New clues unveiled in mysterious Jill Dando murder case as second witness links 'Serbian assassin' to TV star's death

25 April 2025, 02:48

A Serbian assassin may prove to be a key suspect in the murder of TV star Jill Dando in 1999, an investigation has revealed.

A van driver who spotted a man running near the scene where Jill was killed said he looked like assassin Milorad Ulemek.

The witness was driving near where the TV star, 37, was shot dead at her home on April 26, 1999.

After The Mirror showed pictures of the assassin to the key witness, he told the paper "he does look like the man I saw."

Following the van driver's initial sighting of the man, he told the police two days later that he had seen a man wearing a dark suit running in front of his Ford Transit on the Fulham Palace Road, South West London.

Another female witness said she was 'certain' she had seen the assassin running along the same road at the same time, according to The Mirror.

Read more: Who killed Jill Dando? Hopefully the killer will finally be brought to justice

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The assassin Ulemek, now 57, reportedly headed up a group of hitmen who targeted opponents of dictator Slobadan Milosevic.

Milosevic died in 2006 during his trial for war crimes.

The lead prosecution barrister has said Ulemek ought to be investigated over Jill's death, The Mirror reported.

Sir Geoffrey Nice KC said: "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."

At the time of the TV star's mysterious murder, the Yugoslav war was ongoing and the UK had bombed Serbia.

After Jill's murder, the BBC reportedly received a call that claimed the death was linked to the attack.

The van driver, who chose to remain anonymous, told the Mirror that the police should investigate Ulemek - who is currently serving 40 years in a Serbian prison and has been convicted of murder twice.

He said Jill was "taken from her family in a despicable way. How could someone do something like that to a woman like that?"

In a statement at the time of the Crimewatch star's murder, the witness said: "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.

"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."

He added: "I immediately remembered the man running out in front of me.

"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".

More recently, the key witness said if he had known who the assassin was he "would have got hold of him".

He informed police the suspect was wearing a dark "suit-type jacket" with matching trousers, 5ft 10 or 11, in his late 20s to early 30s, of medium build with short black hair that was longer on top.

The description appears to match that provided by the female motorist who is reportedly 'sure' the person she saw is Ulemek.

N6814 - the man seen in CCTV footage at a nearby tube station - is still wanted for questioning, the Met Police have said.

The Met closed the case 10 years ago - however, there have been calls for a fresh investigation into the case from those including Ben Coleman, Labour MP for Fulham, BBC correspondent John Simpson, ex-Met Det Chief Supt Barry Webb and former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal.

Last year, Ulemek's lawyer Aleksander Kovacevic said the assassin did not want to comment when asked if he murdered Jill.

A spokesperson for the Met said: "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."