HHJ Lucraft KC imposed a whole-life order on Simon Levy at the Central Criminal Court.
Simon Levy sentencing has resulted in a whole-life order being imposed at the Central Criminal Court, with HHJ Lucraft KC setting out the seriousness of the offending in sentencing remarks delivered at the Old Bailey.
The Judiciary published the sentencing remarks on 12 August 2026. The document records that the hearing took place at the Central Criminal Court and identifies HHJ Lucraft KC as the judge.
Levy was convicted of offences involving three women. Two of the women, Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins, were killed. A third woman survived an attack in which Levy raped her and strangled her until she became unconscious.
The sentencing remarks considered the circumstances of the offending and the evidence before the court. HHJ Lucraft KC said Levy had ruthlessly exploited and taken advantage of the three women for his own personal sexual satisfaction.
The judge also considered evidence recovered from Levy’s phone and computers. The material was relevant to the court’s assessment of his interests and the nature of the offending.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths of Valencia-Trujillo and Wilkins were also addressed. HHJ Lucraft KC noted similarities between the two killings, including the position in which the women were found.
In relation to Wilkins, the sentencing remarks recorded that she was murdered shortly before her 40th birthday and had 83 injuries or marks. The judge also considered the circumstances of the attack on the surviving victim, including the fact that she was rendered unconscious.
The central sentencing issue for practitioners is the court’s assessment of the aggravating and mitigating features. HHJ Lucraft KC concluded that the aggravating features significantly outweighed the mitigating features.
The judge rejected the suggestion that the case was borderline and imposed a whole-life order.
A whole-life order means that the court determined the seriousness of the offending justified the most severe form of life sentence available within the sentencing framework considered by the court. The sentencing remarks therefore provide a clear indication of how the court assessed the cumulative seriousness of the offences and the circumstances in which they were committed.
The court also recognised the position of the victims and their families. HHJ Lucraft KC referred to the courage shown by the surviving victim in coming to court and giving evidence. The judge also acknowledged the families of Valencia-Trujillo and Wilkins.
For solicitors dealing with serious criminal cases, the key point from the judgment is the importance of the court’s overall assessment of aggravating features when determining the appropriate sentence. In this case, the judge’s conclusion that the aggravating features significantly outweighed the mitigating features was central to the decision to impose a whole-life order.
The sentencing remarks also demonstrate the importance of the factual circumstances surrounding individual offences when the court considers the overall seriousness of offending. The judge considered the circumstances of the two killings, the attack on the surviving victim, the similarities between the killings and the evidence concerning Levy’s conduct and interests.
The Judiciary’s published document is titled R -v- Simon Levy and is recorded as sentencing remarks of HHJ Lucraft KC at the Central Criminal Court. It was published on 12 August 2026.
The sentencing decision marks the conclusion of the sentencing stage in the proceedings and records the court’s determination that a whole-life order was appropriate in light of the aggravating and mitigating features identified in the case.