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Mark Dixie, 35, a chef, of no fixed abode was found guilty today (22.02.08) at the Old Bailey of the murder of Sally Anne Bowman. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation he serve a minimum of 34 years before he is eligible to be released on licence. Sally Anne Bowman, 18, lived in Blenheim Crescent, South Croydon. She had worked in a hairdresser salon and also as a part-time model. Sally Anne had spent the evening in Croydon town centre with one of her sisters and other friends. At about 2:30am her boyfriend picked her up and the two drove back to her home address in Blenheim Crescent. They remained outside her house sitting in the car until about 4.10am when her boyfriend left Sally Anne and watched her walk onto her driveway. It is believed Sally Anne was attacked within moments and never reached her front door. At about 4:15am a number of neighbours heard a female scream and one witness saw a lone white man close to where Sally was found. Police were called at 6:30am by a member of the public who had found Sally Anne outside 26 Blenheim Crescent. She was partially clothed and had been seriously sexually assaulted and bitten a number of times. The London Ambulance Service attended but Sally Anne was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem gave the cause of death as haemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds. Before leaving, Dixie stole property and clothing from Sally Anne. Police did recover some small items of her makeup nearby, at the junction of Haling Grove and St Augustine's Avenue. Detectives from the Specialist Crime Directorate led by Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy launched a murder investigation which was one of the largest murder enquiries ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Service. This prompted extensive media coverage, including three Crimewatch appeals, which led to well over a thousand calls into the incident room. A reward of £40,000 was also offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for her murder. All information indicated the attacker had to be a local man or one with a strong local connection. Nearly 6,000 premises were visited on numerous occasions to identify witnesses and find the murderer. The investigation identified over 22,000 males of interest, of which nearly 10,000 men had direct connection to the local area, a large number of which were eliminated. At an early stage DNA was recovered from the murder scene, which police believed identified the murderer. Police instigated one of their largest ever intelligence led DNA screens and by the time Mark Dixie was arrested a total of 1770 men had voluntarily provided their DNA and thus eliminated themselves as the murderer. Those men who came forward saved police thousands of hours of time and allowed them to pursue other lines of enquiry. On 27 June 2006 the murder team was informed by Sussex police that the DNA of a man who had been arrested on 15 June 2006 for fighting matched the DNA profile on the National DNA Database of Sally Anne's killer. That evening the team had arrested Dixie in Surrey. Dixie was charged on 29 June 2006 with the murder of Sally Anne Bowman and appeared the same day at Sutton Magistrates where he was remanded in custody to appear at the CCC. Mark Dixie finally stood trial on 4 February 2008. Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy, leading the enquiry, said: "Today Mark Dixie faces a life behind bars, a result that ensures the public are protected from a truly dangerous sexual killer. "Sally Anne was a young woman who had her whole of her life ahead of her. Mark Dixie cut that life short in the most horrific way imaginable, her family and friends will always have to suffer her loss knowing the appalling acts he committed. "This brutal murder was aggravated by the fact that Sally Anne had been left by her boyfriend in apparent safety, only yards from her front door. I believe Mark Dixie had concealed himself close by and was waiting for Sally Anne to be alone before attacking her. He preyed on a young girl and committed the most heinous crime and then expected people to believe the most preposterous account of what he said happened. "This has been a significant police investigation lasting nearly two and a half years. It has been a long and difficult road before Sally Anne's family and friends have seen justice done today here at the Central Criminal Court. "Mark Dixie has never told anyone what truly happened that night. He has kept this and his previous attacks secret from those who knew him. Through his refusal to accept what he did, Mark Dixie has put those who knew Sally Anne and the jury through a tremendous amount of anguish and distress. "I pay tribute to those witnesses who assisted in this case; particularly Mark Dixie's previous victims who had the courage to give evidence during the trial. Victims from London and Thailand, who he forced to relive their own terrible attacks - one in June 1988 and the other exactly ten years to the day later in June 1998 in Perth, Western Australia. "Finally and most importantly, I pay tribute to Sally Anne's family for their courage and strength during the course of the enquiry. No family should have to go through all that they have done. I hope today's conviction will in some way help them to deal with these awful events. "Mark Dixie posed a significant threat to women and I strongly believe that there may be other victims who have not come forward. He may have committed other sexual offences dating back many years. I therefore urge anyone who believes they are the victim of Mark Dixie and haven't already informed police to please do so on 020 8721 4005." http://cms.met.police.uk/news/ |
