Seventy-nine-year-old Bridgid “Mary” Hynds was something of a solitary figure, living alone on Willes Road in Kentish Town, London. She was sometimes seen in the area feeding pigeons near the underground station or having a pint in the Wolsey Arms pub, where regulars called her Mollie.
On July 21st, 1973, Bridgid was found lying in a pool of blood in her home, a pair of stockings stuffed into her mouth. She had been beaten to death with a lead pipe.
There seemed to be no particular motive for the savage slaying, and police were equally frustrated at the difficulty they faced in tracking down Bridgid’s relatives. Eventually, her brothers were found, however, and Bridgid was flown to Northern Ireland for burial.
The most pervasive theory about Bridgid’s murder was that she was a victim of notorious serial killer Patrick Mackay (aka David Groves), who was convicted of three counts of manslaughter in 1975, but allegedly confessed to at least six more murders while in custody. One of these was the slaying of Bridgid Hynds, though he later recanted this confession, just as he did in the case of the 1973 murder of German au pair Heidi Mnilk.
Bridgid’s surviving family members believe that Mackay is guilty of her murder and should be tried. He is currently serving a life sentence and has repeatedly been denied parole, most recently in 2022.
Crime Immemorial 