UK serial killer jailed for life as police failures come to light

A London court has sentenced 40-year-old Simon Levy to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of murdering two women and raping a third. The case has been overshadowed by a scandal after it emerged the killings could have been prevented had law enforcement acted responsibly.

The investigation found Levy had been on the sex offenders register for years and deliberately targeted vulnerable women working on the street, counting on police paying little attention to their disappearance or testimony. A search of his computer uncovered a folder of old newspaper clippings about rapes and murders he had collected over the years.

Years of police failures

As early as 2018, a woman who had been attacked went to police and even submitted a photograph of her attacker, but was turned away because officers said they had more urgent matters. Later, while jailed for other offences, Levy assaulted a prison staff member — yet after his release the Metropolitan Police inexplicably downgraded his threat status.

The most consequential failure came at a 2025 bail hearing, when prosecutors failed to present the court with records of Levy's previous convictions and did not disclose that he was already the prime suspect in his first murder case. Believing the defendant had a clean record, the judge released him on bail. Once free, Levy ignored subsequent court hearings, and prosecutors never sought his arrest. In August 2025, he murdered his second victim, a mother of three.

In court, Levy showed no remorse or emotion and refused to testify, which the prosecutor described as a telling silence pointing to his guilt. After 13 hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on all counts. Police and prosecutors have since formally apologised to the victims' families, and several officers are now under criminal investigation.