Michael Sams
| Michael Sams | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Michael Benneman Sams 11 August 1941 Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Heating engineer |
| Criminal charge | Murder, kidnapping, extortion |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Michael Benneman Sams (born 11 August 1941) is an English kidnapper, extortionist and murderer. He kidnapped sex-worker Julie Dart on 9 July 1991 and later murdered her after she tried to escape. He subsequently kidnapped Stephanie Slater on 22 January 1992, eventually releasing her after payment of a ransom. According to Slater, she was raped during her imprisonment.
After he was convicted and imprisoned Sams continued to commit offences, attacking a female probation officer. He also became notorious for his attempts to sue the prison, first for losing his artificial leg, and then because his bed was too hard.
Sams was born and brought up in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire. He joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 20. After three years he returned to Keighley and worked as a lift engineer, graduating to become a central heating engineer, later setting up his own company. He was also a competitive middle distance runner and dedicated trainspotter. However, Sams fell in with petty criminals and was first imprisoned in 1976 for stealing a car and making a false insurance claim. While in prison, Sams was diagnosed with a cancer that led to the amputation of one of his legs. After his release, his business suffered difficulties, and he sold it, going to work for the Black & Decker company. He later started a new business in the 1980s, selling power tools.
Sams was married three times. He had two sons by his first wife, but the marriage broke down shortly before he was sent to prison for the first time. His second marriage also ended in divorce. At the time of his arrest for the kidnappings he lived in Sutton on Trent, Nottinghamshire with his third wife.
In July 1991, Sams drove to a local red-light area and picked up a prostitute named Julie Dart, an 18-year-old Leeds resident. She was blindfolded and taken to Sams' warehouse where she was placed in a coffin-like box and chained to the floor. According to Sams' later confession, during the night, Dart attempted to escape, smashing her way out of the box, but she was unable to get out of the room. Sams, who had wired an alarm to the box, returned to chain her to a roof beam. The following day, he forced her to write a letter to her boyfriend demanding a ransom of £140,000, or "the hostage would never be seen again". He also made her write other notes. He then killed her after the notes were written, smashing her head with a hammer. Nine days later he dumped her body in a field in Easton, Lincolnshire.
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