Tweet
25 May 2011
Last updated at 09:41 ET
The man accused of killing Milly Dowler "disappeared" on the day the schoolgirl went missing, a court has heard.
Levi Bellfield's former partner Emma Mills told the Old Bailey that she had tried unsuccessfully to call the 43-year-old on his mobile phone.
Miss Mills, who had been living with Bellfield, said it was unusual for her not to be in contact with him.
Milly, 13, vanished after leaving Walton-on-Thames train station, Surrey, in March 2002. Bellfield denies murder.
He also denies trying to kidnap 11-year-old Rachel Cowles in March 2002.
Miss Mills, 33, gave her evidence from behind a curtain, which shielded her from her former partner in the dock.
She said: "He disappeared. His mobile was off. I was trying to get in touch with him because I didn't have any money and I needed to get some bits from the shop.
"Normally he would ring me or I would ring him, on and off during the day, to see what I was doing.
"He didn't ring me at all until later on. I didn't see him past lunchtime."
She told the court that on the day Milly disappeared, she had a 40-second conversation with Bellfield at 1738 GMT and a longer call later that evening.
Miss Mills told the court she had met Bellfield at a Surrey nightclub when she was 18 when he was working on the door.
She had moved into a flat in Collingwood Place with their two small children in 2001 and Bellfield had moved in by Christmas.
The week that Milly vanished, the family were house-sitting for a friend in West London.
The court heard that Bellfield had taken Miss Mills' red Daewoo Nexia car that day. When asked to identify a picture of the car, Miss Mills wiped away tears as she told the court that the white object hanging in the back of the car had been her son's first trainer.
When asked who was driving the vehicle, she replied: "Levi."
The prosecution claims Bellfield was living yards away and murdered Milly in his flat before dumping the body. Six months later, her remains were found in woods 25 miles away.
Bellfield, a former wheelclamper and bouncer, was convicted in 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell, 19, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and attempting to murder Kate Sheedy, 18.
The trial continues.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials
Levi Bellfield's former partner Emma Mills told the Old Bailey that she had tried unsuccessfully to call the 43-year-old on his mobile phone.
Miss Mills, who had been living with Bellfield, said it was unusual for her not to be in contact with him.
Milly, 13, vanished after leaving Walton-on-Thames train station, Surrey, in March 2002. Bellfield denies murder.
He also denies trying to kidnap 11-year-old Rachel Cowles in March 2002.
Miss Mills, 33, gave her evidence from behind a curtain, which shielded her from her former partner in the dock.
She said: "He disappeared. His mobile was off. I was trying to get in touch with him because I didn't have any money and I needed to get some bits from the shop.
"Normally he would ring me or I would ring him, on and off during the day, to see what I was doing.
"He didn't ring me at all until later on. I didn't see him past lunchtime."
She told the court that on the day Milly disappeared, she had a 40-second conversation with Bellfield at 1738 GMT and a longer call later that evening.
Miss Mills told the court she had met Bellfield at a Surrey nightclub when she was 18 when he was working on the door.
She had moved into a flat in Collingwood Place with their two small children in 2001 and Bellfield had moved in by Christmas.
The week that Milly vanished, the family were house-sitting for a friend in West London.
The court heard that Bellfield had taken Miss Mills' red Daewoo Nexia car that day. When asked to identify a picture of the car, Miss Mills wiped away tears as she told the court that the white object hanging in the back of the car had been her son's first trainer.
When asked who was driving the vehicle, she replied: "Levi."
The prosecution claims Bellfield was living yards away and murdered Milly in his flat before dumping the body. Six months later, her remains were found in woods 25 miles away.
Bellfield, a former wheelclamper and bouncer, was convicted in 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell, 19, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and attempting to murder Kate Sheedy, 18.
The trial continues.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials