Manhunt: Who is the South East London night stalker and how was he caught?

The hugely anticipated second series of Manhunt hits TV screens from Monday evening (September 20).

The four-part ITV crime series follows the real-life investigation into the serial burglar and rapist who terrorised South East London for 17 years.

TV star Martin Clunes reprises his role as DCI Colin Sutton from the first Manhunt series, which looked at the investigation of Amélie Delagrange’s death.

Colin Sutton is a former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector who spent 30 years on the force, where he worked on a number of high-profile cases.

READ MORE: The real DCI Colin Sutton reveals simple thing show bosses got wrong when telling The Night Stalker story

Sutton led the pursuit and conviction of the notorious night stalker rapist Delroy Grant.

Who is The Night Stalker?

Delroy Grant was born on September 3, 1957, in Kingston, Jamaica.

He is a convicted serial rapist who carried out a string of burglary and sexual assault offences between October 1992 and May 2008 across South East London including Croydon, Bromley, Catford. Forest Hill, Dulwich, Sidcup, Orpington and Beckenham.

Grant preyed on elderly women who lived alone, often attacking them in their beds at night, over a period of 17 years.

He proceeded to carry out a disturbing ritual which involved disconnecting the lights in the house and cutting his victim’s phone cables.

Delroy slipped through the police net several times

Delroy would then approach them in their bedroom and shine a light into their eyes to wake them.

He would kiss them on the cheek, take their pulse or engage in conversation with them for hours before violently raping them in their beds.

His first victim, an 89-year old lady from Shirley, was so brutally raped that she nearly died after the attack.

But in other cases, when challenged by the homeowners, Delroy would leave without a fight.

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Colin Sutton’s trap that caught him

In 2001, detective superintendent Simon Morgan took over Operation Minstead, the codename for the investigation into rapes linked to the Night Stalker.

Although careful not to leave fingerprints, Grant did not use a condom, and so left a trail of DNA behind him.

Police identified him as being of Caribbean descent, and drew up a list of ‘people of interest’ – with over 20,000 names on it.

As the number of attacks neared 100 by 2006, police were struggling to pin down the Night Stalker.

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DCI Colin Sutton speaks to the press outside the Old Bailey on February 25, 2008 in London

In 2009 the investigation was taken over by detective chief inspector Colin Sutton who developed a ‘Rat Trap’, using hidden cameras, look-out posts, and a helicopter carrying an infra-red camera to see in the dark in Shirley, one of Delroy’s most common haunts.

About one square mile around Orchard Avenue, bordering Wickham Road to the South, was chosen, and police watched and waited for him to strike.

On the night of November 14, 2009, an officer spotted a suspicious-looking man run to his silver car parked in the ‘rat trap’ area before driving away.

Grant was caught in Witham Road, Penge, with a crowbar in his boot and a woolly hat in his glove box.

Grant’s sentenced to life behind bars

The 64-year-old was convicted of sex attacks on pensioners in 2011.

Police reportedly believe Grant may have attacked hundreds of people, and his victims ranged in age from 68 to 93 – 10 of these victims were men.

Given the ages of Grant’s victims, many were in poor health and had died by the time he was caught and brought to justice.

Delroy Grant in the 1970s

Delroy Grant in the 1970s

Grant’s harrowing reign of terror ended when officers pulled Grant over in his Vauxhall Zafira.

At the time of his arrest, Grant was living in Brockley Mews, Brockley, South East London.

In 2011, at the age of 53, he was found guilty of 29 offences, including burglary, rape, and sexual assault.

Grant was sentenced to four life sentences with a minimum of 27 years in prison.

In Man Hunt: The Night Stalker, Delroy Grant will be portrayed by Jude Akuwudike, who starred alongside Idris Elba in the 2015 movie Beasts of No Nation.

*Manhunt: The Nightstalker will air at 9pm on Monday, September 20, 2021.

For more TV news and gossip, visit our dedicated page.

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