Sally's killer may be linked to other murders

Police across Britain are to launch a trawl of unsolved murders to see if they were committed by student Sally Geeson's killer.

Detectives are to investigate if David Atkinson, the 31-year-old soldier who committed suicide after killing the twin, is linked to other crimes.

A forensics expert today warned it was "almost certain" he had struck before. Ian Stephens said: "It is highly likely there will be other [similar] crimes committed by Atkinson over the years leading up to the murder of Sally."

The Royal Engineer's DNA is to be used to review crimes going back at least 10 years in areas where he served, including Germany.

Detective Superintendent Willie Johnston of Strathclyde Police said: "We need to look at missing person reports and outstanding crimes." During his Army career Atkinson was posted to Germany where he faced a court martial in 1997 for the abduction of an 18-year-old Polish woman. He was convicted of false imprisonment, spent eight months in an Army jail and was fined ?1,000.

Two years later Atkinson, a black belt in karate, was fined ?150 for stoning a swan so badly it had to be put down. Cruelty to animals is seen by psychologists as an indication that someone is at risk of becoming a killer.

Atkinson set his room at Waterbeach Barracks, near Cambridge, alight at 10am on New Year's Day - only hours after the 22-year-old twin was killed.

The results of tests expected today will prove that Atkinson did murder Miss Geeson.