The terrifying London Underground 'serial killer' who pushed his 30 victims under trains

A little known serial killer is suspected to have been responsible for 30 deaths on the London Underground. Kieran Kelly spent three decades behind bars after being found guilty of the murder of two people but it is likely that he was also responsible for 29 more deaths around London in the 1970s.

Kieran Kelly could be behind up to 30 suspicious suicides on the Tube© Metropolitan Police

Kelly, who died in 2001, was witness to an 'astonishing' number of apparent suicides on the Tube. Kelly is suspected to have pushed his victims on to the track, and then calmly waited to talk to the police officers afterwards. He would recount how the deceased individual would confide in Kelly about a variety of problems, such as marital issues or something money related, before stepping in front of the incoming train.

Former Metropolitan Police detective Geoff Platt, who led the 1984 police investigation into Kelly's crimes, believes he is one of the most prolific serial killers in British history. Platt told the Daily Star : "He was high – high on adrenaline, testosterone…aroused. You could see it in his eyes. He was proud of that murder and when we went to speak to him he just confessed to killing 16 other people.”

Kelly's first suspected victim, in fact, was none other than his best friend, a man named Christy Smith. In 1953, Kelly reportedly pushed the unsuspecting Smith to the train platform following a comment made by Smith on Kelly still being unmarried at the age of 30.

It is believed that the comment was interpreted by Kelly as veiled accusation of Kelly being a closeted homosexual. Platt claims Kelly feared that same-sex relationships were a ‘terrible sin that led to hell fire and damnation’.

This is reflected even within Kelly's other suspected victims, who largely fell into three different groups of people - gay men, police informants, and men who reminded him of Smith.

Kelly was eventually convicted of killing a man called Hector Fisher, who was found dead in Clapham Common in 1975. When in custody, he also killed his cell mate, William Boyd, for snoring in 1983. He was convicted of both crimes in 1984.

Part of the tragedy for grieving families of the people he killed was that they would not be able to claim life insurance, as the death would have been ruled as a suicide.

Platt published a book claiming Kelly had murdered around 31 people. This figure was disputed by Irish journalist Robert Mulhern who believes Kelly likely only murdered five or six people. Since Platt's book was published in 2015 the families of more potential victims have come forward.