Scotland Yard has confirmed it is examining evidence about a Serbian assassin in connection with the unsolved killing of television presenter Jill Dando.
The Met is said to be evaluating material published by the Daily Mirror that connects Milorad Ulemek to Ms Dando’s 1999 shooting.
Officers stated: “No unsolved murder is ever closed and detectives are assessing this information to understand whether it’s a new and realistic line of enquiry.”
The evidence includes a recently discovered photograph showing the twice-convicted killer sporting an unusual tie that appears to match one worn by an unidentified man captured on security cameras.
This individual remains sought by police and was filmed on what investigators believe was the gunman’s escape route.
Cold case detectives plan to analyse original CCTV footage of the suspect, known as “Man X”, who appeared at Putney Bridge underground station approximately twenty minutes after the Crimewatch presenter was killed.
The raw recordings are thought to be stored within 223 boxes of evidence held in police archives.
Advanced forensic imaging could help determine if Ulemek warrants formal suspect status.
PICTURED: The car of murdered TV Presenter Jill Dando being taken away to the Police Forensics Laboratory. Jill was shot dead by a gunman on the doorstep of her home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham
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Forensic video specialist Emi Polito examined the tie worn by Man X against a photograph of Ulemek wearing a navy striped tie with a distinctive pattern.
His analysis identified “moderate support” that both ties share the same design, noting matching dark tones within light stripes and comparable overall appearance.
Two witnesses previously identified Man X as someone they saw “running for his life” near the Fulham crime scene.
The 57-year-old former French Foreign Legion soldier is serving a 40-year sentence in Serbia for murdering ex-President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003.
HIGH-PROFILE CRIME – READ MORE:
Milorad Ulemek is serving a 40-year sentence in Serbia for murdering ex-President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003
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Known by his nickname “Legija”, Ulemek commanded the JSO paramilitary unit that conducted assassinations for Slobodan Milosevic’s regime.
His forces allegedly committed severe atrocities during the Balkan wars.
One witness told the Mirror she was “adamant” the running man she saw was identical to Ulemek, whilst another stated he was “80 per cent” certain the Serbian nearly collided with his van on the same road.
The 37-year-old broadcaster was shot dead outside her Fulham home on April 26, 1999, with a single bullet to her temple.
Barry George, a local resident with learning disabilities, had been wrongly jailed over the journalist’s death in 2001 but was acquitted in 2008 after a retrial.
The 37-year-old broadcaster was shot dead outside her Fulham home in April 1999
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Britain was bombing Serbia at the time, and within hours the BBC received a call claiming responsibility linked to Nato attacks.
Some 20 days before her death, Dando presented a BBC charity appeal for Kosovan refugees, referring to it as a “former Yugoslavian region” – terminology which angered Belgrade’s regime.
The Metropolitan Police obtained CCTV footage of Man X within two weeks but never released it publicly.
Investigators did not travel to Serbia during the original inquiry.
The force confirmed the case remains in an “inactive phase” but stressed that unsolved murders are never permanently closed.