Serial sex offender guilty of murdering two women and raping third
BBC News · C · trust 44/100
A serial sex offender who was being monitored by the Metropolitan Police has been found guilty of murdering two women and raping a third in London.
Simon Levy killed Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March 2025 and 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins five months later.
The 40-year-old also raped a third woman in January 2025, before the murders, in the same Tottenham car park where Wilkins was later found dead.
During his trial at the Old Bailey, jurors heard Levy had a string of convictions for attacking women dating back to July 2018, including one carried out against a prison officer in 2022.
Published 2 hours ago The court heard how Levy, from Tottenham, targeted the three vulnerable women, all of whom carried out street sex work in order to fund drug addictions.
He declined to give evidence during his trial but pleaded not guilty to the two murders, as well as two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent, and non-fatal suffocation against the surviving woman.
The jury, which was given a majority direction in the trial, found him guilty of all charges after 13 hours of deliberation.
Members of the victims' families wept as the verdicts were returned while the defendant, who had a pointed beard and was wearing sunglasses, gave no reaction.
In court, judge Mark Lucraft KC adjourned sentencing until Wednesday 12 August and remanded Levy into custody.
The Met, British Transport Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have all admitted failings in how they dealt with Levy, who was on bail as his attacks on women escalated to double murder.
If you have been affected by this story or would like support then you can find organisations which offer help and information at the BBC Action Line .
Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, said: "The fact that Levy was able to inflict such devastating harm after being freed by police and the courts is deeply concerning.
"It raises serious questions that require urgent answers."
She said that failures must be identified so they are not repeated.
Woman feared she would die in attack, court hears
Published 25 November 2025 Helena Croft, the chief executive officer of StreetlightUK charity, said this case "demonstrated the need to treat women involved in the sex industry as women at risk of serious violence".
She said there were "missed opportunities around listening to frontline services, information sharing, and making full use of specialist organisations that had established relationships with the women most at risk".
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to the BBC that it believed Wilkins' death could have been avoided had there not been multiple points of failure in the handling of Levy.
The Met failed to treat Valencia-Trujillo's death as a murder, despite arresting Levy soon afterwards and finding his DNA on her body, until after Levy killed again.
In February, Levy was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 women on London's Tubes and trains, as well as a female prison officer in HMP Brixton, with details of that trial now reportable for the first time.
Speaking after the verdicts were given, Det Ch Insp Neil John from the Met said: "Simon Levy is a dangerous and predatory offender.
"His crimes were calculated, cruel and deeply disturbing. Throughout the trial, he has shown complete disregard for the victims and victim-survivor, despite being fully aware of the lasting and devastating impact of his actions."
He described the investigation as "complex and challenging" but said "my team and I have been steadfast in our professionalism and dedication".
Two Met officers are under investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) for their decision in August 2024 to downgrade Levy from a high-risk sex offender to a medium-risk.
A police constable had been served with a gross misconduct notice and a detective sergeant with a misconduct notice.
The IOPC said it would be investigating how Levy was managed from his first conviction in September 2021 up to his arrest in September 2025.
"We are examining whether action could or should have been taken to prevent his reoffending, and if all officers involved in his management followed policies, procedures, and training."
The IOPC stressed that the notices indicated the officers' actions were under investigation and did not mean disciplinary proceedings would follow.
The investigation will also consider whether any lessons can be learned or changes introduced at an individual, force-wide or national level.
The British Transport Police (BTP) said that two of its officers have been moved to other roles due to their "incompetence" in handling the case.
BTP Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle said: "It is clear that opportunities to expedite the investigation were missed and we have amended our procedures to address these issues to ensure that repeat offenders are dealt with expeditiously, and that linked offences are prioritised more effectively."
Doyle also said it was possible there are other victims of Levy who are not yet known and encouraged them to come forward.
Lisa Ramsarran, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, said: "Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect.
"In particular, there were points where we could and should have taken a more robust approach to representations about bail, based on the information available.
"We cannot know what decisions the courts would have made had different or stronger representations been advanced. But we recognise our responsibility and we are sorry for the shortcomings we have identified."
Ramsarran said the cases had been handled against a backdrop of significant pressure on the criminal justice system, including busy court lists, late or incomplete information, and the need for agencies to make decisions quickly.
While that did not lessen responsibility for the failings, she said it was important to understand the circumstances in which they had occurred.
…
Read the original at BBC News →
Open in TruthVane →