Once regarded as one of the most dangerous men in Britain, John Sweeney was jailed for life in 2011 after carrying out gruesome murders and attacks on three of his former partners.

The former carpenter, now 67, was sentenced to a whole life tariff for butchering two of his girlfriends and dumping their remains in city canals in Rotterdam and London. He is also suspected to have killed three lovers who have never been found. 

Prior to his arrest, the ‘Scalp Hunter’ also carried out a horrific axe and hammer attack on another girlfriend, Delia Balmer, now 71, who was left scarred for life in 1994.

Thirty years since Ms Balmer nearly died in the attack, she is set to appear in a documentary in which she will revisit her experience of living with one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers.

I Survived a Serial Killer: The Delia Balmer Story airs tonight on Channel 5 at 10pm as the first part of a docuseries which will capture first-hand accounts of people who have survived society’s most depraved killers. 

As the documentary revisits one of the most blood-curdling cases of femicide in the country, FEMAIL remembers the women who tragically lost their lives at the hands of the ‘Canal Killer.’

Once regarded as one of the most dangerous men in Britain, John Sweeney was jailed for life in 2011 after carrying out gruesome murders and attacks on three of his former partners

Melissa Halstead 

Melissa Halstead was an American-born model, originally from Ohio, whose torso was discovered in a Dutch canal on May 3, 1990.

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‘Scalp Hunter’ serial killer John Sweeney, 66, serving life sentence for two gruesome murders is now linked to ‘three further killings of unidentified women in the Netherlands’

It was not until 2008 that her remains were identified using an advanced DNA test, paving the way for Sweeney to be charged with her murder.

Ms Halstead met a recently divorced Sweeney in 1986 while she was working internationally as a model and photographer. 

About a year into their relationship, he had been charged at least once for domestic violence against her, and was subjected to a number of fines until the pair relocated to Austria.

Shortly after relocating, Sweeney was jailed for attacking Halstead with an axe, which left her with an injury to her head. 

After being released and ordered to leave Austria, the pair settled in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 

On May 3, 1990, the dismembered body of Ms Halstead was found in a bag floating on a canal in Rotterdam.

It later emerged that Sweeney transported Ms Halstead’s body in a duffel bag from Amsterdam to Rotterdam 

Sweeney, who has a history of violence towards women, returned to the UK in 1991, where he went on to develop a relationship with nurse Delia Balmer before attempting to kill her with an axe in 1994. 

Melissa Halstead was an American-born model, originally from Ohio, whose torso was discovered in a Dutch canal on May 3, 1990

Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of a drawing by John Sweeney which prosecution say is a self portrait of him and Melissa Halstead

Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of a note seized from John Sweeney in 2001 referring to the death of Melissa Halstead before she was identified

Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of the bag containing Melissa’s body at location where it was found in the Westersingel waterway in Rotterdam

Delia Balmer 

In 1994, Delia Balmer was hacked to within an inch of her life by Sweeney, who attacked her with a hammer and an axe.

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Terrifying true story behind ITV’s latest crime drama: Delia Balmer lived with serial killer John Sweeney for three years and found ‘rope, tape and gloves’ under their bed before he tried to kill her with an axe

The survivor, now 71, reveals how she met Sweeney in 1991 at a pub in Camden, north London and speaks about the violence that infiltrated their relationship soon after.  

Prior 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. 

Following his release, he immediately tracked down Ms Balmer – whom he had been dating for three years – and attacked her with an wooden axe and a blunt hammer, in which she lost a finger and sustained several other injuries.

Astonishingly, retired nurse Ms Balmer eerily predicted she would be Sweeney’s next target before she knew of his murderous past when she found a ‘body disposal kit.’

At that time, she had no idea that he had already murdered one former partner, Melissa Halstead, and also would go on to kill Paula Fields.

In 1994, Delia Balmer was hacked to within an inch of her life by Sweeney, who attacked her with a hammer and an axe

Ms Balmer eerily predicted she would be Sweeney’s next target before she knew of his murderous past when she found a ‘body disposal kit’

Paula Fields  

Sweeney went on the run for six years and killed 31-year-old mother Paula Fields, whose body was found in Regent’s Canal, London. 

The body of Ms Fields, who was a prostitute with a crack cocaine addiction, was cut into six pieces and stuffed into holdalls.

The Halewood woman’s head, hands and feet were never found.

Prosecutors during the killer’s trial in 2011 said this was a deliberate attempt to prevent them from being identified and Sweeney being exposed as being responsible for the murders.

Sweeney went on the run for six years and killed 31-year-old mother Paula Fields, whose body was found in Regent’s Canal, London

Potential victims 

In 1994, detectives sought to interview Sweeney over the unsolved murders of two women and the disappearance of two others. 

He has previous convictions for ferocious attacks on former girlfriends and is suspected of avenging himself on women when they rejected him.

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 Leani and Columbian Maria through their consulates, but only have the women’s first names.

Last year, it was reported Sweeney is believed to ‘hold the key’ to at least three cold case murders of unidentified women.

His name is being linked to some of the cases included in an Interpol appeal which is seeking to uncover the names of 22 women – each of whom are suspected murder victims from across Europe since 1976.

Three of those pictured by Operation Identify Me were women who were decapitated and had their remains left in canals in the Netherlands.

Sweeney worked in the country in the 1990s, and one of his victims, 33-year-old model Melissa Halstead, was found there.

Former Metropolitan Police Detective Colin Sutton has urged Dutch Police to look into the possible link, pointing to similarities between the murder methods.

‘The Met will have lots of information on his movements,’ he told The Sun. ‘They will willingly share that.

I Survived a Serial Killer: The Delia Balmer Story airs on Channel 5 at 10pm tonight.