Robert Black | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Robert_Black_mugshot.jpg) Mugshot of Black, taken after his July 1990 arrest | |
| Born | 21 April 1947 Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
| Died | 12 January 2016 (aged 68) HMP Maghaberry, Northern Ireland |
| Conviction(s) | Murder Kidnap Preventing the lawful burial of a body Sexual assault Attempted kidnap |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 4+ |
Span of crimes | 12 August 1981 – 14 July 1990 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Date apprehended | 14 July 1990 |
Robert Black (21 April 1947 – 12 January 2016) was a Scottish serial killer and paedophile who was convicted of the kidnap, rape and murder of four girls aged between 5 and 11 in a series of crimes committed between 1981 and 1986 in the United Kingdom.
Black was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of three girls on 19 May 1994. He was also convicted of the kidnapping of a fourth girl and had earlier been convicted of the kidnapping and sexual assault of a fifth. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 35 years.
In 2011, Black was further convicted of the 1981 sexual assault and murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy. At the time of his death in 2016, he was regarded as the prime suspect in the 1978 disappearance and murder of 13-year-old Genette Tate. Black may also have been responsible for several other unsolved child murders throughout Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe between 1969 and 1987.
The nationwide manhunt for Black was one of the most exhaustive British murder investigations of the 20th century. He died of a heart attack at HMP Maghaberry in 2016 aged 68.