Police have shelved an investigation into more suspected murders by sex killer Christopher Halliwell.
A cold case probe had been opened into fears the taxi driver was linked to up to a dozen victims.
They included chef Claudia Lawrence who vanished 13 years ago this week.
But the investigation has been stopped by Wiltshire Police, which has battled a series of budget cuts.
The ex-detective superintendent who investigated Halliwell called the move “shocking”. Steve Fulcher said: “Halliwell murdered other people without any shadow of a doubt.
“It’s incumbent on a police force to pursue an investigation into a known murderer and serial killer using the material that I gathered back in the day.
“That includes 60 items of women’s underwear as part of a trophy collection.”
His anger was echoed by missing Claudia’s mum Joan, from Malton, North Yorks.
She said: “I’m horrified, absolutely devastated. It is well known Halliwell is thought to be connected to so many more cases; to close the investigation is appalling.”
Halliwell, 58, is serving life for killing sex worker Becky Godden-Edwards, 20, and office worker Sian O’Callaghan, 22, who he abducted in Swindon.
In 2019 we revealed the existence of a cold-case review – codenamed Operation Major. But last night the force confirmed: “Wiltshire Police are not currently investigating any offences alleged to have been committed by Halliwell. Operation Major is not a live investigation.”
Mr Fulcher – portrayed by Martin Freeman in an ITV drama about the case – fears Halliwell could be one of Britain’s worst serial killers.
The cabbie was convicted of Sian’s murder in 2012 and jailed for life. He sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed her in a forest after she got into his taxi outside a nightclub.
During his arrest, Halliwell also told Mr Fulcher, now 55, about an earlier killing he had carried out and offered to show him the body.
His admission took police to the remains of Becky, who had disappeared from the same town in 2003. The head, hands and feet were never recovered and her mother Karen believes the monster kept them as trophies.
Halliwell was sent down for her murder in 2016, when a judge described him as “both calculating and devious”.
But, between confession and conviction, Fulcher quit the police after a court ruled his actions during the arrest were wrong.
It was decided that the detective had broken rules by failing to caution Halliwell.
In 2019 Wiltshire allocated just £40,000 to Operation Major.
It was led by Det Supt Jeremy Carter. The force refused to say if they have made any arrests or taken a single statement.
