Murder of Milly Dowler
Photograph of Dowler
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| Background information – victim | |
|---|---|
| Born | Amanda Jane Dowler 25 June 1988 Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Monuments | Amanda Dowler Memorial Garden Heathside School, Weybridge, Surrey, England |
| Case information | |
| Type | Abduction and homicide |
| Date | 21–22 March 2002 |
| Location | Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Abduction | 21 March 2002 Station Avenue, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Homicide | 22 March 2002 Collingwood Place, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Cause of death | Strangulation |
| Body discovered | 18 September 2002 Yateley Heath Woods, Yateley, Hampshire, England |
| Perpetrator(s) | Levi Bellfield |
| Convicted | 23 June 2011 |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions |
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| Sentence | Life imprisonment |
| Tariff | Whole life |
On 21 March 2002, Amanda Jane "Milly" Dowler, a 13-year-old English schoolgirl, was reported missing by her parents after failing to return home from school and not being seen since walking along Station Avenue in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, that afternoon. Following an extensive search for her, she was found dead in Yateley Heath Woods in Yateley, Hampshire, on 18 September 2002.
On 23 June 2011, Levi Bellfield, who was already serving three life sentences for the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, was found guilty of abducting and murdering Dowler and sentenced to an additional whole-life tariff. On 27 January 2016, Surrey Police announced that Bellfield had admitted to abducting, abusing and killing Dowler.
Following their daughter's death, Dowler's parents established a charity called Milly's Fund to "promote public safety, and in particular the safety of the children and young people." The case generated debate over the treatment of victims and witnesses in court, after Dowler's family criticised the way they were cross-examined during Bellfield's trial.
Dowler's murder played a significant role in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. In 2011, media reported that News of the World reporters had accessed Dowler's voicemail after she was reported missing. The resulting outcry from the British public contributed to the closure of the newspaper and led to a range of investigations and inquiries into phone hacking and media ethics in British media.
At 3:07pm on 21 March 2002, Dowler left Heathside School in Weybridge to go home on the train. She got off at Walton-on-Thames railway station, one stop before her usual stop of Hersham, to visit a cafe with a friend. After telephoning her father at 3:47 pm to say she would be home in half an hour, she left on foot. She was last seen at 4:08 pm, walking along Station Avenue, by a friend of her sister, who was waiting at a bus stop. A closed-circuit television camera located further along the road showed no images of Dowler. A red Daewoo Nexia, which belonged to Levi Bellfield's girlfriend Emma Mills, was photographed driving past by the same camera at 4:32 pm. In an April 2009 interview, Bellfield revealed that he was driving the car.
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