AIDS THE LOST VOICES
MARK WARREN
HEARNE
Mark Warren Hearne was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 at the age of 22 and told he had only three months to live; he nevertheless survived for another nine years, during which time he was convicted of robbery in 1992 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
While serving that sentence at HMP Camp HIll on the Isle of Wight he was admitted to St Mary's Hospital on the island with an AIDS-related illness; either because doctors believed him immobile or because he persuaded them he was, his prison guard was stood down, and Mark subsequently escaped from the hospital, making his way to London where he was recaptured withdrawing money from his bank on London’s Oxford Street two days after his escape.
We search the newspaper archives in a bid to piece together snippets of this young man's life, starting with a single clipping that announced the discovery of his lifeless body by neighbours in his London flat in August 1997 — he was 31.
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1988
1984
Mark Warren Hearne
1966 - 1997
Mark’s life cannot be summed up by a handful of newspaper clippings; the scant reports never painted him as a career criminal but rather hinted at a young man who had a rough start and was desperately trying to make something of himself. He was not a familiar face in the press like those who repeatedly drift into petty offending, so the evidence suggests he made a couple of bad choices rather than lived by a life of crime.
One conviction for robbery — an episode the press barely lingered on, implying it lacked the sensational angle that draws sustained coverage — brought him a five‑year sentence. Yet in another sense Mark was already serving a life sentence: in 1988, aged just 22, he was diagnosed with AIDS and given only months to live, a diagnosis that reframed everything he had done and endured.
Mark’s escape meant the British press labelled him a “fugitive”, but the irony is, his escape inadvertently secured his freedom when the BBC reported he would not return to prison. Instead Mark was allowed to spend the final two years of his life living independently in his own home in in the city he was born, London. He remained there until his death in August 1997, aged 31.
Michael ‘Derek’ Hearne
Mark was not a party to the incident that later unfolded at his childhood home; his sole connection was Michael Hearne, referred to in the press as his ‘step‑father.’ Michael Hearne was convicted in 1988 for the murder of his younger former lover, a case that attracted widespread attention and prompted the local newspaper to speak to Mark. In that interview Mark said he had endured physical abuse at Hearne’s hands while growing up, and that neighbours had reported concerns to social services, resulting in Mark’s removal into care.
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