Murder accused ‘had joked about killing schoolgirl’

Levi Bellfield’s former partner Emma Mills said that when she asked what he had been doing that day, he said: “What, do you think I’ve done Milly?”

Miss Mills earlier told the Old Bailey that Bellfield had “disappeared” on the day Milly went missing, and she could not get through to his phone.

She was asked by prosecutor Brian Altman QC if they had ever talked about the 13-year-old, who went missing after leaving Walton-on-Thames station in Surrey.

Miss Mills, 33, said: “Yes we did, because it was so local, as anyone would.”

She said they spoke about it a week later while decorating.

“I was asking him again about the Thursday he’d gone off, because I thought he was with another woman. I was just painting.

“He said ‘Oh, why do you keep going on? What, do you think I’ve done Milly?

“I didn’t ask him. It’s just so awful.

“I was so used to him making horrible remarks and jokes about things. I just thought, it’s disgusting, not even funny.”

Mr Altman said: “Had you said anything to provoke such a remark?”

She replied: “No I was just asking him what he was doing on the Thursday.”

Bellfield, 43, denies abducting and murdering Milly and attempting to kidnap 11-year-old Rachel Cowles in March 2002.

Milly disappeared “in the blink of an eye” after leaving Walton-on-Thames station to walk home.

The prosecution claims Bellfield was living yards away and murdered Milly in his flat before dumping the body.

Bellfield, a former wheelclamper and bouncer, was convicted in 2008 of the murders of Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18.

It is alleged that Bellfield took Milly into the flat and murdered her, returning in the early hours to dispose of the body and clean up.

On the day Milly vanished, Miss Mills, Bellfield and their two children were staying at a friend’s house in west London.

Miss Mills said she had been ringing Bellfield all day but he had his mobile phone switched off.

Miss Mills said: “He disappeared. His mobile was off. I was trying to get in touch with him because I didn’t have any money and I needed to get some bits from the shop. Normally he would ring me or I would ring him, on and off during the day, to see what I was doing.

“He didn’t ring me at all until later on. I didn’t see him past lunchtime.”

She said it was unusual for her not to be in contact with Bellfield who was not working during the day at the time.

The trial continues.