1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,279 When a murder is left unsolved... 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:08,079 No weapons, no eyewitnesses, no forensic evidence at all. 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,720 There was nothing. ..And a killer is on the loose... 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,600 These people are still out there. Who's going to be next? 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,159 ..Britain's cold case detectives will never give up. 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,719 The best way to solve a cold case is to keep it warm. 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,879 No matter how long it takes... This case dominated my life. 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,919 ..They'll investigate every angle and uncover every clue... 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,079 Searching through thousands of people. 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,159 They think they've got away with it, they haven't. 11 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,799 ..Until the killer is caught at last. We all leave a trace. 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,440 We'd finally identified that golden nugget. Bingo, we've got it! 13 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,199 Ok, thank you. All right. 14 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,960 It was the 9th of October, 1986, in moulsecoomb, Brighton... 15 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,599 ..When two nine-year-old girls, Karen hadaway and Nicola fellows, 16 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,480 vanished into thin air after out playing with friends. 17 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,439 They went off and played on their own but, as it got later 18 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,719 and darker, their parents started to worry about them and wonder where 19 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,240 they were and ultimately decided, no, they needed to call the police. 20 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,839 Nicola's dad, Barrie fellows, 21 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,040 immediately new how serious this was. 22 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,039 She was very prompt with Thursday nights - 23 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,079 top of the pops, EastEnders, would not miss them for anything, 24 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,520 you know, even if she was along her friends', she would not miss them. 25 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:03,319 Cheeky, naughty, just a nine-year-old, wasn't she? 26 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,239 Innocent, still believed in father Christmas, loved her mate, 27 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,919 Karen, along the road, inseparable. 28 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:12,880 They were good kids as well - they'd look out for each other. 29 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,999 This was a case of two children who'd disappeared from plain sight. 30 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,199 It was just too horrific for words. 31 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,599 Everyone was desperate to find these children. 32 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,679 Detective Graham bartlett's team wasted no time 33 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,479 and began a massive search for the two girls. 34 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,759 You had lots of police officers coming in from neighbouring 35 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:35,999 divisions as well as Brighton itself. 36 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,119 Police in Brighton have begun a widespread search for two 37 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,839 small girls who disappeared outside a sweet shop in moulsecoomb. 38 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,959 Uniformed police constable Paul Smith was 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,719 drafted in by Graham's team to help run the search on the ground. 40 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,999 We were doing house-to-house enquiries on the day that 41 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:57,400 the girls had disappeared. 42 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,239 Karen? Nicola? 43 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,479 And there were a lot of people searching. 44 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,399 Mums and dads who knew the girls - they were all up there with 45 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,799 families, searching up the back woods and that. 46 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,919 Moulsecoomb was one of the big council estates that 47 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,079 attracted a lot of policing, but underlying all that was this 48 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,439 strong sense of community - people felt they belonged in moulsecoomb. 49 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:22,719 Come on, then! 50 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,279 The community was desperate to help. 51 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,999 Barbara castleton was a friend and neighbour. 52 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,559 Come on, then! They were quite popular kids. 53 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,039 They were always together. Knew them quite well. 54 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:38,119 They'd always wave, "hello!" And you'd say, "all right, girls?" 55 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:40,559 "Yep," and off they'd go. 56 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,559 Obviously, I asked my children, had they seen them anywhere? 57 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:50,119 And my daughter said she'd seen them over by coldean chip shop earlier. 58 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,359 There was a real sense of urgency 59 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:57,159 and activity amongst the community - they were worried. 60 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,519 This was out of the ordinary. 61 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,359 Every second counted in the desperate search but, 62 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,680 as night fell, there was still no sign of the girls. 63 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,400 The following morning, the search was intensified. 64 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,999 Constable Paul Smith led a team of police officers 65 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,919 and members of the public searching woodland in wild park, 66 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,160 close to the estate where the girls lived. 67 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,359 There's a sudden shout, one of these lads appears and says, 68 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:28,679 "we found them, we found them!" 69 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,679 So I went crashing up through the undergrowth 70 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,239 and, as I got to the top, there's a path goes across. 71 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,639 I got there, went over to the girls, 72 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,119 and they were lying as if they were sunbathing. 73 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,639 I took their pulse, and they were absolutely stone-cold, 74 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,000 like marble, and they were obviously dead. 75 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,959 The bodies of the two young girls missing 76 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,360 since yesterday evening have been found. 77 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,479 Neither anybody went anywhere near or touched them. 78 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,279 I think I was probably in shock a bit. 79 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,640 It's not a nice thing to find two dead children. 80 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:05,239 I had nightmares of finding the girls, 81 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,759 and one of the nightmares was going down to take their pulse 82 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,919 and Nicky fellows looked at me and said, "please help us." 83 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:14,440 And that really was horrible. 84 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,800 The girls' bodies were found in a wooden den. 85 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,199 Detectives now cordoned off the site 86 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,960 and broke the tragic news to the children's parents. 87 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,199 Three policeman walked in - I'll remember it for my life. 88 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,479 A little man in the middle said, "mr fellows, I'm afraid I've got to..." 89 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,759 Didn't let him finish. 90 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,880 I went absolutely ape. I was just uncontrollable. 91 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,399 And it was down to Barrie to identify 92 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:46,240 his own daughter's dead body. 93 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,800 She was in the corner on this trolley. 94 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:58,120 And I walked across and said, "can I touch her?" And they said, "no." 95 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,800 That hurt, that I couldn't touch my own little girl. 96 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:13,200 Even today, it still gets me. She was my life. She's my only daughter. 97 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,079 Forensic investigators quickly established the shocking 98 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,159 details of how the girls had died. 99 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,199 The postmortems were carried out the night that the girls were found, 100 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,399 and both revealed that the girls had been physically assaulted, 101 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,120 sexually assaulted and strangled, which led to their death. 102 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,679 It was quite clear that this was a brutal, 103 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,520 sadistic killer that had brought these girls' life to an end. 104 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,559 The children - they were just left for the police to find 105 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,399 so, already, they'll be building up a picture that this is a perpetrator 106 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:56,479 that was driven by a sexual motivation who didn't plan enough to 107 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:02,039 conceal the bodies and therefore they're looking at somebody 108 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,359 who is driven by an impulse to offend. 109 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,719 They would determine that it's very likely that this offender 110 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,760 would offend again. 111 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,999 In 1986, frank le duc was a reporter. 112 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,879 He followed every step of the case. 113 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,679 The death of a child in Brighton 114 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,239 and hove in this sort of way is almost unheard of. 115 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,759 It's the only double murder of children that I can think of. 116 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:34,079 There was concern all the time the killer was at large - 117 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,199 streets that seemed safe, parks that seemed safe, parents were 118 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,400 worried and I think began to keep their kids on a shorter leash. 119 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,639 While the community struggled to come to terms with the shocking 120 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:52,840 news, the investigation quickly entered a dramatic new phase. 121 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,239 So, by now, this was a full-blown double murder investigation, 122 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,999 the like of which Sussex police had not seen before. 123 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,719 Officers were being drafted in from all over the county to 124 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,759 work on this to try and catch the killer before they could kill again. 125 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,399 With a hunch that the killer could be local, 126 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,439 Graham's team brought in inspector John rodway to lead a massive 127 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,079 operation to canvass members of the public around the moulsecoomb area. 128 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,359 This was far, far bigger than anything I'd ever done before. 129 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,799 At that time, I was a father of a seven-year-old, 130 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,199 and I was shocked at what had happened. 131 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:33,239 As a police officer, 132 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,440 I was determined to find out what happened and who was responsible. 133 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,119 I required in excess of 200 police officers to start this enquiry. 134 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,959 The role of the officers in the house-to-house was to find out 135 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,519 who was there on the day of the murders and on the day after. 136 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,839 We set up a system of road checks. 137 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,119 If you can imagine groups of 20 police officers standing on the 138 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,239 side of the road with clipboards, 20-40 cars would come through. 139 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,359 We interviewed over 2,000 people. 140 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,399 Incredibly, within just days of the murders, 141 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,000 the massive search had identified a suspect. 142 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,080 His name stunned everyone. 143 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:24,439 October 1986 - the bodies of two nine-year-old girls were 144 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:26,640 found in the moulsecoomb area of Brighton. 145 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,719 Now DC Graham bartlett's team was running one of the biggest 146 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,920 murder investigations in the history of Sussex police. 147 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:40,719 But little did they know that a suspect was lurking in their midst. 148 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:44,759 His name - Russell bishop. I used to play football with him. 149 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,400 I was in dismay. I thought, "why? It can't be him! 150 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,840 "What makes you think it's him?" Couldn't grasp it. 151 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,599 Russell bishop knew the families of the two girls 152 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:02,199 and the girls themselves. 153 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,079 He played darts in the local pub where the families would 154 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,440 go as well, which was part of their social life. 155 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,239 Russell bishop had been interviewed because he'd actually seen them 156 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,599 in the park with the park keeper, bumped into them. 157 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,760 He'd said some strange things to Paul Smith. 158 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,919 PC Paul Smith was the officer who had found 159 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,359 the bodies of the two young girls. 160 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:28,519 One of the members of the public helping him 161 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,079 in the search was 20-year-old Russell bishop - 162 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,959 a father of three and well known in the neighbourhood. 163 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,519 I used to smoke a pipe then, so I thought, I'll have a quick smoke. 164 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,039 So I lit my pipe and a voice behind said, "oi! What are you doing?" 165 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:44,839 And I thought it was the superintendent, 166 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,319 and I turned round - it was Russell bishop. 167 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,999 I said to bishop, you know, "are you going to carry on searching?" 168 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,719 He said, "if they're dead and I find them, I'll get nicked, won't I?" 169 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,719 I said, "what do you mean, you'll get nicked?" He said, "well, I've got a criminal record, you know. 170 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,399 "I'm sure the police will think it's me." 171 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,559 But when he said that, at the time, cos I was on like police mode, 172 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,279 I thought, hm, strange, it's a bit off, isn't it? 173 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,199 A bit weird. 174 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,359 When the bodies were actually discovered, 175 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,639 bishop had run into the woods ahead of PC Smith but, when police took 176 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:19,359 his statement, his account differed from the experienced constable's. 177 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,999 So, in his statement, bishop said that he touched the girls 178 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,120 or took their pulse - that's a complete lie. 179 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:27,799 All the time I was there, 180 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:32,239 neither he nor anybody touched the bodies or took their pulse, 181 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,679 and I stayed with the girls until the scenes of crime guys came, 182 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:42,399 and then I left. He was never there longer than a couple of seconds. 183 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,079 When challenged later, 184 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,679 bishop changed his account to say he never touch the bodies. 185 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:50,879 Graham's team were left deeply suspicious. 186 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:52,879 So, by the 31st of October, 187 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,239 the concerns about bishop's general 188 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:00,079 behaviour around the time that the girls went missing and the 189 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,120 bodies were found - the decision was taken to arrest him. 190 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,559 He was very detached about it, considering that he knew 191 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,239 the fellows family really well, and he must have known the hadaways. 192 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,319 He didn't seem to be that bothered, you know, he wasn't agitated, 193 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:18,079 he didn't look like he was going to cry or he was upset in any way, 194 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:19,360 but I took that to be shock. 195 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,759 It was a shock when his name was put up. 196 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,319 I was good friends with his mum, with Sylvia, 197 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,239 and I just knew him as Sylvia's son. 198 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,919 From what I knew of him, he'd always been quite a quiet lad, 199 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,640 and you sort of think, no, it couldn't be him. 200 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,479 So far, all Graham's team had against their only suspect 201 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,159 was intuition and no hard evidence. 202 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,679 So bishop was interviewed for a number of hours 203 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:54,719 and continued to keep changing his story about whether or not 204 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,479 he did go to the girls to then change his story to 205 00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:58,840 the fact that he did go to them. 206 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,079 Bishop was seen before the girls disappeared, 207 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,879 talking to the park keeper and the girls, that he'd 208 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,000 bumped into them in wild park, and was wearing a light blue top. 209 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,279 A blue sweatshirt had been found by a member of the public 210 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,759 near moulsecoomb train station, close to wild park, 211 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,080 where the girls were found. 212 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,999 Graham's team now asked whether this sweatshirt could be bishop's. 213 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,919 Police went to Russell bishop's house to see his girlfriend, 214 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,079 Jenny Johnson, and took the sweatshirt with them, 215 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,399 and the first thing that she said when they walked in the door was, 216 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,359 "oh, you brought Russell's sweatshirt back." 217 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,079 They took a witness statement from her to say that it was 218 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:43,880 Russell's sweatshirt. 219 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,839 This might place bishop near the crime scene, but that was all. 220 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,839 It did not connect him to the actual crime, 221 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:57,159 so Graham's team of detectives requested a forensic comparison 222 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,559 between bishop's sweatshirt and the girls' bodies. 223 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:02,719 Tapings were taken from the girls, 224 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,959 so that's sellotape effectively being applied to the skin to 225 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,359 then recover anything that might be loose on there, 226 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,720 be that fibres, hair, anything like that, and then that's then examined. 227 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,919 While detectives awaited the results of the forensic analysis, 228 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,119 they had no option but to release bishop on bail. 229 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:29,239 And the first thing he'd done was come home and knocked on my door, 230 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,880 and his first words out of his mouth was, "I didn't top the kids." 231 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:40,080 And I thought, whoa! Not, Barrie, how are ya? 232 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,760 Not, I didn't kill your children. "I didn't top the kids." 233 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,039 Bishop's behaviour may have been suspicious, 234 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,839 but they still had little hard evidence against him. 235 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,679 Then the results of the forensic investigation into 236 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,519 the blue sweatshirt came back. 237 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,919 There were fibres matching the girls' clothes 238 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:08,279 on the pinto sweatshirt, there was traces of foliage on 239 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,319 the sweatshirt that related to the scene where the girls were found. 240 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:13,519 There was hope. 241 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,839 This meant that the killer had almost certainly been wearing 242 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,000 a blue top at the scene of the crime. 243 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,039 If the top was indeed bishop's, 244 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,639 detectives felt they had a watertight case against him. 245 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,039 The police were confident, as were the crown prosecution service, 246 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,199 that they had sufficient evidence to convict bishop and the forensic 247 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:38,199 evidence that was built around the sweatshirt, the girls' clothing 248 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,720 and the scene of the murder pointing towards bishop being the killer. 249 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,359 The family were obviously still grieving horrendously 250 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,279 for the loss of their child. 251 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,879 There was a satisfaction that the police had apparently found 252 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,479 who'd killed their little girls, 253 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,280 but a horror that it was somebody they knew. 254 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,799 Bishop was charged with both murders 255 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:06,679 and tried at lewes crown court, November 1987, in a four-week trial. 256 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,479 Russell bishop denied killing Karen hadaway and Nicola fellows. 257 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:11,519 There would be no-one 258 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,319 who worked in Sussex police around that time that didn't only 259 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:19,839 know about the case but was also intimately following the case. 260 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:21,879 It gripped everybody. 261 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:26,119 Despite Graham's team's confidence in their case against bishop, 262 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,959 what was about to unfold in the court room rocked 263 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,399 the investigation to its core. 264 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:38,039 The prosecution itself wasn't perhaps the best presented case 265 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,800 there's ever been, and there was a great deal of tension. 266 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,959 The forensic scientist, when he was called to give evidence, ended up in 267 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,999 a spat with the defence solicitor in terms of his methods, his recording, 268 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,799 why he didn't examine certain things and focused on others. 269 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,159 It got to the stage where 270 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,919 the scientist pulled out a notebook and started writing down what 271 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,399 he was being accused of whilst he was in the witness box. 272 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:04,800 I'd never seen that before. 273 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:09,319 Constable Paul Smith was also in court, 274 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,599 fully prepared to give evidence about bishop's 275 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,200 behaviour during the search for the girls' bodies. 276 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,360 He was equally astounded by the court proceedings. 277 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:24,239 When we went to trial, the prosecuting barrister - 278 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,479 I was waiting for him to initiate the conversation where bishop 279 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,399 had said to me on the path, "if we find them 280 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,760 "and they're dead, I'm going to get nicked," and he didn't. 281 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,359 I was quite surprised, really. 282 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:41,120 There were more surprises to come. 283 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,319 The prosecution's key witness was bishop's 284 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:47,080 girlfriend, Jenny Johnson. 285 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,999 Her evidence that he owned the blue sweatshirt was what linked 286 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,079 bishop to the crime scene and the crime. 287 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:59,799 The trial of Russell bishop at lewes crown court in 1987 was 288 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,159 astonishing in many ways. 289 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,239 One of the key prosecution witnesses, his common-law wife, 290 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,159 Jenny Johnson, became what's termed a hostile witness. 291 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,919 Her testimony in the witness box shocked everyone. 292 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,520 She changed her story in the most dramatic fashion. 293 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,119 She stuck to the story that that sweatshirt, 294 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:22,359 the pinto sweatshirt, wasn't bishop's. 295 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:24,879 She said that the police had made her sign the statement, 296 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,719 hadn't let her read the statement 297 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,960 and that she'd never seen the jumper before. 298 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:33,359 Without proof that it was bishop's, the forensic 299 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:36,880 link between the sweatshirt and the girls' bodies was meaningless. 300 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:40,840 But worse was yet to come. 301 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,999 There was another weak point in the prosecution's case which 302 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,519 the defence now began to exploit. 303 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:53,439 The prosecution wedded themselves to a time of death 304 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,839 for the girls, and that time was 6:30 on the night. 305 00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,559 Now, the reason that they did that was 306 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,520 because bishop was seen to leave the park at 6:30. 307 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,039 Crucially, a defence witness claimed to have seen the girls still alive, 308 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:14,040 eating chips near wild park, 15 minutes later at 6.45. 309 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,480 The jury was left to decide what to believe. 310 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,599 The very first question that they were asked to address was, 311 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,959 "if you don't believe the girls were dead by 6.30, you must acquit." 312 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,399 That was really significant, 313 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:37,080 because the evidence showed that they were still alive at 6.30. 314 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,079 After just two hours of deliberation, 315 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:42,920 the jury returned a verdict... 316 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:45,800 ..Not guilty. 317 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,199 And bishop's brother was bursting to share the news. 318 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,600 Reporter: The verdict... Yay! 319 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:57,160 I loved that girl. 320 00:19:58,800 --> 00:19:59,920 Do you feel angry now? 321 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,599 No. It just hurts. 322 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,639 Every detective that had been involved in the investigation, 323 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,119 from the senior investigating officer right the way 324 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:14,159 down the ranks, were devastated with the result. Absolutely devastated. 325 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,719 The hadaways and the fellows hadn't got justice for their little girls. 326 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,199 And that hurt. 327 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,040 That rug was pulled away from them by that verdict. 328 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,439 While Karen and Nicola's families and Sussex police 329 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,999 tried to come to terms with bishop's acquittal, 330 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,640 he made the most of his freedom. 331 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,039 Russell bishop was paid £15,000 by the news of the world 332 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,999 for his story. After he was acquitted, he left court 333 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,719 and went for a slap-up meal at the Gatwick Hilton 334 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,719 with journalists from news of the world, 335 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:53,680 where family members - Jenny Johnson - gathered as well. 336 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,719 Whether or not bishop was the killer, 337 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,959 no sense that there were two little girls that didn't come home 338 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,160 on the 9th of October. 339 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:07,320 And it was, frankly, horrendous. 340 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:10,839 Reeling from the verdict, 341 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,879 the tight-knit community of moulsecoomb were living in fear. 342 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,599 "He's been acquitted. He didn't do it. Who did? 343 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:23,519 "Who's still wandering the estate or living on the estate?" 344 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,399 And you started to think, "well, I wonder if it was that person," 345 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,119 or "I wonder if it was that person." 346 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,519 Now bishop was acquitted, he went back to the estate - 347 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,079 and his life - still under suspicion. 348 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,919 You're looked at. Even though there's no nasty comments I've had, 349 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,599 it's always that feeling I've got, and it isn't a very nice one. 350 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,759 But with no witnesses or new evidence pointing Graham's team 351 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,040 towards any other possible killer, the investigation ran cold. 352 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:56,759 In the summer of 1989, after two years and no new leads, 353 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,680 the local community's frustration turned into open protest. 354 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,239 They can't shelve it and let it gather dust. I think it's wrong. 355 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,599 There's a man out there who murdered two little girls. 356 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,079 When they said they weren't looking for anyone else, 357 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,720 I was not very happy. 358 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:16,879 Barrie fellows orchestrated a very public campaign, 359 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,959 backed up with petitions, public meetings and, subsequently, 360 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:25,040 a march on the police station to reopen the investigation. 361 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,879 The problem for police was a law known as double jeopardy. 362 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,999 It meant that back in 1987, someone acquitted of a crime 363 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,840 could not be tried for the same offence of second time. 364 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,799 I understand why people would want the police 365 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,959 to have reopened the investigation. The pressure was huge. 366 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,919 There was political pressure, there was family pressure. 367 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,679 Though detectives were taken aback by the family's demand, 368 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,440 the sight of one man on the march staggered Graham and his team. 369 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,199 And who was front and centre of the march? 370 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,479 Who was interviewed on television in an orange reflective vest, 371 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,240 as if he was a marshal on the march? 372 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,399 Russell bishop. 373 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:07,879 I want to see this case reopened. 374 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,479 My name isn't cleared until someone else is brought to justice - 375 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:11,680 the real person. 376 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,519 In one of their biggest ever murder investigations, 377 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,559 Sussex police thought they had identified Russell bishop as the man 378 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:29,599 who sexually assaulted and then murdered two nine-year-old girls. 379 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:34,439 But he'd been acquitted by a jury, leaving police with no other leads. 380 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,959 Back in the community, bishop took part in a protest 381 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,399 aimed at forcing police to find the killer. 382 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:45,639 Russell bishop took part in that demonstration, in that march, 383 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,279 in that demand for the police to re-investigate the crime. 384 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:50,719 Chanting: Justice! 385 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,280 And the families felt compelled to walk alongside the bishops. 386 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,039 When he came on that march, jumping on and off buses, 387 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,639 showing bits of paper to people - "we want justice" - 388 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,839 I didn't want to go on that march. 389 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,159 But my brother said, "you've got to, to save face." 390 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,759 Bishop's common-law wife, Jenny Johnson, 391 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,799 whose dramatic change of evidence had helped acquit him, 392 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,240 made her feelings clear to Sussex police. 393 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:26,519 Despite the protests, 394 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,359 there was nothing Graham and his team could do. 395 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:33,359 With no new evidence and no other suspects, the case ran cold 396 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,520 and the killer remained at large. 397 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,639 Then, in 1990, 398 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,999 over three years after Karen hadaway and Nicola fellows were murdered, 399 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,759 police received the call they'd been dreading. 400 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,039 I was on a late shift. 401 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,959 And as I drove back into the police station, two or three police cars 402 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,199 came rushing past me on blue lights and sirens. 403 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,199 The sergeant then came out and said a little girl 404 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,519 had been out roller-skating in whitehawk and had gone missing. 405 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,679 She was discovered later that day, 406 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,359 over ten miles away in an isolated area known as devil's dyke. 407 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:19,159 She was crying, she was scratched, she was cold, 408 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,399 and she was wandering around this hilltop. 409 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:26,959 Devil's dyke is a very bleak part of the south downs. 410 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,279 And she was up there just wandering around, naked, 411 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:30,760 this little seven-year-old girl. 412 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,360 She'd been kidnapped and then sexually assaulted. 413 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,080 She was then thrown into the bushes and left for dead. 414 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,839 It was almost identical to the murders of Karen and Nicola 415 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,599 nearly four years earlier. 416 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,519 Determined to find who did this, 417 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,359 Graham threw everything he had at the investigation, 418 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:54,999 whilst inspector John rodway was put in charge of carrying out 419 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,999 a fingertip search of the wilderness where the girl had been found. 420 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,039 I developed a system whereby there were three lines. 421 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,159 The first line of officers had bushcutters, axes. 422 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,439 The second line had rakes and forks, 423 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,799 to find out if there was any evidence. 424 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,959 And the third line was scenes of crime officers, 425 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,119 who would, as soon as something was found, 426 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:17,239 photograph it, bag it and keep it sterile. 427 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:18,519 The search was massive. 428 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,279 There was nothing left on the area that we searched. 429 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,119 It was all taken down to bare soil, 430 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,559 to find absolutely everything that was there. 431 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,679 John's intensive search paid off. 432 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,439 Under a tree was some rolled-up clothing 433 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:34,919 that was of the same colour and the same type 434 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,119 the abducted girl was wearing. 435 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,559 The scenes of crime officers, when they removed it, 436 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,959 found everything that we were looking for, 437 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,079 even down to the pound coin that the little girl had been given 438 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:46,600 by her father to go shopping. 439 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,119 John hoped these finds would hold clues to the girl's attacker. 440 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:53,519 Meanwhile, detectives took a statement 441 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,399 from the seven-year-old girl. 442 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,039 And her account stunned everyone. 443 00:26:58,040 --> 00:26:59,919 Her memory and recollection was staggering. 444 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,119 She was able to remember not only the person that had snatched her 445 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,999 and dumped her in the boot of the car, she could describe 446 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,199 what was in the boot of the car by look, sound, smell. 447 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,359 The girl said the car she'd been abducted in was a red Ford cortina. 448 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:15,399 This astounded police. 449 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,999 One of the uniformed chief inspectors had come in and said, 450 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,079 "did you know that Russell bishop was seen 451 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,720 "with a red cortina the other day?" 452 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,959 So he sent a couple of dcs out there to go and see him, 453 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,479 and they got there, and bishop was, at that time of a Sunday evening, 454 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,359 furiously cleaning his car inside and out. 455 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:41,200 He was clearly trying to destroy evidence of something. 456 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,519 Police immediately brought bishop in for questioning. 457 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,559 The piece that brought all this together 458 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,079 was an identification parade. 459 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,599 And I'm going to ask you in a moment to look through the window 460 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,079 at the line of men who are sitting there. 461 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:06,719 I shall then ask you whether the person whom you saw on that day 462 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:08,359 is here. 463 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,919 Ten people were brought in to the identification parade, 464 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,319 and she definitively said... 465 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,559 Number nine. You think it's number nine? Thank you. 466 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,240 Number nine was Russell bishop. 467 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:28,039 Bishop was confident that he would not be identified 468 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,400 by this little seven-year-old girl, but he underestimated her. 469 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,799 New advances in forensic science now offered Graham's team 470 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,199 further evidence to link bishop to the crime, through DNA. 471 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,439 The nail in the coffin for bishop here was this was one of 472 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,839 the first cases where Sussex police were able to use DNA 473 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:48,159 to prove a case. 474 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:54,599 And, crucially, bishop's DNA was found on the little girl's clothing, 475 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,760 the little girl's DNA was found on his clothing. 476 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,959 We can see in this case that there is elements of control, 477 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,799 but there's also a lot of disorganisation. 478 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:10,719 He leaves his victim. He hasn't killed her, he thinks he has, 479 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,399 so he's careless. He's made mistakes. 480 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:14,879 And often, we see that. 481 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,199 We see offenders who start off very careful, 482 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,880 but the more they get away with it, they make mistakes. 483 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:30,279 Bishop was charged with attempted murder, kidnap and sexual assault. 484 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,960 He was tried in December 1990 at lewes crown court. 485 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:40,160 He was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison. 486 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,119 Reporter: When the verdicts were announced, 487 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,719 the defendant held his head and sobbed. 488 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:50,039 I think there was great relief that this predatory paedophile 489 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:51,520 was finally behind bars... 490 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,000 ..And was likely to be behind bars for a very long time. 491 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,159 Spectators in the court clapped and cheered. 492 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,119 Police released a message of thanks from the local girl. 493 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,399 "All my scratches have gone," she says. 494 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,280 "I'm having a lovely Christmas." 495 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,759 For Graham, there was satisfaction that bishop was now in prison 496 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,999 for one horrific crime, but that was all. 497 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,119 There was no sense of delight, 498 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,639 no sense of celebration for bishop being now incarcerated, 499 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,199 because there were still two families out there who hadn't 500 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:28,719 got justice and two little girls who were laying in a grave 501 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,520 without their killer being in prison for their crime. 502 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,479 There was nothing Sussex police could do, 503 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,840 and the case continued to run cold. 504 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:48,919 But then, in 2005, the investigation turned a dramatic new corner. 505 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,559 The law changed in 2005, 506 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:54,639 effectively enabling the re-prosecution of people 507 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,520 that have been acquitted of serious crimes under certain circumstances. 508 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,559 For nearly 30 years, Graham and his detectives were dogged 509 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,119 by their failure to convict Karen and Nicola's killer. 510 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,639 Now, at last, they had a chance to put it right. 511 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,279 The new law said if they could find new and compelling evidence, 512 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:16,639 they could retry bishop. 513 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,039 The forensic science had moved on a pace and forensic scientists 514 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,199 were able to apportion guilt where they couldn't before, 515 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,959 so why should somebody continue to get away with crime 516 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,680 when new evidence showed that they were guilty? 517 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,079 I was always waiting for the news that bishop was going to be 518 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:38,079 re-investigated and hopefully re-tried for these crimes. 519 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,079 I mean, we knew it was Russell bishop. 520 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,799 You know, the evidence pointed to the fact that it couldn't have been 521 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,039 anybody but Russell bishop. 522 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,479 Even so, Graham's team couldn't gather enough new evidence 523 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,080 to meet the standard required for a second trial. 524 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,519 That opportunity didn't come for another eight years, 525 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,160 after giant leaps by forensic science. 526 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,399 By 2013, Graham had retired from the investigation. 527 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,719 It was now left to detective superintendent Jeff Riley 528 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,759 to review the cold case. 529 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,359 Jeff Riley, who's one of Sussex police's finest 530 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,919 and most successful senior investigating officers, 531 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,280 and he would go forward, then, to lead the team. 532 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,439 Using the latest forensic tools available, 533 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,720 he began an entirely new forensic investigation. 534 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:29,920 I became involved in 2013. 535 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,159 It was always one of those cases that, kind of, people talked about. 536 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,039 There was always a suggestion that somehow we'd done something wrong, 537 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,119 and that's kind of the narrative that I kind of had heard 538 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:41,879 before I kind of became involved in it - 539 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,479 that somehow we'd not done something properly back 540 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:48,599 in the original investigation or we'd done something wrong at trial. 541 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,119 This pinto sweatshirt was always the key exhibit, 542 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:53,159 as part of the original investigation. 543 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:54,959 And that was from day one. 544 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,479 You know, we'd never been able to link that blue pinto sweatshirt 545 00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,079 to Russell bishop. 546 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,399 Now, Jeff Riley hoped forensic science 547 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,839 would prove that decisive link. 548 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:05,799 But the bar was high. 549 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,399 And the double jeopardy, the evidence had to be new 550 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:10,959 and compelling and in order for it to be compelling, 551 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,759 it had to be substantial and it had to be reliable. 552 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,399 The modern forensic team began by analysing the blue sweatshirt 553 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,560 found at the crime scene. 554 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:26,279 And fibres from the sweatshirt were found on the girls' bodies. 555 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,559 Bishop always denied owning it, 556 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:33,319 but new forensic analysis now suggested otherwise. 557 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:37,239 And we were able to unpeel the cuff and find DNA from Russell bishop 558 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:41,799 in that sweatshirt and this was a massive step forward for the case. 559 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,959 But one of the forensic scientists identified a major problem. 560 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:50,399 And she said, "I've got some really bad news. I can't confirm 561 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,879 "the reliability of that sweatshirt." 562 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:55,719 The sample they'd taken, the way it had been stored 563 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:59,279 and bags opening, she said, "I can't say 100% that has not 564 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,399 "come from some form of cross-contamination." 565 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,039 We thought we actually had quite a strong case. 566 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:10,799 So it felt like it collapsed around us, which was just a very dark day. 567 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,560 But Jeff's forensic team didn't give up. 568 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:19,399 Instead, they turned to the rest of the original 1986 evidence 569 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,799 and identified exhibits they were confident could not have been 570 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:27,799 contaminated. Crucially, what Jeff was about to find out next 571 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,759 would suddenly break the case wide open. 572 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:35,319 We had a swab that was taken of Karen hadaway that actually we had... 573 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:39,719 So it was taken at postmortem in 1986, it was sealed under acetate, 574 00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:43,599 it was then put into a frozen storage in the forensic archives, 575 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:45,239 when that was re-examined, 576 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:48,800 many years later, we had a DNA result on the arm of Karen hadaway. 577 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,639 And we then started to get some forensic results back. 578 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,159 And that forensic hit is what started off the whole 579 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:58,440 new re-investigation. 580 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:11,279 In 1990, Russell bishop began a 14-year sentence for the 581 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:16,159 attempted murder, kidnap and sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl. 582 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:21,079 He had also been tried in 1987 for the murders of Karen hadaway 583 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:22,879 and Nicola fellows. 584 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,719 He was acquitted, yet remained a prime suspect. 585 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:30,399 But with a new change in the law and forensic advancements, 586 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,679 detective superintendent Jeff Riley finally found a combined a DNA match 587 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,879 on the arm of one of the murdered school girls. 588 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:41,159 We now had Russell bishop's DNA on the arm of Karen hadaway that 589 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,759 was found in 1986 at postmortem, 590 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,959 which was massive and set everything off running. 591 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:51,119 But Jeff would only have one shot at convincing a jury of bishop's 592 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,959 guilt, so the case needed to be watertight. 593 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,199 He turned his attention back to the sweatshirt. 594 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,959 We always had paint evidence from the first investigation 595 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,439 because bishop used to spray cars 596 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,679 and there was lots of red spray over the sweatshirt, 597 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,599 but in order to bring it up to date, we had it re-examined 598 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,119 and because we had now new techniques and new, 599 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,439 more powerful microscopes, what we could see was the sweatshirt 600 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:17,759 was covered in tiny, tiny red paintballs, 601 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,959 as were some of the clothing from the girls, 602 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,159 as were some of the swabs from the girls. 603 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:26,519 It was more evidence to directly link bishop to the girls' bodies. 604 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:31,039 Jeff finally had what he needed to arrest bishop for a second 605 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,080 time in 2016. 606 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,839 30 years after the girls' murders, 607 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,839 bishop once again faced detectives in the interview room. 608 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:58,039 So, basically, during interview, he was... he mainly said no comment. 609 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,039 What we're asking you now, that's not clear to us, 610 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:05,359 ok, where your position stands on touching Karen's forearm. 611 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,239 I didn't touch no-one, so... 612 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:09,999 As I said, I've got no comment to make. 613 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,559 But that's what I'm asking you - if you didn't touch her... 614 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,919 Well, you've got me answer, so write it down and move on. 615 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,359 Please. That's fine. I just want to be clear, 616 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,079 you're saying you didn't touch Karen hadaway. 617 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:23,119 I've got no comment to make. 618 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,119 I'm not going to sit here, like I did 13 years ago, 619 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,039 and went over and over and round in circles. Not happening. 620 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:31,399 Please, crack on with your questions. 621 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:36,079 Bishop was unable to explain away Jeff Riley's new forensic 622 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,559 evidence, so Jeff charged him again with the murder of Karen and Nicola. 623 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,439 Bishop would now face trial yet again. 624 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:44,999 This was a massive moment for us. 625 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,599 It was a massive moment for the families cos it meant 626 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:48,959 we were back to trial. 627 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,039 And all the old evidence that had been gathered since '86 628 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,559 and all the new evidence that we'd gathered, it would 629 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,240 all come together, I felt, with a really strong case. 630 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,359 On the 16th of October 2018, 631 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,719 bishop appeared for trial at the old Bailey in London. 632 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:11,639 There was huge interest in the retrial of Russell bishop. 633 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:14,639 There are so few double jeopardy trials, 634 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,559 cases where somebody is tried a second time for such 635 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:21,719 a serious offence. The courtroom was packed each day. 636 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:25,039 The case cast a long shadow in the way that people look 637 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:26,359 after their children. 638 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,519 Russell bishop stole the innocence of the childhood of a generation. 639 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:34,519 I travelled to the old Bailey on almost every day of the trial. 640 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,799 And was following all of the evidence, all of the 641 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,319 witnesses and watching some of them 642 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:45,639 going through the pain that they'd experienced back in 1986. 643 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:50,119 True to form, bishop once again displayed unpredictable behaviour. 644 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:53,279 Bishop sat in the dock, he obviously listened to the evidence. 645 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,079 He would mumble under his breath at different stages. 646 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,679 When certain bits of evidence came up that he didn't like, 647 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:00,159 he would shout out about them, 648 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,959 and several times, the jury had to be asked to leave. 649 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:04,959 He would shout at his counsel, you know, 650 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,079 even throw questions at the judge. 651 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:11,679 Meanwhile, bishop's own testimony failed to address the new 652 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,799 forensic evidence Jeff Riley had built against him. 653 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,599 DNA evidence, pretty much every step of the way, 654 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:22,119 linked bishop pretty conclusively to all the key 655 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:26,079 aspects of the evidence, including the bodies of the girls. 656 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,199 There was no way he could explain away how his DNA was 657 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:32,639 found on one of the girls' bodies. 658 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,239 There was no way he could explain away how the girls' DNA 659 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:37,640 was found on his clothing. 660 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:45,359 After a 32-year investigation, the trial took eight weeks, 661 00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:48,959 until finally the jury reached an unanimous verdict. 662 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,119 The whole court was packed, you know. 663 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:56,479 It was packed with other barristers, it was packed with kind of... The media, and when the jury came 664 00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:59,839 back in, I mean, the atmosphere was absolutely electric. 665 00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:01,039 So the jury came back in. 666 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:03,879 You were looking at their faces, you can't tell. 667 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,119 I'm conscious of the families sitting just behind me. I turned... 668 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,400 I remember looking at the families and they're starting to weep. 669 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:13,920 They came back as guilty. 670 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:18,799 A convicted paedophile has been found guilty of murdering two 671 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,599 school girls. And it was just like you felt your heart race. 672 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:23,959 You could just feel it in the pit of your stomach. 673 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:27,559 The families, they were so dignified when that verdict came back. 674 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:30,640 We just sat there and hugged each other, cried. 675 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:33,919 Cried like a baby. 676 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,639 There was a bit of relief. Vindication. 677 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,639 Russell bishop is a truly wicked man 678 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,359 and has rightly now been convicted of his dreadful crimes. 679 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:45,399 I was absolutely delighted. 680 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:48,439 The family knew the truth, they knew what had happened, 681 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,199 they had all of their suspicions validated and so did we. 682 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,119 I spoke to a number of police officers. 683 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,599 So many of them broke down in tears. 684 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,479 We knew we had the right person all the time. 685 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:03,359 I had no feelings for Russell bishop at all, 686 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,679 as a human being, he was a pervert, 687 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:12,599 he was a paedophile and he was the lowest of low of criminals. 688 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,719 Bishop refused to attend the verdict. 689 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:19,399 In his absence, he was given two life sentences 690 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,160 and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years. 691 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:29,039 While police celebrated putting bishop behind bars, there was 692 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,159 one loose end that Jeff Riley needed to tie up. 693 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:34,879 But we still had one thing left unsolved 694 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,519 and that was what to do with Jenny Johnson. 695 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,919 Her statement under oath that Russell bishop never owned the 696 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:44,079 blue sweatshirt was crucial to his acquittal, 697 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:46,919 but that evidence was now clearly a lie. 698 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,279 So one of the last things that I did was 699 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:51,879 I arranged for Jenny Johnson to be arrested and interviewed. 700 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:53,559 She was arrested and interviewed 701 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:57,079 and she admitted during interview that, yes, she had lied. 702 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,439 She said that it was because of the way that bishop was very violent towards her 703 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:04,759 throughout their time together and she was absolutely petrified of him. 704 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:08,999 After over three decades of hiding a dark secret, Jenny Johnson 705 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:13,959 was finally put on trial at lewes crown court in may 2021. 706 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,279 She was convicted of perjury 707 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:18,439 because she'd lied at the original trial in 1987 708 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:20,799 and she was also convicted of attempting to pervert 709 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:24,119 the course of justice because she'd lied about the sweatshirt. 710 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:26,159 And because she'd kept that lie going throughout 711 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:29,679 a number of years, then that was really significant. 712 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:33,679 Potentially, we would have convicted Russell bishop in 1987, had she 713 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,759 not lied, and therefore he wouldn't have then gone on to attack 714 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:39,559 a little girl in the 1990s. That's a massive thing. 715 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:42,319 Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison 716 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:44,800 and is currently appealing her conviction. 717 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:58,559 It will hurt me for an eternity. 718 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,759 It's like having your heart ripped out and put back differently. 719 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:05,799 She still believed in father Christmas, still 720 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:10,439 believed in the tooth fairy, that's what I remember most about her, 721 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:13,840 her innocence, and her friends' innocence. 722 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:20,279 The murders of Karen hadaway and Nicola fellows stand out 723 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:25,679 as being the most significant crimes of my service within Sussex police. 724 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:29,559 One man's evil basically robbed children of their childhood. 725 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:33,159 I will never forget what happened on that night 726 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:38,159 and they demonstrated how resolute and dignified families can be 727 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:39,759 and how determined 728 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,760 and persistent the police can be to bring people to justice. 729 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,159 The case of a missing schoolgirl... 730 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:51,319 Right from the start, 731 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,720 I didn't ever expect she would be found alive. 732 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,920 ..Becomes a complex murder investigation... 733 00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:00,199 This case dominated my life. 734 00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:02,439 Took so many twists and turns. 735 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:06,039 ..That leads police on a nine-year hunt for justice. 736 00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:07,800 Bingo. We've got them.