The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer (C4)

[Voley]

Anyone see this? I started it last night and binged the lot. It's the story of Charles Sobrajh aka "The Serpent" whose story was dramatised recently. BBC iirc.

Sobrajh drugged, robbed and murdered backpackers in the 1970s, went on the run and eventually ended up doing 19 years in a Nepalese prison. He's suspected of as many as 30+ murders.

For reasons best known to himself, he agreed to be interviewed by detectives and a psychologist for this programme. He's as slippery as his nickname but the grilling he gets takes no prisoners.

Well worth a watch.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/real-serpent-investigating-a-serial-killer

 

[hash tag]

Did he not say when being interviewed that he didn't kill anyone?

 

[Voley]

Yep. He denies everything bar the robberies and drugging.

I don't want to give too much away but the detectives / psychologists summations of his answers express more than a hint of disbelief at this, unsurprisingly.

 

[marshall]

Interested to watch this, enjoyed the mini-series a few years back - disturbing to say the least - good to get the real story, ta!

 

[Silas Loom]

Murderers becoming celebrities again.

 

[seventh bullet]

'Twenty years ago he was taking the piss.'

 

[Voley]

Murderers becoming celebrities again.

There is an "oxygen of publicity" argument here, agreed.

However,

Spoiler: Spoiler for the end of this series

at the end of this, the detectives involved referred their investigations to the Dutch police as two of the murders can be investigated under Dutch law that has no statute of limitations. There's an outside chance he may face more charges. A minimal chance, admittedly, but still. Sobrajh threatened to sue them under questioning as they rattled him so much, despite his calm exterior. The psychologist told him he was narcissistic, psychopathic and machievellian. It was his hubris that landed him in jail last time. I'd love to see it happen again.

 

[Spymaster]

Interesting. I saw the series about him a while ago.

He was a proper piece of work.

 

[Voley]

Interesting. I saw the series about him a while ago.

He was a proper piece of work.

One of the surprising things on this programme for me was how little of the dramatisation was fiction. It's such a bonkers story it didn't need much embellishment. I'd forgotten about the bit where he poisoned an entire room of people- I'd assumed that was a bit of artistic licence but it really happened.

 

[Dandred]

This was a really good listen/watch