"He Chose Not To": Peter Bleksley on Levi Bellfield's Admission, Sky News, 2016

Name: "He Chose Not To": Peter Bleksley on Levi Bellfield's Admission, Sky News, 2016
Uploaded: 2016-01-27T00:00:00Z
Duration: 3 min 39 s
Description: On the day Surrey Police announced that Levi Bellfield had admitted abducting, raping and murdering Milly Dowler, former police officer Peter Bleksley told Sky News what the admission meant and what it cost her family. Bellfield is not heard.

On the day Surrey Police announced that Levi Bellfield had admitted abducting, raping and murdering Milly Dowler, former police officer Peter Bleksley told Sky News what the admission meant and what it cost her family. Bellfield is not heard.

Subject: Levi Bellfield
Recorded: about January 27, 2016
Runtime: 3:39

Content warning: Concerns the abduction, rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl and the murders of two young women; no graphic detail.

The Interview

This is a 3-minute-39-second Sky News interview, posted by Sky News on its own channel on January 27, 2016, the day Surrey Police announced that Levi Bellfield had admitted the abduction, rape and murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler. A Sky News presenter, who is not named, puts questions to Peter Bleksley, whom the video description calls a former police officer. Bleksley had no stated role in the investigation; he speaks as a commentator. Levi Bellfield himself is not heard. The clip opens with Bleksley already answering the first question.

Historical Context

Milly Dowler disappeared in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on March 21, 2002. Her remains were found on September 18, 2002, in Yateley Heath Woods, Hampshire. Levi Bellfield was arrested on November 22, 2004, in connection with the murder of Amélie Delagrange. On February 25, 2008, he was convicted of the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange and an attempted murder, and received a whole life order. On June 23, 2011, he was convicted at the Old Bailey of Milly Dowler's abduction and murder and received a second whole life order.

Circumstances

According to reports of the Surrey Police announcement, Bellfield made the admission to officers in prison during an inquiry into whether he had an accomplice. A man in his 40s who had been arrested in that inquiry was released with no further action. Police said it was the first time Bellfield had made such admissions. Bellfield later denied having made the admission.

What the Interview Covers

Bleksley says the admission "sort of draws a line under" the case, but that Bellfield could have admitted his guilt years earlier and spared the family a traumatic trial: "He chose not to." Asked why Bellfield would speak now, Bleksley recalls a witness who in 2002 reported seeing two men with a young girl around the time of the abduction, and suggests (his speculation) that Bellfield may have chosen to "take the rap" himself to dispel talk of an accomplice. The presenter notes that a suspected accomplice had been released without charge. Bleksley says nothing changes for Bellfield, who is serving a whole life term, and describes the earlier murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange. The presenter (speaker not fully certain) observes that this is the first confirmation that Milly had been sexually assaulted. Bleksley closes on what Bob and Sally Dowler had endured, including "at the hands of the media."

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records the immediate public response to Bellfield's admission, made almost 14 years after the crime and nearly five years after his conviction, and the first public confirmation of the sexual assault.

Archival Importance

The interview is a short companion to Bellfield's own 2005 Surrey Police interview about Milly Dowler, in which he is heard. It shows how the case was understood in 2016, before Bellfield withdrew the admission.

Important Caveats

Levi Bellfield is not heard in this video. Peter Bleksley is a commentator, not an investigator in the case; his explanation of Bellfield's motive is speculation, and the page should present it as such. Say that Surrey Police announced that Bellfield had admitted the crime, and note that he later denied the admission. The suspected accomplice was not named and was released without charge; the page must not name him. Bleksley's background beyond "former police officer" (the video description) has not been verified for this record.

Peter Bleksley: Well, I suppose you could say that it sort of draws a line under this dreadful, dreadful story of Milly's abduction, rape and subsequent murder. Although, of course, we need to remember that Levi Bellfield has only now admitted his guilt after a long trial in 2011. You know, it was nine years between the commission of the offense and him standing trial. All those years of pain and heartache for Bob and Sally Dowler, her parents, and other friends and family. And then he finally admits it now. He had the opportunity to admit his guilt some years ago. He could have prevented the family going through an extremely traumatic trial. He chose not to, and he's chosen only now to finally admit his guilt.

Sky News Presenter: Why would he have done this now, after all this time?

Peter Bleksley: Well, back in September of 2002, when Milly's remains were discovered in Yateley Heath Woods, there was a witness who came forward and was regarded as being credible by the police at the time, who said he'd seen two men with, uh, a young girl around about the time of Milly's abduction, which of course was in the March of 2002. Now, at the time, the police felt this may be a significant witness. So perhaps there was always a question mark over whether somebody else was involved in her abduction, subsequent murder. Perhaps this [unclear: "has" / "had"] been put to Bellfield, and perhaps he felt that he would finally take the rap for it himself in order to dispel any lingering thoughts as to whether somebody else was an accomplice.

Sky News Presenter: Yeah. And we do know that police were questioning a suspected accomplice who has been, uh, released without charge. Um, does this change anything for Levi Bellfield himself?

Peter Bleksley: No, it doesn't. Levi Bellfield will never taste freedom. Prior to, uh, being convicted for Milly's murder, he was convicted of two other murders, of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange, in separate incidents. Two young women in the prime of life, walking in the dark at night, both attacked cowardly from behind and both brutally murdered. Milly, of course, makes his tally of murders three. He is serving a whole life term sentence and will never taste freedom.

Sky News Presenter: And of course he was already in jail when he was arrested for Milly's murder, wasn't he?

Peter Bleksley: Yes, he was. He was already serving terms for those other murders.

Sky News Presenter: Um, he has admitted to the abduction, rape and murder of Milly Dowler. He was convicted of her murder. It had been thought that she had been sexually assaulted, but it wasn't known. This is the first confirmation we've had of that. Incredibly difficult for the family at this time.

Peter Bleksley: What Bob and Sally Dowler have had to go through, I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. It is truly horrendous. Surely every parent's worst nightmare, having a child abducted and murdered. They've also suffered, dare I say it, at the hands of the media and wrongdoing. They have continually been thrust into the limelight and really have had their lives completely and utterly turned upside down. And I don't think those words really go close enough to really painting the horror that they must have gone through. Once again, all those dreadful feelings from 2002 and beyond will resurface as a result of this. And they really have my absolute, unlimited sympathy. I really feel for them.

Sky News Presenter: Okay. Peter Bleksley, thank you very much indeed. [03:38: speech ends; clip runs to 03:39.] ---