Jill Dando murder bombshell: Second witness claims notorious assassin is Man X

Irish Daily Mirror

25-04-2025

A van driver who witnessed a man sprinting near the Jill Dando murder scene has come forward to claim that the runner bore a striking resemblance to notorious hitman Milorad Ulemek.
The crucial eye-witness, who was driving in the vicinity shortly after the Crimewatch presenter, aged 37, was gunned down outside her residence on April 26, 1999, informed officers two days after the incident that a man clad in a dark suit dashed across his Ford Transit's path on Fulham Palace Road in South West London, without so much as a glance. Upon viewing our exclusive photos of the Serbian contract killer, he affirmed: "He does look like the man I saw."
This follows another account by a woman last year, exclusively to us, who expressed certainty about spotting Ulemek running along that identical road around the time in question.
Currently 57 years-old, Ulemek helmed a squadron of executioners commissioned by Slobodan Milosevic, the infamous tyrant who perished in 2006 while facing trial for atrocities. The chief prosecutor in Milosevic's case, Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, pointed out that Ulemek ought to be probed in connection to Jill's slaying, based on findings from the Daily Mirror's inquiry.
Sir Geoffrey commented: "I would encourage the police to be open minded given there are new pieces of evidence that may not have been considered and it would be helpful if they are considered," reports the Mirror.
At the time when Jill met her tragic end, conflict devastated Yugoslavia. Mere hours following her assassination, the BBC was contacted with a statement asserting her death was retaliation for the bombardment.
The ex-van driver recounted being "80% sure" it was Ulemek whom he nearly hit, mere moments after the beloved TV figure was fatally shot at her home.
A key witness has brought forward crucial evidence in the case of the twice-convicted murderer known as Ulemek, presently doing time in a Serbian prison for a 40-year stretch. Speaking to the Mirror, the man in his 60s, who wishes to remain anonymous, insisted he's willing to aid police with their inquiries, remarking: "She was taken from her family in a despicable way. How could someone do something like that to a woman like that?."
At the time of the incident, the same witness made a statement saying: "I had to slam my brakes on to stop or I would have crashed into him. He ran out and I managed to stop about two or three meters away from him. I noticed that the man was looking behind him from where he had just run from."
He recalled his immediate reaction towards the suspect: "I shouted 'you arsehole', the man was still running across the road, he didn't look at me when I shouted to him, he just continued to run. I was still not moving and I watched him run into a park."
The near-collision stuck with him, and when news of Jill being tragically attacked outside her Gowan Avenue residence, which was merely 600 metres away, broke, he immediately got in touch with law enforcement.
"I immediately remembered the man running out in front of me," he says. He believes there is a good chance he can identify the man.
"I had a good clear look at this male as he was about two or three metres away from me, and was in my sight for about five seconds, I would possibly recognise him again," he claimed.
The former van driver said: "Anyone else would have said f*** off or sorry but he didn't say anything, he just wanted to get away and that's what made me suspicious. It looked like he was running from something. If I had known I would have got hold of him."
The key witness gave the cops a description, pointing out the suspect donned a dark "suit-type jacket" with trousers to match, stood 5ft 10 or 11, looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, sported a medium build, and had short black hair that was longer up top. Ulemek, ticking all those boxes at 31, similar build and hair, was the spitting image of what a female driver described.
She confidently told the Daily Mirror the previous year she reckons it was Ulemek, dressed sharp, whom she clocked haring it. Barely 24 hours after the crime, she pegged the dark-suited man with a shock on his face for the cops.
A month later, and she's positive he's "Man X", the bloke on CCTV footage near a tube station, according to police documents.
For the Daily Mirror's deep dive, face-match whiz Emi Polito cast an eye over the tape and lined up N6814—how he's known in the police brief—with Ulemek; same face, chin, and hairline spot on. Polito couldn't find any differences between the pair.
The Met are still keen to talk with N6814, as confirmed by police.
Only two out of four witnesses had a clear enough view to produce an e-fit of the suspect in a case that has been closed for ten years by the Met. The case was reopened after local man Barry George, who suffers from severe learning disabilities, had his conviction overturned in 2008.
George spent eight years behind bars after being found guilty of murder in 2001. Jill's case hasn't been reviewed since 2018 and last year the Met declined to investigate new evidence without first visiting the female motorist, examining Mr Polito's report or reviewing the CCTV footage.
Ex-Met Det Chief Supt Barry Webb, who reviewed the murder in 1999, stated there was "insufficient nexus to the shooting" for the "running man" to be treated as "high priority."
However, Mr Webb added: "I believe that any review should take into consideration your research."
Veteran BBC correspondent John Simpson, who was in Belgrade when his friend and colleague was killed, expressed: "There should, I think, be a full review of the case."
Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith and chair of the Commons Justice Committee, voiced: "It's important there's an investigation because there is a possibility that a suspect has been identified. I think you have done enough to justify a fresh investigation and it's curious that the Met don't want to examine it."
Labour MP for Fulham, Ben Coleman, has called for a review of the case in light of new information and eyewitness accounts unearthed by the Mirror. He stated: "Given the new information, including eyewitness accounts, that has come to light thanks to the Mirror investigation, I believe there is a strong argument for the case to be reviewed and the recent findings fully investigated."
Former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal echoed this sentiment, stating: "These findings must be investigated."
Matt Foot, co-director of the miscarriages of justice organisation Appeal, criticised the Met's refusal to investigate our findings, saying: "Barry George is being thwarted by the very same people who put him in prison and a system that doesn't want to admit that it got it wrong."
A source familiar with the Serbian security services suggested that the police should take a closer look at the evidence, stating: "I think that they [the police] need to have a closer look at all of this. There are doubts and questions that are not answered. Maybe this is just a theory but there is evidence in this moment supporting that theory."
Former French Foreign Legionnaire and gang boss Ulemek, Serbia's most infamous paramilitary soldier, was convicted of the murders of Serbian ex-President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and its first democratically elected PM, Zoran Djindjic in 2003. His units were allegedly responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the Yugoslav wars.
When asked if he murdered Jill, Ulemek's lawyer Aleksander Kovacevic said last year that his client did not wish to comment. Mr Kovacevic has not responded to repeated requests for a comment this year.
The Met Police have confirmed: "In the years since Jill Dando's murder, the investigation has been subject to numerous reviews, aiming to identify whether matters could be progressed with advances in technology and forensics. The investigation is now in an inactive phase, which means that it is not currently subject to routine reviews. However no unsolved murder is ever closed and detectives would consider any new information provided to assess whether it represented a new and realistic line of enquiry."
Reports indicate that Ulemek has had three escape attempts thwarted at the Zabela high-security prison and he is eligible to apply for early release in 2030 after his most recent failed attempt in November.