Police dropped a rape investigation after the reported victim was not well enough to be interviewed because she was withdrawing from drugs, a court has heard. The suspect, Simon Levy, 40, allegedly went on to murder two women.
Alleged Murders After Dropped Case
Levy is accused of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, last March and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, last August. The Old Bailey heard that a woman reported being raped in a car park in Tottenham, north London, but the case was closed on June 8 last year after police deemed the victim unfit for interview due to heroin withdrawal.
Ms Wilkins was found dead in the same B&M car park where the alleged rape occurred. Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, is also suspected of killing Ms Valencia-Trujillo, whose body was discovered in a stairwell of a disused block of flats in Southwark, south east London.
Police Investigation Details
Detective Sergeant Nina Muchamore, of the Metropolitan Police, told jurors she was aware of a rape allegation by a sex worker on January 25 last year. The homeless woman had also been arrested for an unrelated matter and taken to hospital with a collarbone injury. When officers spoke with her at Wood Green Police Station, she was unfit to provide information as she was withdrawing from heroin.
Prosecutor Kerry Broome asked: "What did you decide could be done?" The officer replied: "Very little. There was not much of an investigation in terms of what happened with that rape." She added: "We did very little apart from see what CCTV was in the B&M car park. We knew there was not much coverage. To give you a bit of understanding, we managed about 150 rape investigations so in order to prioritise we would need more to know exactly what we are looking for."
Victim Unfit for Interview
Det Sgt Muchamore visited the woman in her cell on January 26 and found her to be very unwell. She could barely lift her head from the mattress and was deemed unfit to consent for the recovery of forensic evidence. The officer told jurors: "I did ask her questions. She repeatedly told me she felt sick and gave no further context."
The investigation was closed at the start of June. Det Sgt Muchamore explained: "It was felt we had made significant attempts to try to speak to (the woman) and at that time we felt it was not the right time for her to support an investigation."
Discovery of Bodies
The body of Ms Wilkins was discovered by uniformed police officers in the same B&M car park. Sergeant Gemma Claydon spoke to the reported rape victim after the discovery in September, and the woman said: "I knew it. He strangled me. He lived off White Hart Lane."
Sgt Claydon said: "I didn't know much about the rape allegation at all other than the murder team believed they were connected." When asked why she did not record the conversation, she added: "Sex workers don't trust police officers who put body worn [cameras] in their faces."
Ongoing Trial
Levy has pleaded not guilty to the two women's murders. He has further denied two charges of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent, and non-fatal suffocation against a surviving woman. The Old Bailey trial continues.
