UK UK - Elizabeth Chau, 19, & Lola Shenkoya, 27, West Ealing, 1999/2000

[JennieM]

Levi Bellfield confesses to 1999 murder of Elizabeth Chau​

Serial killer gives police location in west London where he says he hid body of 19-year-old student

The serial killer Levi Bellfield has confessed to the murder of the missing student Elizabeth Chau in a recorded face-to-face interview with police.

Scotland Yard homicide detectives interviewed Bellfield in prison on Tuesday under criminal caution, during which he named a location in west London where he claims to have hidden the body of Chau, who was 19 when she vanished 24 years ago.

On Thursday, for the first time, the Metropolitan police confirmed their renewed interest in Bellfield and said: “On Tuesday 9 May 2023, a 54-year-old male was interviewed under caution. Inquiries continue. We can confirm we remain in contact with Elizabeth Chau’s family. At this time we will not be providing an ongoing commentary. We have no comment to make.”

Police are taking Bellfield’s claims that Chau was his fourth murder victim “extremely seriously”, a source said, after the six-hour interview in HMP Frankland in Durham.

[...]

The detectives brought a map of the west London area with them. They asked Bellfield to point to the area where he claims to have buried Chau’s body, which he did. He also gave details of how he claims to have kidnapped Chau, and horrifying details of her final hours alive.

[...]

Bellfield lived in west London and while under police surveillance was spotted driving around in a van and trying to talk to young women in and around bus stops.

One option for police now is to dig up the site that Bellfield named and carry out a forensic search.

Levi Bellfield confesses to 1999 murder of Elizabeth Chau

Serial killer gives police location in west London where he says he hid body of 19-year-old student

www.theguardian.com

 

[hannah246]

Levi Bellfield confesses to 1999 murder of Elizabeth Chau​

Serial killer gives police location in west London where he says he hid body of 19-year-old student

The serial killer Levi Bellfield has confessed to the murder of the missing student Elizabeth Chau in a recorded face-to-face interview with police.

Scotland Yard homicide detectives interviewed Bellfield in prison on Tuesday under criminal caution, during which he named a location in west London where he claims to have hidden the body of Chau, who was 19 when she vanished 24 years ago.

On Thursday, for the first time, the Metropolitan police confirmed their renewed interest in Bellfield and said: “On Tuesday 9 May 2023, a 54-year-old male was interviewed under caution. Inquiries continue. We can confirm we remain in contact with Elizabeth Chau’s family. At this time we will not be providing an ongoing commentary. We have no comment to make.”

Police are taking Bellfield’s claims that Chau was his fourth murder victim “extremely seriously”, a source said, after the six-hour interview in HMP Frankland in Durham.

[...]

The detectives brought a map of the west London area with them. They asked Bellfield to point to the area where he claims to have buried Chau’s body, which he did. He also gave details of how he claims to have kidnapped Chau, and horrifying details of her final hours alive.

[...]

Bellfield lived in west London and while under police surveillance was spotted driving around in a van and trying to talk to young women in and around bus stops.

One option for police now is to dig up the site that Bellfield named and carry out a forensic search.

Levi Bellfield confesses to 1999 murder of Elizabeth Chau

Serial killer gives police location in west London where he says he hid body of 19-year-old student

www.theguardian.com

So sad if this is true. Heartbreaking. he needs to be reinterviwed about Lola Shankoya and Chrsitine Aguda disappearance wouldn't put it past him.

 

[badgersmythe]

Police set to dig for student after Levi Bellfield 'admits to killing'

Bellfield has reportedly confessed to the murder of student Elizabeth Chau and told officers during an interview at Frankland prison in Durham where her body is hidden.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[dotr]

'May 12, 2023 #coldcase #missingperson #crimeuk
Police are preparing to dig for the remains of a missing student after an alleged confession to her murder by serial killer Levi Bellfield. The former nightclub bouncer told detectives in a prison interview this week that he had hidden her body in woodland 24 years ago. Elizabeth Chau, 19, a computer studies student at Thames Valley University, vanished in west London in 1999.'

 

[Rusty Braincells]

I still think Bellfield is playing games and enjoying it, but totally prepared to eat my words if this search finds Elizabeth after all this time and her family and friends get to lay her to rest properly and the answers they deserve.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

​

Police are preparing to dig for the remains of missing woman Elizabeth Chau following an alleged ‘confession’ by convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield.

Bellfield, 54, who is serving a whole life sentence, spoke to officers at HMP Frankland in Durham and is reported to have given cops a location in West London where he claims to have hidden the body of Chau.

Chau, a computer studies student at Thames Valley University, was just 19 when she vanished 24-years ago. She was last seen around one mile away from her home in West London back in 1999.

Police to dig for remains of missing 19-year-old after serial killer confesses to her murder

Police are preparing to dig for the remains of missing woman Elizabeth Chau following an alleged confession by convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield

www.ladbible.com

 

[cpm82]

I still think Bellfield is playing games and enjoying it, but totally prepared to eat my words if this search finds Elizabeth after all this time and her family and friends get to lay her to rest properly and the answers they deserve.

Also have an inkling it's mind games again from Levi. Let's hope for once he's being honest.

 

[Pinkizzy]

Dbm

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A Met Police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday 9 May 2023, a 54-year-old male was interviewed under caution. Inquiries continue.

“We can confirm we remain in contact with Elizabeth Chau’s family.

Police ‘to dig for missing student’s body’ after serial killer Bellfield ‘confesses’

Metropolitan police detectives in contact with family of Elizabeth Chau, who vanished 24 years ago

www.independent.co.uk

 

[StillDiggin]

Family of missing teenager have lost trust in Met after Levi Bellfield confession

Exclusive: Elizabeth Chau’s family say after 24 years of agony, Met says it will not dig site where serial killer confessed to burying her

www.theguardian.com

 

[cpm82]

Family of missing teenager have lost trust in Met after Levi Bellfield confession

Exclusive: Elizabeth Chau’s family say after 24 years of agony, Met says it will not dig site where serial killer confessed to burying her

www.theguardian.com

Strikes me that Bellfields claims haven't been completely taken as fact by the police.

 

[alb1on]

Strikes me that Bellfields claims haven't been completely taken as fact by the police.

I suspect this may be linked to the Met's previous public statement that they believed that Andrezej Kanowski (now deceased) was responsible. The Met have a long history of refusing to acknowledge when they get it wrong and the recently appointed Commissioner, who promised to change the culture, is now showing the same tendencies, having refused to admit the mistakes in the illegal arrests of protestors at the coronation - despite the arrests including multiple cases of mistaken identity including council volunteers and a fanatical monarchist supporter.

 

[Al Ka]

Strikes me that Bellfields claims haven't been completely taken as fact by the police.

I have quite an opposite impression.

Bellfield confessed about Liz Chau to his prison visitor in October 2022 and information were past to the police. By March 2023 when there was still zero action from police, source approached Chau family to pass this information to them as well as they were not aware. In March Bellfield made written confession about Liz Chau. Now in May, seven month since his first confession and under pressure from Chau's family police have finally conducted official interview with Bellfield.

Police announced they will not dig.

Bellfield might be liar, but it is police job to verify the information. What if it happens to be the truth? Seven long month to even conduct an interview of someone who is readily available to them, it does not sound they are taking it too seriously, but rather really drugging their feet.

They might not dig, but if they do not even make an effort to scan the area Bellfield marked on the map by earth penetrating radar, I personally will be very appalled by their conduct. I really feel for Chau's family to be going through all this.

Family of missing teenager have lost trust in Met after Levi Bellfield confession

Exclusive: Elizabeth Chau’s family say after 24 years of agony, Met says it will not dig site where serial killer confessed to burying her

www.theguardian.com

Levi Bellfield confesses to 1999 murder of Elizabeth Chau

Serial killer gives police location in west London where he says he hid body of 19-year-old student

www.theguardian.com

 

[Al Ka]

Most new articles just repeat what was written over the years and new confession without any details, however little blip in Sun article caught my eye. Taking it with pinch of salt but nevertheless interesting if true.
===
“He has also given detectives the location of where he says Elizabeth’s body is buried, which is close to a sports ground in west London.
===
The Sun told how Bellfield's statement contains admissions he carried out the attack with an associate and details how he bundled Elizabeth into a van.

Thames University student Elizabeth vanished a mile from her home after handing in a paper.

At the time, Bellfield would have been aged 31 and working as a nightclub bouncer.

Levi cops to dig for remains of student, 19, after killer's confession

COPS will dig for the remains of missing student Elizabeth Chau after serial killer Levi Bellfield confessed to her murder. The former nightclub bouncer, 54, told detectives he hid the 19-year-old&…

www.the-sun.com

 

[Al Ka]

Posting here some newly released photos of Elizabeth Chau.

Levi cops to dig for remains of student, 19, after killer's confession

COPS will dig for the remains of missing student Elizabeth Chau after serial killer Levi Bellfield confessed to her murder. The former nightclub bouncer, 54, told detectives he hid the 19-year-old&…

www.the-sun.com

Family of missing teenager have lost trust in Met after Levi Bellfield confession

Exclusive: Elizabeth Chau’s family say after 24 years of agony, Met says it will not dig site where serial killer confessed to burying her

www.theguardian.com

Serial killer Levi Bellfield 'confesses to murder of Elizabeth Chau'

Homicide detectives from Scotland Yard visited serial killer Levi Bellfield (pictured), 54, in HMP Frankland, Durham on Tuesday for a face-to-face interview about Elizabeth Chau's death.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Rusty Braincells]

I noticed this press coverage with Elizabeth’s family: Family of woman Levi Bellfield claims to have murdered say Met failed them

I do feel that some of these older murder cases need to be properly reinvestigated. It’s not right that Elizabeth and Lola’s families don’t have answers and race might have been a factor (although there are various unsolved murders of white women from a similar era before widespread CCTV and computerised databases etc — as an aside, I notice it’s quite rare to hear of an entirely unsolved random murder now).

It is my personal opinion that Andrzej Kunowski killed Elizabeth and Lola, and I believe Bellfield to be playing a sick game, but if Bellfield does actually have information that he can share and there’s some chance of these two poor young women being found, then that would be incredible after all this time. I doubt, but hope, Bellfield is telling the truth.

The Met have decided Bellfield was lying about knowing where Elizabeth Chau is. I agree, this is part of Bellfield’s sick games and it won’t be the last:

Levi Bellfield lying over Elizabeth Chau murder confession, Met decides

Police will not seek warrant to dig up London site where serial killer claims to have buried Chau

www.theguardian.com

I think Elizabeth’s and Lola’s killer was Kunowski (as above), but it could have been another killer not yet uncovered. Either way, this may mean these poor young women are never found. I still hope for a breakthrough after all this time.