Simon Levy faces life behind bars today for murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins and raping a third woman during serial London Underground attacks. Levy, 40, was convicted at the Old Bailey last week for the two murders and the rape and near-fatal suffocation of a third victim.
Following his conviction, it emerged that Levy had preyed on women for years, with many of his offences occurring while he was on bail. Detectives believe Levy carried out daily attacks for years, escalating from groping women on the London Underground to rape, suffocation, and murder. British Transport Police, the Metropolitan Police, and magistrates released Levy on bail four times despite his record of sexual violence.
Women had been reporting Levy for rape and sexual assault for almost a decade before his conviction. Police describe Levy as a "predatory monster" and believe other victims have not yet come forward. Campaigners are calling for a public inquiry, saying the case makes a mockery of police promises to tackle violence against women and girls following Sarah Everard's murder by Scotland Yard officer Wayne Couzens. Details of the case were also published in The Crime Desk newsletter.
History of sexual offences
Levy, who is partially blind, was first jailed for three years in 2021 for carrying out sex attacks on two women at Notting Hill Carnival and a Camden street party in 2018. While in prison in 2022, he groped a prison officer. When released early on licence at the halfway point of his sentence in February 2023, he told probation staff that sex workers frequently offered him services, but claimed he never left his home due to his eye condition.
In reality, Levy began roaming London Underground stations at peak times in October 2023 to target passengers in packed carriages. He travelled free using an Oyster card stolen from a bus driver and tied a jumper around his waist to hide his hand while grabbing women. Levy was supposed to be supervised by probation staff and police ViSOR personnel, the violent and sex offender register.
During this time, Levy secretly collected newspaper stories lionising notorious offenders including black cab rapist John Worboys, Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein. Police and probation staff failed to notice his fascination with rape and murder.
Escalation to rape and suffocation
In November 2024, Levy was arrested for two sex attacks on the Tube. A British Transport Police officer delayed basic identification checks for weeks and extended his bail on January 21, 2025. That night, Levy committed his first rape by attacking a sex worker, breaking her collarbone, and raping her while suffocating her with one hand on her neck and another over her face with a finger down her throat.
On March 17, 2025, 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo was found face down in a stairwell of a disused block of flats in Southwark, south-east London. Her neck had been compressed, her face smothered, and a pipe smeared with Levy's blood was found beside her body.
On April 1, 2025, police visited Levy's home for routine convicted sex offender checks, where he lied to officers by claiming he never went out. A simple police computer check would have revealed he was on bail for Tube sex attacks, but Scotland Yard released him on bail after a post-mortem deemed the cause of death for Valencia-Trujillo, a drug user, to be "unascertained."
Police delays and court bail decisions
After learning of Levy's arrest for murder, British Transport Police officers procrastinated and extended his bail to May 1 instead of arresting him for further offences on April 3. Levy carried out four further attacks on the underground before answering bail on May 1.
Levy was charged on May 2 with five sex assaults on the Tube and remanded in custody overnight. However, magistrates released him on bail the following day despite knowing he was suspected of murder.
On June 3, Levy failed to appear in court for a sixth sexual assault charge, but officers failed to issue an arrest warrant. Three weeks later, a British Transport Police officer spotted Levy on the underground, leading to charges for breaching bail, failing to appear in court, and committing two sex attacks at Charing Cross and Westminster stations.
Second murder and conviction
Courts granted Levy bail again following his late June appearance. He subsequently failed to attend further court hearings on July 18 and August 11, yet authorities sought no warrant for his arrest.
On August 28, 2025, Levy committed his second murder, smothering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins. He left her body in the same location as the earlier rape attack, minutes from his home. Facial recognition cameras identified Levy at the scene, leading to his arrest on September 5, and he was remanded in custody on September 8.
In February this year, Levy was convicted of 11 sexual assaults committed between April 2022 and May 2025. Earlier this year, he was convicted of 13 sexual assaults between 2018 and 2025. Proceedings were kept secret until his murder trial ended last week at the Old Bailey to prevent prejudicing the jury.
