The fantasies that led to evil crimes.
Express & Star:Tuesday November 9 1982
Unemployed Malcolm Smith, who used a web of lies to
ensnare young girls into his perverted satanic sex ring, lived a
life of total fantasy.
The volunteer radio presenter told neighbours and friends
that he was an SAS agent , that he had been a fighter pilot in the
last war and that he had a luxurious flat in Mayfair.
He also boasted that he was a secret service agent and had
a rich uncle who owned a ranch in Dallas(Texas).
But his harmless fantasy world lead him to an sinister
interest in the occult-and eventually to a life of horrific sex
crimes against children.
FIGHT
Smith and his wife , Susan, twice moved house in Telford
each time leaving behind angry , suspicious neighbours.
They lived in poverty , and each time they set up a new
home , rumours soon began about strange activities at the house.
Former neighbour Mrs Veronica Row, of Smallwood, Sutten
Hill, said: "Everybody round here told their kids not to have
anything to do with them and definitely not to go in the house.
"He was always inviting little girls he was always
grabbing hold of little kids , he liked that", she said .
Mrs Row said that there were rumours about bizarre events
taking place at the Smith Home around the time of a full moon.
"Some people had heard noises like wolves howling. I have
heard people say that it was him. He really believed in all that."
she said.
RADIO
Although neither Smith nor his wife worked, he spent some
time on a training opportunity scheme, painting and decorating at
Wolverhampton. He was sacked because he kept taking days off.
He worked as a volunteer presenter with his own weekly one
hour spot on the community station, WSM Radio at Woodside ,
Telford, reaching a potential 20,000 listeners.
His show was a mixture of music and requests, together
with a look into the supernatural, legends, and mysteries, such as
the Marie Celeste.
Fellow presenter, Richard Tyler said: "He had a very vivid
imagination. He said he had been a fighter pilot and all sorts of
other improbable things."
BARRED
And a woman who also worked at the station said: "He had
gone round professing to be the devil, or an Indian or something.
He believed his own fantasies. He was like Walter Mitty."
Members of a naturist club in the area saw through the
charade set up by Smith. They barred the couple from membership of
their club after just a few visits.
