As he faces the rest of his days behind bars for the murder of two prostitutes in Hong Kong there’s a sense of disbelief about Rurik Jutting’s spiral from likeable schoolboy to sadistic killer.
He had a gilded upbringing and appeared to have the rare ability to coast through life without making much of an effort. The 31-year-old excelled academically, shone on the sports field and had no problem attracting beautiful women. Yet all his success masked a dark side which was eventually fueled by an addiction to drugs and alcohol.
The older of two boys, Jutting grew up in the Surrey stockbroker belt. Rurik means “special one” or “great prince” and was the name of a Russian leader.
His father Graham was an engineer while his mother Helen ran a nursery class before opening a milkshake bar in Woking. Family homes included a listed mansion in Chertsey, said to have been the inspiration for Toad Hall in The Wind In The Willows.
A class portrait taken at Wallop Preparatory School in Weybridge when he was six years old shows an angelic little boy.
Jutting later won a scholarship to Winchester College where he was a boarder. He is said to have been disappointed that of the thousands of boys who applied he ranked only sixth, not first. Although not particularly popular with his peers he’s remembered by teachers as a “respectful and well-mannered” pupil.
Jutting went on to study law and history at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, where he was also a member of the rowing and cross country clubs.
Contemporaries have described him as “incredibly bright but arrogant”. After graduating in 2008 Jutting decided on a career in elite banking, working first as a trader for Barclays in the City. It was during this period that he developed a taste for the high-life and became obsessed with making money.
He dated a glamour model, enjoyed expensive ski holidays and joined an exclusive private members’ club in trendy Shoreditch.
It seemed Jutting had it all but as his career continued on an upward trajectory there were signs that beneath the superficial charm all was not perfect. His trial heard that he was sexually abused by another pupil at Winchester.
It’s claimed this continued to haunt him throughout his adult life and shaped his personality.
The court was also told that when Jutting was 16 he witnessed a suicide attempt by his father, who tried to slash his wrists. Jutting is said to have used his first City bonus to visit a prostitute and developed a fondness for rough sex.
However, it’s a recurring feature of his background that he was also able to have normal relationships. At one stage he was engaged to a fellow City banker, who is now aged 30, but the relationship ended badly in 2012. It has been reported that Jutting was distraught when he discovered she’d cheated on him.
Soon after the break-up Jutting, by then working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was transferred to Hong Kong where his vast £350,000 salary and bonuses were squandered on a hedonistic lifestyle. He rented a luxurious flat in the Wan Chai area, a notorious haunt for prostitutes, where he binged on cocaine and cavorted with high-class call girls.
Usually dressed in scruffy clothes and flip-flops, he would think nothing of blowing £2,000 a night on drink and drugs. He lived alone in the former colony playing computer games, gambling, gorging on fast food and drinking every day.
To help him sleep he would down three quarters of a bottle of vodka. There’s no evidence of any meaningful friendships as Jutting, once ultra-fit, piled on weight. His drug binges left him “like a zombie”, according to one police officer in Hong Kong.
The wealthy banker came to hate his job, despite the riches it provided, and was warned by his employers about his behaviour. At one point he missed a meeting in London and, as an excuse, he told his boss he had HIV.
There were debauched trips to Angeles City in the Philippines, dubbed “Sin City” for its cheap booze and thriving sex industry. It was here that he met a nightclub hostess and began a six-month relationship.
Two weeks before he killed his first victim Jutting invited her to Hong Kong but she couldn’t get a passport. The 22-year-old says there were no indications of his true nature and they even discussed marriage.
She shudders as she says now: “I feel lucky. I am so thankful it wasn’t me.”
Intelligence tests have shown that Jutting is in the top one per cent but a psychiatrist who examined him after the killings concluded that he had a “narcissistic personality disorder”. Jutting fantasized about torture, rape and kidnapping.
Between the killings of the two defenseless Indonesian women (Hong Kong domestic helpers/maids) Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26, the banker changed the reply that anyone emailing him at work would receive.
Part of it read: “I am out of the office. Indefinitely. For urgent inquiries, or indeed any inquiries, please contact someone who is not an insane psychopath.”
Jutting was taken from court with the warning that he is a sexual predator who will kill again if released. Despite his claims of remorse, the best he can hope for now is to be transferred to a prison in the UK.
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/730347/Rurik-Jutting-posh-boy-evil-murder-Hong-Kong-prostitutes-guilty-life-sentence
