CHISWICK RAPIST CARL ROYAL DIES: PREDATOR WHO CLIMBED THROUGH WOMAN'S WINDOW THEN SAID 'I CAN'T HELP MYSELF'
The 'Chiswick Rapist' who terrorised women across West London in the 1990s has died in prison while serving three life sentences for a terrifying spate of sex attacks.Carl Royal, 57, told police "I can't help myself" when he was arrested at his Hammersmith home in 1996 after a spree involving three counts of rape, seven indecent assaults, and two burglaries.
Royal's death at HMP Wakefield on November 24 was announced by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, the watchdog tasked with investigating deaths in prison.
The cause of death has not been revealed, but a probe is underway at the Category A facility in West Yorkshire which houses some of Britain's most notorious criminals, including paedophile killers Sidney Cooke and Roy Whiting.
Royal's conviction and sentence was reported by the Hounslow Chronicle (now printed weekly by MyLondon) in 1996, including claims that delays in DNA testing allowed him to commit two further rapes after his first arrest.
At the time police blamed a bad description and not having enough DNA samples to get a good match.
Royal's exploits also made national news at the time.
The Daily Mirror reported he had an "uncontrollable 'instinct' to rape, but hated what he was doing and left vital clues to help detectives track him".
Royal was also high on drugs and drink when he attacked, according to the reports, and had been living in a rehabilitation hostel for recently released prisoners at the time.
