Bellfield victim: I was never told he confessed to hammer attack
Police treated case ‘like a joke right from start’
A VICTIM has blasted police for not telling her that serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly confessed to attacking her with a hammer almost 20 years ago.
Sarah Spurrell, 44, accused Sussex Police of treating her as a “complete and utter joke” after the vicious assault in January 2004.
She says she only found out about Bellfield’s confession, apparently made in March, when she was told this month by ITV News London.
The then 23-year-old medical technician was hit three times over the back of the head in a dark street in the seaside town of Hastings, East Sussex.
She said: “I remember it like it was yesterday... I was walking to my friend’s house and a white car passed me three times.
“I thought it was a bit suspicious, so it drew my attention straight away to the fact there was something going on.
“I literally was almost at my friend’s house up the road and I was smacked over the back of the head.
“Before I could turn around and look who it was, I was then hit another two times really, really hard to the point where I heard the blood hit the car next to me.
“Luckily a car came round the corner and pretty much saved my life and he [the attacker] ran off down the road.”
Sarah said her assailant turned back and looked straight at her as she was driven to hospital. “His eyes they were evil. Whoever it was wanted to kill me,” she said. “If police had given me people to identify and [Bellfield] was in it, I would have told them straight away that was the person who attacked me, whether he had a balaclava on or not.”
Londoner Bellfield, 55, will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of three murders, including that of schoolgirl Millie Dowler, 13, from Hersham, Surrey, killed in 2002. Sarah said the attack ruined her life and she suffers from anxiety after police treated her case “like a joke”. She added: “I asked if they could go and investigate the crime scene and they said, ‘We’re not CSI, the police haven’t got that much money’. I got really angry.
“They failed me right from the start. Who else have they failed?”
ITV says police have not interviewed Bellfield over the alleged confession.
Colin Sutton, the former detective who brought Bellfield to justice, said he was surprised officers had not questioned him, despite knowing of his confession for some months.
Sussex Police said their investigation remained open and the force was sorry Sarah felt the service she received “was not satisfactory”.