Did Milly killer carry out rape and hammer attacks on 24 women?
MIllY Dowler’s killer has been linked to 24 attacks on women across the country that police failed to fully investigate, it has emerged.
levi Bellfield was caught in 2004, but the Metropolitan Police believe he committed a series of bludgeon attacks and rapes over the two decades prior to his arrest.
This would make Bellfield one of the most prolific serial attackers on women in British history.
Intelligence gathered by detectives shows they believed that Bellfield was a suspect in nine attacks, as well as having links to rapes and assaults that were investigated but never prosecuted.
The new cases date back as far as July 1994, when a 29-year-old woman was bludgeoned by an attacker wearing a balaclava at a remote petrol station in Hinchley Wood, Surrey.
Two of the newly identified suspected victims of Bellfield’s crimes have since called for the Met to investigate their cases, both of which involved them being clubbed over the head, the Sunday Times reported.
Bellfield, 49, who is serving two life sentences at HMP Frankland in County Durham, was convicted of abducting and murdering 13year-old Milly in 2011, nine years after she disappeared.
The former wheel clamper, from West london, was convicted in 2008 of killing Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19, and for the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
Before then, national police unit the Serious Crime Analysis Section uncovered intelligence that attacks had taken place in london, Surrey, Middlesex, Sussex and lancashire.
These all matched Bellfield’s movementscases includethree Bellfieldrapessix rapesof at has older theof been teenage women,time. linked girls, Thean to attemptedan indecent murder, assault one and kidnap,three hammer attacks.
They were found after the national crime database was searched for factors that matched his offending – female victims aged 15 to 40 with injuries to the head as a result of an attack with a heavy weapon and no evidence of sexual activity.
Sarah Spurrell, 38, has since been identified by officers as a potential victim. She was hit over the head in Hastings, East Sussex, in 2004. She has called for her case to be reopened, stating she was ‘100 per cent sure’ Bellfield was the attacker. Colin Sutton, the detective chief inspector who led the murder investigations, told the Sunday Times: ‘We were looking for blitz attacks on lone females, especially where there was no robbery or sexual assault ... Attacks of that ferocity for no apparent reason are rare. We couldn’t find any similarlink ordinatedacrosstionA Metto to Bellfield.’ten offences spokesman informationthe police nationalthat forces, said:we passed response, couldn’tin ‘We rela-co- to police serious in crimes,early 2015 alleging regarding the involvement of levi Bellfield. ‘All lines of enquiry were exhausted and the decision was taken to close this investigation in November 2016, as there was no evidence to link the individual to any case for which he has not already been convicted.’
‘Blitz of attacks on lone females’