A monster who was part of a twisted group that tortured a teenage girl to death in 1992 has died – with the victim's brother saying: 'That's one off the planet.'
Glyn Powell was one of six people jailed for the barbaric seven-day butchery of Suzanne Capper in Manchester in 1992.
The morbid group eventually doused her in petrol, set her on fire and sang 'burn, baby, burn' before leaving her for dead, but the 16-year-old was able to survive long enough to name her attackers to police.
Powell, then 29, was one of the ringleaders, alongside his estranged wife Jean, then 26, and Bernadette McNeilly, then 24.
All three, along with 16-year-old Anthony Dudson, were handed life sentences but have since been released.
Glyn Powell was the last of the killers to be freed from prison, in 2023, and died of cancer in March, The Crime Desk has confirmed.
Speaking on the eve of what would have been his big sister's 50th birthday, Stephen Capper, now 46, said: 'I think they were just evil, honestly. They manipulated my sister like a slave.
'I fought since I was 16 years old to keep them in prison but they're all out now.
Suzanne Capper was subjected to horrific torture and set alight. She died from her injuries
Glyn Powell, 29, was given a life sentence but was released in 2023, before dying of cancer
The bed on which Suzanne Capper was held captive before being tortured and murdered
Jean Powell, 26, who was given a life sentence along with her estranged husband Glyn
'Well, Glyn is dead, so that's one off the planet. I want to keep fighting until they've all died or they breach their parole and end up back inside. I can't leave this, ever. I'll leave this when I leave this earth.'
Suzanne's other attackers were Clifford Pook, then 18, the on-off partner of Suzanne, and Jeffrey Leigh, then 27.
They received 15 and 12 years respectively for their part in her imprisonment and torture. They were not present when Suzanne was set alight.
Stephen was just 12 when his 'best friend' Suzanne died. He has suffered PTSD and mental health problems since, and remembers clearly how he saw Suzanne, charred and unrecognisable, in the burns unit of Withington Hospital.
He described how he often nervously bites his nails and flicks the clippings into an ashtray, but when the butt of his cigarette touches them in the pot, the smell reminds him of the stench of burning flesh he witnessed in the ward in December 1992.
'I know that I do it, it's a nervous thing. And it takes me straight back to the hospital because of the smell, but that was a thousand times worse. That's what Suzanne smelt like.'
He added: 'I think Suzanne was very let down by lots of people. Some people think it's best forgotten. But I don't think Suzanne's legacy should ever be left alone. These people are out. I'd want to know if they were living next door to me.
The street in Manchester where Suzanne Capper was tortured before being killed
Bernadette McNeilly and a gang of Satanic co-conspirators kidnapped and tortured Suzanne Capper before burning her alive in December 1992
The house where Suzanne lived in Moston, Manchster
'Suzanne was an amazing, kind, funny person. She was always taking me to the park, we were always out.
'I think she was my babysitter, she used to call me a cling-on.
'I was only small and so I literally used to cling on to her. Yeah, she was my best friend as well as my sister.'
He said his big sister was not a 'street urchin', as had been made out over the years.
'We honestly had a normal childhood. We had family holidays together, we regularly went down to Torquay,' he recalled.
My mum was a satanic death cult killer... I can still hear her victim scratching at my bedroom wall
'My dad worked really hard as a taxi driver, some years we had two holidays. It was a happy family time until my parents separated, and then things changed for Suzanne.'
Stephen and Suzanne's childhood best friend Samantha Dale, who goes by Sam, will mark Suzanne's 50th birthday – on Tuesday (September 1) – by launching a charity in her memory.
They have also written a book named The Lost Voice: Remembering Suzanne Capper.
On Tuesday the pair will hold an event where they will launch Lost Voices – which they say will aim to transform Suzanne's story into one of positive change to help those in need.
The event will be held at FC United in Moston, just ten minutes' walk from the lair where Suzanne was tortured by the gang.
Suzanne was stripped and had her head shaved before being beaten with a piece of wood and a belt
Elizabeth Capper, the mother of murdered teenager Suzanne, at her daughter's funeral
The Daily Mail report on the jailing of Suzanne Capper's killers in December 1993
She had been tied to an upturned bed in a house on her estate in Moston and injected with drugs, her head and pubic hair were shaved, she was badly beaten with blunt objects and her teeth were pulled out with pliers.
Before each terrifying ordeal, her twisted attackers would force headphones on to her and play a rave track sampling dialogue from the horror film Child's Play, which screeched: 'I'm Chucky, wanna play?'
She was eventually driven to a secluded spot on the outskirts of Stockport by the gang and set on fire as warped McNeilly sang 'burn, baby, burn'.
Believing Capper to be dead, the Powells, Dudson and McNeilly returned to the house. But brave Suzanne staggered up an embankment and on to a roadside a quarter of a mile away, where she found help.
She was able to survive long enough to tell police who her attackers were, before dying four days later on December 18.
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Sam said she used to babysit Jean and Glyn Powell's children.
She introduced the teenage Suzanne to the family, and they met Jean's brother Clifford Pook at the same time.
He made advances towards Sam and when she showed no interest he set his sights on Suzanne.
Aged 14, Suzanne was in between homes after her mum and stepfather split, and she began to abscond from school while spending more time with Pook and the rest of the clan.
Little did she know that her on-off lover of two years would later become one of her torturers.
He would pull Suzanne's teeth out with pliers, and he did it with such force that her top jaw would be dislodged. Her teeth were found at the house by police.
Months before Suzanne's life was tragically and brutally cut short, Sam had been told by her parents that she had to stop spending time with her because of the company she was keeping.
Speaking through tears, Sam said: 'Suzanne and I had an argument over Clifford Pook, and that was probably the last conversation I had with her.
'I know now, as an adult, that it wasn't my fault, but I've carried that guilt from being 15 years old. After she died, I remember my dad saying to me "that could have been you."'
Suzanne was lured away from her home by Jean and McNeilly on December 7.
When they arrived with Suzanne at 97 Langworthy Road, Glyn and Dudson were awaiting.
She was held down and had her head and eyebrows shaved, before being subject to hours of beating with a wooden implement and a belt, as well as being suffocated with a plastic bag.
The following day, she was taken a few doors down to number 91, the former home of McNeilly, where the scale of the torture increased for the next six days.
She had been moved over concerns the six children in the house – three belonged to McNeilly and the others to Jean – would be disturbed by their victim's screams.
With no sign of Suzanne after three days, stepfather John was growing concerned, and word reached the group.
So in the early hours of December 14, she was driven to Werneth Low, pushed down a bank, doused in petrol and set alight.
Sam, speaking through tears, recalls: 'Suzanne and I were really close and she actually always wanted to be famous, a typical girl of that age. She eventually became famous, as we know, but for all the wrong reasons.
'We now want to try and change that so people can see more of who she really was - a lovely, funny, talented girl who we miss so much.'