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Sexual predator: Mark Dixie

As I stared at Dixie inside court number nine at the Old Bailey, I found it hard to believe the monster sat in the dock was the same man who had cooked me lunch a little over six years ago.

A colleague and I had been invited to the Earl of Eldon in November 2001 to sample its new menu for a pub review.

The then owners of the South Croydon pub were keen to showcase the talents of their newly-appointed chef, Mark Dixie.

Of course, at that time, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Dixie - he was polite, friendly and eager to impress with his culinary skills.

He repeatedly checked that we were enjoying our lunch and I remember being quite struck with his confidence and professionalism.

So it's chilling to think that, when I met him in 2001, Dixie was already a habituated and dangerous sexual predator.

Someone whose lust for savagery was so intense it led him to carry out his unspeakably depraved attack on Sally Anne Bowman less than four years later.

But back then, a cheerful and charming Dixie sat and ate with us while he was interviewed.

Killer: Mark Dixie

He casually spoke of his travels around the world, his passion for cooking and, at one point, lovingly referred to his collection of chef's knives as the tools of his trade' - a seemingly innocent reference at the time but which now takes on a far more sinister connotation.

I would have thought someone with Dixie's criminal record would have wanted to keep a low profile.

But no - he happily posed for the Croydon Guardian's photographer who returned on a later date to take pictures for the pub review.

Looking at that image now, it's quite incredible to think Dixie has been able to maintain the illusion of a normal human being to mask his penchant for sickening sexual violence.

What he did to Sally Anne is simply beyond the realms of comprehension for the vast majority of society.

The only blessing was that her death was almost immediate after that first fatal stab wound to her neck.

Judging by the wide circle of friends he had, Dixie clearly had a remarkable ability to fool those around him. To have kept that twisted side of him so well-hidden is surely evidence of an incredibly devious and calculated individual.

How many of those close to Dixie - including his old colleagues, his own family and the two women who bore his children - could have ever imagined he was capable of such evil?

3:04pm Friday 22nd February 2008

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