Mark Dixie

Parties

Mark Philip Dixie — defendant

Sally Anne Bowman — victim; British model

Lewis Sproston — Sally Anne Bowman’s boyfriend (treated as an initial suspect and later arrested; DNA eliminated him as a suspect within hours)

Timeline

• 11 September 1987 — Sally Anne Bowman was born.
• January 2005 — Sally Anne Bowman joined Pulse Model Management.
• April 2005 — Sally Anne Bowman took part in the Swatch Alternative Fashion Week.
• September 2005 — Sally Anne Bowman’s body was found next to a skip in Croydon, south London.
• 2005 — Sally Anne Bowman was stabbed in the neck and stomach, and then raped as she lay dead or dying; her handbag, cardigan, bra, thong and mobile phone were stolen.
• 22 February 2008 — At the Old Bailey, Dixie was found guilty of Bowman's murder by a jury of seven women and five men.
• February 25, 2008 — Dixie was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 34 years.
• 8 April 2008 — A documentary about the murder was broadcast on BBC1 at 10.35pm.
• 11 September 2008 — A memorial was held to mark what would have been Sally Anne’s 21st birthday.
• 29 June 2009 — Another TV documentary, as part of ITV's Real Crime series, documented Bowman's killing.
• 3 February 2009 — Dixie lost a bid to challenge his conviction in the Court of Appeal.

Background

Sally Anne Bowman was born 11 September 1987 and died 25 September 2005. She was an “up and coming British model.” She attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. She had dreams of appearing on the cover of Vogue magazine and being “the next Kate Moss.”

In January 2005, she joined Pulse Model Management, a local talent agency. She took part in the Swatch Alternative Fashion Week in April 2005. She described her experience in a quote:

"I was so nervous all week particularly when all the models were lined up and the designers chose who they wanted to model their clothes - luckily I was picked by loads of designers which gave me more confidence."

Mark Philip Dixie was born 24 September 1970 in Streatham. When he was 18 months old, his parents separated. When he was 8, his mother remarried, and she had two sons by her new husband. Dixie took his stepfather’s surname, McDonald. Dixie used cannabis from age 14, and later used cocaine and ecstasy. His criminal record began in 1986.

The offence

Sally Anne Bowman was murdered near her home in Croydon, South London. The murder occurred two weeks after her 18th birthday. Her body was found next to a skip in Croydon in September 2005 and was also described as being found in the driveway of her home in 2005.

She was robbed, raped and murdered. She was stabbed in the neck and stomach, and then raped as she lay dead or dying. The prosecution evidence described that neighbours heard screams at about 0420 BST, and that it was not until over two hours later that the “gruesome discovery” of her body was made. Dixie stabbed her repeatedly and had sex with her body.

Her handbag, cardigan, bra, thong and mobile phone were stolen.

Investigation

Police initially treated Sally Anne Bowman’s boyfriend Lewis Sproston as a suspect. He was the last person known to have seen her alive and admitted that they had argued just before she left. Sproston was arrested, and DNA evidence eliminated him as a suspect within hours.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy, who led the Bowman investigation, said:

"It is my opinion that a national DNA register — with all its appropriate safeguards — could have identified Sally Anne's murderer within 24 hours. Instead it took nearly nine months before Mark Dixie was identified, and almost two-and-a-half years for justice to be done."

Police appealed for victims to come forward so they could receive counselling.

Dixie’s DNA was matched to Bowman's killer. Police said Dixie enjoyed hearing details of his crimes being re-told in court by his victims. Det Supt Stuart Cundy said:

"Dixie has made his victims re-live horrific ordeals. He made Sally Anne's family sit through horrific evidence."

At one point during the evidence, Sally Anne Bowman’s mother fled the court in tears.

Arrest

Dixie was arrested on 10 June 2006 in nearby Crawley, West Sussex, after being involved in a fight while watching an England vs Trinidad and Tobago World Cup football match. His DNA was taken and matched with that of Bowman's killer.

Trial

Dixie was accused and charged with the assault and murder of Bowman. He was tried at the Old Bailey.

At the Old Bailey on 22 February 2008, Dixie was found guilty of Bowman's murder by a jury of seven women and five men after two days of deliberation. The jury deliberated for three hours and returned a unanimous verdict.

Dixie denied the murder. During the trial, he claimed he spent the night drinking and taking drugs and went out to buy more cocaine. He claimed that he came across Bowman’s body, murdered by a third party, and had sex with her after she was killed.

Prosecutor Brian Altman told the court about Dixie’s account. Altman said:

"The defendant confesses that he had sex with Sally Anne and that he had sex with her after her death."

Altman added:

"That astonishingly is his defence. It is born out of desperation."

Sally Anne Bowman had been driven home after a night out in Croydon Town Centre by her boyfriend Lewis Sproston at about 0400 BST, and they argued in the car outside her house with each accusing the other of seeing other people. She tried to stop Sproston driving off by sitting on the bonnet of the car. Altman said Sproston believed someone was watching them and at one stage had “looked angrily” into the car.

Altman told the court that the defendant’s DNA was found on Miss Bowman’s body, his bloody fingerprint was on her shoe, and his bite marks were on her cheek, neck and breast. Altman also said Dixie had been a “recreational drug user.”

Judge Gerald Gordon told Dixie his conduct was unspeakable and said:

"What you did that night was so awful and repulsive that I do not propose to repeat it," "Your consequent conduct shows you had not the slightest remorse for what you had done."

Sentencing

On February 25, 2008, Dixie was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 34 years.

It was stated that the recommended minimum was among the longest minimum terms ever imposed upon a single murderer and that, by the time he will be 70 years old, he will have served the recommended minimum.

Appeals

In February 2009, Dixie lost a bid to challenge his conviction. The Court of Appeal panel of three judges said his application to appeal was “entirely without merit.” The judges were Lord Justice Burnton, Mr Justice Treacy and Mrs Justice Slade.

Sally Anne’s sister Nicole Chiddy said after the ruling:

"This is the best thing that could have happened. " "He should accept what he did and that he got what he deserved. I hope this is the final chapter and he will rot in hell."

Other details

Sally Anne Bowman’s family attended the Court of Appeal ruling, including her mother Linda and sister Nicole Chiddy. After the verdict at trial, the family cheered. Her mother tried to console her daughters, while her boyfriend Lewis Sproston wept with friends.

Sally Anne Bowman’s father Paul said:

"Sally Anne, you may have been taken from us, but rest assured you will forever be missed and never forgotten."

Sally Anne’s mother Linda said in response to the verdict:

"My heart will never mend not even over time. " "I cannot understand why my baby girl was taken from me in such a brutal and depraved way. " "I cannot understand why he killed her."

It was revealed that Dixie was already a convicted serial sex offender and had a history of sexual violence.

During evidence, it was stated that Dixie indecently assaulted a female Jehovah’s Witness in London when he was 17, and a match to his DNA was found during police investigating the rape and stabbing of a student in Perth, Western Australia.

Dixie’s defence included an account that he had come across Bowman’s body and had sex with her body after she was killed.

Dixie had lived in Australia from January 1993 until he was deported back to the UK in April 1999 after being fined for indecent exposure. He lived in London until moving to Spain in 2002, and moved back to England in 2003. He worked as a chef at the Ye Old Six Bells in Horley, Surrey.

Dixie’s DNA matched left at a sexual assault in 2001, believed to involve him masturbating in front of a woman in a telephone booth.

In October 2006, Dixie’s DNA was sent to Western Australia to be tested against that of DNA evidence in the Claremont serial killer case between 1996 and 1997, because it was believed he was in the area at the time and may have committed them.

At trial, an unnamed Thai woman gave evidence that Dixie stabbed and raped her in Australia in June 1998 in Subiaco, Western Australia while Dixie was burgling her house. Dixie had yet to be formally charged with this attack, though a DNA sample from the woman’s underwear had been matched to him.

A memorial was held on 11 September 2008 to mark what would have been Sally Anne’s 21st birthday. Balloons were released in Central Croydon outside Primark along North End.

A documentary about the murder was broadcast on BBC1 at 10.35pm on 8 April 2008. Another TV documentary as part of ITV’s Real Crime documented Bowman's killing with interviews, the history of the case and reconstructions; it was shown on 29 June 2009.