Geoffrey Gilbert

Geoffrey Gilbert was stabbed to death in his flat in December 1987.

The police said that they thought that he had been murdered in a homophobic attack.

He had been stabbed more than 20 times in the kitchen at his flat.

Geoffrey Gilbert was heard to shout out:

Geoffrey Gilbert had been a former carpet fitter and was described as having many men friends and to have been a practising homosexual. He was also described as having been a cripple.

It was reported that a young blond man had been seen outside his flat on the night before his body was discovered. The man had been seen sitting on a wall in the Chapman Street and Annesley Garden area, which was a road leading to the flats.

Other reports also appealed for a blond man that had been seen visiting Geoffrey Gilbert every day early in the morning for the previous two months to come forward. He was described as a frequent visitor and on one occasion told a person that he was going to see Geoffrey Gilbert.

The police said that the descriptions of the two men were strikingly similar but that they had no idea who he was and appealed for him to come forward. He was described as:

• 24 years old.
• Blond shoulder length hair.
• Very neat and well groomed.
• Second sighting he was wearing a dark blue blouson type jacket, light blue stonewashed jeans and white trainers.

The police said that they were keen to trace a man seen running from Cornwall Court in Gorton in the early hours of the Saturday morning. He was described as having been aged 16-18.

The police also appealed for three young men and a girl that were seen on playing fields nearby who it was thought might have seen the man to come forward, which it was reported they later did.

Two men, former live-in lovers, were reported as having already been questioned by the police.

A detective leading a team of more than 100 officers in the hunt for the murderer said:

The detective noted that Geoffrey Gilbert had advertised for gay friends in local newspapers.

The police later hit out at the poor public response to appeals for information.