Killer with celebrity hit list who killed bookseller jailed for LIFE
A KILLER with a hit list of VIPs including Kate Moss and Simon Cowell was jailed for life yesterday for a brutal knife murder.
Michael Danaher tortured and hacked bookseller Adrian Greenwood to death
Michael Danaher tortured and hacked bookseller Adrian Greenwood to death before stealing his £50,000 first edition of The Wind In The Willows.
Obsessed with celebrities, the killer had drawn up a “sinister spreadsheet” of high-profile people on his computer.
Danaher's hit list of VIPs included Kate Moss and Simon Cowell
As his victim lay bleeding to death, Danaher stole his phone and took a selfie on the way out
Those listed, including Mr Greenwood and novelist Jeffrey Archer, were to be targeted for theft, robbery or kidnap. Danaher, 50, also made online searches for the homes of broadcasters Sir Michael Parkinson and Eamonn Holmes and TV presenters Louise Redknapp and Gary Lineker.
Yesterday, he was ordered to serve a minimum of 34 years after a jury at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty.
Judge Ian Pringle, QC, said: “It is clear that you became almost obsessed with checking on famous personalities.
Novelist Jeffrey Archer was another figure on the hit list
“During 2015, you drew up a lengthy list of potential targets.”
Mr Greenwood, 42, was attacked in the hallway of his home in Oxford last April. Danaher tortured him with a kitchen knife before stabbing him in the chest, back and throat.
Danaher also made online searches for TV presenter Louise Redknapp
The jobless 25-stone father of two also fractured the historian’s right arm by stamping on it.
As his victim lay bleeding to death, Danaher stole his phone and took a selfie on the way out.
The killer was arrested three days later after police traced the stolen phone to his home city of Peterborough.
At Danaher’s house police found blood-spattered boots, the blade of the murder weapon, a stun gun and the hit list.
He had put the classic book up for sale on auction site eBay.