Crime Desk -

The Met Police in the first ever joint European murder investigation involving a UK force has resulted in the conviction of John Sweeney today, 4 April, for the murders of two women.  Sentencing will be taking place on Tuesday morning following Sweeney's denial to stand in the dock.  The CPS have already requested the judge pass a sentence with the full term of a life sentence to reflect the "severity of the crime".

John Patrick Sweeney (54, d/o/b 13/10/56) was found guilty at the Old Bailey of the murders of Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead following an EU Commission funded operation involving UK and Netherlands Police.

He is expected to be sentenced at the Old Bailey later today (4 April).

Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves, from the Metropolitan Police Service Homicide and Serious Crime Command, joint leader of the investigation, along with officers from the Rotterdam Cold Case team, said:

"Melissa Halstead and Paula Fields were killed and their bodies disposed of in the most callous and undignified manner possible.

"I would like to thank the families of Paula and Melissa for their patience and dignity throughout the years and hope that these convictions will enable them to finally close a chapter in their lives knowing that justice has finally been served.

"Sweeney had convinced himself that he would never be caught for these heinous crimes. However he underestimated the resolve of officers from the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate, the Rotterdam Cold Case Team, prosecutors in the UK and Holland and the witnesses from across Europe who gave evidence during the trial.

"And as he contemplates a life behind bars, I can assure him that this investigation will continue as we seek to identify and trace other potential victims in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, who may have suffered a similar fate to that of Melissa and Paula.

"These convictions send a clear message to the people of London and Rotterdam that unsolved murder cases will be vigorously pursued by police and partner agencies in an effort to bring perpetrators to justice."

We are appealing for information to trace a number of unidentified women who were associated with Sweeney.

1. Believed Brazilian, called Irani, who was living/working or frequenting the North London area in 1996/97. At that time she was believed to be in her mid forties. She frequented pubs/restaurants in the Highbury and Holloway Road area. It is also believed that she worked in kitchens as a cleaner.

2. Believed Colombian, called Maria, who was living/working or frequenting the North London area in 1997/98. At that time she was believed to be in her late thirties. She frequented pubs/restaurants in the Finsbury Park and Holloway Road area.

3. Believed English, called Sue from Derby/Derbyshire, believed to be aged late 20s or early 30s in the late 70s / early 80s. She was living/working or frequenting the Holloway Road, Seven Sisters area of North London. She possibly attended a nursing college whilst training to be a nurse and went to Switzerland to work. There is some information to suggest she was a devoted churchgoer in the North London area. (No dates when she went to Switzerland but would be late 70s / early 80s)

The Rotterdam Cold Case Team are appealing for information to trace individuals who were associated with Sweeney or people who know his exact whereabouts whilst he visited and worked in the Netherlands regularly between the years from 1989 until his arrest in 2001. He is known to have links with Rotterdam and Amsterdam but may well have travelled more extensively throughout the country.

The court heard that on 3 May 1990, the dismembered body of Melissa Halstead (d/o/b 7.11.56) was discovered in the Westersingel Canal in Rotterdam. Her head and hands were missing.

The body was packed in a large, green/khaki 'army' style kitbag.

Melissa was an American national who travelled Europe in pursuit of a photographic and modeling career. She lived in London during 1986 and 1987 and was residing in Amsterdam in 1990 where she rented a room and worked as a photographer.

She met Sweeney in London in December 1986 and following her deportation from the UK in May 1988, they both travelled extensively throughout Europe together. The relationship was volatile and in 1988 Sweeney was convicted of assault for an attack on Melissa whilst in Vienna. He followed her to Amsterdam in late 1988.

Melissa's family liaised with the police in Amsterdam in 1994 and confirmed that they'd not heard from Melissa since 1990 and that she may be missing, although they were unable to say with any certainty when she went missing or where she was at the time.

The body was finally formally identified as Melissa Halstead in 2008 following a new investigation by the Rotterdam Cold Case Team.

In December 1994, four years after Melissa's disappearance, Sweeney almost killed Delia Balmer with whom he was in a relationship. She survived, but is physically and mentally scarred by that attack.

After attacking her with a knife and an axe, and leaving her for dead, Sweeney went on the run for six years and used various aliases before being arrested in London in March 2001 - a month after Paula's body was discovered.

In November 2001 Sweeney was convicted of the attempted murder of Delia Balmer.

The dismembered body of Paula Fields (d/o/b 27.8.69) was found in several holdalls on 19 February 2025 in Regent's Canal, between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way, NW1,. Her body was dismembered and the head, hands and feet were missing.

A post mortem at St Pancras Mortuary held on 21 February 2024 failed to determine the cause of death.

photo credit: John Sweeney Met Police