A SERIAL killer dubbed the "Man in Black" who owned cinemas in Flintshire and Denbighshire is the subject of an upcoming BBC documentary,

'Dark Land: The Hunt For Wales’ Worst Serial Killer' tells the story of Peter Moore's campaign of terror in North Wales.

For years, Moore stalked the northern coast of Wales, murdering four men in 1995 and allegedly attacking many more.

By day Moore was a well-respected shopkeeper and cinema owner from Kinmel Bay, and by night he was a sadistic killer who seemed to target gay men.

He owned a chain of cinemas in Bagillt, Denbigh, Holyhead and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

 

Former Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Police, Jackie Roberts.

Former Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Police, Jackie Roberts.

 

In the special edition of Dark Land, former chief constable Jackie Roberts former Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police, Jackie Roberts, revisits the case of the so called ‘Man in Black’ with the aim to finally bring closure to the families of his victims.

The documentary re-examines the hunt for the man who would go down in history as Wales’ worst serial killer.

The BBC describes the documentary, saying: "Moore is revealed as a man with a violent secret life, hiding in plain sight.

"Beneath the façade of a respectable businessman was a mind warped by a dysfunctional upbringing; a man who seized upon a climate of gay prejudice to embark upon a 20-year spree of savage attacks, confident his victims wouldn’t feel able to come forward to complain.

"The ultimate question is, could Moore have been stopped before he went on to kill and kill again?

 

Peter Moore killed four men in 1995 and is serving a whole life sentence for his crimes.

Peter Moore killed four men in 1995 and is serving a whole life sentence for his crimes.

 

His murder spree began when Moore killed 56-year-old Henry Roberts at his home in Caergybi on Ynys Môn in September 1995. The next month, Moore met Edward Carthy, a 28-year-old man, at a bar in Liverpool; Mr Carthy was subsequently stabbed to death in the Clocaenog Forest near Ruthin.

His next victim in November was Keith Randles, a 49-year-old traffic manager from Chester. Mr Randles was killed on the side of the A5 road on Ynys Môn. His final victim was Anthony Davies, a 40-year-old crematorium worker, who was stabbed and left to die on Pensarn Beach in Abergele on December 18.

When prosecuting barrister Alex Carlile QC opened the case against Moore at Mold Crown Court in 1996, he called him: "The man in black - black thoughts and the blackest of deeds.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1996 with a recommendation that he never be released.

Moore is still alive, locked up in Britain’s Monster Mansion, Wakefield high security prison where the Supermax wing has been home to murderers like "Dr Death" Harold Shipman, child killer Ian Huntley, and Mark Bridger, who murdered five-year-old April Jones in Machynlleth in 2012.

  • The one-off special documentary ​'Dark Land: The Hunt For Wales’ Worst Serial Killer' is being shown on BBC One Wales at 9pm on January 17. It will also be available on the BBC iPlayer.