34 Facts About Michael Sams

Michael Benneman Sams was born on 11 August 1941 and is an English kidnapper, extortionist, rapist and murderer.

Michael Sams kidnapped Julie Dart in July 1991 and later murdered her following her attempted escape.

Michael Sams subsequently kidnapped Stephanie Slater in January 1992, eventually releasing her after payment of a ransom.

Michael Sams became known for his attempts to sue the prison, initially successfully, for losing his artificial leg, and then because his bed was too hard.

Michael Sams was born and raised in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Michael Sams joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 20.

However, Michael Sams turned to crime and was first imprisoned in 1978 for stealing a car and making a false insurance claim.

Michael Sams later started a new business in the 1980s, selling power tools.

Michael Sams had two sons by his first wife, but the marriage broke down shortly before he was sent to prison.

On 9 July 1991, Michael Sams drove to a local red light area and picked up Julie Dart, an 18-year-old Leeds resident.

Michael Sams was blindfolded and taken to Sams' warehouse, where she was placed in a coffin-like box and chained to the floor.

Michael Sams, who had wired an alarm to the box, returned to chain her to a roof beam.

Since it was never likely that Dart's ransom would be paid, it has been suggested that Michael Sams always intended to kill her.

McGredy-Hunt said that Michael Sams continued to demand ransom for several days after Dart's death, only dumping her body after the smell of decomposition became difficult to conceal.

Michael Sams sent messages stating he would intentionally cause a train crash unless he was paid a ransom.

Michael Sams attempted to blackmail supermarkets by threatening to poison food.

Some months later, on 22 January 1992, Michael Sams kidnapped another woman.

Michael Sams again demanded a ransom, this time from Slater's manager at the estate agency.

Michael Sams had told her she would be electrocuted if she tried to move.

Michael Sams later said that this was to spare her mother, who had a heart condition, from unnecessary further anguish.

Michael Sams denied raping Slater, asserting, "I cannot allow this to go unchallenged".

Michael Sams made the unsubstantiated claim that they had a consensual affair and attempted to sue Slater for libel, but lost the case.

Michael Sams subsequently worked with police forces to advise them on how to deal with kidnap survivors, and with the survivors themselves, to help them to recover from their ordeals.

Michael Sams died on 31 August 2017, aged 50, from cancer.

Michael Sams was arrested, and forensic evidence was gathered of his responsibility for Dart's murder.

At his trial at Nottingham Crown Court in 1993, Michael Sams admitted to the kidnapping of Slater, but denied the kidnap and murder of Dart.

Michael Sams was found guilty of attempting to blackmail the police and British Rail; he was sentenced to 10 years for each of four blackmail attempts.

Michael Sams confessed to Dart's murder in prison, three days after he was found guilty.

Michael Sams had asked the senior investigating officer Detective Chief Superintendent, Bob Taylor, to visit him in jail.

Michael Sams told officers he had made the confession for the sake of Julie's grieving mother.

Michael Sams continued to offend after he was imprisoned, attacking a female probation officer with a metal spike in October 1995 at Wakefield Prison.

Michael Sams brought a civil case because he believed that his prison bed was too hard.

Michael Sams is among the oldest and longest-serving life sentence prisoners in England and Wales.

In 1993, the kidnapping of Slater and subsequent manhunt for Michael Sams was the subject of an edition of the BBC1 series Crimewatch File, titled "A Murderer's Game", which reconstructed some of the events.