Bio

John Nigel Maden was born in 1972. He grew up in Manchester, England. He faced personal challenges including mental health issues. At some point, he was prescribed antipsychotic medication. 

Maden became obsessed with violent pornography, particularly that which involved themes related to paedophilia, rape, and torture. His interest in these materials grew over the years. He collected a large library of such literature and images. 

He was known to have a daughter for whom he often sought babysitters. Maden's relationship with his family, specifically his sister Lynne, was complex. He frequently had his niece, Tia Rigg, come to his home to babysit his child. This allowed him to build a trust with Tia, who was only twelve years old at the time of his later actions.

Murder Story

On April 3, 2010, John Nigel Maden murdered his 12-year-old niece, Tia Rigg, in his home in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England. That afternoon, he called Tia's mother to invite Tia over to babysit his ten-year-old daughter. When Tia arrived around 3:00 PM, he drugged her with prescribed medication. He then committed several violent acts against her before ultimately killing her.

After the murder, Maden called emergency services at 3:45 PM. He told the operator, “Hi, I would like to report a murder,” and admitted, “my niece has been murdered by me… I have just finished killing her now.” When asked why he did it, he simply replied, “Because I felt like it.”

Police arrived at the scene within two minutes and found Tia's body in a spare bedroom. She was face-up on the floor, with a ligature around her neck and her hands tied behind her back. There were two knives and other items stained with blood near her body. An autopsy later revealed that the primary cause of death was ligature strangulation, although she also had stab wounds and sustained severe injuries.

Maden was arrested right away. He appeared calm and directed the police to the location of Tia’s body. During his trial, evidence was presented that showed he had a disturbing interest in violent pornography and literature related to extreme violence against children. He pleaded guilty to the charges of rape and murder.

On October 4, 2010, he was sentenced to life in prison, with a recommendation that he should never be released. The judge described Maden's actions as premeditated and noted the exceptional nature of the crime.