MICHAEL LUPO: THE WOLF MAN OF LONDON

The definition of sadomasochism is a particular kind of violence using pain or humiliation inflicted on another person sexually. This is usually enjoyed by both parties, generally applied as a sexual way to enhance one’s arousal. Although considered taboo by many people, sadomasochism can be described as a form of love; a way to prove affection to someone by playing a role they normally would not attempt. The dominant party, sometimes masked or handling a leather whip, orders the obedient person to submit to them fully. The mere act of submission fulfills the dominant person’s wildest desires as they begin the sex acts they desperately have dreamed of for as long as the passion has been seeded.

Coprophilia is, to put it plainly, the sexual urge to involve oneself in feces. Sexually using the fecal matter in any form titillates and stimulates the interested person. Although the urge to play in and have sex with excrement is not fully understood, one can argue that sex with a beautiful woman is wrong too. It is unknown where coprophilia addiction comes from, whether it is an inherited desire from childhood or an extreme way to provoke new and unforgettable orgasms. What is known about coprophilia is that a vast amount of people privately enjoy it. Much like sadomasochism, it is still a forbidden subject in many circles.

Michael Lupo, a handsome and dashing man, was attracted to both sadomasochism and coprophilia, involving both interests in his personal sex life. When murdering his victims, he had a very distinct and unusual calling card which was beyond astonishment and bewilderment. Many victims of murder have had horrible things done to their bodies, including dismemberments, obscene poses, and substantial violent sexual assaults either before or after their deaths. Michael Lupo appeared to bid his final goodbye to his victims by terrifically violating the bodies he had recently respected enough to have intercourse with.

Michael Lupo joined the famous and well known Italian commando unit as a young man. During this time, he found himself attracted to other men and indulged in his homosexuality in every place his unit served. With an attractive fit body and good-looking facial features, Lupo was able to seduce many, if not all of the gay men he met. Lupo’s sex life was filled with all the men he wanted, and he wanted them all. Going to many local bars in the towns Lupo visited, he found that his favorite haunts were sadomasochistic establishments. Playing the dominant man, he was able to force his evil thoughts and emotions on a submissive party.

Leaving the Italian commando unit, Lupo moved to Britain in 1975. He found work as a hairdresser, and when he acquired enough money, he opened his own boutique. The store catered to a special range of clients, mostly to the wealthy and high society gay men who were anxious to hide their homosexuality. These closeted men paid handsomely for Lupo’s products and treatments, affording Lupo to live extravagantly and comfortably. The “styling boutique”, as Lupo called it, attracted scores of available, vain, and gorgeous men. This thrilled Lupo, who found his little shop paradise for meeting and having sex with every man he could get his manicured fingers on.

Michael Lupo moved to Roland Gardens, in South Kensington, where he designed and built himself a torture chamber to execute his sexual plans. He frequented sadomasochistic bars looking for his ideal partner, which was usually anyone with a pretty face, and brought them back to his underground torture chamber. Boasting that he had had sex with over 4,000 men, Lupo carelessly bed any person willing to enter his home. Abandoning his luxurious home, his “dates” often left with bruises, incisions, bloody noses, and strangle marks around their necks. Whether they enjoyed this kind of suffering is unknown, but Lupo was never found alone on a week night.

In March of 1986, Michael Lupo was diagnosed with HIV, which would have ended the wild sexual endeavors of many, but not Lupo. His diagnosis not only infuriated him, it brought out a monster that was perhaps living inside him all of his 34 years. In the many years since the virus has been discovered, several cases of bitter and angry HIV infected men and women have tried to win some kind of vengeance by transmitting their virus to unsuspecting victims. Though Lupo’s true motive was never revealed, he might have felt some of his “dates” deserved punishment for not having HIV. Lupo might not have wanted to suffer alone, but his actions don’t prove this theory.

In two months, Michael Lupo killed four gay men by strangulation. Not only did he murder them, he had a very unprecedented game he played which happened either before or after his victims were dead. He split open the scrotum of his victims and massaged their testicles. Feeling that his shocking deed was not enough to capture his real hatred and abominations, he slashed open their chest cavities and smeared their bodies with excrement. This was Lupo’s infamous calling card.

Police found bodies littered around London, but were unable to connect anyone to the murders. After two frightened men came to police about a sadistic and strange man who had attempted to strangle them, police linked the murders to a very popular and interesting Italian man named Michael Lupo. Viewing the torture chamber in Lupo’s home, the police made a very swift judgment to arrest him. Lupo was not arrested because of the room, but simply because he was arrogantly strolling around, hands in his pockets, and idly chatting about the victims in a humorous manner. After all, Lupo’s death sentence had been announced by a doctor two months prior and he felt he had nothing to lose.

In 1987, Lupo was charged with four murders and two attempted murders. He pled guilty to all of them, earning him four life sentences and fourteen years for attempted murder. Lupo served eight years in prison before dying of an AIDS related illness. While still living in style, Michael Lupo had visited many hot spots to pick up men. Among his favorites were Berlin, Hamburg, Los Angeles, and New York. They were all places where young gay men were found mutilated and decomposing. The corpses were never directly related to Michael Lupo, but he has been a suspect for years.