‘The Real Manhunter’ Recap: ‘The Night Stalker – Delroy Grant’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Delroy Grant, a.k.a. ‘The Night Stalker’.

Caution: This article contains some spoilers for the series premiere of ‘The Real Manhunter’, and this article also contains reference to sexual assault. Which could trigger individuals that are sensitive to that subject matter.
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One common practice that fictional crime writers take part in, is basing their villain off of criminals from the real world. Because the depravity that the true monsters of the world take part in, does indeed make for juicy fictional characters, the kind that take that special brand of evil to the Nth degree and that of course, makes for some powerful storytelling. The kind that definitely leaves us in awe and leaves us talking. But while we tend to enjoy the final product over anything else and go on with our lives once that incredible story has come to a close, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we took the time to do a touch of research on the real-world counterpart of the fictional villain that sent chills down our spine.
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Because the person that they are based upon, did horrible things, and hurt lives and likely took them as well, and taking a moment to ponder upon their actions… not only adds gravity to the story in question, but it highlights the efforts of the real heroes that brought them down and they do deserve to be celebrated. For they sacrificed so much to ensure to the long-term safety of others and that’s precisely why The Real Manhunter on AcornTV is a documentary series that needs to be celebrated. For this eight-part saga, chronicles some of the cases that former Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton worked on. Whose work led to the creation of the Manhunt series, and well… having a series such as this out there, really is a proper way to pay tribute to the work that goes into a being a detective and the importance of having them around… since Colin really did bring down some awful human beings.

For instance, the opening chapter in this saga, ‘The Night Stalker – Delroy Grant’ revolves around a 17-yearlong nightmare case that Colin was able to bring to a close in London. One where a man that was indeed nicknamed ‘The Night Stalker’, did awful things under the cover of darkness. For he would break into the homes of the elderly and rob them for every penny they had in their homes and in some cases, he would even go so far as to sexually assault them. But despite the police force’s best efforts to try and capture him, they simply could not. And it didn’t matter how much of their resources they tossed at a particular assault, he just kept at it and kept going and that gave the police outright fits. But with Colin on the case, things changed. For he started to realize that a new strategy would need to be employed in order to bring this man to justice.

In that, the police could no longer treat this as a homicide investigation and go after detailed forensic evidence after a crime had been committed. Instead, they would need to try and capture this man in real time and treat him as an actual burglar and use surveillance to find him in the middle of his hunt for money and well… eventually that particular plan worked and Delroy Grant was brought to justice. Which is an outcome that should give the viewer nothing but joy, but instead it leaves one somber. Because Grant was indeed a monster, one that hurt innocent lives so badly that some of the victims were never the same after his actions. And while he couldn’t be directly tied to the death of a few of his victims, it is inherently obvious that his decision to harm others… indirectly stole their will to live and that’s powerful to learn and it truly hammers home why we tend to not look into this kind of detail after enjoying a fictional account based on events like these.

For the story in question doesn’t show us the human impact of crime, nor does it hammer home the cold nature of the crimes that are committed. For in reality, most people akin to Grant are indeed emotionless and without remorse for their crimes and seeing that on display does indeed make one uncomfortable. But that is in fact, a healthy thing. For it means that documentaries in this vein, reach us on a fundamental level and help us to genuinely understand that crimes in this manner are unacceptable and disgusting and it gives the victims a secondary sense of justice since their stories are being told, and truly, it will be quite difficult but worthwhile to see what other incredible criminals Colin brought to justice during his illustrious career. As we continue our journey through this powerful and sobering series. Until next time.

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