Milly Dowler was murdered in 2002 PA

Prev

• 
• 

Next

View gallery

DRAMATIC new evidence in the Milly Dowler case could see jailed killer Levi Bellfield charged over her murder, sources say.

Surrey Police are to submit a dossier of evidence against prime suspect Bellfield to prosecutors within a week.

The death of Amanda Dowler, known to her family and friends as Milly, remains one of Britain's most notorious unsolved crimes.

She vanished while walking home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on 21 March, 2002.

Six months later her skeletal remains were found 30 miles away by mushroom pickers in Yateley Heath, Hampshire.

Officers have been painstakingly building a case against Bellfield since he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in November 2004 and charged with two other killings.

Bellfield, 41, was told last year that he will die in jail after being found guilty of murdering students Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22.

He was also convicted of the attempted murder of schoolgirl Kate Sheedy, 18. All of the women were attacked near bus stops in south west London.

The former nightclub bouncer and wheel-clamper was also arrested and interviewed over Milly's death four years ago.

Officers believe they have compelling circumstantial evidence which links him to the appalling crime.

Sources close to the inquiry said the new evidence, which cannot be revealed for legal reasons, emerged last December.

Senior detectives are understood to be confident that they have enough evidence to persuade a jury Bellfield is responsible for killing Milly.

They will pass five files of evidence, including thousands of pages of documents, to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Legal experts must then decide if there is a realistic prospect that Bellfield would be convicted of the murder.

They must also examine whether it is in the public interest to try Bellfield, who is already serving a whole life tariff.

Sally and Bob Dowler, Milly's parents, have been told of the latest developments in the inquiry.

The new evidence is not understood to be linked to the arrest and interview of a 40-year-old west London scrap yard owner on 4 August.