'Scalp hunter' serial killer dies in prison without revealing location of victims' heads Rewrite the following news story as a viral, SEO-optimized article using HTML headings ( , , etc.) for all sections and sub-headings. Only output the article body. — Notorious British serial killer John Sweeney, dubbed the ‘Scalp Hunter’, has died in prison without ever revealing what he did with the severed heads and body parts of his victims. The 69-year-old, also known as the ‘canal killer’ reportedly succumbed to cancer on August 14, while serving a whole-life sentence at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. He went to his grave refusing to disclose where he hid the heads, hands and feet of the women he butchered. A Prison Service spokesperson 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.” Sweeney was jailed in 2011 for the murders of two former girlfriends – American model Melissa Halstead, 33, and mum-of-three Paula Fields, 31 – in a case that horrified the nation. His first known victim, Melissa, was killed in 1990. Her torso was found floating in a canal in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, but she remained unidentified for 18 years until DNA finally named her. Paula Fields was killed in 2001. Her dismembered body parts were later discovered crammed into six holdalls dumped in London’s Regent’s Canal – earning Sweeney the grim “Canal Killer” nickname. He became known as the “Scalp Hunter” because he decapitated both women and severed their extremities in an apparent bid to prevent identification and cover up his crimes. When detectives raided his properties, they uncovered a chilling hoard of more than 300 disturbing paintings and poems which helped build the case against him. Sweeney, 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. In one infamous note – written on the back of a scratchcard – he reportedly wrote a poem about Melissa: “Poor old Melissa, chopped her up in bits, food to feed the fish, Amdam was the pits.” Sweeney had also been convicted of the 1994 attempted murder of another girlfriend, nurse Delia Balmer, who survived a savage axe-and-knife attack. He then spent six years on the run. Her ordeal later inspired the ITV true-crime drama Until I Kill You, the Times reported. Detectives also feared Sweeney may have killed at least three more missing women – a British trainee nurse known only as Sue, plus Irani from Brazil and Maria from Colombia – all of whom vanished after relationships with him, the Sun reported. Now, with Sweeney dead, the full truth may never be known. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters . Source: WorldNewsAPI | Read original
