Aug 31, 2026 · 49 min · 23 segments
Minutes before taking his own life, Michael Ryan looked back on the devastation he had caused in Hungerford. He had killed 16 people and injured 15 others. Then he told the police negotiator: “I wish…
Today's story comes from Hungerford, a market town in Berkshire, about 60 miles west of London, with a population of around 6,000 people.
As you know on this podcast, the focus is all about the victims and survivors of crime, but in today's story, I think we really need to spend a little bit more time on the person responsible for carrying out the crimes than we normally would.
So why don't we start there? Michael Ryan was born on the 18th of May, 1960, and raised in Hungerford as the only child of Alfred and Dorothy Ryan.
His dad was a good 20 years older than his mum and died from cancer in 1985, leaving Michael living alone with Dorothy at number 4 South View.
A known loner, he found social interaction difficult, and he was bullied at school, singled out for being different.
At home, it was very different, as his mum gave her only child loads of attention.
According to people who knew the family, Ryan got everything he wanted from his mum, and this led to an early interest in Action Man, which progressed into a fascination with toy soldiers, an arguably unhealthy interest in the military, and eventually, an obsession with guns After school, he drifted through a succession of short-term jobs, usually working as a gardener or a laborer.
He spent much of 1986 unemployed, and in the summer of 1987, he worked briefly on an environmental scheme for Newbury District Council.
That job ended in July 1987, and from then to when our story begins in August 1987, it's not entirely clear how he occupied his time beyond visiting shooting clubs and adding to his growing collection of weapons.
People who knew Ryan during this time generally described himself as polite, quiet, and withdrawn.
He had no previous criminal record and no known history of any serious mental illness.
He was not remembered as someone who regularly threatened people or openly spoke about wanting any sort of revenge.
He was just this loner whose relationship with the truth could be seen as flexible, but nothing unusual there.
Ryan told elaborate stories about his life, such as claiming to have been befriended by a colonel in the army who was teaching him to fly, bought him a Ferrari, and was arranging a new house for his mum.
And his mum, Dorothy, who, as we said, doted on him, she repeated some of these stories to friends, apparently accepting or encouraging the fantasy.
We all know people, don't we, disappointed with how their lives are turning out, who lie to make themselves sound more like the person they would like to be.
Speaking on CBS reality program Murderers and Their Mothers, criminologist Dr. Jane Monckton-Smith said of them, "She would indulge him, and she would protect him, and she wouldn't let anybody insult him." As he got older, Ryan's need to be in control increased.
It is reported that he modeled himself on his older father, a clerk of works and traditionalist who valued authority and would be violent towards his wife, a lunchtime supervisor at a primary school.
And Ryan, he too soon became violent with Dorothy, and his obsession with firearms grew.
He had held a shotgun certificate since 1978 and successfully applied for a firearm certificate in December 1986.
Today's story comes from Hungerford, a market town in Berkshire, about 60 miles west of London, with a population of around 6,000 people.
As you know on this podcast, the focus is all about the victims and survivors of crime, but in today's story, I think we really need to spend a little bit more time on the person responsible for carrying out the crimes than we normally would.
So why don't we start there? Michael Ryan was born on the 18th of May, 1960, and raised in Hungerford as the only child of Alfred and Dorothy Ryan.
His dad was a good 20 years older than his mum and died from cancer in 1985, leaving Michael living alone with Dorothy at number 4 South View.
A known loner, he found social interaction difficult, and he was bullied at school, singled out for being different.
At home, it was very different, as his mum gave her only child loads of attention.
According to people who knew the family, Ryan got everything he wanted from his mum, and this led to an early interest in Action Man, which progressed into a fascination with toy soldiers, an arguably unhealthy interest in the military, and eventually, an obsession with guns After school, he drifted through a succession of short-term jobs, usually working as a gardener or a laborer.
He spent much of 1986 unemployed, and in the summer of 1987, he worked briefly on an environmental scheme for Newbury District Council.
That job ended in July 1987, and from then to when our story begins in August 1987, it's not entirely clear how he occupied his time beyond visiting shooting clubs and adding to his growing collection of weapons.
People who knew Ryan during this time generally described himself as polite, quiet, and withdrawn.
He had no previous criminal record and no known history of any serious mental illness.
He was not remembered as someone who regularly threatened people or openly spoke about wanting any sort of revenge.
He was just this loner whose relationship with the truth could be seen as flexible, but nothing unusual there.
Ryan told elaborate stories about his life, such as claiming to have been befriended by a colonel in the army who was teaching him to fly, bought him a Ferrari, and was arranging a new house for his mum.
And his mum, Dorothy, who, as we said, doted on him, she repeated some of these stories to friends, apparently accepting or encouraging the fantasy.
We all know people, don't we, disappointed with how their lives are turning out, who lie to make themselves sound more like the person they would like to be.
Speaking on CBS reality program Murderers and Their Mothers, criminologist Dr. Jane Monckton-Smith said of them, "She would indulge him, and she would protect him, and she wouldn't let anybody insult him." As he got older, Ryan's need to be in control increased.
It is reported that he modeled himself on his older father, a clerk of works and traditionalist who valued authority and would be violent towards his wife, a lunchtime supervisor at a primary school.
And Ryan, he too soon became violent with Dorothy, and his obsession with firearms grew.
He had held a shotgun certificate since 1978 and successfully applied for a firearm certificate in December 1986.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.