Man Convicted Of Canal Murders

The first ever joint European murder investigation involving a UK force has resulted in the conviction of a 54-year-old man for the murders of two women.

John Patrick Sweeney, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of the murders of Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead following an EU Commission funded operation involving UK and Netherlands Police.

The court heard that on 3 May 1990, the dismembered body of Melissa Halstead was discovered in the Westersingel Canal in Rotterdam.

In December 1994, four years after Melissa's disappearance, Sweeney almost killed Delia Balmer with whom he was in a relationship. She survived, but is physically and mentally scarred by the attack.

After attacking her with a knife and an axe, and leaving her for dead, Sweeney went on the run for six years and used various aliases before being arrested in London in March 2001 - a month after Paula's body was discovered.

In November 2001 Sweeney was convicted of the attempted murder of Delia Balmer.

The dismembered body of Paula Fields was found in several holdalls on 19 February 2001 in Regent's Canal, between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way, north west London.

A post mortem at St Pancras Mortuary held on 21 February 2001 failed to determine the cause of death.

Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves, from the Metropolitan Police Service Homicide and Serious Crime Command, joint leader of the investigation, along with officers from the Rotterdam Cold Case team, said: "Melissa Halstead and Paula Fields were killed and their bodies disposed of in the most callous and undignified manner possible.

"As he contemplates a life behind bars, I can assure him that this investigation will continue as we seek to identify and trace other potential victims in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, who may have suffered a similar fate to that of Melissa and Paula.

"These convictions send a clear message to the people of London and Rotterdam that unsolved murder cases will be vigorously pursued by police and partner agencies in an effort to bring perpetrators to justice."

The Metropolitan Police Service and the Rotterdam Cold Case Team are appealing for information to trace individuals who were associated with Sweeney or people who know his exact whereabouts whilst he visited and worked in the Netherlands regularly between the years from 1989 until his arrest in 2001. He is known to have links with Rotterdam and Amsterdam but may well have travelled more extensively throughout the country.”

Sweeney is expected to be sentenced at the Old Bailey later today.

(BMcN/GK)