Serbian assassin ‘looks like man seen running near Jill Dando’s home on the day of Crimewatch presenter's murder’

24 April 2024, 08:14

A witness who saw a man running from the scene of Jill Dando's murder has claimed that he looks like a jailed Serbian assassin.

This Friday is the 25th anniversary of the Crimewatch presenter’s killing. Jill was shot dead on her doorstep on April 26 1999. She was 37.

Her killer has never been caught and the case has been officially deemed ‘inactive’ for ten years.

Scotland Yard said ‘no unsolved murder is ever closed.’

A witness who reported seeing a man ‘running for his life’ down the killer’s suspected escape route, told The Mirror that she believed the man she saw was a Serbian assassin Milorad Ulemek.

Read more: France accused of acting 'irresponsibly' for letting migrant dinghy continue to UK after five die onboard

Read more: Hatton Garden heist ringleader Brian 'The Guvnor' Reader dies aged 84 after earning more than £200m from criminal raids

The witness said she saw the man sprinting with a ‘startled’ look on his face. She also picked him out to detectives on CCTV footage a month after Jill’s death.

She told the Mirror: “It was a long time ago but I can remember faces from years and years back. I'm bad for remembering names but I'm good with faces.

“I think I need to speak to police.”

Barry George, who was tried and convicted of the TV presenter’s murder but later cleared after eight years in jail, believes police should reopen the case.

His defence lawyer said should reopen the case to look at twice-convicted killer Ulemek, who reportedly looks like the mystery man.

Ulemek is currently serving 40 years in a Serbian prison.

The Mirror commissioned a facial comparison expert to examine CCTV footage of a man at Putney Bridge Tube station around a mile from Jill’s home on April 26 1999.

The image was never released by Scotland Yard.

Facial recognition expert Emi Polito, who gives evidence for the police, said Man X and Ulemek, now 56, have a similar shaped mouth, chin, hairline and right sideburn, while the general shape and sizes of their noses and right ear were the same.

His report concluded: "Within the imagery limitations, no differences were found between Man X and Mr [Ulemek]."

The witness said in her 1999 statement: "I am sure that this man in the suit is the same man that I identified to police yesterday... and also that he is the same person I saw running in Fulham Palace Road SW6 on Monday 26 April."

The man, known as N6814 was never found despite police efforts to “trace, interview and eliminate” him.

One of the main theories around her death was that she was shot and killed by a professional assassin. She had previously admitted that her role on Crimewatch had left her in fear of retribution of the criminals she sought to expose.