Sally Anne Bowman (11 September 1987 – 25 September 2005) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

who was

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

in the early hours of 25 September 2005 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Eighteen-year-old Bowman, had been robbed,

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

and repeatedly stabbed.

Mark Dixie Mark Philip Dixie (born 24 September 1970) is a British people, British serial rapist and a murderer who was convicted on 22 February 2008 of Murder in English law, murdering 18-year-old singer and Model (person), model Sally Anne Bowman on 25 ...

, who had a history of robbery and

sexual offence Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

s, was convicted of the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and c ...

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with a recommended minimum of 34 years.

Life and career

Sally Anne Bowman was born on 11 September 1987 in

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

, South London, the youngest of four daughters born to Paul and Linda Bowman, who later

divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. She attended the

BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, danc ...

for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. She had dreams of one day appearing on the cover of ''Vogue'' and had been compared to

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

. After leaving school in 2004, she worked part-time as a hairdresser and model. In January 2005, she joined Pulse Model Management, a local

modelling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with bi ...

. She became the face of

Swatch Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the "quartz crisis" of the 1970s and 1980s, in which i ...

watches, and took part in the Swatch Alternative Fashion Week in April 2005.

Murder

At 22:00 on 24 September 2005, Bowman, her older sister Nicole, and a group of friends went to Lloyd's Bar in Croydon, where they stayed until 01:00. After leaving the bar, Bowman waited outside for fifteen minutes before being taken to a friend's house by taxi. She contacted her ex-boyfriend, Lewis Sproston, and he agreed to pick her up and take her home after she told him Nicole had been arrested for fighting. She took a taxi back into Croydon town centre, where Sproston picked her up at around 02:20 and drove her to her house at Blenheim Crescent. Whilst in the car, Bowman and Sproston had a quarrel, each accusing the other of

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...

, which had contributed to their recent

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

. Shortly after 04:00, Bowman left the car and Sproston drove off. Minutes later, Bowman was stabbed in the neck and stomach, and was then raped as she lay dead or dying. Her handbag, cardigan, underwear and mobile phone were stolen. Police initially treated Sproston as a suspect, and he was subsequently arrested. After being held for four days, DNA evidence eliminated him as a suspect and he was released without charge.

Investigation and trial

On 28 June 2006, 35-year-old Croydon man Mark Dixie was arrested on suspicion of murdering Bowman. He was charged with Bowman's murder and

remanded in custody Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...

to await trial. This development came after

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

discovered a DNA link to the murder, having taken a DNA swab from Dixie when they arrested him two weeks earlier for allegedly being involved in a brawl at the pub where he was working as a chef. After more than eighteen months on remand, Dixie went on trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

on 4 February 2008, charged with the murder of Sally Anne Bowman. He admitted to

having sex Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

with her after finding her on the ground outside her home, but denied murdering her; and said that he did not realise she was dead or dying when he found her. Dixie was found guilty of Bowman's murder by a unanimous verdict on 22 February 2008 after three hours of

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

deliberation. At the Old Bailey later that day, Judge Gerald Gordon sentenced Dixie to

with a minimum term of 34 years, meaning that he is unlikely to be considered for

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

until at least 2040, when he will be seventy years of age. This is among the longest minimum terms ever imposed upon a single murderer in the UK. It was subsequently revealed that Dixie was already a convicted serial

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

Calls for a national DNA register

Following Dixie's murder conviction,

Detective Superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

Stuart Cundy, who had led the Bowman investigation, said: "It is my opinion that a national DNA register—with all its appropriate safeguards—could have identified Bowman's murderer within 24 hours. Instead it took nearly nine months before Mark Dixie was identified, and almost two-and-a-half years for justice to be done." The calls for such a register were, however, turned down by ministers and other politicians who claimed that it would raise practical as well as

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

issues. Linda Bowman, Sally Anne's mother, has continued to call for a national DNA register to be introduced. A documentary about the murder was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 8 April 2008. Another TV documentary, as part of

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's ''

Real Crime ''Real Crime'' is a British documentary television series produced by ITV Studios for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Each episode examines a notorious crime and includes interviews with relatives of the victims. It was broadcast from 2001 to ...

'' series documented Bowman's killing, with interviews, the history of the case and reconstructions included, aired on 29 June 2009.

Aftermath

On 11 September 2008, a memorial was held to mark what would have been Bowman's 21st birthday. Balloons were released in Central Croydon outside

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...

in North End. In August 2017, Bowman's family revealed that her ashes had been exhumed four years previously as her grave had been repeatedly targeted by vandals.

References