Police in London have reopened the investigation into the 1999 murder of television presenter Jill Dando after a detailed inquiry by the Daily Mirror connected a Serbian hitman to the case.
Jill Dando, a well-known BBC presenter, was shot dead on her front doorstep in London. Recent evidence suggests that Milorad Ulemek, a notorious Serbian assassin, may have been responsible, according to reports from the Mirror.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they are reviewing the findings from the Mirror’s investigation, which includes eyewitness accounts from neighbours immediately following the murder, CCTV footage from a nearby tube station, and photographs of Ulemek from that period.
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A Met Police spokesperson said: “In the 27 years since Jill Dando’s murder, the investigation has undergone multiple reviews to determine if progress could be made due to advances in technology and forensics. Recent improvements in CCTV enhancement technology have allowed investigators to re-examine original footage from Putney Bridge tube station, and this work is ongoing.”
The preserved CCTV footage from Putney Bridge has been enhanced using new technology to reveal a man in a suit, known as Man X, who has never been identified by previous investigations.
Jill Dando had strong ties to Weston-super-Mare and Plymouth, where she grew up and began her career in the 1980s. At the time of her death, she was a prominent face on the BBC, presenting programmes such as Crimewatch and participating in a television appeal to aid Kosovan refugees, who were under attack from Serbia, just weeks before her murder.
Initially, a local man named Barry George was arrested and convicted for Jill’s murder but was later acquitted in 2008 after a retrial.
Suspicion that Serbian operatives were involved has persisted over the years. A three-year investigation by the Mirror claims to have identified the assassin as Milorad Ulemek, a former French Foreign Legionnaire involved in paramilitary units responsible for atrocities during the Yugoslav civil war.
Ulemek was first identified as Man X in 2024 after a facial comparison expert noted similarities between him and the individual captured on the CCTV at Putney Bridge station.
Neighbours who witnessed a man in a suit running near Jill Dando’s home have since affirmed they believe Ulemek was the same man seen that day.
Cold-case officers have spent the past ten months locating and digitising the original CCTV footage depicting Man X.
Detectives were initially alerted to Man X by a key witness who saw a man in a suit “running for his life” on Fulham Palace Road around the time of the shooting. She subsequently identified Man X in the CCTV footage a month later.
Despite this, detectives originally dismissed her evidence, citing discrepancies between her running man description and Man X, although both wore suits and were of similar height, build, and hair colour.
Additional witnesses, including Jill’s neighbour Richard Hughes, who saw the gunman (possibly carrying a mobile phone), noted similarities to the e-fit produced by the female motorist. Another neighbour, Geoffrey Upfillbrown, also commented that the suspect looked “similar”, according to police notes.
The female witness spoke to the Daily Mirror two years ago, expressing certainty that Ulemek was the man she saw near the murder scene after images of him were published.
Jill was shot amid ongoing UK military actions over Serbia and was recognised for leading BBC shows such as Crimewatch and Holiday.
Shortly after the murder, the BBC received a call claiming the killing was retaliation for a NATO attack on a TV station in Belgrade. It was also feared that Jill was targeted because of her role in a BBC charity appeal supporting Kosovan refugees.
Jill was killed instantly by a single bullet to her left temple as she was about to enter her home.
At the time, Ulemek led a notorious unit that carried out assassinations for the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
Last year, it was revealed that Ulemek’s former intelligence superior admitted to sending assassins into Europe around the time of Jill’s murder.
Ulemek is currently serving a 40-year sentence in Serbia for orchestrating the assassinations of former President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and Prime Minister Zoran Didic in 2003.