John Sweeney

Background

John Sweeney was a jobbing carpenter. He worked under assumed names on construction sites around mainland Europe and south-east England. He was from Liverpool and described as having no fixed abode.

Sweeney’s relationship history included former girlfriends in the United Kingdom and Europe. Detectives believed he had several other potential victims and they appealed for information about three missing women. Scotland Yard and Dutch police issued appeals for information and released photographs in an attempt to trace potential victims and movements across the UK and Europe.

Sweeney’s family insisted he was innocent, including his mum Catherine, 76. Ann Bramley, his former wife, told officers that her husband had confessed to killing Melissa. Ann died of cancer in 2002. Sweeney’s daughter Tracey, 33, refused to comment, and their son was believed to be called Michael and was said to be 35.

The offence

Sweeney was convicted of murdering Melissa Halstead and Paula Fields. He murdered and dismembered the victims and dumped remains in canals in Rotterdam and London.

Sweeney’s sentencing remarks described the crimes as involving heads of the victims being removed and mutilation as a serious aggravating feature. The judge said the method of disposal demonstrated substantial planning, and that the defendant controlled his relationships with women, with that control extending to deciding whether the women should live or die.

The court heard that the killings had been planned. The jury also heard that Sweeney denied the murders. The evidence described a hatred of women and turning violent when women tried to reject him.

Melissa Halstead (murder and disposal)

Melissa Halstead was a 33-year-old American model and former girlfriend of Sweeney. The remains of Melissa Halstead were found a decade apart from Paula Fields.

Melissa Halstead met Sweeney in London and embarked on a relationship described as tempestuous. Sweeney followed her to Europe after she was deported from the UK for overstaying her work visa. She was deported for overstaying her work visa. Dutch detectives carried out a cold case review and matched familial DNA to identify her in 2008.

The remains of Melissa Halstead were found in the Westersingel canal in Rotterdam after she vanished from her Amsterdam flat in 1990. Her head and hands were missing.

On May 3, 1990, Rotterdam police spotted an army surplus kit bag floating on the Westersingel canal with a body in it. The body had been sawn through the spine, folded in half and bound in with rope. Sweeney carried the corpse on a train for an hour before dumping it and returned to Britain shortly afterwards.

During the trial, the court heard that Melissa Halstead had predicted her own death at the hands of Sweeney. Her sister, Chance O’Hara, testified by saying: “She told me if she ever went missing, that John Sweeney would have killed her.” Another account said Melissa Halstead had threatened that he would kill her and make sure no one would ever find her body. The family became alarmed after Melissa did not contact their mother on her birthday on November 2, 1990.

A poem was seized from Sweeney in 2001. It read: “Poor old Melissa/Chopped her up in bits/Food to feed the fish/Amsterdam was the pits.” Another account presented the poem as: “Poor old Mellissa (sic), chopped up in bits, food for the fish, Am…dam (sic) was the pits.”

Sweeney also reportedly boasted to police after confessing repeatedly to killing Melissa.

Sweeney’s artwork included a picture called “One Man Band” in which Sweeney painted Melissa Halstead’s gravestone and then covered it with correction fluid. Once treated with ultra-violet light, it revealed the inscription: “RIP Melissa Halstod bon on 12th December 56’ (sic). The word ‘died’ was followed by a dash.”

Sweeney had drawn and wrote artwork and poems that were described as “demonic,” and one artwork entitled the “Scalp Hunter” depicted a female victim and a bloody axe.

Paula Fields (murder and disposal)

Paula Fields was a 31-year-old mother-of-three and described as living in north London. She was originally from Liverpool. She was described as a crack cocaine user leading a chaotic life in north London that involved working as a prostitute.

Sweeney met Paula Fields in 2000. The court heard she vanished three months later, and detectives found dismembered remains.

Detectives found 10 body parts in six holdalls in the Regent’s Canal near King’s Cross in February 2001. Another account stated her remains were found in six large bin bags in Regent’s Canal in Camden, north London, in February 2001. Her head, hands and feet were missing. Another account stated she had been cut into ten pieces with a hacksaw. Police believed she was murdered after she discovered Sweeney’s real identity. In one account, detectives believed this discovery occurred after he accused her of stealing his tobacco and using his mobile phone. A neighbor was woken up in the early hours by a male voice screaming and shouting: “No, no, no.”

Sweeney’s poem and items included a calendar and receipt. A calendar was found on the back of a minicab receipt with 16 December 2000 circled and then “9 1/2 weeks” and the letter “P” written under it which within three days was the period before Paula’s body was discovered on 19 February 2001.

Investigation

Detectives feared that three other women known to Sweeney may also have been victims. Officers appealed for information about three missing women who were said to have links to Sweeney.

Detectives appealed for the trainee nurse Sue, described as from Derbyshire. It was said she left for Switzerland in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Another account described her as living and working in or frequenting the Holloway Road area. She was said to have gone to Switzerland to work and to have been a devoted churchgoer in the north London area.

Police also appealed for Irani, described as a Brazilian known as Irani. Irani was said to have lived in North London around 1996, possibly as a cleaner. Another account stated she lived in North London around 1996 to 1997 and was believed to be in her mid-40s. She was said to frequent pubs and restaurants in the area.

Police also appealed for Maria, described as a Colombian called Maria. Maria was said to have been in the north London area from 1997 to 1998 and was thought to be in her late 30s, including areas such as Finsbury Park and Holloway Road.

Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves said: “We have some information which would suggest that is a possibility.” Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves also said: “We don't know what happened to these women - we just need to find out more about them and their relationship with Sweeney. We also need to identify another woman whose drawing was found among his possessions and is marked "London 1985". 'We would urge anyone who recognises this woman as them or someone they knew to get in touch.'”

Police were investigating claims that Sweeney murdered two German men in Holland more than 20 years ago. Scotland Yard revealed that he was suspected to have killed three previous girlfriends as well as two German men. The two Germans were described as men Sweeney bragged he had murdered at the same time as Miss Halstead.

Sweeney also confessed to several people that in Amsterdam he shot dead two German tourists he caught having sex with Melissa. Dutch police were said to be taking the claim seriously because he had a string of firearms convictions.

During the investigation, police discovered a hoard of more than 300 violent and lurid paintings and poems found at Sweeney’s home. The materials included “Scalp Hunter,” depicting a female victim and a bloody axe. The materials also included hundreds of “demonic” drawings of women’s body parts and references to “666” and himself as Satan.

After Sweeney was arrested, police discovered weapons at his home including sawn-off shotguns, a machete and a garrotte made with bamboo and wire. A holdall contained a “killer’s kitbag” of a saw, bow knife, Stanley knife, axe head, orange rubber gloves and rolls of tape. Prosecutors had not had enough evidence to charge him with murder at that time.

Arrest

Sweeney was arrested in 1994 following the attack on Delia Balmer. He had gone on the run hours after being granted bail and lived on the run living under assumed aliases.

He was finally arrested six years later at a central London building site after the discovery of Fields’s remains.

Another account stated he was arrested in 2001 as he left a London building site where he had been working.

After his attempted murder conviction, officers investigated other crimes to which he was linked, and there was an Anglo-Dutch police investigation launched in February 2009.

Police went to Sweeney’s cell in Gartree Prison, Leicestershire, and found he had been spending his time in jail drawing women without limbs.

Trial

Sweeney was convicted at the Old Bailey on Monday of murdering Melissa Halstead and Paula Fields. The sentencing was on April 5, 2011.

He was convicted of the murders of Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead, after a joint EU Commission-funded operation by British and Dutch police.

Sweeney refused to leave his prison cell at Belmarsh prison to hear his sentence. Judge Mr Justice Saunders sentenced him in his absence.

The prosecuting barrister Brian Altman QC said the evidence revealed Sweeney’s “obsessive and violent hatred of women and a pre-occupation with dismemberment.” Another account included the prosecution’s statement about a hateful, controlling and possessive man, prone to outbursts of rage and violence. Sweeney claimed the police had “sexed up” the evidence.

During the trial, Sweeney described some of his artwork as “nonsense.” He also said he had spent the 1980s and 1990s taking drugs including LSD and cannabis.

Sweeney showed no emotion as he was found guilty.

Sentencing

Mr Justice Saunders sentenced John Sweeney to a whole life tariff described as a whole life sentence and life without parole. The status of sentencing in the case record was “Sentenced to life in prison on April 5, 2011.”

The judge warned Sweeney was considering imposing a “whole life” tariff and said it was only a whole life term that was appropriate.

Mr Justice Saunders said:

“These were terrible, wicked crimes.
The heads of the victims having been removed, it is impossible to be certain how they were killed.
The mutilation of the bodies is a serious aggravating feature of the murders.
Not only does it reveal the cold-blooded nature of the killer, but it has added greatly to the distress of the families to know that parts of their loved ones have never been recovered.”

The judge said:

“The method of disposal of the bodies demonstrates that there was a substantial amount of planning.
Why the killings occurred, I cannot be sure, but I am satisfied that this defendant is controlling in his relationships with women and, chillingly, that control extends to deciding whether they should live or die.”

Sweeney was told he would die in prison. It was also stated he refused to return from the cells after being told he will almost certainly die in jail.

Other details

Attempted murder of Delia Balmer

Sweeney had been serving a life sentence for attempted murder of a third girlfriend, Delia Balmer, after an attack with an axe and a knife. Sweeney was granted bail by a magistrate and hours later attacked Delia Balmer with a knife and an axe before going on the run.

Delia Balmer was described as a nurse. The relationship ended when she ended their relationship with Sweeney in 1994. Sweeney had subjected her to 48 hours of torture the previous month when she ended their affair. After being released on bail, he attacked her with an axe and a knife only hours after being released on bail. She survived.

One account said Sweeney attacked Delia Balmer with an axe and a knife on her doorstep in December 1994. Another account said he was convicted for that attack in 2001, seven years after she reported it to police in 1994. Another account said he attacked her only hours after being released on bail and that he was still on the run when he later killed Paula Fields.

One account described that Delia Balmer lost a finger and suffered scars to her chest. Another account described “appalling violence” and “horrendous scars to her chest.” She was said to be an Australian and survived.

Sweeney went on the run after the attack, living as a fugitive on building sites across Britain and Europe for the next six years.

After the attack he turned up at the Northampton home of estranged wife Ann Bramley.

It was said he confessed he had killed three people and “done something really bad which would make her hair stand on end”.

Police investigation timeline and procedural details

An Anglo-Dutch police investigation was launched in February 2009. Sweeney was charged with the murders of Miss Halstead and Miss Fields in April last year.

After the Old Bailey trial finished, Detective Chief Insp Howard Groves said: “As he contemplates a life behind bars, I can assure him this investigation will continue as we seek to identify and trace other potential victims in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe who may have suffered a similar fate to that of Melissa and Paula.”

Confessions and relationships

After Fields’s remains were found, police realized there was a connection between cases and identifications.

It was said that while on the run Sweeney had told his best friend that he found Melissa in bed with two German men and had killed them all.

Sweeney also told his former wife, Ann Bramley, that the police were looking for him and he had “done something really bad which would make her hair stand on end”.

Sweeney also reportedly told police that he had “30 to 40” relationships across the Continent. Another account stated he told someone he had been with “30 to 40 women”.

Weapons and items found

Police discovered multiple weapons at Sweeney’s home after his arrest, including sawn-off shotguns, a machete and a garrotte made with bamboo and wire. Officers also found a holdall containing a “killer’s kitbag” of a saw, bow knife, Stanley knife, axe head, orange rubber gloves and rolls of tape.

A hoard of paintings and poems was found, described as including references to “666” and himself as Satan. Sweeney had written at least one poem on a scratchcard. A calendar and minicab receipt included dates and a letter “P.”

Artwork and “Scalp Hunter”

Police released new photos of “Scalp Hunter” murderer John Sweeney in an attempt to trace more potential victims. Scotland Yard released pictures of Sweeney taken during the 1980s and 1990s for identification.

Officers also released macabre artwork to help identify three missing women. Detective Chief Insp Howard Groves said: “As Sweeney contemplates a life behind bars, I can assure him that this investigation will continue.”

It was said one artwork called “Scalp Hunter” showed Sweeney with a bloody axe tucked into his belt and a lock of hair hanging from its blade.

Age and relationships mentioned in context of victims

Chance O’Hara described family context, including that her sister was 33 and said she last saw her sister in London in 1987 when she was working as a photographer and make-up artist. It was also stated Chance O’Hara was 63.

Irene, who was described as Fields’s sister, said Fields was the youngest of 11 children and that their mother died when Fields was only nine. Irene said: “When Paula had her own children she thought she could make a better life in London. 'In May 2000, we began to hear she was into drugs and prostitution.'”

Identification and method

Melissa Halstead’s body was discovered in 1990 but identified in 2008 after Dutch detectives carried out a cold case review and matched familial DNA.

Bodies not recovered

The heads and hands missing from Melissa Halstead were described, and the head, hands and feet missing from Paula Fields were described. The judge stated parts of bodies of loved ones had never been recovered.