The horrific crimes that John Sweeney committed have inspired the new ITV drama Until I Kill You – which airs tonight (November 3).
The four-part drama follows nurse Delia Balmer’s terrifying experience with boyfriend John – who she later realised was a serial killer. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Delia, while Shaun Evans has taken on the role of John.
But where is John Sweeney now? And how did he avoid capture for so long? Keep reading to find out…
Until I Kill You: John Sweeney and his real-life victims
John’s first victim was believed to be Melissa Halstead. She was an American-born model, originally from Ohio, who struck up a romance with Sweeney in 1986. In May 1990, her torso was discovered in a Dutch canal.
In 1991, John met Delia Balmer, now 71. The pair quickly struck up a romance. However, his dark side soon came out and led to a series of violent attacks on Delia. During one attack, he told her he killed his former girlfriend – Halstead – and disposed of her body in an Amsterdam canal.
Delia – who was with him for three years – went to the police and reported the crime. Sweeney was arrested but, due to a catastrophic failure to realise how dangerous he was, he was granted bail.
While out on bail, in 1994, he attacked Delia again. This time, he held Delia captive and raped her for a week before attacking her with a hammer and an axe. She managed to survive the attack but lost a finger and sustained several other injuries.
He evaded police capture and disappeared.
While on the run, in 2000, he met and murdered Paula Fields. Her body, which was cut into six pieces and stuffed into holdalls, was found in Regent’s Canal, London, in 2001.
His gruesome crimes aren’t thought to stop there, though. It’s thought Sweeney may have committed at least three more murders as three other women who were reportedly in relationships with him have never been located by police.
Murders linked
Sweeney wasn’t able to be charged with the murder of Melissa Halstead until 2008, after advances in DNA testing.
The two murders were then linked in February 2010. As a result, police arrested him at Gartree Prison in Leicestershire, where he was already serving life for the attack on Delia.
How John Sweeney evaded capture
Following his attack on Delia Balmer in 1994 – which inspired the new ITV show – John went on the run.
In 2001 though, he was finally arrested at a central London building site, following the discovery of Paula Fields’ remains.
When cops searched John’s flat, they found 300 pieces of violent artwork and poems. They also came across a wig, collection of guns, ammunition and a machete.
During the 2011 murder trial, the court heard that John decapitated the women and cut off their hands in an attempt to conceal their identity. The body parts have never been found.
Where he is now
Sweeney is now serving a whole life sentence without parole following sentencing at the Old Bailey. He has been told he will die in jail.
Talking about the offences, Judge 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.”
In a statement, Melissa Halstead’s family said: “The family’s hope for the future is that John Sweeney will never be allowed free to carry out such crimes again.”
Until I Kill You airs on Sunday (November 3) at 9pm on ITV1.
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