Durban House of Horrors: The Blue Lagoon Murder of Michael Gilbert (South Africa, 2009)

About this episode

The episode discusses the tragic case of Michael Gilbert, who was subjected to modern slavery and ultimately murdered in 2009.

A young man was kept inside a Luton house, beaten, locked in rooms, and forced to work without pay. Michael Gilbert disappeared months before his body was later found at the Blue Lagoon in Arlesey. Michael Gilbert was 26 years old and had learning difficulties. He became trapped inside a household in Luton, Bedfordshire where he was treated as unpaid labour. His money was taken, his movements were controlled, and he was repeatedly assaulted. In January 2009, he died after a sustained attack inside the house. His body was later cut apart and dumped in a flooded chalk quarry known locally as the Blue Lagoon. Police and social services had been in contact with the household long before his death. The case later became one of the most cited British true crime examples of modern slavery, torture houses, and abuse within family networks. It is now widely studied as a UK historical cold case. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/whispers-of-crime-unsolved-true-crime--6281125/support . Whispers of Crime: Unsolved True Crime is your go-to true crime podcast for exploring the most chilling unsolved mysteries, cold cases, and murder investigations that…

People in this episode

Host: Tochukwu Ezebube

Topics covered

• modern slavery
• true crime
• abuse
• cold case
• murder investigation

Keywords

• Michael Gilbert
• Blue Lagoon
• modern slavery
• true crime
• murder
• abuse
• cold case

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Luton, Bedfordshire, Blue Lagoon

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