Andrew Davies, infamously known as the ‘Coronation Street rapist,’ has died in prison, bringing a complex sense of relief to his victims. Davies, who also went by the names Andrew Barlow and Andrew Longmire, perpetrated a series of brutal attacks throughout Greater Manchester and several neighboring counties during the 1980s.
Primarily targeting women inside their homes, Davies would often wait until family members had left to strike, attacking women alone in their terraced houses. His violent spree earned him 13 life sentences, reflecting the severity of his crimes.
Davies passed away from natural causes at age 69 on February 28, 2026, while held at HMP Moorland near Doncaster, a category C prison. His death is currently under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, as is standard with all custodial deaths.
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Earlier in 2023, after serving 34 years, Davies was released but was quickly recalled to prison after just six weeks following breaches of his licence conditions and concerns over his behavior. Authorities deemed him too dangerous to remain in the community, with a parole board panel stating he posed a “very high risk” of committing further sexual offences.
One victim reflected on the news of Davies’ death, expressing a mixture of relief and ongoing trauma: “It’s a relief… but it isn’t. I still relive what he did to me. It is a very difficult feeling to handle.”
Victims and their families had fiercely opposed his 2023 release, campaigning vigorously to keep him behind bars with support from veteran Manchester MP Graham Stringer. A relative of one victim described Davies as an “unsafe rapist who hasn’t changed” and condemned institutional failures for not preventing his initial release.
The case drew attention from political figures such as Dominic Raab, then Justice Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, who criticized the parole decision and emphasized public protection as paramount. Raab called Davies’ crimes “despicable” and committed to reforming the parole system to better safeguard the public.
Davies’ criminal record includes 11 life sentences handed down in 1988 for raping 11 women, plus an additional 56 years for other offences. DNA breakthroughs in 2010 and 2017 linked him to further assaults in the early 1980s, leading to additional life sentences. His criminal activity spanned Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, and South Yorkshire, with some attacks happening in public streets.
During his initial arrest in 1988, Davies attempted to evade police, even firing shots at officers. He was convicted also for attempted murder following this incident.
Despite the legal actions and prison time, the scars left on his victims and their families persist. The relentless fear and trauma caused by his crimes continue to affect them deeply, underscoring the long-lasting impact of such offenses.