Where is everyone from Nail Bomber: Manhunt on Netflix now?

Right now, the true crime documentary everyone is watching is Nail Bomber: Manhunt on Netflix. It covers the 1999 London nail bombings, and the subsequent manhunt for the man behind them: David Copeland.

The bombings took place over three weekends in April that year, and resulted in the deaths of three people and injured 140 others. Copeland targeted Black, Bangladeshi and gay communities and was found after CCTV footage of his first attack was released and an undercover member of far-right political groups identified him as being in the images.

The Netflix documentary contains powerful interviews from those closest to the case. It’s been 22 years since the attacks happened, so here’s where everyone featured in Nail Bomber: Manhunt on Netflix is now.

‘Arthur’

One of the most stand-out interviews in Nail Bomber: Manhunt on Netflix comes from “Arthur” who went undercover in far-right political groups and ended up helping to catch the bomber in the 1999 attacks. Arthur, which is just a code name, was undercover for 10 years and even had to pretend to his family that he had Nazi beliefs and really was part of the political groups.

In 1994 he decided to become an informant in far right groups, reporting in Searchlight magazine which publishes exposés about racism and fascism in the UK. In the groups, he met people who are “overtly Nazi” and would hand out hit lists and bomb guides. He says that during this time he became “immune” to racism. Despite being key in helping the police track down David Copeland, to this day Arthur says he feels guilty and wishes he could have stopped him sooner.

Arthur has still kept his identity under wraps, so the people from the groups he infiltrated won’t find out who he is. However, he did leave the groups around a decade after the London attacks and could finally tell his family he wasn’t the person he had been posing as. He can’t ever let the groups know his true identity, “these guys are really dangerous. They still believe I’m a Nazi”, he said.

John Tyndall

John Tyndall founded far-right political group, the BNP, and was its acting chairman at the time of the London nail bombings. Tyndall is featured highly in the documentary as being a figure who incited racial hatred and encouraged Neo-Nazi beliefs. He promoted the idea of a distinct white “British race”, and called for all non-white people to be deported from the country.

Tyndall was the chairman of the BNP until 1999, but afterwards remained a member of the party. In December 2004, he was arrested on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred after a speech at a BNP event. In the speech, which was filmed by an undercover BBC investigator, Tyndall claimed Asians and Africans had only produced “black magic, witchcraft, voodoo, cannibalism and Aids”.

On July 19th 2005, two days before he was due to stand trial, John Tyndall died of heart failure at his home in Hove.

Gary Reid

Gary Reid is a survivor of the nail bombing which took place at the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho. Gary is interviewed at length in the Netflix documentary and recalls the attack, which resulted in him having a leg amputated. At the time, a BBC report said Gary lost a leg and was badly burned and injured by shrapnel. He was first put in intensive care and at first, doctors feared for his life.

Gary, who is from New Zealand, is now working as an artist. He was 43 at the time of the attack, so is 64 now.

David Copeland

The nail bomber himself, David Copeland, was convicted of murder in June 2000 and given six life sentences with a minimum sentence of 30 years. In 2007, due to new legislation, Copeland’s sentence was increased to a minimum of 50 years. In June 2014, Copeland attacked a fellow prisoner with a weapon made from razor blades. He was found guilty of wounding with intent and another three years was added to his sentence.

Copeland is now 45-years-old, and will not be eligible for release until he is in his mid-70s and that is only if the parole board deems it safe to do so. He is serving his sentence in Belmarsh prison.

Bernard ‘Bernie’ O’Mahoney

Bernard O’Mahoney is an ex-bouncer from Essex. When he was working as nightclub security, he became associated with Tony Tucker, who was a notorious drug dealer in the area. Tucker was one of three people shot in his Range Rover in 1995 – a story which was covered widely by the media and forced Bernard to give up his career as a bouncer.

In the nail bombings case, Bernard wrote to David Copeland whilst he was being held in Broadmoor Hospital and pretended to be a woman called Patsy. Through his letters, Bernard managed to get Copeland to admit he had tricked doctors into thinking he was “crazy”, which led to Copeland being held fully responsible for his actions in court, and not being able to plead diminished responsibility on the grounds of insanity.

Bernard has had a very successful career as a true crime author. He’s 61 now, a father of six and living in Lincoln. He published his first book, “So this is Ecstasy?” in 1997, and then wrote “Essex Boys”, “Soldier of the Queen”, “Wannabe in My Gang”, “Hateland”, “Bonded by Blood”, “Wild Thing”  and “Essex Boys – The New Generation”. Bernard’s most recent book is called “Flowers in God’s Garden” and he opens up about his correspondence with numerous high-profile British serial and child killers.

Bernard also appeared in Killer Britain on The Crime and Investigation channel.

Nail Bomber: Manhunt is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Who is London nail bomber David Copeland and where is he now?

• The true story of London nail bombings behind new Netflix doc Nail Bomber: Manhunt

• Where is David Berkowitz now? The killer from The Sons of Sam on Netflix