SWEENEY John

"Would-Be" Serial Killer

This person killed 2 victims (which does not technically make them a serial killer), but the reason for not reaching serial killer status is unspecified.

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John Sweeney
Status
Identification Status	Identified
Criminal Status	Incarcerated
Personal Information
Birth Name	John Sweeney
Born	October 13, 1956 Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Gender	Male
Race/Ethnicity	White
Nationality	British
Occupation	Carpenter
Criminal Information
AKA	"The Scalp Hunter" "The Canal Murderer"
Offender Type	"Would-Be" Serial Killer Suspected Serial Killer
Method of Killing	Beating
Convictions	Murder
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment with a whole life order
Victims	2+
Span of crimes	1989 - 2000
Countries	Netherlands United Kingdom Belgium (possible)
State	England
Provinces	North Holland Greater London Flanders (possible)
Cities	Amsterdam London Antwerp (possible)
Date apprehended	March 23, 2001
Imprisonment	HMP Belmarsh

Victims

Confirmed victims

Name	Age	Date of Death	Cause of Death
Melissa Halstead	33	November 1989
Paula Fields	31	December 16, 2000	Beating

Survivors

Name	Age	Date of Attack	Method of Attack
Delia Balmer		1994	Slashing

In popular culture

TV adaptation

• Until I Kill You (2024) on IMDb