Family tell of ‘torment’ over Milly Dowler’s last hours

Serial killer’s account of the 14 hours during which he raped, tortured, and strangled teen finally revealed.

The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler have spoken out over their “torment and pain” after her killer Levi Bellfield finally gave harrowing details of his crimes.

In a statement, they said they hoped the 13-year-old’s “soul, at long last, can finally rest in peace”, now that the serial killer has given his account of the 14 hours during which he raped, tortured, and strangled the teenager.

Bellfield would only speak to female officers from Surrey Police when he decided to confess and gave them disturbing details of how he killed Milly.

He was given a whole-life prison sentence in June 2011 for the brutal slaughter of the teenager, but had never admitted killing her until an investigation was launched into whether he had an accomplice after he bragged to a fellow prison inmate about his crime.

Last month, Surrey Police said they had arrested a man in his 40s, but the suspect was released without charge after just 10 hours because there was no evidence.

In their statement, the Dowler family said: “We feel we need to say something in addition to the information that has already been made public, as we do not think what has been revealed reflects the true heinousness of this man.

“In May 2015 — nearly nine months ago — we were informed that Bellfield had requested to speak to Surrey Police about Milly.

"Bellfield made it clear to police that he would only speak to female police officers. Bellfield provided the officers with a harrowing account of Milly’s final 14 hours.

"Giving details of her abduction, repeated rape, torture, and then finally how he murdered her.

"The reason we were told this information last May was because previously Bellfield had shared the information with other prison inmates and one of them was due to be released.

"This meant there was a risk that this information could be made public without us knowing about it.”

He told the officers that he had snatched the schoolgirl, assaulted her at his flat near Walton station, and then driven her to his mother’s house where he raped her in broad daylight over the boot of his car.

The horrifying attack continued at another location for a number of hours before he strangled her.

The statement continued: “A few days after hearing this harrowing information from Surrey Police, they revealed to us that they were also investigating an alleged accomplice involved in the abduction and rape of Milly.

“Hearing Bellfield’s account of how Milly spent her final hours before being murdered was shocking enough, but the news that there could have been another individual involved was devastating.

"There are no words to describe the additional torment and pain we have been going through since we were told this information.

“We had to remain silent for eight months while the police conducted their investigation. Finally, when they made the arrest of the suspected accomplice, the person was questioned and released without charge in less than 10 hours as there was no evidence found.

“The pressure this has put us under as a family has been unimaginable and has taken its toll on all of us. We have had to fight every step of the way to get this far.”

Milly was snatched from the street while on her way from school to her home in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002.

Bellfield was found guilty of abducting and killing her following a trial at the Old Bailey.

He was already in jail for the murders of Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18, when he went on trial accused of killing Milly.

In 2008 he had been given a whole-life term for murdering Ms McDonnell in 2003, and murdering Ms Delagrange and attempting to murder Ms Sheedy in 2004.

Milly’s body was found in a wood in Yateley Heath, Hampshire — 40kms from Walton-on-Thames. Experts could not say how she died.

Police are now looking into a number of other crimes in the wake of his shock confession.

Bellfield is suspected of several other attacks. At the time of his conviction in June 2011, detectives said they believed Bellfield may have been responsible for around 20 attacks on women which were unsolved.

Relatives of Milly Dowler speak of their "torment" after Levi Bellfield admitted killing her https://t.co/4UagDlB1f5 pic.twitter.com/5X7mlEUFy5

— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 10, 2016