Levi Bellfield
The manhunt for the serial killer who murdered three women and attempted to kill another
Levi Bellfield will never be let out of prison because he's one of the few people in Britain to be given a whole life sentence for a string of murderous attacks on women in south west London. And he was the defendent in British legal history to then be given a second whole life term three years later.
​
But when Roger Corke and his team investigated the case against him for the Channel 5 series 5 Mistakes that Caught a Killer, they discovered that he was only a hair's breadth from literally getting away with murder.
Bellfield's first victim was 13-year-old Millie Dowler, who went missing in Walton-on-Thames on her way back from school. Her body, buried in a shallow grave in woods 25 miles away, was not found for another six months. Although her murder, in 2002, was the first to take place it was the last for which Bellfield was tried.
Millie Dowler
PA Images​
Marsha McDonnell
PA Images​
Kate Sheedy
Carl Court - PA Images
Bellfield then continued his murderous rampage when he bludgeoned Marsha McDonnell to death near her home in Hampton in 2003.
​
The following year he tried to kill Kate Sheedy in Isleworth by deliberately running over her in a people carrier - twice. Miraculously, she survived to give evidence against him.
​
A few months later, French student Amélie Delagrange was not so lucky. she was found on Twickenham Green with serious head injuries and died shortly after.
Amélie Delagrange
PA Images​
Former Det. Sgt.Gary Cunningham, who was tasked with interrogating Bellfield, gave Roger his first-ever interview about how he exposed the serial killer's lies through hours of questioning.
Ex-Det Sgt Gary Cunnigham
Channel 5
Detectives also told Roger how they managed to prove a Vauxhall Corsa van linked to the atttack on Marsha McDonnell belonged to Bellfield - by eliminating 610,000 similar vehicles from their inquiries. It was the only firm piece of evidence the police had against him for the murder.
You can see the documentary here
(you will need to sign into My5 for free)
Channel 5