Levi Bellfield, the killer of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, will be the focus of tonight’s episode of true crime docuseries Making A Monster on Crime + Investigation.
Milly Dowler, full name Amanda Jane ‘Milly’ Dowler, was just 13 years old at the time she was abducted and killed in 2002.
Her parents first reported her missing to Surrey Police on March 21, 2002, when the teenager failed to return home from school.
You can watch the trailer for tonight’s Making A Monster episode here:
Following an extensive search, Milly’s body was found six months later in Yateley Heath Woods, Hampshire, 25 miles from her home.
It wasn’t until 2011 that Levi Bellfield was charged for Milly’s abduction and murder; he was already serving three life sentences for the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
In 2016, Surrey Police reported that Bellfield had admitted to Dowler’s murder – however Bellfield then denied he ever confessed.
Bellfield’s lawyer, Julie Cooper, went on to send a letter to Surrey Police accusing them of covertly recording her client, who has apparently converted to Islam while in prison and now calls himself Yusuf Rahim.
As per ITV News, the letter to Surrey Police read:
We request the tape recording of the alleged confession; the attendance notes relating to the alleged confession; the circumstances surrounding the alleged confession and we would be grateful if you would confirm or deny whether a covert tape was being used during the course of the interview with Mr Rahim and we look forward to your early response.
At one point in the investigation, police had identified Milly’s father Bob Dowler as a suspect after it emerged Milly found pornographic magazines at their home.
He was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing, and Surrey Police later apologised for the missed opportunities this may have caused. Bellfield became the prime suspect in 2008.
On March 30, 2010, Bellfield was charged with Milly’s murder and abduction.
He denied the charge but was convicted on June 23, 2011, and told he would die behind bars for the murders of Milly, Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange.
Tonight’s Making A Monster documentary on Crime + Investigation will look at Bellfield’s life and try to provide ‘insight’ into his mind.
The programme’s synopsis reads:
A group of the world’s leading forensic psychologists and psychiatrists come together to share their own first-hand experiences and insights into the mind of a serial killer.
The series also looks at other high-profile killers including Rose West, who tortured and murdered at least nine young women with her husband Fred, and convicted murderer, rapist and paedophile Robert Black.
Making a Monster airs tonight at 9pm on Crime + Investigation (Sky 156, Virgin 275, BT 328 and TalkTalk 328).
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Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.