Mark Dixie, a 47-year-old former pub chef, has a long history of violent sexual offences that culminated in additional life sentences handed down at Southwark Crown Court on 28 July 2017. Originally jailed for a minimum of 34 years in 2008 for the murder and rape of 18-year-old model Sally Anne Bowman, Dixie confessed in 2015 to further attacks, leading to his admission of rape, indecent assault, and grievous bodily harm charges related to two earlier incidents.
The first attack occurred in 1987 when Dixie, then just 16 years old, targeted a woman in an isolated south London car park. As detailed in court proceedings reported by the BBC, he approached her while she sat in her vehicle, tied her up inside, and set the car on fire. The victim described how Dixie 'seemed delighted in her evident fear' as she became hysterical, believing she was going to die. She managed to free herself and raise the alarm, but was left 'utterly petrified' after receiving two chilling phone calls from her attacker in the days that followed. In her victim impact statement, she stated: 'I didn't seek counselling, I had survived, I was in one piece. I just wanted to get on with life.'
The second assault took place in 2002, where Dixie bludgeoned a woman with a chef's steel—a tool used to sharpen kitchen knives—before threatening, 'I'm going to kill you,' and molesting her. The attack was interrupted by a man who heard her screams, allowing her to escape. Court hearings revealed that Dixie had taken her mobile phone during the assault and later boasted to her ex-boyfriend in a phone call: 'I've battered her. I've battered her. I've left her by the railway.'
Dixie's criminal history extends beyond these cases. He was convicted of indecent exposure and indecent assault in the UK prior to the Bowman murder, and he admitted to a serious sexual assault in Spain in 2005. Additionally, he was responsible for a sex attack in Australia during a six-year stay there. His confession to the additional attacks came after he wrote to police in January 2015, expressing a desire to 'tell the truth' about the Bowman murder, which he had previously denied. During interviews, he initially claimed he had not raped or murdered anyone before, but admitted the 1987 and 2002 incidents when confronted by Senior Investigating Officer Chris Le Pere, who remarked, 'That's not entirely true. I know something you did in 1987.'
Le Pere, from the Metropolitan Police, described Dixie as 'a monster' outside court, emphasising his ongoing danger: 'I would be very surprised if he would ever not pose a threat to the public or a danger to the public.' Although no evidence linked Dixie to other rapes or murders, Le Pere's experience led him to suspect further serious crimes. The Bowman murder itself involved Dixie stabbing the 18-year-old hairdresser and model multiple times in the neck and stomach near her Croydon home on 25 September 2005, before raping her as she lay dead or dying. DNA evidence from a pub fight in 2006 linked him to the scene, leading to his conviction at the Old Bailey.
Dixie's barrister, Andrew Mooney, confirmed the Spanish assault during the hearing. Father-of-three Dixie pleaded guilty to the new charges on 26 July 2017, resulting in two further life sentences. The case underscores a pattern of predatory behaviour spanning decades, with the Metropolitan Police leading the investigations into these London-based offences.