Murder of Milly Dowler

Milly Dowler, whose full name was Amanda Jane Dowler, was a 13-year-old schoolgirl who disappeared on 21 March 2002 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. She was last seen walking home along Station Avenue in the early afternoon after leaving a cafe with a friend, and was reported missing to police that evening. An extensive search and a large house-to-house inquiry followed, but no immediate trace of her was found. On 18 September 2002, her remains were discovered in Yateley Heath Woods near Yateley, Hampshire. Advanced decomposition meant that a cause of death could not be established, and none of her clothing or possessions were recovered at the scene.

The investigation, led by Surrey Police, continued for several years. In February 2008, police confirmed that Levi Bellfield had become their prime suspect, following his conviction that year for the murders of two young women and the attempted murder of a third, all committed after Milly Dowler's death. In August 2009, Surrey Police submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, and on 30 March 2010 Bellfield was charged with her kidnapping and murder.

Bellfield's trial opened on 10 May 2011 at the Central Criminal Court in London. He did not give evidence and denied any involvement. On 23 June 2011 the jury found him guilty of abducting and murdering Milly Dowler. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, meaning he will not be eligible for release, and became the first prisoner to receive two whole life orders. A separate charge relating to the attempted abduction of another girl in the same area was not completed after newspapers published material considered prejudicial to the trial.

The case later became central to a major media scandal. On 4 July 2011, it was reported that Milly Dowler's voicemail had been accessed by the News of the World and its private investigator during the 2002 search, and that some messages had been deleted while she was still missing, which was said to have given her family false hope that she was alive. The disclosure prompted widespread public anger, contributed to the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper, and led to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards and ethics. A later police review found that the newspaper was not responsible for the specific deletions that had raised the family's hopes. The murder case itself is closed, with Milly Dowler's killer convicted and serving a whole life sentence.