Brighton: Police apology over 1986 schoolgirls murder case

The families of two schoolgirls murdered in 1986 have received an apology from Sussex Police over mistakes in its investigations.

Russell Bishop killed nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in a woodland den in Brighton in 1986.

In 1987, he was cleared of their murders, but went on to kidnap another girl, leaving her for dead.

Bishop was convicted of the murders in 2018 after double-jeopardy laws were changed, permitting a second trial.

The girls’ families said in a joint statement that there were “still more answers to be sought” in relation to the mistakes in the 1980s, but they welcomed the apology.

“It will help with our reconciliation of aspects that we had never fully understood, things that we always suspected but had never been addressed.”

The families are now in the early stages of pursuing a complaint against the Crown Prosecution Service over the 1987 trial.

Following the case, the girls’ families complained to Sussex Police, prompting a review to be commissioned by Jo Shiner, then the force’s deputy chief constable.

The independent review, by Surrey Police, has pinpointed failings in the 1986 criminal investigation, which became known as the “Babes in the Wood” case.

In addition, Nicola’s father Barrie should not have been arrested as part of a linked inquiry in 2009, Surrey Police found.

Sussex Police said Ms Shiner, now Chief Constable, had separately met with both families to formally apologise.

Ms Shiner said: “Throughout the years, the families have continued to engage constructively with Sussex Police and I pay tribute to their strength, their determination and their dignity.

“When I was deputy chief constable I made a commitment to ensure that all their outstanding complaints were answered, and that Sussex Police would take full responsibility for any past mistakes no matter the passage of time.

“It is clear that, despite the successful prosecution in 2018, mistakes were made in those earlier investigations in 1986 and 2009.”

“This two-fold apology from Sussex Police is very much welcomed,” the families said.

Details of the review, including the failings, have not been released at the request of the families, Sussex Police said.

Assistant Chief Constable Tanya Jones also said the force was unable to discuss financial compensation to the families.

Karen and Nicola went missing from their homes after they had gone out to play on 9 October 1986.

They were found in Wild Park the next day, lying together in a woodland den as if they were sleeping.

Bishop was among the first on the scene when they were found and protested his innocence throughout the police investigation and during his first trial.

He was cleared of their murders following a trial in 1987.

The star prosecution witness – Bishop’s partner and mother of his children, Jennie Johnson – had retracted her earlier claim that a blue sweatshirt found close to the murder scene belonged to Bishop. The jumper, with the word “Pinto” written on it, was a crucial piece of evidence.

Three years after his acquittal, on 4 February 1990, Bishop snatched a seven-year-old girl off the street, bundled her into the boot of his car and drove 14 miles to Devil’s Dyke, a well-known beauty spot outside Brighton.

There, he sexually assaulted and tried to strangle her before leaving her unconscious.

The girl survived and managed to identify Bishop as her attacker, who was jailed for life.

It wasn’t until advances in DNA testing that forensic scientist retested the blue sweatshirt in 2014, finding DNA evidence linking it to Bishop’s home and Karen and Nicola.

A previously unexamined sample taken from Karen’s forearm uncovered a “one-in-a-billion DNA match to Bishop”, and the case was taken to the Court of Appeal.

Laws about retrying suspects for the same offence had changed, meaning Bishop’s acquittal could be quashed and he was re-arrested in 2016.

He was found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 36 years in prison.

As he sentenced him, Mr Justice Sweeney said he had “no doubt” Bishop was a “predatory paedophile” who had lured the two girls into the woods.

The families said: “The part that Sussex Police had to play in the initial miscarriages of justice has now been answered and we appreciate the open and authentic way our apologies have been delivered.”

Their statement continued: “We know that lessons have been and will continue to be learned.

“We are immensely proud that Nicola and Karen have left a legacy of such change throughout so many decades.”

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