British serial killer who refused to reveal what he did with his victims' heads dies behind bars

One of Britain's most notorious serial killers has died behind bars without revealing what he did with his victims' heads. John Sweeney, 69, who became known as the canal killer, was given a whole-life tariff in 2011 for the murders of his former girlfriends Paula Fields and Melissa Halstead.He butchered their bodies before throwing them in canals in London and the Netherlands. Their remains were discovered a decade apart and Sweeney was not linked to the disappearances until he was convicted of an axe attack on another girlfriend. Sweeney died from cancer at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire on August 14, The Times has reported. A Prison Service spokesman said: 'These were horrific crimes and our thoughts remain with the victims and their loved ones.'As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is investigating, and it would be inappropriate to comment further before the conclusion of its findings.' John Sweeney was jailed for life in 2011 after carrying out gruesome murders and attacks on three of his former partners Melissa Halstead was an American-born model, originally from Ohio, whose torso was discovered in a Dutch canal on May 3, 1990 Sweeney went on to kill 31-year-old mother Paula Fields, whose body was found in Regent's Canal, LondonSweeney, a carpenter, boasted of his violence in lurid paintings and verse found at his home – and in one picture, showing a bloody axe, he called himself the Scalp Hunter.He killed former model Miss Halstead, 33, from Ohio in the United States, in 1990.Her dismembered body was thrown into a canal in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.She was only identified 18 years later by DNA, although her head and hands have never been found.Meanwhile, the body parts of Ms Fields, 31, were found in six holdalls floating in Regent's Canal in Camden, north London, in February 2001.Her head, hands and feet are still missing.Prosecutors during the killer's trial at the Old Bailey in 2011 said this was a deliberate attempt to prevent the body from being identified. In addition to the two murders, he also launched an axe attack on a girlfriend, nurse Delia Balmer, who was only saved when a neighbour arrived to help. Image shows the the bag containing Melissa's body after it was found in the Westersingel waterway in Rotterdam A drawing by John Sweeney which prosecution said is a self portrait of him and Melissa Halstead In 1994, Delia Balmer was hacked to within an inch of her life by Sweeney, who attacked her with a hammer and an axePrior to the attempt on her life, Sweeney had held her captive and repeatedly raped her in a week-long ordeal, for which he was arrested but released on bail.Ms Balmer reported how he had tied her to the bed and threatened her with a gun and a knife, warning her that if she screamed, he would cut her tongue out.At that time, she had no idea that he had already murdered one former partner, Miss Halstead, and also would go on to kill Ms Fields. Ms Balmer wrote a memoir about her near-fatal experience living with Sweeney which was adapted into a television mini-series called Until I Kill You by ITV in 2024.Police also suspect Sweeney may have murdered other former partners.Two South American ex-girlfriends from the late 90s have mysteriously disappeared, although there is no evidence that any harm has come to them and no one has reported them missing.Police have been trying to trace Brazilian Irani and Colombian Maria through their consulates, but only have the women's first names.