John Sweeney, a double killer who murdered and dismembered two women, has died in prison. Sweeney, 69, was serving a whole-life sentence after being convicted in 2011 for the murders.
One of Sweeney's victims, Paula Fields, 31, was killed in London. Parts of her body were discovered in six holdalls in Regent's Canal in Camden in February 2001. Her head, hands, and feet were never recovered.
Melissa Halstead, 33, an American citizen, was killed in 1990. Her dismembered body was found in a canal in Rotterdam but she remained unidentified for 18 years.
Sweeney is believed to have died on August 14 at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. Police discovered hundreds of violent paintings and poems at his north London home. Some of the artwork depicted a bloodied axe and referred to himself as the "Scalp Hunter." Authorities suspected Sweeney of murdering other former partners who had gone missing over the years.
He had previously been jailed for the attempted murder of his former girlfriend Delia Balmer in a 1994 axe attack in north London. Balmer later wrote a memoir about her experiences, which was adapted into the ITV drama "Until I Kill You" in 2024.
A Prison Service spokesperson described the crimes as "horrific" and stated that their thoughts remained with the victims and their loved ones. As is standard procedure with deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is investigating the circumstances of Sweeney's death.