1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:02,655 NARRATOR: Human remains have been discovered 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:04,855 in London's Regent's Canal. 3 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,455 Dismemberment of any human being is brutal. 4 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,135 It never ceases to amaze me 5 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,055 what people are capable of doing to each other. 6 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,535 This is someone who's clearly got psychopathic tendencies. 7 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:19,655 A violent killer is on the loose. 8 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,255 The view I took having seen the artwork... 9 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:26,735 ...was that this was a depraved individual. 10 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,375 Forensics face unprecedented challenges to track them down. 11 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,895 The fact that a body of a female's been found 12 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,215 missing head, hands and feet, 13 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,335 I would suggest that the offender in this case 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,175 might well be very forensically aware. 15 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,375 We were very concerned 16 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,935 that he again would form a relationship with another woman 17 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,135 who could end up in the same way. 18 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,855 A call comes in that human remains had been found in a bag 19 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,375 by two boys on the Grand Union Canal. 20 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,095 Senior crime scene manager john Cockram 21 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,335 from the Met Serious Crimes Unit races to the scene. 22 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,375 Soon as I get down here, I try to define what my crime scene is. 23 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:09,895 The bag is actually on the side of the canal. 24 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:13,415 There's four bricks that have been taken out of the bag, 25 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,695 and a black bin liner containing flesh 26 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,975 had been taken out of the rucksack that was there. 27 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,775 The scene was somewhat chaotic 28 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,615 because if you're aware of the Regent's Canal, it's a thoroughfare. 29 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:29,215 So there was lots of people on foot or on bicycles 30 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,415 heading either way along the canal, 31 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:33,535 so they had to obviously cordon off the area. 32 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,495 They had to try and make it as sterile as possible 33 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:39,455 so that when the forensic team came in, 34 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,175 no forensic opportunities were lost. 35 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,655 Forensic experts gather on site. 36 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,935 I need a pathologist, potentially an anthropologist. 37 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:51,615 I need a photographer, most definitely, 38 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:54,175 to photograph as things are revealed. 39 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,855 The scene tents were put on the north side of the canal. 40 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,175 This is where we based ourselves, 41 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,175 where we did examination of the remains. 42 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,175 One of the first things we're trying to do 43 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,415 is establish if this is human or nonhuman. 44 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:08,815 A forensic anthropologist 45 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,135 is relying on their skills of human anatomy 46 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,855 and often animal anatomy, so we're able very quickly 47 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,495 to distinguish between human and nonhuman material. 48 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,255 It's based on the physical features, 49 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,895 the colouration and the shapes that we're seeing. 50 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,055 It's obvious to a trained forensic anthropologist that this is human. 51 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,975 I could see flesh, I could see it was female, 52 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,335 and I could see there was a pelvic part of the torso. 53 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,615 Once we are able to say that they were human remains, 54 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,175 at that point, it became a murder investigation. 55 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,615 The pathologist took a tissue sample that was dispatched 56 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,855 to our Metropolitan Police Forensic Laboratory in quick time 57 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,335 so that DNA analysis can be undertaken. 58 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,255 Forensics scientists begin their harvest of the outside of the bag. 59 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,295 At a very early stage, the CSI would come and take photographs... 60 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,855 ...and then they would swab the zips. 61 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,775 Sarah Thirkell is a leading forensic trainer. 62 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:10,615 Because the bag's been in a canal, 63 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,375 there may well be very, very little forensic evidence 64 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:14,975 that could be obtained from the outside. 65 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,335 The wet bag presents a challenge. 66 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:19,455 It still wouldn't mean 67 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,255 that it wouldn't be swabbed for DNA on the zipper part of the zip, 68 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,455 but fibre evidence, fingerprint evidence 69 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,295 would be negligible on this bag. 70 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,295 As a CSI finding only parts of a human within a crime scene, 71 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,455 you're thinking, "Well, where's the rest of the body?" 72 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,215 Finding this first bag is the beginning of a puzzle... 73 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:41,495 ...because where is everything else? 74 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,335 Is it hidden? Is it still with the killer? 75 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,575 Is it locally in the canal? 76 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,095 Usually, there would be more body parts. 77 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,815 The decision was made at an early stage 78 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,415 that they were gonna bring divers in. 79 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,655 just because a bag that's been weighted down 80 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,095 has been dropped in one location, 81 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,055 it doesn't mean to say that the rest of the body 82 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:02,895 is in bags in the same location. 83 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,015 They could have been dumped further downstream. 84 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,935 The canal is undergoing maintenance work, 85 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:10,295 which helps police divers. 86 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:13,015 On this particular occasion, 87 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,135 it struck me that the water was very clear. 88 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,375 Because at Camden Lock, which is the next lock down, 89 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:20,895 they were replacing the lock gates, 90 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,295 and so there was no boat movement through the canal. 91 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,255 All the mud had settled down. 92 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,335 Divers begin their search. 93 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,135 Got to think, "What other items have been thrown into that canal?" 94 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:37,975 There may be old bikes, bottles... 95 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,615 ...mobile phones that might have been dropped off boats. 96 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,895 There's so much other debris that might be within a canal. 97 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,175 It can take quite a long time to try and locate any items. 98 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,855 CSls search for further leads. 99 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,415 It's really important to think about access points. 100 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,655 If someone's dumped a body in the bag, 101 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,575 how have they got the body there? 102 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:05,375 In my mind, I'd be thinking, 103 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,735 "Well, they're not gonna be carrying loads of bags with heavy body parts 104 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,375 "down the street, so where's the vehicle access? 105 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,255 "What's the closest point you can get a vehicle to that scene?" 106 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,415 Ancl I would be looking there for tyre-track marks, 107 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,175 for footprints etc. 108 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,375 A crime scene is a very precious commodity 109 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,535 because you've only got one chance of getting it right. 110 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,095 On site, CSls examine the ballast. 111 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,335 The bags were weighed down with bricks and so on. 112 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,375 There's soil on the bricks that may link back to a location. 113 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:41,335 That would be another avenue 114 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,815 that would be considered as a type of forensic evidence. 115 00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:49,055 Sometimes, you have to expand your arsenal of forensic types 116 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,655 and look for the more unusual types. 117 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:52,535 Forensics ecology samples - 118 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,855 so, soil, pollen, that kind of thing. 119 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,055 A day on, and the search of the canal is nearing completion. 120 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,935 Police divers have discovered more holdalls of similar design. 121 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,375 There were five other bags that were in the canal. 122 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,975 CSls confirm the bags contain more human remains. 123 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,095 The torso had been cut into two. 124 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,015 Both arms had been cut into two, 125 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,975 and there were the legs, so there were ten parts in total. 126 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:30,815 I've not just got the one part. 127 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:32,695 I've got the multiple parts here, 128 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,895 and then, obviously, that escalates the whole thing. 129 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,015 On site, we make the assumption 130 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,455 that all of these bags are from the same individual, 131 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,255 especially if there are no identical parts. 132 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,535 So, we don't find two right legs or something like that. 133 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,055 It's easier to go with the simplest explanation. 134 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,375 What was missing was the head, hands and feet. 135 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,495 Those are forensically important parts of a human 136 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:04,615 that are easily identifiable. 137 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,135 That tends to indicate 138 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,295 that the offender realised that facial recognition, 139 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,895 recognition by fingerprints might occur, 140 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,175 so I would suggest that the offender in this case 141 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:17,895 might well be very forensically aware. 142 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,455 In my opinion, whoever did this, 143 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,055 disposing of the head, hands and feet elsewhere 144 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:26,575 suggests to me they didn't want this person identified. 145 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,215 The body was actually dismembered quite neatly, in a tidy fashion. 146 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,655 Could be someone who knows their way around a saw, 147 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:39,015 perhaps even a butcher... or a carpenter. 148 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:45,295 Someone's clearly mentally unstable to be able to cut a human body up. 149 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,095 NARRATOR: The remains of a woman 150 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,375 have been discovered in London's Regent's Canal. 151 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,935 The most unsettling thing about this particular case 152 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,295 really is the way that the individual was actually dismembered 153 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,015 and thrown away as if they were garbage. 154 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:15,375 At postmortem, the pathologist looks for cause of death. 155 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,895 The body would be laid out as close to anatomical order as we could. 156 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,775 Of course, in this case, we are missing the hands and the head, 157 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,095 so those cannot be examined. 158 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,415 The only physical injuries we could find 159 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:27,935 were some light bruising, 160 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,455 fingertip-type bruising to the upper right arm, 161 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,855 and they would have happened whilst the victim was alive. 162 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,615 Other than that, we were unable to ascertain any other injuries. 163 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,335 With the body being dismembered in the way that it was, 164 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,255 and the absence in particular of the head, 165 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,695 it's proved impossible to hypothesise any cause of death. 166 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:51,575 To ascertain the time of death, 167 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,815 the team need to work out when the body was deposited in the canal. 168 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,175 Once we looked at temperature data and the quality of the material, 169 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,855 we would be able to tell with some reasonable accuracy 170 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:03,295 how long they had been in the water. 171 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,655 They estimate the remains had been submerged for around nine weeks. 172 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,415 At this stage of the inquiry, the most important thing 173 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,375 is identifying the remains, plain and simple. 174 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,735 If women are gonna get murdered, 90-odd percent of the time, 175 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:26,335 it's gonna be somebody they know 176 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,135 and there's gonna be domestic violence in that history. 177 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:33,415 With the case ongoing, 178 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,255 police are called to investigate a missing woman. 179 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,055 Her name is Paula Fields. 180 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,015 The family became really concerned. 181 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,455 A couple of the sisters went into the local police station 182 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,215 and filed a missing persons report. 183 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,895 Paula hadn't been seen for the best part of three weeks. 184 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,695 She was the sort of person who was always out and about. 185 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,615 The family are especially worried 186 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,455 because Paula has been the victim of domestic violence. 187 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,335 In nearly every homicide case I've looked at, 188 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,215 and I've looked at hundreds, in a domestic homicide, 189 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:14,975 coercive control is the single biggest predictor of that homicide. 190 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:17,775 Police were very keen 191 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,895 to know as much information about Paula, her lifestyle, 192 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:22,855 effectively any leads, really, 193 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,935 that could lead them to try and find Paula... 194 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,255 ...and hope that she was OK and everything was fine. 195 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,895 Some of the things I talk about are the five Ws - 196 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,255 the when, the where, the what, the why and the who. 197 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,095 Paula was from Liverpool. 198 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:45,735 Came from quite a large family, seven or eight sisters. 199 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,255 She was by all accounts very friendly, outgoing... 200 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,215 quite a bubbly personality. 201 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:57,015 She was also a mother. She had three little boys. 202 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,375 Paula moved down to North London three years earlier. 203 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:06,575 Unfortunately for Paula, 204 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,455 she fell in, I suppose, with the wrong people. 205 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,535 She developed a drug habit. 206 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,375 Think things have spiral led from that point onward. 207 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,575 The family's physical description of Paula 208 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,695 bears a resemblance to the human remains in the mortuary. 209 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,095 We can build a picture 210 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,455 on what the visual observations of the postmortem are. 211 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:31,695 We can estimate stature, the ethnicity and hair colour. 212 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,015 We discovered a caesarean scar, and that's an identifying feature. 213 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:37,175 The information 214 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,535 that the forensic scientists were able to give to the SIO 215 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:43,655 broadly fitted with what the family told us about Paula. 216 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:46,375 They need more forensic assurance 217 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,535 that the remains held at the mortuary belong to Paula. 218 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,895 The team took DNA from Paula's sister. 219 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,975 Your DNA won't be an exact match to your sibling, 220 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,455 but it will be very similar. 221 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,455 They compare the DNA from the remains 222 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,575 with the sample from Paula's sister. 223 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,215 That positively proved that it was Paula Fields. 224 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,535 Police inform Paula's family. 225 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:24,495 It's a difficult conversation to have... 226 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:27,415 ...explaining to a bereaved family 227 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,855 the circumstances around the demise or the death of a family member. 228 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,375 For a loved one to be murdered in any circumstance 229 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,335 is extremely harrowing. 230 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,015 Most families, I would imagine, never, ever recover. 231 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,655 But to actually be informed 232 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:48,655 that not only has your sister, daughter, been murdered 233 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:50,415 but then the body has been dismembered 234 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,615 is particularly horrific. 235 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,535 I wouldn't even imagine how they would ever come to terms with it. 236 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,735 Police are concerned this brutal killer could strike again. 237 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,135 This is a highly dangerous person. 238 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:12,055 Dismemberment is something 239 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,375 that most people would find absolutely impossible. 240 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,095 Ancl they are taking off a head. 241 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,535 Now, that's not an easy thing to do, it's a messy thing to do, 242 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,695 and it would be something that most of us 243 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,695 would feel completely repelled with. 244 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,815 Somebody like that's not really gonna suffer with guilt or shame. 245 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:36,975 The family informed the officers 246 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,175 that Paula was having a relationship with somebody called Joe Scouse. 247 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,415 On one occasion, they actually metjoe, 248 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,735 and he explained to them that he was a carpenter 249 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:48,335 and was also from Liverpool. 250 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,535 They were effectively kindred spirits, really. 251 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,175 That was one of the things 252 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,935 that sort of attracted her to him and him to her. 253 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,855 But the relationship was tempestuous. 254 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,455 Paula thinks she's in a safe relationship 255 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,055 with this really nice guy, 256 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:10,295 and really quickly, things completely changed, 257 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,055 and he became violent and abusive. 258 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,855 Police were very, very keen to identify who this individual was... 259 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,895 ...where he was, and exactly what his relationship was with Paula. 260 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,775 Joe Scouse lived at a particular address in Finsbury Park - 261 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:35,015 North Four. 262 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:42,215 The police investigation focused on the address 263 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,935 Paula had been frequenting quite regularly. 264 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:46,775 She would knock on his window. 265 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:49,615 He would invite her in. 266 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,935 It was a multi-occupancy address with about nine or ten bedsits. 267 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:56,855 He's nowhere to be seen. 268 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,015 Police question all other residents. 269 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:02,375 They were all of the view 270 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,575 that the relationship between Paula and Joe was somewhat tense. 271 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,535 There was one particular individual 272 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,335 who police felt was quite evasive when questioned, 273 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,655 and they felt that he actually knew more than he was letting on. 274 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,335 They discover he's a close acquaintance ofjoe Scouse. 275 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:22,815 Police focus their attention on him. 276 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,135 During questioning, he lets slip a secret. 277 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,335 Joe Scouse was in fact... 278 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:33,575 "John Sweeney. 279 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,415 That was his real identity. 280 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,295 Why would you have an alias 281 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:41,095 if you weren't intent on avoiding arrest 282 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:42,655 and you hadn't clone anything wrong? 283 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,775 We do a criminal record check on him, 284 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,495 and we realise that he's got a long criminal history, 285 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,415 criminal history of violence, serious violence. 286 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,735 john Sweeney was actually wanted 287 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:59,095 for the attempted murder of another girlfriend back in 1994. 288 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:01,575 He was basically on the run... 289 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:06,855 ...hence the reason why he was using the alias. 290 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,455 Once as an SIO you identify 291 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,895 that someone's on the run tor an attempted murder, 292 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,095 your primary aim is to arrest him as soon as possible. 293 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:18,695 What you don't want is for him to be on the run 294 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,655 and he attacks or kills somebody else. 295 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,375 With a warrant to search his bedsit, 296 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,615 police return to Sweeney's address in Finsbury Park. 297 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,815 Once inside, they're confronted with a chilling scene. 298 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:40,495 There's some artwork which is very unusual and quite morbid. 299 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,935 Images of people with feet missing. 300 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,895 Very sadistic, weird images. 301 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,735 There were some quite skilfully made items of furniture, as well, 302 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:00,255 of a sexual nature. 303 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,415 He was a very talented carpenter. 304 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,055 Officers who were looking at this artwork 305 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:10,575 were of the view that this was 306 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,055 not really a normal individual they were dealing with. 307 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,975 The weird art that was on the walls and the furniture is important, 308 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,055 but at that stage, it just tends to show his character. 309 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,135 Would it form any direct link with the murder of Paula Fields? 310 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,815 Well... I wasn't sure. 311 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:34,375 Within the property, 312 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,215 there was a pillowcase that appeared to have some blood staining on it. 313 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,055 So the pillowcase was sent away for further testing 314 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,175 to see if they could ascertain whose blood that was. 315 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,455 CSls recover soil samples from the back garden. 316 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,335 We were trying to prove 317 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,255 that the bricks that were weighing down the bags 318 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:58,735 may have come from that particular premises. 319 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,255 We employed a forensic sedimentologist 320 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,175 to sample the bricks 321 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,695 and take various forensic samples from the garden 322 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,895 to try to prove a link between the two. 323 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,255 The DNA results of the bloodstained pillowcase are in. 324 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,695 The blood turned out to be the blood from Paula Fields. 325 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,415 Yes, that is exciting because it is a firm forensic link 326 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:34,975 between an address that he lived at 327 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,335 at the time we found the parts in the canal. 328 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,415 But it isn't enough to charge Sweeney. 329 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:47,215 Unfortunately, because she was a regular frequenter to the address, 330 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,575 and the blood could have got there quite innocently, 331 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,295 not necessarily an indication that she'd come to harm there. 332 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,695 The killer could say, "We were in a relationship. 333 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,895 "The blood you found is not relevant. 334 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,735 "|t's from something innocuous." 335 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:03,215 It gives doubt. 336 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,735 Ancl it may allow the killer to put some distance 337 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,015 between his normal relationship activities 338 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,455 and the death of the individual. 339 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,855 Police hope the soil samples will provide conclusive evidence. 340 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:21,175 The sedimentologist was able to prove a link 341 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,375 between the debris and the bricks found at the canal side 342 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,095 with Sweeney's address. 343 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:31,615 But the multi-occupancy address gives Sweeney a get-out again. 344 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,015 He can say someone else took the bricks. 345 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,415 From the S|O's perspective, finding that that soil 346 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,615 was from an address that Sweeney was living at 347 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,455 was important but not necessarily significant. 348 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:47,895 It was supportive evidence. 349 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:54,455 You feel initially frustrated, but personally, it spurs you on. 350 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,055 You've just got to find the evidence 351 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,015 that's actually going to convict him. 352 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,015 Police need a new lead. 353 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,455 With Sweeney on the run, the team track down an ex-girlfriend, 354 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,575 Delia Balmer, whom he'd attempted to murder. 355 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,615 Sweeney had met Delia in the Camden Town area. 356 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:22,415 He'd moved in with her some time after the relationship began. 357 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,815 What tends to happen is there's this stage where you first meet 358 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,535 where everything happens really, really quickly. 359 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,615 We call it love bombing. 360 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:34,535 So, they might be really romantic, you know, 361 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,535 "|'m your Prince Charming, look, I've arrived." 362 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,255 They will listen to you talking because they will want to find out 363 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,815 what your are weaknesses are, and your vulnerabilities. 364 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,815 Sweeney was somebody who was controlling, 365 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,055 and he obviously preyed on women who were vulnerable. 366 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,775 It very quickly deteriorated 367 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,855 into bouts of violence from him towards Delia, 368 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,695 and to such an extent that Delia wanted him out of her life. 369 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,575 He attacked Delia numerous times. 370 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,295 He tied her up. 371 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,495 He was abusing her, threatening her, he had weapons. 372 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,615 Delia became more and more determined to get rid of Sweeney, 373 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,615 but unfortunately, he wouldn't leave. 374 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,255 Ancl the times that she thought he had gone, 375 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:25,975 in fact, he kept coming back. 376 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,095 One clay, she got him out, and she went and changed the locks. 377 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:31,215 Now, that's pretty final. 378 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,695 A month later, Delia rides her bike home from work. 379 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,215 It's six o'clock, and it's dark. 380 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,535 She goes up the steps to unlock her door. 381 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:56,295 Sweeney was lurking down below the steps in the dark, 382 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,735 in the shadows, she hadn't seen him. 383 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,215 Sweeney was absolutely furious. 384 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,815 He wasn't going there to cry or to beg. 385 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:09,655 He was going there to kill her. 386 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,655 He jumped out armed with a knife 387 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,615 and what I can only really describe as a two-foot felling axe. 388 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,855 He, in public, attacked her brutally. 389 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:29,295 She managed to grab her cycle and put it over herself, 390 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,495 which stopped some of the blows, but she was still severely injured. 391 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,375 He managed to inflict terrible life-threatening wounds. 392 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,175 She had a stab wound to the chest, punctured lung. 393 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,175 It was either one or both of her arms were snapped, 394 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:45,815 her bones and her tendons. 395 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,535 I mean, the injuries were horrific. 396 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,255 A next-door neighbour comes to the rescue. 397 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,575 He hit Sweeney right across the back with a baseball bat, 398 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,375 which caused him to sort of wheel round and stop attacking Delia, 399 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,495 which I think undoubtedly saved her life. 400 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,375 Sweeney ran off into the night. 401 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,975 She was very, very lucky. 402 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,815 If he'd got her into the house, 403 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,535 there's not a doubt in my mind that she would be dead. 404 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,375 Delia spends five weeks in intensive care. 405 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,895 She had an extremely long rehabilitation, 406 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,375 and now Sweeney was on the run. 407 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,015 He was a man capable of extreme violence. 408 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:38,255 It was felt that if he wasn't arrested quickly, 409 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,535 then someone else could be attacked or even die as a result. 410 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,295 NARRATOR: Police need to find john Sweeney, 411 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,415 their prime suspect in the murder of Paula Fields. 412 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,615 He is also wanted for the attempted murder of an ex-girlfriend. 413 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,495 There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. 414 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:13,775 He'd been on the run for a long time. 415 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,215 He had travelled extensively throughout Europe. 416 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,215 Sweeney was quite resourceful. 417 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,775 He's not what I call a clever man, but he's sly, and he's devious. 418 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:32,815 And he hated police. He'd never go near anyone in authority. 419 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,855 But seven years on from the attempted murder, 420 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,495 police discover he's back in London. 421 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:44,815 They act quickly. 422 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,055 just before he got into his place of work, 423 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,255 which was a building site in Shoe Lane, 424 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,895 which, ironically, is very close to the Old Bailey... 425 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,655 ...he was arrested in the street. 426 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,215 He'd obviously been clever enough to evade capture, 427 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,415 so I'd imagine he did get the shock of his life 428 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,095 when he was sort of wrestled to the ground. 429 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,735 Sweeney struggled, but he was restrained, 430 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,095 and a knife was retrieved from his waistband. 431 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,815 The team arrest Sweeney for the attempted murder of Delia Balmer 432 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:18,295 back in 1994. 433 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:22,295 He is also arrested for the suspicious death of Paula Fields. 434 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,015 His tool chest was searched. 435 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,215 There was a loaded Luger pistol found. 436 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,295 Anybody that could have a loaded firearm at work 437 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,775 is not, in my opinion, of sound mind. 438 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,455 Sweeney is taken to Kentish Town Police Station for questioning. 439 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,655 Sweeney was rather truculent during his interviews. 440 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,415 He was dismissive of them, 441 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,015 and on most of the questions that he was asked, he made no comment. 442 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,975 He admitted knowing Paula Fields and had had a relationship with her. 443 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,655 But that is about as far as it went. 444 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,655 He denied anything to do with her murder 445 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,015 or the disposal of her body parts. 446 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,495 Police have witnesses to the attempted murder 447 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,055 of Delia Balmer, 448 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,775 but need more evidence that Sweeney killed Paula. 449 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:12,375 They have just 24 hours before the custody clock is up. 450 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,255 A warrant is secured to search his new address. 451 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,335 We found a loaded sawn-off shotgun... 452 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,295 ...numerous cartridges and numerous pieces of ammunition 453 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,175 of various calibres, and these were prohibited items. 454 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,135 A bag was found in Sweeney's flat that contained tools. 455 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:44,735 He's a carpenter, so tools would be quite legitimate for him to have, 456 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,535 but within the bag, there were rubber sheets, duct tape 457 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,175 and an item that could be used as a garrotte. 458 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,375 It's not normal for someone to have those items in a bag. 459 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,815 It almost looked like a killer's kit. 460 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,055 Sweeney is charged and convicted of firearms of fences 461 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,495 and the attempted murder of Delia Balmer. 462 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,975 But the Crown Prosecution Service decides there's not enough evidence 463 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,175 to convict him of killing Paula. 464 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,895 I'd rather that, I'd rather the CPS say, 465 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,055 "No, you haven't got sufficient evidence," 466 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,415 and forcing us to go and find it, 467 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,255 than proceeding with insufficient evidence 468 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,455 and him being found not guilty at court, 469 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,175 cos that would be devastating, particularly for the families. 470 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,655 Sweeney was given a minimum term of ten years in prison. 471 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,135 He is due for release in 2011, 472 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,855 but police are determined to keep him behind bars 473 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,935 and convict him of the murder of Paula Fields. 474 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,535 Then Delia Balmer comes forward with new information. 475 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,655 During his relationship with Delia Balmer, 476 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,215 he actually confessed to her on more than one occasion 477 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,895 that he'd actually killed a girlfriend by the name of Melissa, 478 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,455 who was from the US. 479 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,735 He came across her while they were staying in Amsterdam 480 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,095 with two German men, and that he'd shot them all. 481 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:26,135 There are some rules that seem to be in every controlling relationship, 482 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,855 and the one that I'm thinking of specifically is, 483 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,095 "You must not make me jealous." 484 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,375 He had said he had stayed with the bodies for a few clays 485 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,135 and then dismembered them and then disposed of them in a canal. 486 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,775 When you hear the circumstances fitted exactly 487 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,695 something similar to Paula Fields, 488 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,335 that's, like, a eureka moment. 489 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,895 Police need to prove that Melissa's story is true 490 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,775 and if Sweeney is telling a version of Paula's murder 491 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:56,775 or has killed before. 492 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:00,535 Sweeney went for women who were quite isolated, 493 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,575 who were living far away from home, 494 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,255 so there was nobody there looking out for them. 495 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,735 Sweeney has told Delia he was living with Melissa in Amsterdam 496 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,375 when he killed her. 497 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,975 Police actually send a telex message to the Amsterdam police - 498 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,215 could they please check their records 499 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,135 and look for any dismembered bodies that may have turned up in Amsterdam 500 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,415 during a particular time period? 501 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:26,735 But police in Amsterdam have no record 502 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,175 of a dismembered body being found. 503 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,695 Because the case was in the Netherlands, 504 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,975 it was not easy for us to progress some of the inquiries 505 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,295 that we would've liked to have clone to try and trace her. 506 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:47,015 However hard, they won't give up on getting justice for Paula Fields 507 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:49,495 and any other of Sweeney's victims. 508 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:57,655 Eight years into Sweeney's sentence, the police get a call. 509 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,855 On the other end was a Dutch policeman 510 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,095 who introduced himself as a member 511 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,055 of the quite newly formed cold-case investigation team 512 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:06,615 from Rotterdam Police. 513 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,695 They'd been tasked with looking at unsolved cases from Rotterdam. 514 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:14,895 The first case he'd looked at 515 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,975 was of an unidentified and dismembered female... 516 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:25,415 ...found in the Westersingel Canal in May 1990. 517 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,335 Rotterdam and Amsterdam are separate police jurisdictions. 518 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,015 The way that the body had been deposited 519 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,935 was very similar to that of Paula. 520 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,975 She was trussed up in a large holdall 521 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,255 and thrown into a waterway. 522 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,975 Head and hands were missing. 523 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,175 It's a very similar MO, or modus operandi, 524 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,455 to how Paula Fields was found. 525 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:56,055 So, a similar MO means that potentially, 526 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,695 it's the same offender that's committed the two crimes. 527 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,255 Her body was actually folded in half. 528 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,695 36, 48 hours after death, 529 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:09,455 the body will become very soft, very malleable, easy to move around. 530 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:14,375 And at that point, the killer could have folded her body in half. 531 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:19,055 I thought to myself, "What are the chances of two women 532 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:23,255 "both ending up murdered, dismembered, 533 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:25,255 "placed in bags in a canal?" 534 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:26,855 it just wasn't gonna happen. 535 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,815 The case now becomes the first joint murder investigation 536 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,015 between the Netherlands and the UK. 537 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:41,495 Our clock's ticking. 538 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,655 John Sweeney could be released in 2011. 539 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,015 We were concerned that were he ever to be released, 540 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,855 he again would form a relationship with another woman 541 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:53,495 who could end up in the same way. 542 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:59,015 The team need to identify the body found in the Westersingel Canal. 543 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:03,815 On a cold-case review, they would review all old samples 544 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,135 and find out if there's further work that can be clone. 545 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,615 The blood sample was taken from the body 546 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,215 when she was initially found in 1990. 547 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,295 The blood sample has been stored 548 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,215 in the Netherlands Forensic Institute in The Hague. 549 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:21,815 With the advances in technology, 550 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,895 some of the DNA techniques that we used 20 years ago 551 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,015 have actually been superseded quite a lot. 552 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:34,015 The Forensic Institute were able to now create a full DNA profile. 553 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,015 This profile was loaded 554 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:42,015 onto the newly amalgamated Missing Persons DNA Database, 555 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:43,815 which was also cross matched 556 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,615 with the crime scene database in Rotterdam. 557 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,855 Ancl lo and behold, this DNA profile belonged to Melissa Halstead. 558 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,735 Melissa was from Ohio in the US. 559 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,815 She was a model for about two to three years, 560 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,775 and then she decided to come to Europe to start a new profession 561 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,015 being a photographer within the modelling industry. 562 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,535 The police database reveals that Melissa has been reported missing 563 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,095 by her family. 564 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,895 Normally, she would ring her mother and wish her birthday greetings 565 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,055 or Christmas, and they hadn't seen her for some time. 566 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,535 VOICEMAIL RECORDING: 567 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,695 This was the last they ever heard from Melissa. 568 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,855 Though the vial of blood is a match, because of its age, 569 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:56,455 CSls need additional forensic confirmation of Melissa's identity. 570 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,295 Blood doesn't keep very well over time. 571 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,655 Police make a difficult decision 572 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,535 to exhume her body and recover more DNA. 573 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,375 When a body is exhumed, it's normally clone 574 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,495 really early in the morning, at first light. 575 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,055 This is to maximise the daylight hours, 576 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,735 to provide respect for the victim, 577 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,335 and also to reduce the likelihood of any media attention. 578 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,335 When the body was exhumed, 579 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:29,335 she would likely be completely skeletonised. 580 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,255 Forensics recover DNA from the bones. 581 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,295 DNA is taken from the femur 582 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,455 because the femur is quite a large, robust bone 583 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:41,095 that preserves very well, 584 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,495 so it's likely that there will still be DNA intact within it. 585 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,615 This is especially true because there's no skull. 586 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,855 If there was a skull, we may have preferentially taken from the teeth. 587 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,375 The DNA taken from the femur is developed 588 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:58,495 and compared to the DNA from the original blood sample. 589 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:03,495 Again, it's a hit. 590 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,375 They were able to match the DNA sample to the victim, Melissa. 591 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:10,975 But the team still need to find a link 592 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,495 between Sweeney and Melissa Halstead. 593 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:18,135 It then meant that the previous investigation into Paula Fields 594 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,815 could be resurrected and us try to see whether or not 595 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,735 we could prove that john Sweeney 596 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,575 was not only the person who killed Paula Fields, 597 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:28,335 but more than likely the person who killed Melissa Halstead. 598 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,095 The team quickly established 599 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:35,935 that Melissa and Sweeney were in a relationship. 600 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,095 Melissa met Sweeney at a shoot. 601 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,575 They were in what could have been described as a loving relationship, 602 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,815 but very quickly, that turned violent. 603 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,215 Ancl there were significant episodes of assault on Melissa 604 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,495 over a two-and-a-half-year period. 605 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,935 She was subject to attacks, ABHs, 606 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,455 she was hit over the head with a hammer. 607 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,815 This bore distinct similarities 608 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,735 to the turbulence relationship he'd had with Delia. 609 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:09,335 Serial killers are quite often motivated... 610 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:10,775 They've got a sexual motivation. 611 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,535 There'd have been escalation points in their life, 612 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:15,735 they'd have built up to the first murder 613 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:19,495 and probably really enjoyed it... 614 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,255 and wanted to do it again. 615 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,455 And it can become almost a compulsion with them. 616 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:27,655 They can become very obsessive about it. 617 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:32,255 The team can now argue Sweeney has a violent MO. 618 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,815 The common denominator with all three victims 619 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,415 was that they were in a relationship with John Sweeney. 620 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,375 Things were rapidly moving. 621 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:49,055 At that stage, we hadn't explored all the potential forensic avenues. 622 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:50,935 There was more to be found. 623 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,095 NARRATOR: Police suspect john Sweeney is the killer 624 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:07,215 of Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead, 625 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:11,055 but they need more forensic evidence to charge him with both murders. 626 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,535 I had to make certain decisions 627 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:17,735 around how we were going to progress the investigation. 628 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:23,695 Sweeney's ten-year sentence for attempted murder is nearly up. 629 00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:25,255 The clock is ticking. 630 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,695 We were acutely aware that we didn't want him 631 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,735 ever to face the prospect of release before we were able to charge him, 632 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:36,335 really because of the potential danger to any women 633 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,135 with whom he formed a relationship with. 634 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,055 They urgently need a new lead. 635 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,775 The team directs forensic resources 636 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:51,615 to look at Sweeney's macabre artwork in more detail. 637 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,895 One of the priorities for us was to recover the artwork. 638 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:00,695 They discover that it's being stored by his mother. 639 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:04,895 Some of us went to Liverpool with a warrant 640 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:06,695 and searched his mother's address. 641 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:11,095 And in the attic, we recovered all the artwork. 642 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,135 There were numerous pieces of artwork, 643 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,815 I think somewhere in excess of 200 or thereabouts. 644 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:20,775 Some of them were particularly damning. 645 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:25,135 They showed pictures of dismemberment, attacking women, 646 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,455 women tied up in holdalls. 647 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:29,255 Not exactly what you'd describe 648 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,615 as sort of everyday, innocent doodlings. 649 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:34,575 The artwork is taken to the lab 650 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,255 for examination by a documents expert. 651 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:41,055 Several pieces of the artwork 652 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:43,735 contained little bits of correction fluid. 653 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,655 So the officers were very keen to establish 654 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:50,335 what was below the correction fluid. 655 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:52,815 It is feasible to use different light sources 656 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:56,495 to be able to look through Tipp-Ex, 657 00:39:56,520 --> 00:40:00,215 to be able to identify what is written underneath. 658 00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:06,615 The specialist uses UV light to look at any concealed images or writing. 659 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,415 The name "Melissa" appeared. 660 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:15,615 There was a tombstone, 661 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:20,135 written the words "Melissa born" on her birth date and "died", 662 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:22,335 but the "died" was left blank. 663 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,095 Why would you write "died" unless you knew they'd died? 664 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,695 A painting called The Scalphunter, 665 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:32,455 depicting a blonde scalp hanging off a man's belt with an axe, 666 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,935 is found dedicated to Delia. 667 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,055 Some of it was autobiographical 668 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:41,015 in terms of Sweeney outlining his views 669 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:42,415 at a particular time in his life 670 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,095 and relationships that he was having. 671 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:46,295 Other items are found. 672 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:50,295 Part of the material was a mini-cab card. 673 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,335 Ancl on the back of the card was, like, a pre-printed calendar, 674 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:57,615 and one of the dates on the calendar was ringed in pen 675 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:01,255 with the words "nine and a half P". 676 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:05,215 So we were thinking, "Well, is it significant?" 677 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:08,455 The date was about nine and a half weeks 678 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,415 since Paula had last been seen, in December, 679 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,335 so we were thinking, "Could the P be for Paula?" 680 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:22,535 I think that his almost obsessive interest in sex 681 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:26,735 would mean that women have this power over him 682 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:28,935 that they don't know is there. 683 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,135 You know, they're not doing this on purpose. 684 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:33,335 And I think there's a lot of resentment in him 685 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,215 that comes out in his art 686 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,975 and comes out in the sexual abuse 687 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,095 of the women he's in relationships with. 688 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:45,375 Once we'd recovered what I deemed at the time 689 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:48,055 to be significant pieces of evidence in relation to the artwork, 690 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,815 in relation to the cab card, 691 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:54,695 I was confident that we would be able to go to the CPS and say, 692 00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:57,375 "We have built what we think is a strong case 693 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,375 "to show that he had killed not only Paula Fields, 694 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:02,055 "but also Melissa Halstead." 695 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:08,575 The Crown Prosecution Service agrees Sweeney can now be charged 696 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:09,815 with double murder. 697 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:13,815 Sweeney was tried for three of fences, 698 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,735 which was the murder of Melissa Halstead, 699 00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:18,775 the murder of Paula Fields, 700 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,735 and for perverting the course of justice - 701 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,295 in the case of Paula, for dismembering her body. 702 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:29,215 It was because the two killings were so inextricably linked to him, 703 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,375 coupled, of course, with the confession evidence 704 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,655 and also the messages contained within the artwork 705 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,015 that we were able to eventually convict him. 706 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:43,175 Sweeney had earplugs in his ears, yellow ones. 707 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:48,255 Ancl for the majority of the case, he sat with the earplugs in, 708 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,095 which I'd never seen before. 709 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:53,095 Ancl I think even the jury members sat on there sort of aghast 710 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:54,815 that he's not listening to, 711 00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:57,135 or he's trying not to listen to what's being said. 712 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:01,135 Ancl I've never come across anybody with earplugs in their ears 713 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:05,015 when someone is accusing them of murder times two. 714 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,535 Ultimately, when Sweeney was convicted of both murders, 715 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:15,975 he declined to leave his cell and come up for sentencing. 716 00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:21,375 He wanted to stay in his cell. 717 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,015 Finally, his victims were having the last say, 718 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:28,575 and I don't think he could handle that at all. 719 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:36,215 just weeks away from his release, Sweeney is locked up forever. 720 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:39,415 Sweeney was given a life sentence, 721 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,375 and his life sentence means that he will never come out of prison. 722 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:43,975 He will die there. 723 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,855 The killer in this case thought he got away with murder 724 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:50,695 by dumping the body parts in a canal. 725 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:53,455 What he didn't realise is with the advances of forensic science, 726 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:56,415 we were able to catch him. 727 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,535 I'm proud that forensics played a big part in this, 728 00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:03,535 particularly that this case was the first case, as I understand it, 729 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:06,975 that cooperated with our partners in Europe. 730 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,615 It was a great effort between the Dutch police and us 731 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:12,255 to get the result that we did. 732 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:23,855 I feel really sad for the families 733 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:27,815 to have to undergo such a tragic death of a loved one, 734 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,575 especially when not all of the body has been found. 735 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:37,695 My suspicions are that Sweeney has killed more than two victims. 736 00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:39,415 I believe that there are others out there, 737 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:41,055 but only time will tell.