Murder of Sally Anne Bowman - Murder

Murder

In 2005 Bowman was stabbed in the neck and stomach, and then raped as she lay dead or dying. Her handbag, cardigan, bra, thong and mobile phone were stolen. Mark Dixie was accused and charged with the assault and murder of Bowman. At the Old Bailey on 22 February 2008, Dixie was found guilty of Bowman's murder by a unanimous verdict after three hours of jury deliberation. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 34 years, by which time he will be 70 years old. This is among the longest minimum terms ever imposed upon a single murderer. It was then revealed that Dixie was already a convicted serial sex offender.

Following Dixie's conviction, Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy, who had led the Bowman investigation, said: "It is my opinion that a national DNA register—with all its appropriate safeguards—could have identified Sally Anne's murderer within 24 hours. Instead it took nearly nine months before Mark Dixie was identified, and almost two-and-a-half years for justice to be done."

The calls for a such a register were, however, turned down by ministers and other politicians who claimed that it would raise practical as well as civil liberties issues.

Police had initially treated Sally Anne Bowman's boyfriend Lewis Sproston as a suspect; he was the last person known to have seen her alive and admitted that they had argued just before she left. He was subsequently arrested but DNA evidence eliminated him as a suspect within hours.

A documentary about the murder was broadcast on BBC1 at 10.35pm on 8 April 2008. Another TV documentary, as part of ITV's Real Crime series documented Bowman's killing, with interviews, the history of the case and reconstructions included. It was shown on 29 June 2009.