The head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has acknowledged "mistakes" in the force's handling of the investigation into double murderer Simon Levy, but defended the initial efforts to build a case following the first victim's death. Levy was on bail and being monitored by police when he murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later, also violently raping a third woman.

Sir Mark's comments come amid criticism, including from Labour MP Jess Phillips, regarding the police's actions. Levy, 40, was given a whole life prison sentence at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for the murders and rape. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is currently examining how Levy was managed by police over the four-year period from his first conviction in September 2021 for sexual assault until his final arrest in September 2025.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Mark stated that detectives had "done serious work" but "didn't have enough evidence for a charge" in the initial investigation into Ms. Valencia-Trujillo's death. He told the programme that suggestions the Met had not tried to build a case were "just not true," adding that the public debate needed to be better informed due to the complexity of the facts.

The Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have already apologized for a series of decisions that left Levy free to commit further offenses. It emerged after Levy's conviction that the Met did not classify Ms. Valencia-Trujillo's death as a murder or pass the case to specialist homicide detectives until after he had killed Ms. Wilkins.

Sir Mark explained that while Ms. Valencia-Trujillo's death was "very suspicious and concerning," a pathologist was unable to determine a cause of death, and the force lacked sufficient evidence for a charge. He indicated it was only after the murder of Ms. Wilkins that the Met possessed the combined evidence necessary to proceed, stating, "So the inference that the Met didn't try on that case is just not true, the Met tried."

However, the BBC has previously reported that the Met did not seek advice from the CPS regarding Ms. Valencia-Trujillo's death, let alone a charging decision, until after Ms. Wilkins had been murdered. Experts note that a lack of a formal cause of death would not have prevented specialist homicide detectives, skilled in building cases without definitive causes, from taking on the investigation.

Further details revealed potential missed opportunities. Levy's semen was found on Ms. Valencia-Trujillo, and his blood was present at the murder scene. CCTV footage showing Levy in the vicinity shortly after Ms. Valencia-Trujillo passed a camera was gathered but not viewed by the local investigating team. Other potentially relevant CCTV was never collected and had been deleted by the time the specialist murder team took over months later.

Sir Mark had previously described the case as a "whole system failing" and has apologized for the Met's errors. The IOPC's ongoing examination is expected to provide further insight into the management of Levy and the sequence of events leading to the tragic outcomes.