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Britains Most Evil Killers - Season 10 - Episode 02: Attila Ban
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00:02The following programme contains descriptions of violence, which some viewers may find distressing.
00:10When three airport hotel employees failed to turn up for their shift in August 2011, no one was alarmed at
00:18first.
00:19They knew that there had been a party the night before.
00:23Had they just overslept?
00:25One of the three, Attila Ban, was known as a model worker.
00:30Ban had never put a foot wrong. Indeed, he'd become Employee of the Year at the hotel.
00:36When the police entered Ban's flat, they were met with a scene of carnage.
00:42Two young people, both clearly deceased.
00:47A great deal of blood.
00:50Attila Ban was nowhere to be seen.
00:52Nothing about the scene made sense.
00:56There were no real warning signs and nothing to explain why Attila Ban went from zero to murder in one
01:06night.
01:06For taking the lives of his two young colleagues in a frenzy of violence,
01:12and for giving their devastated families no explanation for his actions,
01:17Attila Ban must be recognised as one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:47Attila Ban
01:49was convicted of murdering Alice Adams and Tibor Vass in July 2012,
01:55it wasn't just the brutality of the crime that made headlines,
01:58it was the killer's actions afterwards.
02:02Inconceivably, Ban had never left the murder scene.
02:06So after Ban had been arrested and taken to the police station,
02:10there was obviously then a debrief as to how he was still in the flat
02:14after two days of forensic examination.
02:17Not only was he hiding in the murder scene,
02:21but he was actually watching the police
02:23as they were carrying out their examination of their room.
02:28Concealing himself inside a West London flat for two days
02:33raised questions about Ban's state of mind.
02:37That is a highly unusual behaviour.
02:40It's more common that if you murder somebody
02:44that you're going to want to exit the building as quickly as possible,
02:50make sure that you're not a suspect to get away from what you've done.
02:56But in some cases, rarer cases,
03:00the killer will want to keep that emotional connection
03:03to the person that they've killed
03:05because they've killed them in a very emotional state,
03:09probably with sexual connotations,
03:13and they can just keep revisiting that.
03:15They can feel that closeness to that person.
03:20The incident also raised questions
03:23about the way crime scenes are processed.
03:27You have to ask yourself about the searching of the property at that time,
03:32how much more detail could have gone into searching.
03:38It was actually quite unnerving for the officers that had been in the flat,
03:42particularly officers that had maybe been in their flat on their own,
03:45to subsequently realise that he was probably watching them.
03:52Fortunately, nothing more severe came from that,
03:55but obviously the consequences could have been a lot worse.
03:57Perhaps more than anything, the episode was a reminder to all
04:03that a killer's mind can be an unpredictable place.
04:10This killer's story begins in Hungary, in Central Europe, around 1980.
04:20We know very little about the Taliban's early life in Hungary.
04:23We know that he went to the United States as a young man
04:26and worked in hotels there.
04:28We know very little about his family, indeed.
04:33In 2011, Attila Ban was 31 years old.
04:36He had been working for a couple of years at this hotel,
04:39very close to Heathrow Airport.
04:42Ban worked as a receptionist at the four-star hotel,
04:46which was within sight of the airport's runways.
04:50All of that area is full of big hotels,
04:54which have a very transient guest list.
04:57Customers come, stay one night, and fly off.
05:03Attila Ban was identified as the model professional.
05:09He was hard-working, he was devoted,
05:13and he was on the face of a very popular employee.
05:17In fact, he was so well thought of
05:19that he was chosen as Employee of the Year in 2010.
05:24Ban lived in a flat owned by the hotel
05:27on the edge of the premises.
05:28In August 2010, he was joined there by a new flatmate,
05:33fellow Hungarian Tibor Vass.
05:36Tibor was 20 years old, and he was from Budapest.
05:39A very close family.
05:40His father died when he was 15,
05:42very close to his mother and his sister.
05:45After his father's sudden death,
05:48Tibor had taken it upon himself
05:50to get a job after school to help support his family.
05:55He first came to the UK in 2008.
05:59And according to his mother,
06:00he just fell in love with the free spirit of London.
06:06He came back to start working in the hotel industry.
06:11Tibor was a very creative person.
06:14He loved music.
06:15He was able to play all sorts of different instruments,
06:18and he even taught his sister how to play piano.
06:22He was also devoted to his BMX bike,
06:25which was called Daisy.
06:29And indeed, when he came to England,
06:31he brought his bike with him
06:32and did tricks in the car park.
06:36He obviously engendered a degree of fondness
06:39with his colleagues and his friends,
06:40and he was likable.
06:42Tibor Vass had taken some time out from studying
06:45after being turned down for a university place.
06:50He began working at the hotel alongside Attila Ban.
06:56Clearly, Ban took Tibor under his wing.
06:59They both worked on reception together.
07:01They were flatmates.
07:03Tibor clearly trusted him.
07:07Tibor kept in touch with his mother while he was in London,
07:09and in fact, he had introduced her over the phone to Attila Ban.
07:15And Ban had actually told Mrs. Vass,
07:17don't worry, I'll look after your son.
07:20I'll make sure he comes to no harm while he's here in London.
07:24Mrs. Vass was hugely reassured.
07:26She thought Ban was mature and friendly and intelligent.
07:33He was Hungarian as well,
07:35and he'd been in the country for much longer,
07:38and he'd been working there for longer,
07:40and he would look after him.
07:41And I think that probably gave the family a lot of comfort,
07:45to feel that there was somebody there looking out for their son.
07:51As time went on, however,
07:54Ban developed feelings for Tibor
07:56that were not entirely paternal.
07:59There can be no doubt that Ban fancied Tibor.
08:04Attila Ban was openly gay,
08:06and in London, which is a very cosmopolitan city,
08:09that wasn't looked in any way different,
08:11unlike his homeland in Hungary.
08:15Tibor was a good-looking boy,
08:17and he took time to look after himself,
08:19his grooming, or the clothes he wore,
08:21or working out in the gym.
08:24We know that Attila had a fascination with Tibor,
08:30but that was not reciprocated.
08:33Tibor Vass, I think, made it quite clear to Attila
08:36that he wasn't interested in having a relationship in that way,
08:41but they were still friends.
08:44In July 2011,
08:46a new receptionist began working at the hotel,
08:49someone Attila Ban instantly saw as a threat.
08:54Alice Adams is from Ivorheath in Buckinghamshire,
09:00which is a lovely part of the home counties.
09:03She came from a very close family,
09:05and she liked the outdoors and nature and the environment.
09:08Alice had an on-off relationship with a young man back home in Buckinghamshire,
09:14but friends at the hotel noticed that she and Tibor Vass
09:18made an instant connection.
09:21Alice and Tibor were of a similar age, 19, 20 years of age.
09:26Alice Adams was, by all accounts, bubbly, charming, cheerful,
09:31a joy to be with.
09:34She was just a really charming, pleasant young lady,
09:37and she had immediately struck up a really good friendship with Tibor.
09:44They both were musicians,
09:47and so that would have been a common interest between the two of them,
09:50and there was, to all intents and purposes,
09:52a physical attraction between the two.
09:54As Alice and Tibor enjoyed getting to know one another,
09:58hotel staff noticed Attila Ban
10:00becoming increasingly possessive towards his younger male colleague.
10:05Tibor and Ban were both at a team event
10:09organised by the hotel,
10:11and Tibor was taking photographs.
10:14And in one particular instance,
10:17Ban thought he'd been left out of the photograph deliberately,
10:20and there was a sort of antagonism between the two.
10:24And Ban absolutely hit the roof
10:27and launched into a tirade against Tibor
10:30because Ban said he hadn't been included in these pictures.
10:35I think Ban had cultivated this persona
10:39of being a wonderful, kind, caring, friendly person.
10:45It was clearly masking something else,
10:48and that mask definitely slipped in the team-building session.
10:54Where he felt so strongly about Tibor,
10:58he couldn't control the way that he was responding to things.
11:03That was a warning sign that where Tibor was concerned,
11:10he didn't really have control of the mask.
11:15In the first week of August,
11:17just three weeks after Alice's arrival,
11:20Tibor Vass received good news from home.
11:23He'd actually just been granted a place
11:26at a really well-respected university in Hungary.
11:30Tibor was excited to be returning so soon to his family
11:34and his home city of Budapest.
11:37He was going to leave the hotel on the 30th of August.
11:41It was a date that would never arrive for Tibor Vass.
11:45On Tuesday the 9th of August,
11:47a group of colleagues, including Alice Adams,
11:50gathered after work for drinks at Ban and Tibor's flat
11:53behind the hotel.
11:55A little after midnight,
11:57Alice texted her mother
11:58to say she planned to stay the night there.
12:01It would be the last time her loving family
12:03would ever hear from her.
12:14On Wednesday the 10th of August, 2011,
12:18three receptionists failed to turn up
12:20for their 7am shift at a West London airport hotel.
12:2731-year-old Atilaban and his two 20-year-old colleagues,
12:31Tibor Vass and Alice Adams,
12:33were no-shows that morning.
12:39Normally, if you're not going to turn up for work,
12:41you'd let your colleagues know that you're sick
12:42or something's happened to you,
12:44and then they would find other people
12:45to perform those roles,
12:47but that didn't happen.
12:51There wasn't any great concern at that point.
12:54It was just a question of had they just overslept
12:55or had something happened to them.
13:00Mystified as to the non-appearance of these three,
13:06colleagues started looking at the social media accounts.
13:10And around the time he was due to have started
13:13at the reception,
13:15they found a post by Ban.
13:20Atilaban posted on Facebook,
13:21I would like to wake up from that nightmare.
13:26At around 2.30pm,
13:29staff from the hotel called the police
13:31to report their concerns
13:33about the welfare of Tibor, Alice and Ban.
13:36Clearly, this was completely out of character
13:39for Attila to not attend work.
13:44And also, the slightly unusual Facebook page
13:48gave the hotel enough concern to say,
13:50look, could you send someone out to assist us?
13:55I think any police officer who receives that call
14:00should be approaching it with sort of utmost caution.
14:05And I've had that in my situation,
14:08in my experience,
14:08where I've entered a flat
14:10and come across awful crime scenes.
14:12So you have to be hoping for the best,
14:15but preparing for the worst.
14:17You don't know what you're going to find,
14:18so you have to be prepared for every eventuality.
14:21At 3.15pm,
14:24local police officers went to the flat
14:26where the three had last been seen.
14:30The scene when the officers entered Ban's flat
14:35was worse than they can ever have anticipated.
14:40When they opened the door and walked into the flat,
14:44there was Alice's body beneath the window,
14:48covered in blood,
14:50fully clothed,
14:51but almost as if she'd been tossed on the floor
14:53like a discarded doll.
14:57A pillow had been placed over her face
14:59and it was clear to the officers
15:01that she had probably multiple stab wounds.
15:05There was heavy blood staining in that area.
15:09A chef's knife was recovered close to Alice's body.
15:15When they moved into the bedroom,
15:20they discovered Tibor naked,
15:22lying on the double bed
15:24with his legs drawn up.
15:28Tibor's T-shirt and boxer shorts,
15:30bearing signs of having been cut off his body,
15:33were discarded by the front door.
15:36The way that Tibor had been found,
15:38stripped naked
15:39and almost placed in a very deliberately posed position,
15:43would show that someone else had done that
15:46rather than Tibor putting himself in that position.
15:49Tibor had two obvious stab wounds.
15:53I can't imagine it must have horrified them.
15:56I mean, they were literally walking into a carnage,
16:00an abattoir.
16:03Officers could see that their welfare check
16:06for three missing people
16:07had turned very quickly into a double murder inquiry,
16:10at the very least.
16:12It was clearly a major, major crime scene.
16:17Obviously, your first thoughts would have been to preserve the scene
16:21and to consider any suspects.
16:25But then immediately, first of all,
16:27trying to establish if there's anyone else in the flat.
16:30The police had entered the flat looking for three missing people.
16:35They had found only two.
16:36There was no sign at the moment of Ban himself.
16:41Upon finding this crime scene,
16:44you would have to be considering all options.
16:47Where is Attila Ban?
16:50Has he also been injured?
16:53Has he been assaulted as well?
16:56You know, is he the suspect?
16:58The first officers on the scene
17:01had a delicate line to tread
17:03in their search for Attila Ban.
17:06It's drilled into, from sort of day one,
17:08preservation of the scene.
17:12The first officers on scene
17:14would be incredibly conscious
17:16to disturb that scene as little as possible
17:19while still establishing
17:21that there were no other victims or suspects present.
17:25There was a search of the premises.
17:27The lost space within the premises
17:29was also searched,
17:31but there was no sign of him.
17:34The scene was very heavily bloodstained,
17:36but there were no obvious bloodstained footprints
17:39outside the flat.
17:43Quite clearly, he wasn't in the room,
17:46although it was his room,
17:47so it would have the appearance of
17:51he'd done it and he'd run.
17:53Ban had been alone with Alice and Tibor
17:56when their other two colleagues
17:58had left the flat the night before.
18:00There were no signs of a struggle
18:02and nothing to suggest
18:03he'd left the flat against his will.
18:05And then there was the early morning Facebook post.
18:09I would like to wake up from that nightmare.
18:12On finding out about that message,
18:14the police might have started to focus far more
18:17on him as a suspect than a victim.
18:25With two dead victims
18:28and a potential suspect nowhere to be seen,
18:31the officers handed the investigation
18:33over to the Metropolitan Police Homicide Unit
18:36under the leadership of DCI Howard Groves.
18:40The senior investigating officer
18:41is the person who has overall control
18:43and responsibility for a murder investigation.
18:46It means from the moment
18:47that my colleagues inform us of a murder,
18:50I would then have to make all the decisions
18:51around what we do in relation to identifying
18:54why someone was killed,
18:56who the victim was,
18:57who the suspects are,
18:58and progress that investigation.
19:01Howard's team began gathering information.
19:05We conducted house-to-house inquiries,
19:08speak to staff.
19:10We tried to make contact with family
19:12and friends of the deceased
19:14and try and build up a picture
19:16about those two individuals.
19:19The first priority at Bands Flat
19:21was scouring the crime scene for clues.
19:25The first thing would be to have the area cordoned off.
19:28From my experience,
19:29the crime scene was what I would describe
19:31as fairly tidy, clean.
19:34A lot of times when you have that many injuries,
19:36you'd expect to see blood all over the place,
19:38on the ceilings, on the walls.
19:40You'd find items have been tipped over.
19:43That wasn't the case here.
19:49Processing a crime scene of that nature
19:52could take several days, a week,
19:56maybe even two weeks.
19:58Pathologists came out to the scene
20:00to see the victims in situ
20:03and examine the bodies
20:04before they are removed to the mortuary.
20:07The flat would then be sealed.
20:10And once that crime scene is sealed,
20:13only relevant, authorised people can go into it,
20:17such as fingerprint officers,
20:19forensic experts,
20:20other scenes of crime staff.
20:23In the meantime, an operation began to locate Attila Ban.
20:30As soon as a manhunt is launched,
20:32police pull together a vast amount of resources.
20:37There was nothing to suggest
20:39that he'd been seen by anyone leaving the premises.
20:43There was no CCTV footage to say
20:44there was an image of him leaving at a particular time.
20:49Obviously, you would be looking at friends, associates,
20:53who could potentially harbour someone
20:56or help them evade capture.
20:58You would also be looking at all possible technical means
21:01to trace them,
21:02any kind of use of their bank facilities,
21:05anything that could pinpoint their position.
21:09The initial action that was taken to trace him
21:12was by his phone,
21:13and it indicated that his phone was pinging in the area.
21:17So we had to ask ourselves,
21:19had he disposed of his phone,
21:21or was he somewhere locally?
21:24While normally the police would inquire
21:26if friends and family were harbouring the fugitive,
21:29with Attila Ban, this seemed unlikely.
21:34We didn't have anywhere else to look for him,
21:36and let's be honest, Attila didn't have anywhere else to go.
21:40It was apparent during the investigation,
21:42Attila, his life revolved around
21:44working at the hotel and living close to the premises.
21:47He probably didn't have as much friends
21:51and acquaintances for him to have a life outside of work.
21:58So they had to try and exhaust all other options,
22:01looking at, like, flight manifests,
22:03if anyone was trying to leave the country,
22:05booking flights, et cetera.
22:08Detectives wondered if the well-travelled receptionist
22:11might be fleeing abroad,
22:13or even going back home to Hungary.
22:16As it transpired,
22:18there was an Attila Ban leaving Heathrow
22:20around about that time.
22:22So the police actually did stop the plane,
22:25literally, on the tarmac.
22:27Police boarded the plane,
22:29but it wasn't the correct Attila Ban,
22:32not the one we were looking for.
22:37While the search for Attila Ban continued,
22:41detectives set about reconstructing the events
22:44leading up to the murders.
22:46What exactly had taken place in Ban's flat that night,
22:50and why had two innocent young people
22:53lost their lives?
23:07In August 2011,
23:09the Metropolitan Police Homicide Unit
23:12was investigating the murder of Alice Adams and Tibor Vass
23:16at a flat in West London.
23:18Their prime suspect,
23:1931-year-old hotel receptionist Attila Ban,
23:22was nowhere to be found.
23:24Detectives attempted to reconstruct the events
23:27of the humid summer night
23:29when Ban and the two young victims were last seen.
23:33Alice, Tibor and Ban
23:35all went to Ban's staff flat
23:39to have a party,
23:43playing drinking games, et cetera.
23:48They were also joined by two other colleagues
23:51who also had some drinks with them.
23:54The other two men at the party that evening
23:57told the police that they left
23:59when Ban produced some pills,
24:02which he called poppers,
24:04and they thought that wasn't for them,
24:06and they departed,
24:07leaving Alice, Tibor and Ban together.
24:12Their colleagues reported
24:13that it was a party atmosphere,
24:16everything was fine,
24:17and certainly there was no cause for alarm.
24:23The post-mortem examinations
24:25of the two young victims
24:27told a different story.
24:32Tibor only had two stab wounds,
24:34both through the heart.
24:35Alice had suffered 22 stab wounds,
24:38a really frenzied attack.
24:43She had a stab wound to the heart.
24:45She had stab wounds to her stomach,
24:48her spleen, her diaphragm, and her lungs.
24:51So those were significant injuries
24:53and would have resulted in her death.
24:55Now that's rage, that's anger.
25:00So somebody was taking out their rage on Alice,
25:04and it takes quite a long time
25:06to stab someone 22 times.
25:09That's not something that just happens in seconds.
25:13But Tibor's wounds were quite different.
25:16They were very, very targeted.
25:18They were targeted on his heart.
25:20There was only two stab wounds,
25:22and they were meant to end his life
25:26quickly and efficiently.
25:31When the crime scene investigators
25:34looked at the flat,
25:36it seemed to them
25:38that Tibor had been stabbed
25:40on the sofa
25:43and then subsequently moved,
25:45and his body posed
25:47in this rather remarkable way.
25:50Tibor is on the bed.
25:53He's naked, he's naked,
25:55and his body's been positioned.
25:58And even though Tibor's dead,
26:02he's not really being treated
26:04as if he's dead.
26:06The killer wants to possess this man
26:10completely.
26:12For 48 hours,
26:14the homicide squad
26:15had investigated the murders
26:17while the manhunt for Attila band
26:19continued to no avail.
26:25On Friday, the 12th of August,
26:27there was a disturbing breakthrough.
26:31Some police officers
26:32went back to the flats,
26:33and one noticed that the door
26:35that he thought had been left open
26:38last time he'd there
26:39was now shut.
26:42So those officers thought,
26:43something's not quite right here.
26:45They then tried to get into that room
26:47and realised that the door
26:48had been wedged with a bed.
26:52It was the very same bed
26:54Tibor Vass's body
26:55had been found on
26:56two days earlier.
26:59The moment that they realised
27:00that they knew that
27:02somebody had to be
27:04physically in that property
27:05at that time.
27:06Knowing that no one
27:08could have entered
27:08or left the flat
27:10without the Corden officer seeing,
27:12there was only one conclusion
27:14about who was lurking
27:15behind the bedroom door.
27:17When the officers managed
27:19to force their way
27:19into the room,
27:20they found Ban.
27:22He was lying naked
27:23on the bed,
27:25covered in blood.
27:26He was lying face down.
27:27He had injuries to his wrists.
27:30He had a craft knife
27:31sticking in his arm,
27:33and he also had another
27:35craft-style knife
27:36sticking out of one of his buttocks.
27:40Arrested at the scene
27:41on suspicion of murder,
27:43Attila Ban was taken
27:44to hospital
27:45for treatment
27:46to his wounds,
27:47which were not
27:47life-threatening.
27:51Once Ban had received treatment,
27:52he was taken to a
27:53West London police station
27:54and he was interviewed.
27:57If homicide detectives
27:59hoped for answers
28:00to the tragic deaths
28:01of Tibor and Alice,
28:03they would be sadly
28:04disappointed.
28:06When Attila was
28:08initially interviewed,
28:09he wouldn't speak.
28:11They had to use
28:12sign language
28:13to try and see
28:13if they could ascertain
28:15what happened.
28:17He just had
28:18the complete impression
28:19of a man
28:20utterly in shock
28:21and utterly incapable
28:23of describing
28:25anything which had happened
28:26in the last 48 hours.
28:29If he can't speak,
28:31he can't explain
28:32what's happened.
28:33He doesn't have to reveal
28:34anything that's happened.
28:36He might appear
28:38mentally distressed,
28:40mentally ill,
28:41so all of that
28:42could very well be
28:44self-preservation.
28:48While Ban faced interrogation,
28:51questions were also
28:53being asked about
28:54the extraordinary
28:55circumstances
28:56of his capture.
28:57So once the shock
28:59of Ban being found
29:00in the flat
29:01after a couple of days
29:04of quite intense
29:06forensic examination,
29:07after that shock
29:08had subsided,
29:09obviously there was
29:11a debrief
29:11to establish
29:12how and where
29:13he had been.
29:14He had been
29:15actually hiding
29:16under the divan part
29:18of the bed
29:19that Tibor had been on.
29:23They found
29:24any number
29:25of water bottles
29:25that he'd taken
29:26in there
29:27to refresh himself
29:28over this period
29:28of time,
29:29plus his phone
29:30in which he'd
29:31updated his Facebook page
29:33and a knife
29:34which had cut
29:35the area around
29:37so he could
29:37not only get
29:39into the divan
29:40but also
29:41he could look out
29:42and see what
29:43the police were doing.
29:47I mean,
29:48not in your
29:49wildest dreams
29:50could you have
29:51imagined
29:51that he would
29:52be hiding
29:53under the divan.
29:54I think
29:54all the evidence
29:56tended to suggest
29:57that he had
29:57committed
29:58two very
29:59violent murders
30:00and had left
30:01immediately afterwards.
30:03Professor Jane
30:04Moncton-Smith
30:05believes Ban's
30:06bizarre actions
30:07stem from
30:08his desire
30:09to possess
30:10and control
30:11Tibor Vass.
30:13If you imagine
30:14this man
30:15has,
30:16in a very
30:17targeted way,
30:19killed
30:19Tibor
30:20doing the least
30:21amount of damage
30:22to his body
30:25but making sure
30:26he's absolutely
30:27dead.
30:28At that moment
30:29he finally
30:30possesses him.
30:31Is he just
30:32going to run
30:33out the door
30:33at that point?
30:35No,
30:36he's going
30:37to want
30:37to have
30:38that feeling
30:39of possession
30:39carry on
30:41so he
30:42hides himself
30:43in the room
30:45for as long
30:46as he can.
30:50After being
30:51at first
30:52apparently
30:53unable
30:53to speak,
30:54Attila Ban
30:55eventually
30:56found his voice
30:57but concrete
30:58information
30:59was not
31:00forthcoming.
31:01In the interview,
31:02Attila did not
31:03make any full
31:04and frank
31:05admissions
31:06as to
31:06why he killed
31:07him.
31:08All he would
31:09say is that
31:10he must have
31:11but he was
31:12unable to
31:13recount exactly
31:14what happened.
31:15He spent two
31:16days in the
31:16crime scene
31:17being very
31:17quiet,
31:18staying hidden,
31:20knowing exactly
31:21why he was
31:22in that
31:23divan.
31:24So I think
31:25that he had
31:26no memory
31:27of the crime
31:27is probably
31:28stretching things
31:29a little.
31:30There's lots
31:31of reasons
31:32why people
31:32might say
31:33they do
31:33not remember
31:34killing someone.
31:35Now some
31:36of it could
31:36be shock,
31:37yeah,
31:38equally it
31:39could be
31:40so that they
31:41don't have
31:41to actually
31:42tell people
31:43what they
31:44did,
31:44admit to it
31:46and that
31:47may well
31:49protect them
31:50in any
31:51future trial.
31:53Ban was
31:54able to
31:55tell officers
31:56what had
31:56happened in
31:57the hours
31:57after he
31:58stabbed Alice
31:59St. Tibor
32:00to death.
32:01Ban told
32:01the police
32:02that when
32:02he woke
32:03up and
32:03saw the
32:04terrible scene
32:04of carnage
32:05that he
32:05had clearly
32:06caused,
32:06he wanted
32:07to kill
32:07himself.
32:09He actually
32:10took Tibor's
32:11body and
32:13placed it
32:13in the
32:14bath with
32:14him.
32:17Ban wanted
32:17to kill
32:18himself,
32:18he said,
32:19but he
32:19didn't want
32:19to die
32:20alone.
32:24Filling
32:24the bath
32:25with water
32:25and climbing
32:26in with the
32:27body of
32:27his victim,
32:28Attila Ban
32:29switched on
32:29a hairdryer
32:30and dropped
32:31it into
32:32the water.
32:33All he
32:33found out
32:34was that
32:34the hairdryer
32:35worked
32:35underwater
32:35as well
32:36as it
32:36worked
32:36outside.
32:38So he
32:39got out
32:39of the
32:40bath,
32:40replaced
32:41Tibor's
32:42body back
32:43on the
32:44divan,
32:44double bed.
32:46He started
32:47then trying
32:47to hack
32:48his wrists
32:49and his
32:50neck.
32:51He didn't
32:52harm himself
32:53enough to
32:53take his
32:54own life
32:54and he
32:55harmed
32:55himself
32:55in some
32:56strange
32:56places.
32:56He stabbed
32:57himself
32:58in the
32:58arm
32:59and he
33:00stabbed
33:00himself
33:01in the
33:01buttock.
33:03Maybe
33:04wishing he
33:05could join
33:05Tibor in
33:07death but
33:07just not
33:08having the
33:09courage
33:10maybe or
33:10the ability
33:11to harm
33:13himself in
33:13that way.
33:14Ban gave
33:15this rather
33:15complicated
33:16account that
33:17the reason he
33:18had got
33:19inside the
33:20bed was to
33:21watch the
33:21police as
33:22they were
33:22going about
33:23their business.
33:24But when the
33:24police left
33:25for the
33:26night he
33:26would come
33:26out and
33:30move a few
33:30things around
33:32and then get
33:33back into
33:34the bed again
33:34because he
33:35didn't want
33:35to be
33:35discovered
33:36he said
33:38because he
33:39thought the
33:39police would
33:40save his
33:40life and
33:40prevent him
33:41from dying.
33:43Despite
33:44his best
33:45efforts
33:4531-year-old
33:47Attila Ban
33:47was alive.
33:50Though they
33:50still didn't
33:51have the full
33:52story Howard
33:53Groves'
33:54homicide team
33:55was satisfied
33:56they had
33:57caught the
33:57right man.
33:59There was
34:00enough forensic
34:01opportunities and
34:02evidence available
34:03that we were
34:04satisfied that
34:05he had killed
34:06them but what
34:07we were not
34:07going to be
34:08able to
34:08establish
34:08significantly
34:09was why.
34:15On Saturday
34:16the 13th of
34:17August 2011
34:18just a few
34:20days after
34:20the murders
34:21Ban
34:21appeared at
34:22the magistrate's
34:23court charged
34:24with the
34:24murders of
34:25Tibor Vass
34:26and Alice
34:26Adams.
34:32The police
34:33would be able
34:34to provide
34:34the prosecution
34:35with the
34:36who and
34:36the how
34:37of Alice
34:37and Tibor's
34:38untimely
34:39deaths but
34:40not the
34:40why.
34:41It remained
34:42to be seen
34:42if Attila
34:43Ban's trial
34:44would bring
34:45answers for
34:45their devastated
34:46families and
34:47bring a
34:48killer to
34:49justice.
34:59On Monday
35:01the 9th of
35:01July 2012
35:0311 months
35:04after Tibor
35:05Vass and
35:06Alice Adams
35:06were murdered
35:07in a West
35:08London flat
35:0932-year-old
35:10Attila Ban
35:11stood trial
35:12at London's
35:13Central Criminal
35:14Court known
35:15as the Old
35:16Bailey.
35:17Ban faced
35:18two charges
35:19in a very
35:19simple indictment
35:20number one
35:22murder of
35:23Tibor
35:23number two
35:25murder of
35:25Alice.
35:28Ban entered
35:29an interesting
35:30plea that
35:31he said he
35:32was not
35:32guilty to
35:33murder but
35:34guilty of
35:35manslaughter
35:36on the grounds
35:37of diminished
35:37responsibility.
35:39Which basically
35:40means he
35:41accepted that
35:42he had killed
35:43Alice and
35:44Tibor but
35:45that he
35:45didn't know
35:46what he was
35:46doing at the
35:47time.
35:51Given the
35:51circumstances
35:52of the
35:53crime and
35:55the fact that
35:56he clearly
35:57was obsessed
35:58about Tibor
36:01and had
36:01behaved so
36:03erratically
36:04it's quite
36:06possible that
36:08that diminished
36:08responsibility
36:09would be able
36:11to be made
36:11plausible in
36:12court.
36:14the prosecution
36:16argued at
36:17Ban's trial
36:18that he
36:20had fancied
36:22Tibor and
36:23that some
36:24kind of
36:24sexual
36:25jealousy
36:25had taken
36:27place on
36:28the night
36:28of the
36:29party at
36:30Ban's
36:31flat.
36:36The
36:36prosecutor
36:37claimed that
36:38Ban's
36:39frustration
36:39had reached
36:40a desperate
36:41pitch
36:41because he
36:42knew that
36:43time was
36:43running out
36:44to ensnare
36:45the object
36:46of his
36:46affections.
36:47We knew
36:48that Tibor was
36:49going to be
36:49going back
36:50to Hungary
36:51therefore
36:53Attila's
36:54opportunities
36:55to form a
36:56relationship
36:57with him
36:57were even
36:58less likely.
37:02At some
37:03point during
37:04the evening
37:05sexual activity
37:06had taken
37:07place between
37:08Tibor Alice
37:10and Attila
37:11Ban.
37:12DNA was
37:14found on
37:14Alice's
37:15chest and
37:16they related
37:16both to
37:17Attila and
37:18Tibor.
37:21However,
37:22it was
37:23asserted in
37:24court that
37:25witnessing Alice
37:26and Tibor's
37:27attraction towards
37:27one another
37:28was what
37:29finally tipped
37:30Ban over
37:31the edge.
37:32The
37:33prosecution
37:33case was
37:35that Ban
37:35had seen
37:36Alice and
37:37Tibor kissing
37:37and through
37:38drink and
37:39other drugs
37:40had acted
37:41in a violent
37:42rage.
37:45We were
37:46able to
37:47show that
37:47the level
37:48of injuries
37:49that Tibor
37:50received
37:52was significantly
37:53less to
37:54what Alice
37:55received.
37:58So we're
37:59going to
38:00try and
38:00show the
38:00jury that
38:01Attila had
38:03this deep
38:03rooted anger
38:05or hatred
38:06towards Alice.
38:07There's no
38:08doubt that
38:09in that
38:09moment he
38:10saw Alice
38:11as an
38:13obstacle to
38:14his affection.
38:16It was a
38:17rush of blood
38:18which had been
38:18building up for
38:19a very long
38:19time.
38:24Though his
38:25lawyer confirmed
38:26that Attila Ban
38:27accepted he had
38:29stabbed Tibor and
38:30Alice, Ban did
38:32not take the
38:32stand to explain
38:34his actions.
38:34I don't find
38:35that particularly
38:36surprising because
38:38he would have
38:38to admit and
38:40talk about
38:40things that he
38:41really would
38:42not want to
38:44talk about.
38:46Ban looked a
38:47lost soul in
38:48the dark
38:49through the
38:50weeks of that
38:50trial.
38:51He was gazing
38:52around the
38:52court.
38:53He was making
38:54no contribution
38:55to passing notes
38:56or anything to
38:57his defence team.
38:58He was just
38:58walked in with
38:59his prison
38:59officers and
39:02walked out
39:02again.
39:04He didn't
39:05seem engaged.
39:07He didn't
39:07seem remorseful.
39:08He didn't
39:09seem in any
39:10way fighting
39:10to win this
39:12case.
39:12He just
39:13seemed utterly
39:13detached.
39:17Ban's
39:17lawyer told
39:19the court that
39:20Ban was deeply
39:22remorseful and
39:23he really wanted
39:24to explain what
39:25he'd done to
39:25the families of
39:26both Tibor and
39:27Alice.
39:28Jane Monckton
39:29Smith doubts
39:30that Attila Ban's
39:31offer of an
39:32explanation was
39:34made in good
39:34faith.
39:37That offer was
39:38not made through
39:39remorse.
39:41That's control.
39:43He still wants
39:44to possess him
39:45even in death.
39:46What makes him
39:47think that he
39:50could give them
39:51any relief from
39:53their pain?
39:54The man who
39:55killed their son.
39:56No.
39:56He wants them
39:59now in his
40:01life.
40:01It's cruelty.
40:11On Wednesday
40:12the 18th of
40:13July, Ban was
40:14found guilty by
40:15the jury of the
40:16murders of Alice
40:18and Tibor.
40:21It's quite telling,
40:22I think, that the
40:23jury only took
40:24five hours of
40:25deliberation to
40:27find Ban
40:28guilty.
40:30I mean, this, in
40:31my experience, was
40:32an incredibly short
40:33time and I think
40:36points towards the
40:37strength of evidence
40:38against Ban.
40:39Ban was sentenced
40:41to life with a
40:42minimum tariff of
40:4326 years.
40:45The judge, in his
40:46sentencing, described
40:47Ban as a vain and
40:49paranoid young man who
40:50killed two decent
40:52young people.
40:55He also commented on
40:56the fact that because
40:58Ban was still refusing
40:59to accept full
41:01responsibility and give
41:03an accurate account of
41:04what happened, it still
41:05left their families not
41:07knowing what happened in
41:08their last few moments.
41:12In the wake of the
41:14verdict, Alice's
41:16mother made a
41:17statement and it
41:20was extremely moving.
41:22What she asked for was
41:24the details of why
41:27her daughter, her
41:28lovely daughter, had
41:30lost her life in this
41:30extraordinary way.
41:33She said, I don't
41:35mind if the details are
41:36horrific, but at least it
41:38stopped me wondering
41:39what had happened.
41:40And you have to feel
41:41for her for that.
41:43And it was very moving
41:44that Alice's mother said
41:46that she felt that she
41:47had failed to protect
41:48her daughter when, of
41:49course, there was nothing
41:50she could possibly have
41:51done.
41:55Tibor's mother said that
41:56her grief was
41:57multiplied countless
41:58times because the
42:00murder of her son had
42:00taken place really just
42:02a matter of weeks before
42:03he was due to leave
42:04London and come back
42:05to Hungary.
42:08And it was extra agony
42:10to Tibor's mother that
42:12the person that had
42:13committed this awful
42:14crime was somebody that
42:15they had come to trust
42:17and believe would
42:18actually look after
42:19Tibor, but in fact the
42:21opposite couldn't be
42:21further from the truth.
42:26those investigating
42:28this dreadful crime
42:29had to conclude
42:31Ban's actions were
42:32driven simply by
42:33hatred, jealousy
42:35and resentment.
42:37In many ways
42:38he was like a loner.
42:39His life revolved
42:40around the hotel.
42:43Whereas the other two
42:44were youngsters who
42:45were happy to go out
42:47and have a good time
42:48with their friends.
42:49And Attila didn't
42:51like that.
42:53What you can surmise
42:54is that he has acted
42:55out of rage and
42:57jealousy and taken
42:58away the lives of two
43:00thoroughly decent
43:01innocent young people
43:02for nothing.
43:04And it's just
43:04absolutely heartbreaking.
43:10The day after the
43:11trial Alice's family
43:13announced that they
43:14wanted to raise
43:14£100,000 for a
43:16treehouse playground
43:16in her memory.
43:19In January 2016
43:21the treehouse was
43:22officially opened
43:24in Black Park,
43:25Ivor as a joyful
43:26tribute to a much
43:27loved young woman.
43:33In the summer of
43:342011 hotel receptionist
43:37Attila Ban stole the
43:39lives of two young
43:40vibrant colleagues who
43:42had their whole future
43:43ahead of them for
43:44lashing out in a rage
43:46born of jealousy and
43:47frustration and causing
43:49devastation that is
43:50still felt to this
43:51day, Attila Ban has
43:53cemented his place as
43:55one of Britain's most
43:56evil killers.
44:27You
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