TRUE CRIME PAGE Q & A WITH SCOTT WILLIAMS COLLIER

1) Scott we first met online well over a year ago. We had common interests in crime
in general.  What specifically is it about crime that draws your attention?  Is it just crime in general or specific sorts of crimes?



I believe we have known each other for 2 years now, how the time has flown! And during that time we have become good friends and business partners too. To answer your question I have been interested in crime for as long as I can remember if I am honest. I recall watching horror films, gangster films and documentaries as a teenager and, I guess I have always had that curiously in the darker side of humanity, I think all of us do to some extent. I must admit I love the physiological side to crime, why these characters take the road they choose to take, what makes them tick, the crimes they commit and ultimately where they end up, I have always found the drama and the story around it all fascinating.



 2) I know you have a fascination with Ted Bundy. Can you tell us a little about Ted Bundy and what exactly it is that draws you into that character?

As a child the first time I ever encountered the word serial killer was when I saw something in a book about the Yorkshire Ripper, I remember asking my step mother who he was and what a serial killer was. I was probably about 10 years old at the time, I think that’s where my curiosity first started. Several years later in my teens I started watching documentaries on TV, started reading stuff in the tabloids and that’s where I first came across Ted Bundy. I just find him extremely interesting. Here’s a guy who on the surface looks and sounds pretty normal, intelligent, charming and likeable. He was probably the type of guy a lot of parents would be happy if their daughter brought him home to meet them. The fact that he had this other side to him, the side that likes to stalk, kidnap, rape and murder young women is terrifying. It’s not just the fact that he was a serial killer, it’s the types of victims he targeted and his M.O. Most serial killers tend to target the most vulnerable in society, not Bundy, he deliberately targeted intelligent, attractive young girls from middle class families, all American girls so to speak. He was also very daring in the way that he committed his crimes. I think his good looks and charm allowed him to get away with taking risks for quite a long time. Don’t get me wrong I certainly don’t admire people like Ted Bundy but in a macabre kind of way I find him and his crimes fascinating. Ted Bundy is for me the standard that other serial killers in America are compared too.




3) I’ve always said it’s not the mayhem I’m interested in, but the psycho-analysis of it all. In other words what actions or situations have to take place in order for a somewhat normal appearing person to go to the extent some have such as Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, etc. In those two cases they were both gay men, but both had different childhoods.  What is it about the most psychotic killers that interests you?

 I am on the same level of thinking as you when it comes to serial killers. The thing that interests me is what makes them tick. What happened in their childhood and adolescent that contributed to this deviant life they choose to take. I have always believed that it is a combination of things in most cases when you look at what creates a serial killer. Do I believe some people are just born bad? Sure! But I also think that a lot of the time it’s down to what happens to them in childhood, from the parenting they receive, how they are treated at school by their fellow students, traumatising life experiences and feelings of inadequacy, I also believe being exposed to inappropriate things at a young age can also contribute to feeding a deviant mind-set.





4) Across the pond can you maybe talk a little bit about The British Style of Gangsters? What are some of the differences?


We have and always have had a very rich history in organised crime over here in the UK.  We have had a lot of villains, characters and criminal groups and gangs over the years, some that have been well documented in books, documentaries and movies. They can be just as vicious as organised crime groups in America and make lots of money illegitimately just like their American counter parts.  The only things I could say that differs between British and American crime groups is, things in America tend to be on a bigger scale. There tends to be more people involved, more money involved and I would have to say probably better organised. The American mafia also, (especially in its heyday) was a lot more powerful than anything we have ever seen in the UK.



5) You are going to launch the True Crime Page on YouTube soon, what exactly are your plans for that and what can the listeners expect to hear? Is it all crime related or is it one particular genre over another?


I’m glad you asked me this because I’ve had a few questions from people about the show. I will be launching the show on April 4th and we will be kicking off the show with Ted Bundy. I am going to cover a wide range of subjects in the show, not just serial killers. I love anything about villains and gangsters, so my listeners can expect to hear some shows on British gangsters like the Kray twins and the Richardson brothers as well as other gangsters and notorious murderers. Although I am totally fascinated and slightly obsessed with anything to do with the American mafia I think I will leave that to you as you are the expert on that, maybe you can come on the show sometime and we can do a show together.




6) We have been working together for well over a year, and looking back what are some of
your favorite memories? What is the one thing you go back and look at and say wow?


It’s funny when I look at when we first got talking. I quickly realised that we have a lot of common and think that’s why we get on so well. We’ve both been through a lot recently in our personal lives, and I think being able to work on our blog, run our pages has been a great way to escape life’s bullshit and invest our energy into being creative. When I look back now the things that make me go wow are how good Mob Talk Radio is doing and how popular our blog page is, and of course the conversation we had last year about me doing my own show for The True Crime Page, which is now coming to fruition too.



7) You have recently discussed your creepy story from your past. Looking back now, do you think Darren Appleyard had all the earmarks of being or at least the propensity of being a serial killer? Also take us back to the moment when you realized you had a monster living with you. What was it like to wake up and realize this guy who slept under the same roof was a killer?


I was totally shocked at the revelations that he murdered his pregnant girlfriend, the same girl he went back to after living at my house for five weeks. Not much longer after the murder it started becoming known that he had a lot of previous with other women. Several women including his ex-wife spoke out against him about his violent, controlling and abusive personality. He had been accused of rape, assaults, threats to kill, keeping his wife prisoner in the house and not allowing her to see her friends and family. Did he propensity to be a serial killer? I’m not sure about that. Looking back at it now I believe he was a very angry man with a damaged ego, I believe he directed that anger at the women in his life, which ultimately ended with him committing the vile murder of his pregnant girlfriend, which I may add was done while his own children from a different relationship and his girlfriend’s (Lisa) daughter was also in the house. He got 17 years for that. I believe he was very lucky and doesn’t deserve to be free ever again. I look back at that time now and it gives me the creeps to know I shared my home and a small part of my life with a vile violent bully and murderer like him. I still had all his stuff in my house for months then decided to thrown everything away one day. I hope he’s having a difficult time in prison because he deserves it.



8) Being from The UK, what is your opinion on the way the justice system works in the U.S.?  What are the common differences between say a trial in England versus the United States.  Do killers do less time or more time over there?

The big difference is that the Justice system in America is far harsher than the UK. Over here in Britain you could murder someone and get 16 years in prison, that’s the average sentence for committing murder over here. I find it astounding really that we view life so cheaply! In comparison in America you tend to get much longer sentences, or you could even be sent away for life with no possibility of parole, to get a similar sentence in the UK you would have to do something really bad like murder a few people or commit serial murder. The other difference is a lot of states in America still have the death penalty, that’s something we abolished over here in 1965. I do believe that our justice system is too weak and that harsher punishments and sentences should be brought back similar to the American Justice system.



9) What do you want to accomplish from the true crime page? What’s the goal? To teach, to inform? Where do you see the page going and what are some things you’d like to do down the road?


I started the page several years ago with a friend. We just used it to share stuff that interested us about crime. My said friend is no longer involved with the page now but I carried on with it. It’s started to grow quite a lot over the last 18 months and we now have close to 3000 followers now which is brilliant. My main objective is to share with everyone my fascination and knowledge of crime through blogs, news and my upcoming new show. If people visit the page and enjoy what we do and learn something as well then that makes me happy. I haven’t really thought too much about the long term future but the ultimate for me would be to write a book and to make my new show a success.




10) Name three murderers (serial killers) or criminals that have most impacted you creatively.  Not in any order just three that captivate you enough to make you read more about them. Give us your nasty three.


Wow this is a difficult one! There’s some many to choose from. But if you put a gun to my head I think I would go with Ted Bundy, Fred West and the Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe).  Three very frightening, dangerous and violent individuals for sure!


11) Tell us about you. What makes Scott tick? What are your hobbies?  Where do you live in England?  What drew you to this genre in the first place?


Apart from running a crime page and being obsessed with true crime, I’m a pretty normal guy really. I was born in a small mining town called Leigh in Greater Manchester, North West England in 1978. I moved with my mother to Warrington, Cheshire also in the North West in the mid-80’s and grew up there. I now live in the Midlands in Stoke-on-Trent and I love it down there! I’m a very keen photographer, I love reading and watching movies. Love sports especially boxing, football, rugby league and F1 racing. In regards to what drew me to the genre of crime, I would have to say the first thing I can remember was seeing something about the Yorkshire Ripper in a book and asking my step mother about him, that’s where I first became intrigued about crime and it just grew from there. Books, films, documentaries and things I have seen on the news and papers all fed my fascination with the genre. I have been fascinated with it for as long as I can remember and think I always will be.

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