Jill Dando detectives launch new probe into Crimewatch presenter's unsolved murder after CCTV breakthrough

Police have launched a fresh probe into the unsolved murder of Jill Dando following a CCTV breakthrough.

The BBC Crimewatch presenter, 37, was shot in the head on her doorstep in Fulham, west London, in April 1999 and her killer has never been found.

But the Metropolitan Police are now re-examining CCTV taken at Putney Bridge Tube station, a mile from her home, on the night of her murder,

It shows an unidentified man - known as Man X - walking along the assassin's likely escape route 20 minutes after the killing.

Cold-case officers are understood to have spent the past ten months finding and digitising the original footage.

Detectives hope clearer images could help establish who Man X was — and whether he was linked to the killing.

Jill Dando was murdered outside her London home (BBC/PA)

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A Met Police spokesperson said: “In the 27 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.

“Recent advancements in CCTV enhancement technology have provided investigators with the opportunity to re-examine original footage from Putney Bridge train station.

“This remains ongoing.”

Man X is believed to resemble Milorad Ulemek, 58, a Serbian assassin and paramilitary commander who is serving a 40-year jail term in Serbia for war crimes. He was named as a suspect by The Mirror in 2024 after a facial recognition expert identified his facial features from footage.

Ulemek led a unit involved in assassinations during the rule of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic.

A facial comparison expert previously identified similarities between Ulemek and Man X.

At the time Jill was shot, UK planes were bombing Serbia and she was one of the most famous faces on TV, presenting BBC shows such as Crimewatch and Holiday. Within hours of her murder, the BBC took a call claiming it was in response to a Nato attack on a Belgrade TV station.

It was also feared Jill may have been targeted for fronting a BBC charity appeal for Kosovan refugees 20 days before her death, the Mirror reported.

Jill was ambushed from behind as she was about to open her front door and killed instantly by a single bullet to her left temple.

Her killing was the subject of a Netflix documentary Who Killed Jill Dando? in 2023.

Barry George, now 66, was previously cleared of murdering the TV presenter.

George was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2000, a year after Ms Dando was killed.

He was convicted in 2001, but the conviction was quashed in November 2007 by the Court of Appeal and he was cleared by a jury in August 2008 after a retrial.