Police dropped Tottenham rape investigation before sexual predator killed two women, court told

The first rape investigation was stopped by police after the alleged perpetrator killed two more women, a court heard.

Convicted sexual predator Simon Levy, 40, is accused of carrying out a violent sexual assault on a trafficked sex worker in January 2025, which left her with a broken collarbone.

He allegedly killed 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March last year and 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins in August 2025.

The alleged rape took place in the same car park in Tottenham, north London, where Ms Wilkins was later found dead, the Old Bailey heard.

Four days later the woman told police she had been raped but was not well enough to be questioned because she was off drugs at the time, the court heard.

The homeless woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had an addiction to crack cocaine and heroin, which was costing her up to £150 a day at the time.

The case was closed on June 8 last year after police did not interview the woman about what happened.

On Friday, Detective Sergeant Nina Muchamore, from a unit that deals with serious sexual offences, described the series of events that led to the verdict.

He said that on January 25 last year, he was aware of the alleged rape of a sex worker who was arrested for an unrelated reason and hospitalized with a collarbone injury.

The court heard the woman told uniformed colleagues that the sexual assault took place in the B&M car park in Tottenham, north London, and that the suspect lived in White Hart Lane.

The woman initially said the incident happened the night before, on a Tuesday evening, jurors heard.

Det Sgt Muchamore told jurors it was unclear exactly when the alleged rape took place.

When the women returned to Wood Green Police Station, another officer went to speak to her but was unable to provide further information as she was recovering from heroin addiction and was in poor health.

Prosecutor Kerry Broome asked: “What did you decide could be done?”

The officer replied: “Very little. There wasn’t much investigation into that rape.”

He went on to explain that understanding when the incident occurred affects how CCTV or forensic evidence can be collected.

He added: “We did very little other than seeing what the CCTV was in the B&M car park. We knew there wasn’t a lot of coverage. To give you a bit of background, we’ve handled around 150 rape investigations so we’ll need more to know exactly what we’re looking for in order to prioritize.”

On January 26 last year, Det Sgt Muchamore visited the woman in her cell and saw her vomiting on the floor and asked to be moved.

After settling in, the officer said he found her “very lethargic”, “tired” and very ill.

He told jurors: “I asked him questions. He repeatedly told me he felt sick and gave no further information.”

The court heard the woman could barely lift her head from the bed and was deemed unfit to consent to the collection of forensic evidence.

The jury was told the woman was released after appearing in court on an unrelated matter and it was impossible to track her down because she had no home address.

The court was told the police team contacted social services to arrange a meeting with him but were unsuccessful.

On May 16 last year a colleague learned the woman had been arrested again and was being held at Colindale police station.

Due to the late notification, he was released before the team could speak to him about the rape allegation and he was forwarded a letter to contact the team.

The court heard that on the team’s rest day on May 28, an officer from another team spoke to the woman and she refused to give further information.

The investigation was closed on June 8 last year.

Miss Broome asked: “Were you of the opinion that you had made every effort?”

The officer responded: “We felt we had made significant attempts to speak to (the woman) and felt it was not the right time for her to support an investigation.”

Levy, of Beaufoy Road in Tottenham, north London, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of two women.

He also denied two charges of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent and non-fatal strangulation against the surviving woman.

The prosecution told the court on Monday that Levy had previously been convicted of sexual assault.

Jurors heard he was found guilty of two sexual assaults in 2018 and more recently of 11 sexual assaults following a trial in February this year.

The Old Bailey trial continues.