The Times (London).
26 July 1985
MR STEPHEN KNIGHT
Stephen Knight, who died yesterday at the age of 33 was an author whose investigative writing had begun to bring him wide recognition, most notably with his recent book on the freemasons, The Brotherhood. He had been suffering from cancer for some time.
Born on September 26, 1952, in Hainault, Essex, he left Chigwell's West Hatch Technical High School to join the LEB as a trainee showroom salesman. Later he became a journalist and worked on several local newspapers.
It was in his books, however, that his real talent emerged. His first, Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1976) set out to prove that the Ripper murders were the result of a freemasons' plot.
His only novel was Requiem at Rogano, a Victorian detective story in a supernatural setting. This was followed by The Brotherhood, a direct result of his investigation into freemasonry for his book on Jack the Ripper. With its many allegations, among them that the KGB had infiltrated masonry, it caused a sensation when it was published.
His last book, The Killing of Justice Godfrey, also published in 1984, was another piece of investigative work.
After his marriage ended in divorce, Knight became a Sannyasin in 1983, one of the followers of the religious leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later changing his name to Swami Puja Debal.
He leaves a daughter, Nanouska.
