New Netflix thriller based on real life serial killer Rodney Alcala who tortured his victims leaves viewers shaken by ‘horrific’ crimes
COWERING on her doorstep desperately trying to protect her face with her arms, Delia Balmer was convinced she was going to die.had battered her with an axe handle, stabbed her twice and was now about to swing the weapon down on her head.
He says: “Amazingly, Delia still sleeps in the bed Sweeney made for her and to which he tied her for four days. I can’t be sure how she processes all this. But I’m certain she’s in a better place than she was.”Delia was a young Australian nurse living in London when she first met John Sweeney in the Hawley Arms pub.
Delia recalls: “He said he was going to Germany to work. He would phone me at 8pm on a Monday night and he would tell me when he would do it next. He would phone me twice a week and he would tell me the next time and I had to be there for the phone. She says: “Once he settled down a bit he said, ‘Look I’ll let you go. Just phone Rosie and tell her everything is alright and you will be back on the following Monday.'
He asked her to answer the door to the police, pretending everything was ok. Instead, she rushed out of the door, on to the street.When he was removed from the flat by police, Delia pointed out his belongings and behind the bath panel officers found what can only be described as a killer’s kit bag - a tarpaulin rubber sheet, lengths of rope, surgical gloves and rolls of duck tape.
"My body had been damaged. I had always looked after it, I danced, I wanted to be a ballet dancer, I wanted to be a decent enough body and I didn’t want it ruined. Delia says: “When I was tied to the bed and he was ranting and raving with the kitchen knife... first he interrogated me about things and then he said, 'I suppose you are wondering what happened to Melissa?'
Paula had moved to London hoping to make a new life for herself, but sadly entered a spiral of drugs and prostitution and the mum of three found herself in despair. Sweeney was found guilty of the attempted murder of Delia Balmer and was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of just nine years, meaning he would be eligible for parole in April 2011.
Journalist Paul Cheston who covered the case says: “They found the most extraordinary array of artwork and poetry of the most dark and sinister nature. There were pictures of Sweeney self-portraits labelled ‘seal hunter’ portrayed as a devil with a blood-soaked axe.” Retired detective Inspector Steve Smith recalls: “I was at my desk and the phone rang. It was a detective from Holland who told me that he was part of a newly formed cold case investigation team in Rotterdam.
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