Where Did Dennis Nilsen Commit Murders In 'Killing For Company'?

'Killing for Company' stands out because of its psychological depth about Nilsen’s spatial relationship with murder. His first killing happened at Melrose Avenue, a shabby upstairs flat where the walls were paper-thin—yet nobody heard anything. That place saw at least six deaths. The bathroom became a dissection room; he’d dismember victims in the tub, then boil body parts to strip flesh from bone. The kitchen sink doubled as a disposal unit for blood and tissue.

Cranley Gardens was worse in some ways—a basement flat with a garden perfect for burning evidence. Here, Nilsen got sloppier. The book details how he’d stuff remains into plastic bags under floorboards or flush chopped bits down the toilet, eventually clogging drains. What fascinates me is how both locations reflect his mindset: Melrose was methodical, Cranley was chaotic as his urges spiraled. The author makes you feel the weight of those walls, how ordinary objects—a tea kettle, a record player—became tools in his rituals.

What haunted me most in 'Killing for Company' wasn’t just the murders but how Nilsen blurred lines between home and slaughterhouse. At Melrose Avenue, he killed men in his living room while neighbors watched TV through the walls. He’d prop corpses in chairs to ‘watch’ films with him—the same spot where guests would sit for drinks. The bathtub scenes made my skin crawl; imagine washing your hair where someone was dismembered days prior.

Cranley Gardens took it further. Police found human flesh in the freezer next to his pork chops. Drainpipes contained hair and bone fragments. The book doesn’t sensationalize; it shows how evil festers in plain sight. One chilling detail: Nilsen chose these places specifically for their anonymity—no doormen, no security cameras, just transient neighborhoods where young, vulnerable men passed through unnoticed. It makes you wonder about the hidden histories of every unremarkable building.

I recently read 'Killing for Company' and was struck by how Dennis Nilsen turned his own home into a hunting ground. Most of his murders happened in two London apartments—first at 195 Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood, where he lived from 1978 to 1981. This place was like a twisted workshop; he’d lure victims there, kill them, then keep the bodies for weeks. Later, he moved to 23 Cranley Gardens in Muswell Hill, where he continued his gruesome routine. These weren’t abandoned warehouses or dark alleys—they were ordinary flats in busy neighborhoods, which makes it even creepier. The book describes how he’d chat with corpses, bathe them, even dress them up like macabre dolls. The juxtaposition of mundane locations with such horror sticks with you long after reading.