ITV true crime drama Until I Kill You, has viewers hooked with its fearless portrayal of a woman who survived a relationship with a serial killer - but what really happened to Delia Balmer and where is she now?
There is a persistent appetite for true crime dramas, and TV networks and streaming services listened and have no shortage of dramatisations and documentaries dedicated to real crimes. ITV's latest offering, Until I Kill You, showcases not only an astonishing performance from Anna Maxwell Martin as a woman suffering at the hands of her serial killer boyfriend, it's also fearless in its depiction of a clever woman grappling with the tactics of her abuser.
Dramatisations of real events have a way of infiltrating the psyche, leaving viewers eager for more details about the real people involved - ITV's recent series Joan, covering the life of an 80s jewel thief left those tuning in wondering what happened to Joan Hannington and whether Boisie Hannington was a real person. Fresh from watching Until I Kill You, viewers want to know what happened to Delia Balmer, and her current whereabouts - we reveal what we know.
Warning: This article contains references to sensitive subject matters, including violence against women.
What happened to Delia Balmer?
Delia Balmer was working as a nurse when she met serial killer, John Sweeney. The pair met in a Camden pub in 1991, and immediately hit it off with their shared love of travelling. They began a relationship and as Delia recounts in her memoir, Living With a Serial Killer, Sweeney was loving and affectionate in the early days of their romance, often buying her gifts.
Delia slowly began to realise Sweeney's behaviour was less loving, and more controlling and manipulative. By 1994 she was frightened for her own safety and attempted to leave him. She had the locks changed at her home, and found a bag hidden behind panel in her bathroom that she believed contained tools to dispose of a body, and that she was the target.
Despite Delia changing the locks and reporting her fears and finding to the police, she still did not feel safe in her home. Her worst fears about her abusive ex were confirmed when he later broke into her house and held her hostage for four days. During her ordeal, Delia was tied to her bed and threatened by Sweeney with a gun and he confessed to the murder of his former girlfriend, 33-year-old Melissa Halstead, along with two other men in Amsterdam - Melissa's remains had been discovered in a Rotterdam canal in 1990 but the perpetrator not identified.
When Sweeney left her alone in her flat, Delia seized the opportunity to escape, and was able to report the ordeal to police. Despite everything about him she was able to reveal, Sweeney was arrested but then released on bail. One day following his release, Sweeney went to straight to Delia's flat, where he attacked her with an axe when she returned home. During the attack he managed to cut off one of her fingers, and she was rescued by a neighbour who heard her screams and hit Sweeney with a bat.
Sweeney then went on the run and wasn't arrested until 2001. Following the subsequent trial, he was jailed for the attempted murder of Delia, and being in possession of weapons while on the run. In 2010 he was charged with the murder of Melissa Halstead, and he'd also murdered 31-year-old Paula Fields while on the run - her body had been recovered from Regent’s Canal near Camden in 2001.
Where is Delia Balmer now?
Delia Balmer now works as a therapeutic masseuse, and has maintained her passion for travelling - referring to this as her only escape from reality. She also said in a statement to ITV that ballet lessons have become a very important part of her life. However, her life remains, unsurprisingly, blighted by the ordeal she suffered.
Delia said, "I am a perfectionist but my life is opposite of perfect. I often suffer from depression and anxiety, afraid of life and afraid of the future, a compulsive worrier. When I look in the mirror I see a stranger. Certain physical pain, I will have for life. I am stuck. I cannot move on, and cannot go further. Fear holds me back from doing certain things."
She added, "I live for travel, but it is has also become almost my only escape from reality. Ballet classes have always been an important part of my life. I received 20 sessions from a clinical psychologist at a PTSD clinic. I refused to accept what was allowed to happen to me, and which was never acknowledged. My extreme anger remains."
Delia also describes how her memoir was edited, and lots of information she had wanted to include was omitted. Because of this, meeting with the series writer, Nick Stevens, was important to her - she wanted to encourage him to add some of the important details that didn't make it to the memoir.
She said, "I gave him detailed critiques of the drafts he had written. He followed my wishes and made certain changes where possible, and as I had suggested. Nick is very nice, and in his own words says he is trying to help me."
Delia concluded, "When I wrote my original story, I included every detail of what happened. When it came to the final attack on the doorstep, I edited it over and over again, wanting everything to read precisely as it had happened. My concern has always been to get the truth out by whatever means. I remain an angry person. Sweeney was let out on bail. The police gave me insufficient protection before his final assault. Later, I was forced to go to court to be further traumatised by the system."
