Anthony Hardy

In 2002, in Camden, London, 29-year-old Elizabeth Valad, a mother from Nottingham, was murdered by Anthony Hardy. Elizabeth had met Hardy while working as a prostitute in the King's Cross red light district. Her dismembered body was discovered in a bin near Hardy's home, alongside that of Brigitte Maclennan. Hardy had previously murdered Sally White, whose death was initially ruled as natural causes.

Hardy, described as 'pornography-obsessed', had stalked and attempted to kill his wife and was a suspect in three rapes. He claimed the deaths of Sally, Elizabeth, and Brigitte were accidental, resulting from a bondage sex game. However, at court, he admitted to murdering them, receiving three life sentences. He is suspected of killing two other women.

This serial case involved extreme violence against vulnerable women in the sex trade, with Hardy's defences mirroring false consent narratives in other killings. The discovery of the bodies highlighted his pattern of predatory behaviour.

Source: We Can't Consent To This campaign article on East Midlands cases, noting Elizabeth's Nottingham origins.