The sick killer of model Sally Anne Bowman looks set to die in jail after he was refused leave to appeal.

Mark Dixie, 37, is serving a minimum 34 years for stabbing 18-year-old Sally Anne and raping her corpse in Blenheim Crescent, South Croydon.

He tried to get his murder conviction overturned but the bid was thrown out at the Appeal Court.

Dixie will be 71 before he can even apply for parole - but there is no guarantee he'll get it.

Last night Sally Anne's mum Linda, 46, was delighted by the news.

She said: "I hope that bastard dies in jail for all the awful things he did to Sally Anne.

She added: "He's a coward who has been skulking in the hospital unit at Belmarsh Prison so other inmates don't hurt him.

"The governor must immediately transfer him to one of the main wings."

Serial sex predator Dixie wanted to use legal aid to claim a jury at his murder trial should never have been told about his attempt to rape a Jehovah's Witness 20 years ago.

His lawyers were to argue it prejudiced his case and was so old it should not have been mentioned.

The middle-aged Jehovah's Witness told the Old Bailey trial how Dixie, then 17, cornered her in a lift, punched her in the face, grabbed her throat and threatened to kill her.

A Judicial Communications Office spokesman said yesterday: "Mark Dixie's leave to appeal was refused by a single judge on July 11."