Skip to main content

The Arrest

Crime Files

The Arrest

“I had been handed a poison chalice. . .” DCI Colin Sutton

It was left to DCI Colin Sutton, who had recently led the successful investigation to apprehend Levi Bellfield, to try and catch the perpetrator.

Sutton decided that the DNA evidence was proving a red herring for the police. He changed tack and set up a burglary squad. He discovered that in just one street in Croydon the Night Stalker had been his most prolific. Deciding that this is a significant area, he put in a request for 150 officers and 18 cameras to observe this region. The request was declined but a compromise was reached. Sutton got 70 officers.

On the first night of observation, the Night Stalker attacked three times. This was a major breakthrough, but unfortunately the attacks were just outside the areas being policed. However, CCTV cameras showed a man fitting the description running to a vehicle. Experts picked out a silver Vauxhall Zafira as the car potentially owned by the Night Stalker.

Seventeen days later, a member of the surveillance team noticed a similar Vauxhall Zafira in the neighbourhood. An hour later a man was spotted running to the same car. The police sprung into action and moments later, at around 2am, the Night Stalker was arrested. There were 203 confirmed cases now linked to this prolific sex attacker.