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Levi Bellfield
(born 17 May 1968) is a British murderer. He is a former nightclub
bouncer and manager of a car clamping business who was convicted on 25
February 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange. He
was also convicted of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy. Bellfield was
described by police as a prime suspect in the murder of Amanda Dowler.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced on 30 March 2010 that he is to
be charged with her murder.
Early and personal life
Bellfield was born in Isleworth, West London, to
Joseph Rabetts and Jean (now Bellfield), and is of Romani gypsy descent.
When he was eight, his father died at age 37 of a heart attack. He has
two brothers and a sister and was brought up on a West London council
estate. He attended Crane Junior School, Hampton and Feltham
Comprehensive. He has been married four times and has fathered 11
children with five women, the youngest three with his most recent
partner Emma Mills. His first conviction was for burglary in 1981. He
was convicted of assaulting a police officer in 1990. He also has
convictions for theft and driving offences. By 2002, he had nine
convictions.
Character
In an interview with the media,
Detective Chief Insp Colin Sutton of the Metropolitan
Police, who led the murder hunt, described him in some
detail: "When we started dealing with him he came across
as very jokey, like he's your best mate. But he's a
cunning individual, violent. He can switch from being
nice to being nasty, instantly."
Bellfield searched for victims on
streets he knew intimately. Detectives tracked down a
number of ex-girlfriends, who all described a similar
pattern of behaviour when they got involved with him.
"He was lovely at first, charming, then completely
controlling and evil. They all said the same." said Det
Sgt Jo Brunt, who spoke to several of them.
A couple of weeks after his
relationship with a woman began, Bellfield would take
her mobile phone and swap it with another which
contained only his number, saying it was all she needed.
He would then stop her from seeing friends, parents or
going out without his permission, and would constantly
phone to check what she was doing.
One former girlfriend said that
following an argument he told her to sit on a stool in
the kitchen and not move. He went to bed and she sat
there all night. D.S. Brunt said: "We asked her what she
did about going to the toilet and she said she would
rather wet herself than have moved from that stool. That
shows how frightened they were of him."
Bellfield, "a psychology PhD waiting
to happen", according to Sutton, was very close to his
mother. His father died when he was young. "He dotes on
his mother and her on him. It's a troubling relationship,"
said Sutton.
Modus
Operandi
At the time of the attacks, he ran a
wheel-clamping business which operated in the western
suburbs of London. He sometimes made a good living at
this and while giving evidence at the Old Bailey he
explained to the jury how to succeed in the clamping
business. Police officers could only make conjectures
about motivation, as Bellfield maintained his innocence
throughout.
Det Ch Insp Sutton explained his own
theory: "He has a massive ego to feed, he thinks he's
God's gift to everyone. He drives around in his car,
feels a bit 'whatever' and sees some young blonde girl.
Young blonde girl says 'go away' and he thinks 'you dare
to turn down Levi Bellfield, you're worth nothing' and
then she gets a whack over the head.
"It is shown in the case of Kate
Sheedy she was smart enough to think she didn't like the
look of his car and crosses the road. He thinks 'you
think you're so clever' and whoosh, he runs her over."
While he was under police
surveillance, Bellfield was seen driving around in his
van, talking to young girls at bus stops. Sutton's
theory is also suggested in the timing of Amelie
Delagrange's last movements.
CCTV cameras showed her walking
towards Twickenham Green after she missed her stop on
the bus home. She slowed her pace between the last two
sightings, around the time Bellfield passed her in his
van. Sutton said she probably stopped to speak to him.
Within minutes he had attacked her and left her to die.
Bellfield claimed that it was no coincidence that all
his victims were of a similar appearance. His last
girlfriend, Emma Mills, told police Bellfield always
chased after small blonde girls with large chests.
Victims
Marsha McDonnell
Marsha Louise McDonnell (14 October
1983 – 5 February 2003) died in hospital after being
beaten over the head with a blunt instrument near her
home in Hampton. She is believed to have been killed
just after she got off the 111 bus from Kingston upon
Thames at the stop on Percy Road. Bellfield sold his
Vauxhall Corsa car for £1,500 six days after the murder,
having bought it for £6,000 just five months earlier.
Kate Sheedy
Kate Sheedy, then aged 18, was run
over as she crossed the road near an entrance to an
industrial estate in Isleworth on 28 May 2004. She
survived, but suffered multiple injuries and spent
several weeks in hospital. She went on to give evidence
against Bellfield when he was tried with her attempted
murder nearly four years later.
Amelie Delagrange
Amelie Delagrange (2 February 1982 –
19 August 2004) was a French student visiting the UK. She was found at
Twickenham Green on an evening with serious head injuries, and died in
hospital the same night. Within 24 hours, the police established that
she may have been killed by the same person who had killed Marsha
McDonnell 18 months earlier. Bellfield reportedly confessed to the
murder while on remand.
Other charges
Bellfield was also charged with
abduction and false imprisonment of Anna-Marie Rennie (then aged 17) at
Whitton on 14 October 2001, after she identified him in a video identity
parade four years later. He was also charged with the attempted murder
of Irma Dragoshi (then aged 39) at Longford Village on 16 December 2003.
The jury failed to reach verdicts on either of these charges.
Other notable events
Bellfield was admitted to hospital on
25 August 2004 – six days after Delagrange's death – with a suspected
breakdown after taking an overdose and telling a friend: "You don't know
what I've done".
Bellfield was first identified as a suspect in
connection with the crimes on 9 November 2004, but not questioned until
22 November 2004. He was charged on 1 March 2006.
Possible other victims
Det Ch Insp Sutton said: "We looked at
a dozen crimes in west London and we have not been able to eliminate
Levi from any of them. I fear we may have only scratched the surface."
One case police are revisiting and are reportedly questioning Bellfield
is that of Amanda Dowler, a 13 year old girl who went missing in Walton-on-Thames
on 21 March 2002 and was found dead in Hampshire six months later.
In August 2009, Surrey Police submitted a dossier to
the CPS containing evidence regarding Bellfield's alleged involvement in
the murder of Dowler. The CPS will assess the dossier and decide whether
to charge Bellfield with Dowler's murder. On 30 March 2010, Bellfield
was charged with the kidnap and murder of Dowler, as well as the
attempted kidnap of then 12 year old Rachel Cowles on 20 March 2002.
Conviction and imprisonment
Bellfield was found guilty of the murders of
McDonnell and Delagrange (as well as the attempted murder of Sheedy) on
25 February 2008. The following day, he was sentenced to life
imprisonment with a recommendation that he should never be released.
Bellfield was not in court to hear his sentence, as he had refused to
attend court due to "unfair press coverage" following his conviction.
Despite the trial judge's comments, the European
Court of Human Rights has been reviewing whether lifelong imprisonment
amounts to a violation of human rights legislation. Should the court
decide that lifelong imprisonment is unlawful, then Bellfield and all
other prisoners serving such sentences in Europe would have their cases
recalled to court for a new minimum term to be set.
It has since been reported that Bellfield is planning
to appeal against his convictions.
Documentary
A documentary, My Dad the Serial Killer, was
shown on Channel 4 on 30 January 2009. It was presented by Bellfield's
first child Bobbie-Louise, and also featured three of his other
daughters, their mother, and the mother's daughter from her second
marriage. The mother of his first three children stated that their
relationship began when she was 18, and that he was charming at first,
but became violent after the birth of their first child. Despite that,
she stayed with him for a few more years, until finally ending the
relationship after he raped her at least twice.
Wikipedia.org
Stalker guilty of student murders
BBC News
Monday, 25 February 2008
A man has been found guilty of murdering two
students he stalked at bus stops in south-west London.
Levi Bellfield, 39, of West Drayton, west London, was
convicted of killing Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19.
He has also been found guilty of the attempted murder
of Kate Sheedy.
Bellfield attacked the women in 2003 and 2004. Police
also suspect him of carrying out 20 other attacks on women. He will be
sentenced on Tuesday.
Police revealed after the trial that the other
attacks Bellfield is suspected of carrying out include six attempted
date rapes involving drugs and they believe more victims will now come
forward.
The former bouncer is also due to be questioned over
the murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who went missing on her way home
from school in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey on 21 March 2002.
During the trial the prosecution said Bellfield
trawled buses and bus stops for women and attacked them when they
rejected him.
Miss McDonnell was "bludgeoned to death" just yards
from her front door after she got off a bus in February 2003.
And in August 2004 Miss Delagrange died from severe
head injuries following an attack on Twickenham Green when she was
walking home after missing her bus stop.
Miss Sheedy suffered extensive injuries when she got
off a bus and was hit by a car, which reversed back over her before
driving off, in May 2004, when she was 18.
Speaking outside court, Miss Sheedy said she would
never forget what happened to her.
"I have waited for nearly four years for this day and
it is hard to express how much it means to me," the former convent
school head girl said.
"The road to recovery has been emotionally and
physically hard.
"There were times when I thought I would never get
better.
"The fact that Bellfield has been found guilty means
more than I can say."
'Barbaric crimes'
Miss McDonnell's uncle, Shane McDonnell, said: "Five
years have passed since the night our beloved Marsha was so cruelly
taken from this world, a girl that only had love in her heart, brutally
slain by a man who only has hate in his.
"For her family, life will never quite be the same
ever again, the pain and hurt that we carry will always be there.
"It is a sentence with no remission. We welcome the
news today that the man responsible for these barbaric crimes has
finally been proved to be guilty, after nearly five months of having to
endure the cowardly charade of innocence put forward by the defence, we
at last get to see Levi Bellfield for what he truly is."
Det Ch Insp Colin Sutton, from the Metropolitan
Police, said Bellfield was a clever, cunning, arrogant and very
dangerous man.
"He clearly is a dangerous man and clearly south west
London in general will be a much safer place, particularly for women.
"This wicked series of attacks ended in 2004 when
Levi Bellfield was arrested."
Miss Delagrange's parents, Jean Francois and
Dominique, said they had attended the trial as their "way of being there
in memory of our daughter".
'Short tragedy'
The couple said Bellfield had shown an "unbelievable
level of arrogance" and had winked and mouthed obscenities to family
members during the trial.
Mr Delagrange said: "This court trial has at least
allowed us to understand the final page of her very short existence.
"Today we have arrived at the last chapter of this
very short tragedy of Amelie's life."
The jury of seven women and five men was unable to
reach verdicts on two other charges.
These were the kidnap and false imprisonment of Anna-Maria
Rennie, 17, and the attempted murder of hairdresser Irma Dragoshi, 33.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would not seek
a retrial on the two counts.
The relatives of Miss Delagrange, Miss McDonnell and
Miss Sheedy held hands with supporters at the back of the court when the
verdicts were read out.
Profiles of Bellfield's victims
BBC News
Monday, 25 February 2008
Former bouncer Levi Bellfield, 39, has been
convicted of murdering two young women and trying to kill another in
south-west London.
Here are profiles of the women he attacked:
MARSHA MCDONNELL - MURDERED
Marsha McDonnell, 19, had completed her A-levels and
was taking a gap year before starting university when she died.
Described in court as an "attractive blonde", she was
attacked just yards from the Hampton home she shared with her parents,
Phil and Ute, her two sisters and younger brother.
Ms McDonnell, who was working in a gift shop in
Kingston, had visited the cinema with friends on the night she was
attacked.
Her sister Nathalie said: "She always thought of
other people. She was a free spirit."
Speaking after the verdict, her uncle, Shane
McDonnell, said: "Five years have passed since the night our beloved
Marsha was so cruelly taken from this world, a girl that only had love
in her heart, brutally slain by a man who only has hate in his."
Her uncle described the family's loss as devastating.
"Marsha we miss you, our world now is incomplete,
like a rainbow with a colour missing, we thank you for the joy that you
brought us in your short life, your goodness, sense of fun, spirit and
passion for life remain with us", he said.
Ms McDonnell was passionate about music and a music
room at the local children's hospice is dedicated to her memory.
Her uncle said: "For her family, life will never
quite be the same ever again, the pain and hurt that we carry will
always be there. It is a sentence with no remission."
AMELIE DELAGRANGE - MURDERED
Amelie Delagrange, 22, had a "passion for the English
language" and had moved to Britain to further her studies.
Ms Delagrange, from Amiens in France, had passed her
baccalaureate exams "with ease", and spent six weeks living in
Manchester as part of a language course.
She enjoyed and wanted to return to the UK - she had
been living in Twickenham for just three months when she was killed.
She was working at a patisserie in Richmond, had a
close circle of both English and French friends and was happy, the court
heard.
Her parents Jean Francois and Dominique Delagrange
travelled from France to the Old Bailey, to hear details of their
daughter's death.
"She was a good student, sensible, and never gave her
parents any problems," her mother told the court.
Her boyfriend, Olivier Lenfant, also described her as
a sensible girl who thought she lived in a safe area.
In a statement Ms Delgrange's parents Dominique and
Jean-Francoise said: "It is nearly four years since our lives and our
family's lives were so seriously disrupted, descending into a horror - a
living nightmare."
They added: "We would like to have heard from
Bellfield a confession of sorts, some evidence of remorse. In this we
were disappointed."
A memorial tree and a bench were placed on Twickenham
Green by the local community and her family, dedicated to her memory.
KATE SHEEDY - SURVIVED
Kate Sheedy, now 21, was the head girl at her convent
school in Isleworth at the time of the attack.
She had spent the evening saying goodbye to friends
after her last day at Gumley House School and was walking home when she
was mown down by a car.
Ms Sheedy had organised celebrations for the sixth
form leavers and gave a speech remembering her time at the school.
She missed her A-levels because of the attack but was
granted her predicted grades, AAB, by the exam board and is now studying
history and drama at York University.
The trial heard she remains mentally and physically
scarred by the attack.
In a statement, Ms Sheedy said: "On the day I was
attacked I was celebrating about moving onto a new and exciting time in
my life.
"All that hope and excitement was taken from me and I
thought my life had changed for ever."
The attack meant she attended university a year later
than she had hoped.
"I will never be able to forget what happened to me,
the scars on my body and the memories I have, are something I will never
be rid of, but hopefully I can move on." she explained.
On top of the physical and mental ordeal, Ms Sheedy
said there had also been the additional trauma and stress from the
police investigation.
Bellfield 'is controlling and evil'
By Sarah Bell - BBC News
Monday,
25 February 2008
A former nightclub bouncer has been convicted of
bludgeoning Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange to death, and of
another savage attack on a woman in south-west London.
But what is known about a man who stalked the streets,
attacking lone women near bus stops?
Levi Bellfield is by all accounts a charismatic and
charming man.
But he can change in a flash.
"When we started dealing with him he came across as
very jokey, like he's your best mate," said Det Ch Insp Colin Sutton,
who led the murder hunt.
"But he's a cunning individual, violent. He can
switch from being nice to being nasty, instantly."
Born and raised in west London, Bellfield, 39,
prowled for victims on streets he knew intimately.
Detectives believe he could be responsible for a
number of other attacks, other than the three he has been convicted of.
He had lived in, had family in or had business links
with all the locations where his attacks took place.
'Controlling womaniser'
Despite his unattractive appearance in the dock -
overweight, with slicked-back hair and a squeaky voice - he was
reputedly a womaniser, boasting 11 children by five women.
Detectives tracked down a number of ex-girlfriends,
who all described a similar pattern of behaviour when they got involved
with him.
"He was lovely at first, charming, then completely
controlling and evil. They all said the same," said Det Sgt Jo Brunt,
who spoke to several of them.
After a couple of weeks of them being together,
Bellfield would take their mobile phone and swap it with another which
contained only his number, saying it was all they needed.
He would then stop them from seeing friends, parents
or going out without his permission, and would constantly phone to check
what they were doing.
One girlfriend said following an argument he told her
to sit on a stool in the kitchen and not move. He went to bed and she
sat there all night.
Det Sgt Brunt said: "We asked her what she did about
going to the toilet and she said she would rather wet herself than have
moved from that stool. That shows how frightened they were of him."
Bellfield, "a psychology PhD waiting to happen",
according to Det Ch Insp Sutton, was very close to his mother. His
father died when he was young.
"He dotes on his mother and her on him. It's a
troubling relationship," said Det Ch Insp Sutton.
'Massive ego'
At the time of the attacks, he ran a wheel-clamping
business which operated in the western suburbs of London, with a motley
crew of workers with names like "Builder Bob" and "Fat Brian."
At times he made good money, and while giving
evidence at the Old Bailey he explained to the jury formula on how to
succeed in the clamping business.
Bellfield, a former body-builder, constantly denied
any involvement in the attacks - and detectives could only guess at his
motivation.
Det Ch Insp Sutton explained his own theory: "He has
a massive ego to feed, he thinks he's God's gift to everyone.
"He drives around in his car, feels a bit 'whatever'
and sees some young blonde girl.
"Young blonde girl says 'go away' and he thinks 'you
dare to turn down Levi Bellfield, you're worth nothing' - and then she
gets a whack over the head.
"It is shown in the case of Kate Sheedy - she was
smart enough to think she didn't like the look of his car and crosses
the road. He thinks 'you think you're so clever' and whoosh, he runs her
over."
While he was under police surveillance, Bellfield was
seen driving around in his van, talking to young girls at bus stops.
Det Ch Insp Sutton's theory is also suggested in the
timing of Amelie's last movements.
CCTV cameras captured her walking towards Twickenham
Green after she missed her stop on the bus home.
She slowed her pace between the last two sightings,
around the time Bellfield passed her in his van.
Det Ch Insp Sutton said she probably stopped to speak
to him. Minutes later she lay dying from massive head wounds in the
middle of a cricket pitch.
Victims chosen
He said it was no coincidence all his victims were of
a similar appearance.
His last girlfriend, Emma Mills, told police
Bellfield always chased after small blonde girls with large chests.
Bellfield faces a life sentence for his murderous
trail of senseless violence.
Det Ch Insp Sutton said: "We looked at a dozen crimes
in west London and we have not been able to eliminate Levi from any of
them.
