Investigation
On 22 November 2002, police set up a road block near the spot where the corpse was found. Motorists in the area were questioned, but no leads were discovered. Initially the Surrey police considered Dowler's father a suspect, though they later apologised for the missed opportunities this may have caused.
On 23 March 2003, DNA of an unidentified male was discovered on an item of Dowler's clothing in her bedroom, suggesting that her killer may have met her before. This link was ruled out within three months, at the same time that a DNA link to a church robbery in Sunderland was also ruled out.
Paul Hughes was convicted of making threats to kill and was jailed for five years after sending letters to Dowler's mother threatening to kill her and claiming to have killed Dowler. The letters were sent whilst Hughes was in prison for indecently assaulting a twelve-year-old girl; the prison service apologised for not screening mail effectively.
Lianne Newman, of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, repeatedly phoned Dowler's parents, school and the police, pretending to be Dowler. Newman was jailed in April 2003 for five months after pleading guilty to five counts of making phone calls to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
Gary Farr, of Retford, Nottinghamshire, repeatedly e-mailed Dowler's parents, school friends and police officers working on the case, claiming that Dowler had been smuggled out of the country to work as a prostitute and stripper at nightclubs in Poland, and that her death had been a cover-up. Farr was sectioned indefinitely under the Mental Health Act on 19 October 2006 for being a serious psychological danger to the public after admitting a charge of harassment.
In March 2008, a man was arrested over the 'disposal' of a car linked to the murder investigation but was released later that same day. On 4 August 2009, a 40-year-old man from west London was arrested in relation to the disposal of a red Daewoo Nexia, but later released without charge. Two months later, Bedfont Lake in west London was searched by police in hope of finding the car, but neither the car nor anything else of interest to their inquiry was recovered. The car has yet to be discovered.
On 25 February 2008, Surrey Police confirmed that Levi Bellfield was their prime suspect in the murder inquiry and were "very interested" in questioning him. On 30 March 2010, Bellfield was charged with Dowler's abduction and murder. As a result, the inquest into the death was adjourned. On 6 October 2010 he appeared in court via video link and was formally charged with one count of attempted abduction, one count of abduction, one count of disposal of evidence and one count of murder.
Read more about this topic: Murder Of Milly Dowler