London man convicted of murdering two sex workers after police failings

London, United Kingdom. Simon Levy, 40, was convicted on Friday of murdering two sex workers in 2025 and of raping and seriously assaulting another woman, as police and prosecutors acknowledged failures that allowed his offences to escalate.

Levy was found guilty of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, in August 2025.

Earlier arrest and release

Levy was arrested in April 2025 on suspicion of murdering Valencia-Trujillo but was released after a postmortem examination could not establish a definitive cause of death.

The Metropolitan Police said it could not confirm third-party involvement in Valencia-Trujillo’s death at that stage.

After his release, Levy sexually assaulted five women on London trains before killing Wilkins, police said.

Police referral

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth told the BBC that Wilkins’ life could have been saved and said he had apologised to her family.

The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after Levy was downgraded from a high-risk sex offender to a medium-risk offender in 2024.

Transport police and prosecution failures

British Transport Police arrested Levy on several occasions in 2024 and early 2025 over sexual assaults on trains, including after he became a suspect in the rape case and Valencia-Trujillo’s murder. He was granted bail.

Lisa Ramsarran of the Crown Prosecution Service said relevant information concerning bail had not been provided to the court.

“Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect,” she said.

British Transport Police Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle said the force’s initial investigation had not been conducted quickly enough. He said procedures had been amended to ensure repeat offenders were dealt with promptly and linked offences were prioritised more effectively.