A 40-year-old violent sexual predator has been convicted of murdering two women and carrying out a brutal rape and strangulation attack on another victim following what British authorities described as one of the Metropolitan Police’s most complex homicide investigations.

Simon Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, was on Friday found guilty at London’s Old Bailey of murdering Carmenza Valencia Trujillo, 53, and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, in separate attacks in 2025.

He was also convicted of two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation involving another woman.

Levy is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, with prosecutors indicating he is expected to spend most, if not all, of the rest of his life behind bars.

The convictions brought to an end a painstaking investigation that linked two unexplained deaths months apart after detectives uncovered a disturbing pattern of violent offending.

Police said Carmenza was found unresponsive inside an abandoned building on the Aylesbury Estate in southeast London on March 17, 2025. Although Levy was initially arrested on suspicion of murder, he was released on bail after a post-mortem examination failed to establish a definitive cause of death, preventing prosecutors from meeting the legal threshold for a murder charge.

Five months later, tragedy struck again when Sheryl Wilkins, a mother of four, was discovered dead in a Tottenham car park.

Investigators reviewing CCTV footage later used facial recognition technology to identify Levy near the crime scene, leading to his arrest in September 2025.

While he was in custody, detectives reopened an earlier report involving the rape and non-fatal strangulation of a woman in her 30s in January 2025. The renewed investigation, coupled with extensive forensic analysis and hundreds of hours of CCTV evidence, enabled police to connect all three cases.

A breakthrough came when forensic experts matched Sheryl’s DNA to a jacket belonging to Levy, providing crucial evidence that prosecutors described as irrefutable.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who led the investigation, praised the courage of the surviving victim, saying her testimony played a decisive role in securing the convictions.

He also paid tribute to the families of the two murdered women, describing their resilience throughout the lengthy investigation and trial as remarkable.

Following the case, the Metropolitan Police acknowledged shortcomings in its earlier handling of Levy and referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating whether opportunities were missed to prevent further offending.

The force said it has already introduced significant reforms, including enhanced intelligence-sharing systems, specialist safeguarding officers and expanded training to improve the investigation of violence against women and girls.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth said the force had reflected carefully on lessons from the case and had implemented changes without waiting for the outcome of the independent investigation.

Police have appealed for anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Levy, or who has information about similar offences, to come forward as detectives continue to examine whether he may be linked to other unsolved crimes.

The conviction is being regarded as a major milestone in the Metropolitan Police’s ongoing efforts to tackle violence against women and girls and strengthen protections for vulnerable victims.