John Sweeney, canal killer who dismembered victims, dies in jail
John Sweeney, the double killer known as the "Canal killer" who dismembered two former girlfriends and dumped their remains in London and Dutch canals, died at HMP Whitemoor on 14 August at age 69 while serving a whole-life sentence for the 2011 Old Bailey murders. The carpenter, who called himself the "Scalp Hunter," never revealed where he hid his victims' missing body parts.
Key Takeaways
- John Sweeney, 69, died at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire while serving a whole-life sentence for two murders.
- He dismembered Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead and dumped their bodies in canals in London and Rotterdam.
- The heads, hands, and feet of both victims were never recovered.
- Police suspected Sweeney may have killed other former partners who had vanished.
- The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is investigating his death in custody.
Who was John Sweeney and why was he called the Canal killer?
John Sweeney was a carpenter convicted at the Old Bailey in 2011 of murdering two former girlfriends, Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead. He earned the nickname "Canal killer" after dismembering both women and dumping their mutilated remains in waterways in England and the Netherlands.
At his north London home, police found hundreds of violent paintings and poems. In one artwork depicting a bloodied axe, Sweeney referred to himself as the "Scalp Hunter." He had also been jailed earlier for attempting to murder former girlfriend Delia Balmer in a 1994 axe attack in north London. Balmer survived and later wrote a memoir adapted into the ITV drama Until I Kill You in 2024.
What happened to Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead?
Paula Fields, 31, was killed in London. In February 2001, parts of her body were found in six holdalls floating in Regent's Canal in Camden. Her head, hands, and feet were never recovered.
Melissa Halstead, 33, an American former model, was killed in 1990. Her dismembered body was thrown into a canal in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. She was not identified for 18 years, when DNA confirmed her identity. Her head and hands have also never been found.
The bodies were discovered a decade apart, but police linked both crimes to Sweeney. Officers suspected he may have murdered other former partners who had not been seen for years, with The Times reporting he was suspected of at least three additional killings.
Did John Sweeney ever reveal what he did with his victims' heads?
No. Sweeney died without disclosing what he did with the missing remains of either woman. The unresolved fate of those body parts leaves a final unanswered question for the victims' families more than three decades after Halstead's murder and two decades after Fields was killed.
He was given a whole-life order at sentencing, meaning he would never be released from prison. According to reports, he died of cancer at HMP Whitemoor on 14 August.
What happens now after his death in custody?
As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is investigating. A Prison Service spokesperson described the crimes as "horrific" and said their thoughts remained with the victims and their loved ones.
Sweeney's death closes a grim chapter in one of Britain's most disturbing double-murder cases, though the mystery of his victims' missing remains persists. For more cases like this, see our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries coverage. Full details were confirmed by BBC News.