UK's bestselling true crime author accused of domestic abuse — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Christopher Berry-Dee is the UK's bestselling true crime author with nearly 1m total sales per NielsenIQ BookData, but his ex-wife Tracey Dee and daughters Zoe (38) and Sasha (35) allege he beat Tracey repeatedly, burned her with a cigar while pregnant, held a butcher's knife over her, and once pointed a loaded shotgun at her
- Berry-Dee has prior criminal convictions, including a 1982 forgery conviction resulting in a one-year sentence at Ford open prison in West Sussex, plus a separate 1988 conviction for obtaining credit and evading liability while an undischarged bankrupt
- Convicted serial killer Kenneth Bianchi, now Anthony D'Amato and known as the Hillside Strangler, says quotes Berry-Dee attributed to him are 'complete fabrications', while Bundy expert Margaret Vandiver said the Ted Bundy quotes in Berry-Dee's books appear to be a 'mash-up' of Bundy's voice and invention; Berry-Dee could not produce a verifiable source for the quotes
- The Berry-Dee family home in Curdridge near Winchester stored murder memorabilia, including the clothes a murdered nine-year-old girl had been killed in and the Austin Metro Michael Sams used to transport a body in 1991, which daughter Zoe discovered as a child while playing
- Tracey Dee fled Berry-Dee in 1994 while he was in the US working on the documentary series The Serial Killers, obtaining a court order preventing him from removing their two daughters from her custody
- Berry-Dee, now 78, declined to be interviewed citing a recent near-death stroke and medical advice, but wrote in a lengthy email, 'I have not once committed any of the crimes you accuse me of'
Why it matters: The allegations come from multiple alleged victims, family members, and named serial killers during a six-month Guardian investigation. If substantiated, they would mean the UK's most commercially successful true crime author built his three-decade career and roughly 1m sales on what his accusers describe as a paraphilia for violence against women and children, contradicting his public persona as an advocate for victims.
Ask SkimNews
