Met PoliceTwo Metropolitan Police officers are being investigated by a watchdog over alleged failures in their handling of a serial sex offender who murdered two women.
Simon Levy, 40, was on bail and being monitored by police when he committed a violent rape in January 2025, and killed Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March of that year and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, five months later.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) said a police constable was under a gross misconduct investigation and a detective sergeant a misconduct investigation relating to the management of Levy.
The Met, British Transport Police, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have admitted to significant shortcomings.
Levy, from Tottenham, north London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday of two counts of murder, two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent, and non-fatal suffocation.
He was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing on 12 August.
The IOPC later confirmed its investigation began in January following a voluntary conduct referral from the Metropolitan Police and remains ongoing.
It added that issuing misconduct or gross misconduct notices does not necessarily mean disciplinary proceedings will follow.
The watchdog is examining the management of Levy over a four-year period, from his first conviction in September 2021 on sexual assault charges up to his arrest in September 2025.
Levy had been released from prison on licence in February 2023 and was briefly returned to prison in May 2024 after being accused of rape and breaching his licence conditions but was not charged.
On Friday, he was convicted at the Old Bailey of two murders, rape and other charges including grievous bodily harm with intent, and non-fatal suffocation against the surviving woman.
The jury, which was given a majority direction in the trial, found him guilty on all counts.
During his trial jurors heard Levy had a string of convictions for attacking women dating back to July 2018, including one carried out against a prison officer in 2022.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We are examining whether action could or should have been taken to prevent his reoffending, and if all officers involved in his management followed policies, procedures, and training.
“We are also assessing whether any learning, whether individual, force-wide, or nationally, or other changes should be implemented in light of the events under investigation.”
Speaking outside court on Friday, Det Ch Insp Neil John, who led the investigation, said Trujillo and Wilkins were “much-loved women” and praised their families for demonstrating “incredible dignity and remarkable resolve”.
John also praised the surviving victim for her “commendable bravery” in presenting “vital evidence” in court before appealing directly for any further victims to come forward.
“Although we are proud of the work that has gone into securing this verdict, we remain relentless in pursuing offenders who perpetrate violence against women and girls and are appealing to anyone who is yet to report offences relating to Levy to come forward,” he added.
Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle of British Transport Police also encouraged any potential survivors to step forward.
PAMet Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth has acknowledged that failures to remand Levy in custody during court hearings in May and June 2025 left him free to commit further offences.
BTP confirmed two officers have been moved to other roles due to “incompetence” in handling investigations into Levy’s transport assaults.
Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said the situation “raises serious questions”.
“The fact that Levy was able to inflict such devastating harm after being freed by police and the courts is deeply concerning.”
Lisa Ramsarran, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, said: “Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect.
“In particular, there were points where we could and should have taken a more robust approach to representations about bail, based on the information available.”
Victims’ Commissioner for London Andrea Simons called for a “multi-agency review” over the “litany of failures to manage such a prolific offender”.
She told BBC Breakfast that public services “have to get better at recognising patterns of offending” before attackers become “emboldened”.
She continued: “There was a lack of restrictions that could have been placed on him and a failure to monitor him appropriately – so all of those things, I think, we need answers to now.”
Lisa Squire, whose daughter Libby was murdered by a man who had previously committed a string of sex crimes, told the BBC that a “catalogue of disasters” had led to Levy’s murders.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “the patterns were there, he was flying those red flags”, and said there were “precursor offences” for which he could have stopped by police.
“At the moment, the message going out, in my opinion, is that women’s safety is not important,” she continued.
Zoë Billingham, a former independent police inspector who pushed for reforms on how violence against women in girls is policed, said that “too often in cases like this the dots aren’t being joined up”.
She added: “It’s not one or two missed opportunities that could have brought him to justice, that could have had him locked up and behind bars and no longer a threat to women and girls. It was an extraordinary succession.”
