Murder of Amélie Delagrange

Amélie Delagrange
Born 2 February 1982
France
Died 20 August 2004 (aged 22)
Twickenham, London, United Kingdom
Cause of death
 Head injury
Known for Murder victim
Victim of serial killer Levi Bellfield

Amélie Delagrange (2 February 1982 – 20 August 2004) was a French-born student living in Twickenham, south-west London, England, who was murdered by Levi Bellfield.[1][2] Police linked Delagrange's murder with that of Marsha McDonnell and a number of other similar attacks in the south-west London area[3] and in 2008 Bellfield was convicted of her murder.

Murder

Delagrange, who had been working in England for two months to improve her English, had spent the evening out with a friend at Cristalz Winebar. Deciding to return home for the night, she boarded a bus shortly before 10 pm. She left the bus after missing her stop at Hampton and asked the bus driver for directions. She began walking back towards her home but was attacked while passing through Twickenham Green, where she was assaulted, sustaining a severe head injury and was left on a nearby cricket pitch.

Around 30 minutes later, a passerby discovered her and flagged down a police car. Taken to a nearby hospital, she died from her injuries after midnight. A post-mortem examination revealed her injuries had been caused by an object similar to a hammer or a crowbar.

In the days following Delagrange's murder, police began a large scale campaign investigating similar unsolved murders in south-west London.

Levi Bellfield

Main article: Levi Bellfield

In March 2006, a West London bouncer, Levi Bellfield, was arrested and charged with her murder as well as Marsha McDonnell's murder and a charge of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy. In October 2007, he was put on trial for these offences.[4]

On 25 February 2008, Bellfield was found guilty of the murder of Amélie Delagrange,[5] as well as the other murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced by Mrs Justice Rafferty to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he should never be released. He was also convicted of the 2002 murder of Milly Dowler on 23 June 2011.

References

  1. ↑ "Murder victim 'missed her stop'". BBC News. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
  2. ↑ "Le soir venu, les jeunes profitent d'un happy hour dans les pubs, où une petite colonie de Français se mêle aux Britanniques Amélie Delagrange fait partie de ces « Frenchies » venus parfaire leur connaissance de la langue de Shakespeare", Paris Match, 2004. 2885-2889 p30
  3. ↑ "Student murders linked by police". BBC News. 20 September 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Driver 'left schoolgirl for dead'". BBC News. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "Stalker guilty of student murders". BBC News. 25 February 2008.

External links