Beatings were common and Eric – the eldest of three – took the brunt of his grandmother’s temper.
His parents – Anna Yourkin and Donald Newman – were just teenagers when he was born and they split up soon after.Įric was then brought up mainly by his domineering granny Phyllis Yourkin. His upbringing was certainly brutal – and at least one of his relatives always suspected there was something seriously wrong.Īn aunt, who asked not to be identified, said: “He is a nut job – he was a time bomb waiting to explode.” Investigators are now trying to unravel his sick fantasy world, which began in the Toronto suburbs where Eric grew up – and also spread to Wembley, North London. The victim’s hands and feet were even posted to politicians and schools in his native Canada.Īfter a massive worldwide manhunt, he was finally arrested in a Berlin internet cafe on Monday.Īccording to reports, he was reading online accounts of his alleged crimes at the time.
