Double murderer Christopher Halliwell 'may have killed others'

The police force that brought double murder Christopher Halliwell to justice has said he may have killed others.

The former taxi driver was jailed last week for the murder of 20-year-old Becky Godden who went missing in Swindon in January 2003.

He had already been serving time behind bars after being convicted four years ago for killing Sian O'Callaghan, 22, who disappeared in Swindon in March 2011.

At Bristol Crown Court last Friday, Halliwell was handed a rare life sentence - meaning he will never be released.

Wiltshire Police are now working with other forces and the National Crime Agency to identify further potential victims of Halliwell.

Officers' suspicions were raised after it was revealed the 52-year-old killer, formerly of Swindon, discussed strangulation and the definition of a serial killer with a fellow prisoner.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: "We recognise there is an eight year gap between the murders of Becky Godden in 2003 and Sian O'Callaghan in 2011.

"From the early stages in this complicated investigation, it was conceivable that there may have been further victims of Christopher Halliwell either prior to Becky's death or after it."

Meanwhile, ex-detective superintendent Steve Fulcher, who led the investigation into Ms O'Callaghan's disappearance, said there was "no question" that Halliwell had killed others, possibly six people.

Mr Fulcher said police investigating Halliwell were aware of missing chef Claudia Lawrence and Linda Razzell, who vanished in Swindon in 2002.

Mrs Razzell's husband, Glyn, is serving a life sentence for his wife's murder but claims he is innocent.

Mr Fulcher claimed Halliwell's father lived a few streets from where Ms Lawrence disappeared in York on 18 March, 2009. The chef has never been found.

The detective also linked Halliwell to the murder of Melanie Hall, 25, who disappeared in 1996 after leaving a nightclub in Bath, Somerset and whose remains were found near the M5 at Thornbury in 2009.

Ms Godden's mother Karen Edwards said she believed Halliwell could be linked to Ms Lawrence's disappearance as well as that of Ms Hall.

She said the date when Ms Lawrence went missing may be significant as it was almost exactly two years to the day before Halliwell abducted Ms O'Callaghan on 19 March 2011.

"I believe he has been up and down the country murdering young women," Mrs Edwards said.

She told The Mail on Sunday: "Serial killers are usually triggered by dates. That was the day that Halliwell broke up with one of his partners."