Killed: Marsha McDonnell

The similarities in the attacks on five women, which saw two of them killed, point to the work of one man, the Old Bailey heard.

Summing up the prosecution's evidence in the trial of Levi Bellfield prosecutor Brian Altman told the jury the former bouncer displayed a pattern of behaviour before and after the attacks.

However, defence counsel William Boyce, described the prosecution's case as a "desperate squeeze" to find similarities between the crimes and accused it of "cherry picking" information to support the theory that all the attacks were carried out by one man.

Bellfield, 39, of West Drayton, denies murdering gap year student Marsha McDonnell in Hampton in 2003 and Amelie Delagrange on Twickenham Green in 2004.

He also denies charges of kidnap and false imprisonment and two attempted murders.

In Mr Boyce's summing up he said: "A lot of this desperate squeeze is self fulfilling. The police investigators have chosen the offences and chosen what to put in their theory."

He said there was no material to show how it was decided these five cases were linked to one man.

"It is cutting and pasting with no regard for consistency and no regard for accuracy - trying to fit the squeeze," Mr Boyce said.

However, Mr Altman told the jury: "It is the identical behaviour in each of these cases which says to you this is one man operating a system doing the same thing time and again."

He said in all the attacks the offender emerged from or returned to a type of vehicle which Bellfield was linked with at the time.

"Is that just plain bad luck, coincidence, chance or is it evidence that the same man is committing similar crimes," said Mr Altman.

But Mr Boyce said there were inconsistencies from witnesses surrounding the descriptions of vehicles used in the attacks.

Mr Altman also said all the offences took place at bus stops or after the victims had got off buses, in an area Bellfield was familiar with.

But Mr Boyce inferred this was coincidental as there were many bus stops in west London and claimed the trial could be just as easily referred to as the lampost case' as all the women would have been near lamposts when attacked.

Mr Altman also drew similarities between the appearance and age of the women. He said: "The victims were young, alone, vulnerable, and extremely soft targets.

"They were all of a type."

The trial continues.

11:56am Tuesday 5th February 2008

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