
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gone round professing to be the devil, or an Indian or something.
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He believed his own fantasies. He was like Walter Mitty."
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Members of a naturist club in the area saw through the
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charade set up by Smith. They barred the couple from membership of
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their club after just a few visits.
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