Ep 1. John Sweeney

As a warning, the following description contains graphic and disturbing content that some viewers may find uncomfortable.

In the first episode of season four of World's Most Evil Killers, the spotlight is on John Sweeney. Sweeney, a British national, was a construction worker who went on a 15-year killing spree targeting women he had been in relationships with or had shown interest in.

Through interviews with experts, investigative journalists, law enforcement officials, and family members of Sweeney's victims, the episode explores the twisted mind of a man who was able to deceive and manipulate those close to him. Sweeney had a troubled childhood, marked by the absence of his father and poverty, and a history of violence against women that began in his teens.

Sweeney's crimes were particularly brutal. His first victim, Melissa Halstead, was a former partner whom he assaulted and strangled to death in 1990. He dismembered her body, wrapped her limbs in bin bags, and scattered them across the country. Despite the evidence pointing to Sweeney, he was not arrested until over a decade later.

The documentary delves into Sweeney's modus operandi of using aliases and changing his appearance to evade capture. In 2000, he met a woman named Delia Balmer, with whom he began a volatile relationship that ended when Sweeney attacked her with a hammer. Sweeney fled to Amsterdam, where he assumed the identity of a deceased man and began dating a Dutch woman named Paula Fields.

Fields would become Sweeney's second victim. In 2011, her remains were found in a London canal, wrapped in a carpet and weighed down with a shopping trolley. Sweeney had hit her repeatedly with an axe before killing her. The discovery led to Sweeney's arrest, and he was convicted of Fields and Halstead's murders in 2013.

The episode is a chilling portrait of a killer who was able to blend in with society and repeatedly evade justice. It paints a picture of a man who was obsessively controlling and had a propensity for violence against women. Interviews with Sweeney's ex-partners shed light on his behavior, with one stating that he would become possessive and jealous, monitoring her every move and becoming verbally and physically abusive.

The episode concludes with a discussion on the legacy of Sweeney's crimes and the importance of ongoing efforts to prevent violence against women. The voices of Sweeney's victims are given a platform, as family members speak about the impact of the loss on their lives and the need for justice to be served.

Overall, the first episode of season four of World's Most Evil Killers is a sobering look at the dark motivations behind one man's horrific crimes. It provides a stark reminder of the dangers of intimate partner violence and the need for society to do more to protect vulnerable individuals.