When Dixie was first arrested following a fight in Ye Olde Six Bells pub in Horley, officers said he was crying at the police station.

It puzzled them at first but when a DNA test linked him to the murder of Sally Anne two weeks later, it soon became clear why.

Detective Suptintendent Stuart Cundy said: "He had his mouth swab taken then and I think he knew then that it could all be over.

"He was in tears in the interview. I think he knew but then when after a couple of days there was no knock on the door he thought he had got away with it.

"People seem to think that DNA is instant but in fact a two-week turnaround was quick for us. He has got away with so much that I think he thought he had got away with this as well."

However, it was claimed this week that the case could have been solved within days if a vital piece of evidence about Dixie had been known.

The court heard that Dixie had been staying in Avondale Road the night Sally Anne was killed.

When officers were making door-to-door enquiries, Dixie's friends, who lived in Avondale Road, forgot he had been there that night and failed to tell police.

D Supt Cundy said: "That little piece of information on day five of this investigation could have helped this to have been solved within a week or so.

"But his friends had no reason to suspect him, they all described him as a really nice, normal guy."