Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

Delivering his remarks this afternoon, the judge speaks softly. Tapping can be heard from the press benches as they type into their laptops to take down his comments.

Family members of the victims are seated on the judge's left hand side.

As Lucraft goes through the particulars of the crimes, some of the family members become visibly emotional and can be seen grabbing tissues from a box placed nearby.

Some of the details are particularly distressing.

In the public gallery, which is completely full, people are leaning forward to hear the him.

Some have their hands covering their faces in shock as they are listening to the description of Levy’s attacks - in the dock, he does not react.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC starts his remarks by stating the offences which Levy was found guilty of on Friday - two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent, intentional suffocation and two murders.

The offences reflect "a series of attacks by you upon vulnerable women" who undertook sex work due to drug addiction, he says.

Levy is "clearly someone who ruthlessly exploits others for your own personal satisfaction", the judge says.

He outlines the attack on the surviving victim in January 2025.

The judge says while raping the surviving victim, Levy fractured her right shoulder and "strangled her to such an extent that she become unconscious".

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

Judge Mark Lucraft KC is now addressing the defendant, Simon Levy.

Levy is sitting in the dock, surrounded by three prison officers. He is staring intently forward, looking directly at the judge.

Family members in the court are glued to the judge as his begins his remarks - some are sitting close to one another and a couple appear emotional.

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

A few people left the court very briefly as the judge retired.

But it was only a couple of minutes before they were called back to their seats.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC is now back in his seat - and he begins his sentencing comments. You can watch live at the top of the page.

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

Throughout the emotional victim impact statements, defendant Simon Levy sat still and stared straight ahead.

Now, he is glancing around the courtroom, still wearing sunglasses. He is surrounded by three prison officers.

Shortly the judge will deliver his sentence. You'll be able to watch live at the top of the page.

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

The judge has now retired to consider what he has heard in the last hour.

After the impact statements, Simon Levy's barrister, Siobhan Grey, made a brief representation acknowledging the nature of his offending and the aggravating factors.

They point to mitigating factors and reference the defendant's blindness in one eye, as well as a language developmental disorder.

The judge is set to return shortly with the sentence.

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

The court is now hearing a statement from the surviving victim who was violently raped by Levy. It is being read to the courtroom by a barrister.

The statement starts with the victim saying she has "no words" but that she will "try".

She says Levy has taken her "soul" and her "dignity", and she didn't want to go to court but she also didn't want other girls to be attacked.

The attack has affected her trust in people, she continues, concluding that she wants to "try and forget this monster" and "play music again and smile".

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

The court is continuing to hear victim impact statements - the next to be read out is from Sheryl Wilkins's mother, and is being read by prosecutor Kerry Broome.

In the statement, Sheryl's mother says she died a day before her 40th birthday. "She should have seen her grandchildren. She should have grown old with us."

She says it was "cowardly" for Simon Levy to plead not guilty - and that in the trial "we were forced to relive the details of the crime".

The statement continues, with Sheryl's mother saying she feels "completely broken" and the family are "struggling in ways we cannot express".

The last time she saw her daughter, Sheryl's mother says they said "I love you" three times, "because that was what we always did".

"This was the destruction of a life, a family and a future."

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

Nazly Fuenmayor Valencia - Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo's daughter - is the next to describe the impact of Levy's crimes before the judge.

Her statement is emotional and her voice frequently breaks as she's speaking, but she delivers it through to the end.

People in the public gallery are in tears as she reads it, while some other family members hold hands and appear emotional.

She tells the court that in a million years her family "never expected" to lose their mum like this, saying there's an emptiness that can't be filled.

Fuenmayor Valencia describes her mum as a "beautiful woman inside and out", and says she is "lucky" to call her her mum, before talking of the mental health impact her murder has had on her.

She adds her mum came to this country for a "better life" and for "safety" - but her life was "taken so cruelly".

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

The victim impact statements are now being read to court.

Lindsey Hicks, sister of victim Sheryl Wilkins, stands up in court to read hers. She struggles to get her words out between deep breaths and tears, and is visibly emotional.

"You, Simon Levy, have destroyed our lives," she says, adding that they should be growing up together like sisters do, but instead "last year has been the worst year in our lives".

She pauses to dab her eyes with a tissue.

Hicks then talks about having to go home after each day in court on public transport, carrying with her the awareness of what happened to her sister - adding that there are not enough words to express her grief.

"We will continue to live as a loving family through our loss, supporting each other. You don’t get to take that away," she tells Levy.

"I hope you rot in prison for the rest of your life."

Amy Johnston
Reporting from court

Simon Levy spoke in court for the first time today in weeks to confirm his name.

He is sitting in the docks wearing the same grey jumper he has been wearing every day. He’s being supervised by two prison guards.

He has been brought to court from prison every day since late June and has remained silent over weeks’ worth of evidence. On some days he was making notes in an A4 pad of paper.

Levy refused to be cross-examined or take the witness stand to give evidence himself during his trial for murders and rape.

He wore dark sunglasses throughout, due to an irreversible eye condition called “phthisis bulbi”, causing him to be partially blind.

Last Friday, Investigating Detective Chief Inspector Neil John from the Metropolitan Police said that throughout Levy’s six-week trial, “he has shown complete disregard for the victims and victim-survivor, despite being fully aware of the lasting and devastating impact of his actions”.

Daniel De Simone
Investigations correspondent, reporting from court

Before the impact statements are read to court, we briefly hear from the prosecution.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC says the starting point for Levy's sentence should be a whole life order because the murders involved sexual conduct.

• For context, a whole life order means an offender will never be released from prison, except in exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Cachella Smith
reporting from court

Seats in courtroom 6 at the Old Bailey have been filled with journalists as well as a number of family members of Levy's victims as today's hearing begins.

Extra seats were brought in in the half hour before proceedings started so that as many people as possible could sit in the courtroom.

Levy confirmed his name at the start before prosecutor Tom Little KC sets out how the proceedings will go.

He says we will hear four impact statements this morning - including from Sheryl Wilkins' mother and sister. We'll hear the impact statements shortly.

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

Simon Levy is wearing sunglasses and a grey prison tracksuit.

He is looking straight ahead, and occasionally glances around the courtroom.

Eight members of the jury have also been seated, who have come to watch the sentencing.

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

The defendant, Simon Levy, is now sitting in the dock and proceedings are about to begin.

We will first hear from the prosecution and defence for their final remarks, before the sentencing itself starts at 12:00 BST.

Journalists are packed into the court room - the clerk has brought extra seats for everyone - as well as barristers, solicitors and legal staff. Seats reserved for members of the public are also full.

Some members of the jury have also returned for the sentencing.

The Met Police is not alone in admitting failings for the handling of Simon Levy.

British Transport Police (BTP)'s investigation into Levy's sexual assaults was beset by delays, meaning he was not charged for more than six months, despite being filmed carrying out an attack.

Det Ch Supt Pete Fulton, from the BTP, said the delay "absolutely wasn't good enough" and was down to "incompetence" by two officers who have since been moved to other roles.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has also been accused of acting too slowly.

Lisa Ramsarran, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, said: "Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect.

"In particular, there were points where we could and should have taken a more robust approach to representations about bail, based on the information available."

The Metropolitan Police's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth has previously admitted a "collective system failure" over Levy.

The Met Police was responsible for his monitoring, which encompassed police officers visiting his home and collecting intelligence on him.

Just months before he committed the first offences in this series of convictions, the force had downgraded his status from high-risk to medium-risk.

Two officers from the Met are now facing investigations from the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) relating to alleged failures in their management of Levy, following a voluntary referral from the force.

A police constable is under a gross misconduct investigation and a detective sergeant a misconduct investigation - with the watchdog’s investigation spanning the time from Levy’s first conviction in September 2021 through to his arrest in September 2025.

Simon Levy attacked the three women in 2025 while on bail for sex assaults on trains in London. He was being monitored and risk-managed by the Met Police throughout.

• Between late 2024 and summer 2025, Levy was freed on bail by police and the courts multiple times - even after being charged with sex offences and having broken bail conditions
• Levy had already been in prison for two sexual assaults. Scotland Yard downgraded his risk to women when he was released in 2024
• The Met closed its investigation into the rape he carried out in January 2025
• The force did not class Valencia-Trujillo's death in March 2025 as a murder, or pass the case to specialist homicide detectives, until after Levy had killed again

• The Met took three years to investigate and charge Levy for the sexual assault of a prison officer, - committed while he was jailed between 2021 and 2023 - with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also acting too slowly
• BTP’s investigation into Levy’s sexual assaults was beset by delays, so he was not charged for more than six months - despite an attack being filmed
• Both the Met and BTP gave Levy back a stolen travelcard which let him travel without paying and commit crimes, including the first murder

Elliot Burrin
Reporting from court

I've just arrived at the Old Bailey, where members of the press are slowly gathering outside.

There's going to be a large media presence at the sentencing today.

The court session is due to start at 11:00 BST, with final remarks from the prosecution and defence, which our reporters will bring you from inside the chamber.

The sentencing itself starts at 12:00 BST - you will be able to watch that part live on this page.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

Simon Levy, a 40-year-old from Tottenham, was found guilty last week of the murders of two vulnerable women and the rape of a third.

In January 2025, Levy raped a woman in a Tottenham car park. He forced her to the ground and jumped on her, breaking her collarbone and banging her head against the ground before suffocating and raping her.

Within days, the victim was arrested for breaching a community protection notice preventing her from being in the area.

She told police what happened but they closed the investigation in the summer, having made limited attempts to speak to her further.

In May 2025, Levy murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in derelict flats in south London, leaving her on the stairwell.

He was arrested weeks later after his DNA was found at the scene, before being released under investigation. The case was not passed to the Met’s homicide command.

In August 2025, Levy murdered Sheryl Wilkins, 39, in the same Tottenham car park he committed the rape in, eight months earlier.

During the trial, the court heard the three women all carried out street sex work in order to fund drug addictions.