Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Metropolitan Police, has defended the force's investigation into double murderer Simon Levy, who was given a whole life prison sentence on Wednesday. Levy murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later, while on bail and being monitored by police.
Sir Mark acknowledged mistakes in the force's handling of Levy, including being "too slow" to act when waiting five months to question him over a sexual assault in April 2022. He also stated it was a mistake to downgrade Levy from a high-risk sex offender to a medium one in August 2024.
However, Sir Mark defended the force against suggestions it had not tried to build a case over Valencia-Trujillo's murder, stating detectives did "serious" work but "didn't have enough evidence" for a charge. He noted that the Met did not class Valencia-Trujillo's death as a murder, or pass the case to specialist homicide detectives, until after Levy had killed again.
The Met did not ask the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for advice or a charging decision regarding Valencia-Trujillo's death until after Wilkins' murder. The police and CPS have apologised over decisions that left Levy free to attack the women. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is currently examining how Levy was managed from his first conviction in September 2021 up to his final arrest in September 2025.