A British man was convicted yesterday of murdering two sex workers after sexually assaulting multiple women in London, with police and prosecutors accepting they made errors which allowed him to continue his escalating offences.
Simon Levy, 40, was found guilty of the murder of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and of Sheryl Wilkins in August 2025, as well as the rape and serious assault of a third woman in January that year.
Police had arrested Levy on suspicion of murdering Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in April 2025 but released him – after which Levy sexually assaulted five women on trains in London before he killed Wilkins, 39.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth from London’s Metropolitan Police told the BBC he thought Wilkins’ life could have been saved and that he had apologised to her family.
He also said the Met had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) having downgraded him in 2024 from a high-risk sex offender to a medium-risk one.
The Met said in a statement that a post mortem could not provide a definitive cause of death for Valencia-Trujillo, meaning they could not confirm any third-party involvement and as a result released Levy.
Levy was arrested on other occasions in 2024 and early 2025 by British Transport Police (BTP) for sex attacks on trains, including after he became a suspect for rape and Valencia-Trujillo’s murder, but was granted bail.
Lisa Ramsarran from the Crown Prosecution Service said that “relevant information regarding bail” was not provided to the court, adding: “Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect.”
Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle from the BTP also accepted the force’s initial investigation was not carried out quickly enough. He said the BTP had amended its procedures “to ensure that repeat offenders are dealt with expeditiously and that linked offences are prioritised more effectively”.
&uuid=(email))