Sarah Crump: Man found guilty of unsolved 1991 murder

A prolific sex attacker has been found guilty of murdering a woman in west London 30 years after being cleared and boasting he had "got away with it", under "double jeopardy" legislation.

David Smith, 67, has been convicted of murdering Sarah Crump, 33, and "brutally mutilating" her body in 1991.

Smith, from Hanwell, west London, was cleared of murder in 1993 and went on to kill another woman, Amanda Walker, 21, in 1999, the court heard.

He is set to be sentenced on Friday.

Ms Crump's sisters, Joanne Platt and Suzanne Wright, said after the verdict: "At long last justice for our lovely Sarah.

"If only Mum and Dad were here with us today to share this momentous occasion."

Ms Crump, a former nurse, worked as a medical secretary at Wembley Hospital during the day and as an escort in the evenings, prosecutor William Boyce KC told Inner London Crown Court.

Lorry driver Smith, aged 34 at the time, frequently used sex workers and developed "fascinations and obsessions" with some of the women he met, the jury was told.

He visited Ms Crump on 28 August 1991 and was the last known person inside her flat.

In the days that followed, Ms Crump's boyfriend was unable to contact her and police visited her address at Lady Margaret Road, in Southall.

In the bedroom, they discovered her naked body with multiple knife wounds and Smith was arrested and charged with murder.

After standing trial at the Old Bailey in 1993, he was cleared by the jury of killing Ms Crump.

Smith later bragged to an inmate at Highdown Prison that "he got away with it".

In 2022, the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial after hearing that "new and compelling evidence" was available.

The jury in the new trial was told Smith had been convicted of the murder of another sex worker, Ms Walker, in 1999, six years after his acquittal for Ms Crump's murder.

Ms Walker had carried out sex work in Paddington, west London, and went missing in April 1999, the trial heard.

Her body was discovered in woods in the grounds of Wisley Gardens in Surrey, in June 1999 and a post-mortem examination revealed cuts had been made to the body after her death.

Mr Boyce KC said the evidence demonstrated Smith had a "sexually motivated propensity to identify, target and kill working prostitutes".

"Both women had been left naked, having been attacked by someone using a weapon with a blade," Mr Boyce KC said.

The jury was told that in 1976 Smith had raped a mother at knifepoint at her home in London.

He was further accused of the attempted rape of another escort worker in 1991 at a hotel 10 days before Ms Crump's murder but was cleared of that offence in 1991.

Following the verdict, Ms Crump's sisters also said: "After the disheartening acquittal at the Old Bailey in 1993, our Mum said that Smith would kill again.

"Eight years later, he was found guilty of an even more savage murder and mutilation of a young woman and mother, which he later admitted.

"Thirty years may have passed but we still miss Sarah - she was a shining light in a murky world who wished for the best but found the worst in humanity."

Det Supt Rebecca Reeves, of the Metropolitan Police, called Smith "one of the most dangerous repeat offenders against women and girls" she had come across.

She added: "Both Sarah and Amanda's families have shown incredible strength, dignity and courage.

"I hope Smith's conviction demonstrates our determination to pursue those who commit violent crimes, no matter the length of time that has passed."

Smith, who did not give evidence at his 2023 trial, is already serving a life sentence for Ms Walker's murder.

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