A chilling documentary on one woman's survival after living with serial killer John Sweeney is set to broadcast tonight (May 28). Channel 5 will air I Survived a Serial Killer: The Delia Balmer Story, which chronicles how London nurse Delia Balmer met one of the UK's most notorious murderers.
John Sweeney, also known as the 'Canal Killer', killed and dismembered his former girlfriends and dumped them in canals. Originally from Kirkdale, he earned the nickname 'scalp hunter' based on harrowing drawings depicting his crimes. After divorcing Anne Bramley, he moved to London where he met his first victim, Melissa Halstead, whose remains were found in a Rotterdam canal in 1990 with her head and hands missing.
In 1991, Sweeney met Delia Balmer. When she attempted to end the abusive relationship in 1994, he held her captive and later attacked her with an axe, leaving her with life-altering injuries. He confessed to Melissa's murder but Delia survived. Another victim, Paula Fields, was found dismembered in London's Regent Canal in 2001.
Sweeney was arrested in 2001 for the axe attack and later charged with the murders of Halstead and Fields after police connected the crimes through his disturbing drawings and poems. He is now serving multiple whole life sentences in prison, meaning he will never be released. He has never revealed where he hid the heads of his victims.
At sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Saunders said: 'These were terrible, wicked crimes... The mutilation of the bodies is a serious aggravating feature of the murders.' Police continue to investigate potential other victims in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.
I Survived a Serial Killer: The Delia Balmer Story airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 5 and is also available to stream online.
