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Britain's most famous detective: Who is Colin Sutton?
Colin Sutton might be known by his peers for being a Detective Chief Inspector for the Metropolitan Police, but it was solving two high-profile cases that brought the former SIO the recognition he deserves. Sutton, aka ‘The Real Manhunter’ relentlessly and determinedly pursued serial killer Levi Bellfield as well as rapist Delroy Grant, bringing both criminals to justice.
Colin Sutton led more than 30 successful murder investigations over the years and solved some of the most notorious cases. In this article, we will explore some of Sutton’s most famous convictions.
Levi Bellfield
Infamous serial killer Levi Bellfield first came to prominence when Colin Sutton was assigned the Amélie Delagrange case. The French student was visiting the UK in August 2004 and was later found bludgeoned to death with a hammer after a night out with friends in London.
Connecting this case with a murder investigation 18 months prior, Sutton believed this was not the perpetrator’s first offence. A young girl, Marsha McDonnell, had also been hit over the head near her Hampton home and died from her injuries. Bellfield was later found guilty of killing and abducting 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who he murdered in 2002.
The detective had very little scientific evidence to convict Bellfield but analysed CCTV images and phone records to help build his case. It took Sutton nearly three years to garner enough compelling evidence to bring Bellfield to justice.
The former bouncer is now serving a life sentence in Wakefield prison after being convicted of two murders and one attempted murder in 2008, before being later found guilty and given another life sentence for the killing of Millie Dowler.
Delroy Grant
As well as convicting one of the most notorious serial killers in the country, Colin Sutton also managed to catch serial rapist Delroy Grant in 2011, after at least a decade of crime. Between 1992 and 2009, Grant – aka 'The Night Stalker’ – was robbing homes in London and sexually assaulting elderly women while they slept. When Sutton took over the case, he tied him to at least 203 criminal offences.
But how did Colin Sutton build his case against Grant? Having gained extensive experience developing compelling intel with limited scientific evidence, the former detective implemented his criminal know-how from the Bellfield case.
He began closing in on Grant by focusing his attention on technical surveillance. Using 75 officers from the Met, Sutton managed to hone in on the suspect when he committed a burglary 17 days into the operation. He was able to catch the suspect using neighbourhood surveillance. He later told sources that he thought this strategy was more proactive than conducting mass swabbing and DNA at the beginning of the investigation.
It was Sutton’s quick-thinking and strategic methodology that proved effective in all the cases he worked on as a Senior Investigating Officer.
Although Delroy Grant was connected to hundreds of crimes, Sutton believes there is more to the story than was discovered. However, the London-based serial rapist was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison in 2011.
The real Manhunter
Coming face-to-face with some of the UK’s most horrifying criminals, Colin Sutton has had quite a career over his 30-year tenure. Even though he is now fully retired, the former detective continuously looks back on his time with the Met and sheds light on what happened and how he managed to capture Bellfield and Grant.
‘Most cases of murder and serious crime are spontaneous, so that a quick and large-scale response will often bring quick results. But men like Bellfield and Grant are more cunning, they plan their crimes and try their best to avoid leaving forensic evidence. These are the hardest cases to solve.’
Sutton now lives in Suffolk, providing commentary and intel around criminal justice issues, as well as using his degree in law to assist his investigative work around the commission of offences and the prison system.
https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/articles/detective-who-caught-night-stalker-who-colin-sutton