Detectives have launched a new investigation into the unsolved murder of Jill Dando, the Mirror can reveal. They are examining CCTV of a wanted man who matches the features of notorious Serbian assassin Milorad Ulemek following a three-year probe by this newspaper.
The Metropolitan Police said in a new statement: "In the 27 years since Jill Dando's murder, the investigation has been subject to numerous reviews, aiming to identify whether matters could be progressed with advances in technology and forensics. Recent advancements in CCTV enhancement technology have provided investigators with the opportunity to re-examine original footage from Putney Bridge train station. This remains ongoing."
New technology to re-examine footage
Ulemek, a former French Foreign Legionnaire nicknamed Legija, is an infamous paramilitary whose units were responsible for atrocities in the Yugoslav wars. The Mirror first named the soldier, 58, in connection with Jill's murder in 2024 after a facial comparison expert found he had similar features to Man X.
The unidentified man was captured on camera in Putney Bridge tube station, around a mile from Jill's Fulham home, shortly after she was shot on her doorstep in Fulham, South West London, on April 26, 1999. Two key eyewitnesses previously told the Mirror that they believe it was Ulemek who they saw running close to the murder scene.
Last year the Mirror published a newly unearthed picture of double murderer Ulemek showing him in an unusual striped tie like one worn by the wanted man. The Met said at the time that the police investigation was inactive and was not subject to reviews but that officers would assess the information to "understand whether it's a new and realistic line of enquiry".
Cold-case officers locate original CCTV
Cold-case officers are understood to have spent the last ten months locating and digitising the original CCTV of Man X. He was on the gunman's likely escape route around 20 minutes after Jill, 37, was shot outside her home on Gowan Avenue. The raw footage was believed to be buried somewhere in 223 boxes of material in police storage. Modern forensic imaging technology should have enabled officers to get a good idea of whether Ulemek was in the station.
Forensic video analyst Emi Polito told the Mirror in 2024 that Man X and Ulemek have a similar shaped mouth, chin, hairline and right sideburn, while the general shape and sizes of their noses and right ear were the same. He also highlighted a dent on Ulemek's nose that is not visible in the CCTV image but is evident in a police e-fit of a suspect released in 1999, which he had not seen.
Witnesses identify Ulemek
Detectives were first alerted to Man X by a key witness who came forward on the day of the murder. She had been driving on the Fulham Palace Road at around the time of the shooting when she saw a man in a suit "running for his life". A month later, she picked out Man X in the CCTV as the person she had seen sprinting. But detectives dismissed her evidence, saying the description she had given of the running man did not match Man X, despite both wearing a suit and tie and being of a similar height, build and hair colour.
Jill's neighbour Richard Hughes, who saw the gunman, possibly carrying a mobile phone, said he "looked like" an e-fit the female motorist produced - and Geoffrey Upfillbrown, who lived across the road from Jill and also saw the killer, said it looked "similar", police notes record. The woman told the Daily Mirror two years ago that she was certain it was Ulemek she had seen close to the murder scene after images of him were published. A second key witness said he was "80%" sure it was the Serb who nearly ran in front of his van on the same stretch of road.
At the time Jill was shot, UK planes were bombing Serbia and she was one of the most famous faces on TV, presenting BBC shows such as Crimewatch and Holiday. Within hours of her murder, the BBC took a call claiming it was in response to a NATO attack on a Belgrade TV station. It was also feared Jill may have been targeted for fronting a BBC charity appeal for Kosovan refugees.
Jill was ambushed from behind as she was about to open her front door and killed instantly by a single bullet to her left temple. At the time, Ulemek was the leader of a notorious unit that carried out assassinations for late Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic.
Last year the Mirror revealed Ulemek's former spy master admitted dispatching assassins into Europe at the time Jill was killed. The TV host had fronted a BBC charity appeal for Kosovan refugees 20 days before her death. Nearly a year after the murder detectives homed in on Barry George, a local man with severe learning difficulties.
George, now 65, spent eight years in prison for murder but was cleared in 2008 after a retrial. The case was moved to "inactive" in 2015 after a forensic review. Ulemek is serving a 40 year sentence in Serbia after being convicted of helping plan the assassinations of former President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and of Prime Minister Zoran Didic in 2003. George is facing trial over historical sex charges.
