Rachel Nickell murder case
Encyclopedia
The murder of Rachel Jane Nickell (23 November 1968 – 15 July 1992) took place on 15 July 1992, in Wimbledon Common, London
, and resulted in a highly-publicised and controversial investigation.
On 15 July 1992, Nickell was walking with her son through Wimbledon Common, London
, when she was sexually assaulted
and stabbed 49 times. A lengthy, expensive, and controversial investigation ensued, during which Colin Stagg was falsely charged and acquitted before the case went cold. In 2002, with more advanced and refined forensic techniques available, Scotland Yard
reopened the case, and on 18 December 2008, Robert Napper
pleaded guilty to Nickell's manslaughter
on the grounds of diminished responsibility
.
, and their son Alexander Louis. After the birth of their son in August 1989 Nickell became a full-time mother. She and Hanscombe had settled down to family life with their son and a dog, Molly. On 15 July 1992, Nickell and the then two-year-old Alexander were walking the dog on Wimbledon Common. Nickell was attacked; her attacker cut her throat, stabbed her and sexually assaulted her, with Alexander present.
A passer-by found Alexander clinging to his mother's blood-soaked body, repeating the words "wake up, mummy".
officers of the Metropolitan Police
undertook the investigation. Although 32 men were eventually questioned in connection with the murder, the investigation quickly targeted Colin Stagg, an unemployed man from Roehampton
who was known to walk his dog on the Common.
As there was no forensic evidence linking Stagg to the scene, the police asked criminal psychologist
Paul Britton to create an offender profile
of the killer. They decided that Stagg fitted the profile and asked Britton to assist in designing a covert operation, "Operation Ezdell", to see whether Stagg would eliminate or implicate himself. This operation would later be criticised by the media and Stagg's trial judge, Justice Ognall, as a "honeytrap
".
"Lizzie James" an undercover
policewoman from SO10
(then the Metropolitan Police's Special Operations Group) contacted Stagg, posing as a friend of a woman with whom he used to be in contact via a lonely hearts' column. Over a period of five months she attempted to obtain information from him by feigning a romantic interest, meeting him, speaking to him on the telephone and exchanging letters containing sexual fantasies. During a meeting in Hyde Park
, they spoke about the Nickell murder, but Stagg later claimed that he had only played along with the topic because he wanted to pursue the romance. Britton later said that he disagreed with use of the fantasy-filled letters and knew nothing of them until after they had been sent. "Lizzie" won Stagg's confidence and drew out his violent fantasies, but Stagg did not admit to the murder. Police released a taped conversation between "Lizzie" and Stagg in which "Lizzie" claimed to enjoy hurting people, to which Stagg mumbled: "Please explain, as I live a quiet life. If I have disappointed you, please don't dump me. Nothing like this has happened to me before." When "Lizzie" went on to say "If only you had done the Wimbledon Common murder, if only you had killed her, it would be all right," Stagg replied: "I'm terribly sorry, but I haven't."
Believing, on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service
, that there was sufficient evidence to convict Stagg, the police arrested and charged him on 17 August 1993 with Nickell's murder.
Several detailed accounts of the covert operation have been written. Britton's book The Jigsaw Man, devoted extensive space to it, while a conflicting account can be found in The Rachel Files by Keith Pedder. (Inspector Keith Pedder was technically the third in command of the investigation, after Superintendent Bassett and Chief Inspector Wickerson, but he had day-to-day command of the operation.) Stagg's own version is included in Who Really Killed Rachel? co-written with David Kessler
.
Britton claimed in his version of events that he did not have anything to do with Stagg's initial interrogation at the time of his first arrest (after which Stagg was released), but only the undercover operation, leading up to Stagg's second arrest when charges were brought. However, Pedder contradicts this in his account: "Before starting the interviews, I therefore rang Paul Britton at the Towers Hospital in Leicester and asked if he would want to give any specific advice as to how I should approach him." Pedder also claims that this consultation process was by no means a one-off, but rather went on throughout the three days that Stagg was held and interrogated: "Throughout the interviews, as and when Stagg's behaviour appeared to be contradictory, and in some cases downright confusing, I would ring Paul Britton; according to him, Stagg’s denials were indicative of his cunning and basic intelligence."
hearing Britton claimed that "Operation Ezdell" was meant to present the subject with a series of psychological "ladders" to climb rather than a "slippery slope" down which a vulnerable person would slide if pushed. The defence argued that Britton's evidence was speculative and supported only by his intuition.
When the case reached the Old Bailey
Justice Ognall ruled that the police had shown "excessive zeal" and had tried to incriminate a suspect by "deceptive conduct of the grossest kind". He excluded the entrapment evidence and the prosecution withdrew its case. Stagg was formally acquitted in September 1994.
Stagg has co-written and published two books about the case, Who Really Killed Rachel? and, more recently, Pariah (with journalist Ted Hynds), the latter appearing on the same day as the real culprit Robert Napper's appearance in court to enter a plea.
"Lizzie James" quit the police force in 1998, eventually taking early retirement. With the support of the Police Federation
she, too, sued the Metropolitan Police for damages arising from the investigation. In 2001, shortly before it was due to be heard, her case was settled out of court and she received £125,000. Her solicitor said: "The willingness of the Metropolitan Police to pay substantial damages must indicate their recognition that she sustained serious psychiatric injury." Stagg had offered to testify against "Lizzie James" in order to try to prevent what he claimed was an unfair demand on the taxpayer but, as the case was settled out of court, his testimony was not required.
The payout to "Lizzie James" was widely criticised by various sources, particularly as Nickell's son had been granted £22,000 (less than a fifth of the amount paid to the undercover detective) from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
.
Britton was charged with professional misconduct by the British Psychological Society
but, in 2002, in lieu of any substantive hearings, further action was dismissed due to the time delay in bringing proceedings. Britton's lawyer, Keir Starmer
QC (who was later appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions
) successfully argued that the "exceptional" delay of more than eight years since the first complaint was made would mean his client would not be given a fair hearing. Stagg was invited to attend the proceedings but was not permitted to participate, address the committee or answer Britton's claims. A detailed account of the substantive case against Paul Britton can be found in Who Really Killed Rachel?.
André Hanscombe later wrote a book, The Last Thursday in July, about his life with Nickell, coping with the murder and life with Alex afterwards. In 1996 Hanscombe moved with Alex to France
, driven abroad – according to notes in his book – by media intrusion. "Callous, mercenary, unfeeling ... cowardly, snivelling scum" is how he described some of the reporters who tracked him and his son down to his "sanctuary" in the French countryside. Hanscombe has since embarked on a new career writing and illustrating children's books.
In 2006, Nick Cohen
, at the time of the murder a junior reporter on The Independent on Sunday, commented in his column in The Observer
that the inaccurate reporting of the case – and, in particular, frequent suggestions by the press that Stagg was guilty – stemmed from too close a relationship between the police and the media.
In January 2007, the Home Office
confirmed that Stagg would receive compensation for wrongful prosecution, with the amount to be set by an independent assessor. On 13 August 2008, Stagg's solicitor announced that the compensation, set by Lord Brennan QC and accepted by Stagg, was £706,000.
In 1996, despite Justice Ognall's previous criticism of "Operation Ezdell", Essex Police
mounted a similar operation, "Operation Century
", as part of their investigation of the "Rettendon Triple Murders" case. It too proved unsuccessful and highly controversial.
An episode of the TV comedy series "Bottom
", entitled "Bottom's Out
", due to be broadcast around the time of the murder, was postponed for two and a half years as it was set on Wimbledon Common.
annually came under pressure on the anniversary of the murder for progress. Under new management, they began to collate evidence and files related to the case from 2000.
In 2002, ten years after the murder, the Scotland Yard used a cold case review team, which used refined DNA
techniques only recently made available. A small team of officers and retired veteran investigators working from secret offices in South London analysed statements from witnesses, reassessed files on a number of potential suspects, and examined the possibility that the case was linked to other crimes. Officers compared the injuries suffered by Nickell with other attacks and consulted forensic scientists about improvements in DNA matching.
In July 2003, reports surfaced that, after 18 months of tests on Nickell's clothes, police had found a male DNA sample which did not match her boyfriend or son. The sample at the time was insufficient to confirm an identity, but was large enough to rule out suspects.
team interviewed a convicted sex killer for two days at Broadmoor Hospital
in Berkshire
. The 40-year-old man diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic
(and also as having Asperger syndrome
) had been held at the secure institution for more than ten years.
Later reports revealed the man to be Robert Napper, the convicted killer of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine, murdered in November 1993, 16 months after Nickell's murder.
On 28 November 2007, Napper was charged with Nickell's murder. He appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 4 December 2007, where he was remanded until another hearing on 20 December 2007. On 24 January 2008, Napper pleaded not guilty to Nickell's murder. He faced trial in November 2008.
On 18 December 2008, at the Old Bailey
, Napper pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility
. Justice Griffiths Williams said that Napper would be held indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital
because he was "a very dangerous man". At the same time, Colin Stagg received a public apology from the police.
On 3 June 2010, a report into Napper's crimes established that the police team which had failed to stop Napper from committing the killing had made a "catalogue of bad decisions and errors" that had allowed him to remain free and kill Nickell as well as the Bissets. The report highlighted that police had failed to deal with a claim by Napper's own mother that her son had admitted raping a woman at Plumstead
in 1989, and that shortly after Nickell's murder he was eliminated from the enquiry just because he was deemed as "too tall" to have been the killer.
released a report, dated 3 June 2010, into the actions of the Metropolitan Police Force and their handling of the murder investigation.
It described a "catalogue of bad decisions and errors" by the Metropolitan Police which had resulted in Napper being free to kill Nickell.
It said that officers missed a series of opportunities to take the violent psychopath off the streets and suggested the lives of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine would also have been saved if police had acted on tip-offs, including one by Napper's mother after he confessed to rape.
Rachel Cerfontyne, of the IPCC, said that police failed to investigate the 1989 report that he attacked a woman on Plumstead Common, in London, and no record of the telephone call can be found.
She added that officers "inconceivably" eliminated Napper over a series of rapes on parkland in south London because he was thought to be too tall.
She said: "It is clear that throughout the investigations into the 'Green Chain' rapes and Rachel Nickell's death there was a catalogue of bad decisions and errors made by the Metropolitan Police.
"The police failed to sufficiently investigate after Napper's mother called police to report that he had confessed to her that he had raped a woman and, inconceivably, they eliminated Napper from inquiries into the Green Chain rapes because he was over 6ft tall.
"Without these errors, Robert Napper could have been off the streets before he killed Rachel Nickell and the Bissets, and before numerous women suffered violent sexual attacks at his hands."
The IPCC said no police officer would face disciplinary action because they have all retired, and one key senior detective has died. Criminal prosecutions were not considered.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and resulted in a highly-publicised and controversial investigation.
On 15 July 1992, Nickell was walking with her son through Wimbledon Common, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, when she was sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and stabbed 49 times. A lengthy, expensive, and controversial investigation ensued, during which Colin Stagg was falsely charged and acquitted before the case went cold. In 2002, with more advanced and refined forensic techniques available, Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
reopened the case, and on 18 December 2008, Robert Napper
Robert Napper
Robert Clive Napper is a convicted British serial killer and rapist who was remanded in Broadmoor Hospital indefinitely on 18 December 2008 for the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on 15 July 1992...
pleaded guilty to Nickell's manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
on the grounds of diminished responsibility
Diminished responsibility
In criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
.
Assault and murder
At the time of her death, Nickell was living near Wimbledon Common with boyfriend André Hanscombe, a motorcycle courierMotorcycle courier
A motorcycle courier is a courier operating via a motorcycle or motor scooter. Motorcycle couriers are common in major urban centres, primarily in Europe, South America and Asia, but increasingly in North America.- History :...
, and their son Alexander Louis. After the birth of their son in August 1989 Nickell became a full-time mother. She and Hanscombe had settled down to family life with their son and a dog, Molly. On 15 July 1992, Nickell and the then two-year-old Alexander were walking the dog on Wimbledon Common. Nickell was attacked; her attacker cut her throat, stabbed her and sexually assaulted her, with Alexander present.
A passer-by found Alexander clinging to his mother's blood-soaked body, repeating the words "wake up, mummy".
Investigation
Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
officers of the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
undertook the investigation. Although 32 men were eventually questioned in connection with the murder, the investigation quickly targeted Colin Stagg, an unemployed man from Roehampton
Roehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
who was known to walk his dog on the Common.
As there was no forensic evidence linking Stagg to the scene, the police asked criminal psychologist
Criminal psychology
Criminal psychology is the study of the wills, thoughts, intentions and reactions of criminals. It is related to the field of criminal anthropology. The study goes deeply into what makes someone commit crime, but also the reactions after the crime, on the run or in court...
Paul Britton to create an offender profile
Offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling,...
of the killer. They decided that Stagg fitted the profile and asked Britton to assist in designing a covert operation, "Operation Ezdell", to see whether Stagg would eliminate or implicate himself. This operation would later be criticised by the media and Stagg's trial judge, Justice Ognall, as a "honeytrap
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
".
"Operation Ezdell"
Using the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Lizzie James" an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
policewoman from SO10
SO10
SO10 was the former designation of the Metropolitan Police's Covert Operations Group.-History:The group's origins can be traced back to 1960, with the formation of what was known as the Criminal Investigation Branch, which later evolved and was merged into SO10 and the Public Order Unit...
(then the Metropolitan Police's Special Operations Group) contacted Stagg, posing as a friend of a woman with whom he used to be in contact via a lonely hearts' column. Over a period of five months she attempted to obtain information from him by feigning a romantic interest, meeting him, speaking to him on the telephone and exchanging letters containing sexual fantasies. During a meeting in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, they spoke about the Nickell murder, but Stagg later claimed that he had only played along with the topic because he wanted to pursue the romance. Britton later said that he disagreed with use of the fantasy-filled letters and knew nothing of them until after they had been sent. "Lizzie" won Stagg's confidence and drew out his violent fantasies, but Stagg did not admit to the murder. Police released a taped conversation between "Lizzie" and Stagg in which "Lizzie" claimed to enjoy hurting people, to which Stagg mumbled: "Please explain, as I live a quiet life. If I have disappointed you, please don't dump me. Nothing like this has happened to me before." When "Lizzie" went on to say "If only you had done the Wimbledon Common murder, if only you had killed her, it would be all right," Stagg replied: "I'm terribly sorry, but I haven't."
Believing, on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
, that there was sufficient evidence to convict Stagg, the police arrested and charged him on 17 August 1993 with Nickell's murder.
Several detailed accounts of the covert operation have been written. Britton's book The Jigsaw Man, devoted extensive space to it, while a conflicting account can be found in The Rachel Files by Keith Pedder. (Inspector Keith Pedder was technically the third in command of the investigation, after Superintendent Bassett and Chief Inspector Wickerson, but he had day-to-day command of the operation.) Stagg's own version is included in Who Really Killed Rachel? co-written with David Kessler
David Kessler (author)
David Kessler is a British author of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve people falsely accused of crimes, legal battles, DNA, computer hacking and police investigations and are characterised by multiple plot twists and last-minute surprises...
.
Britton claimed in his version of events that he did not have anything to do with Stagg's initial interrogation at the time of his first arrest (after which Stagg was released), but only the undercover operation, leading up to Stagg's second arrest when charges were brought. However, Pedder contradicts this in his account: "Before starting the interviews, I therefore rang Paul Britton at the Towers Hospital in Leicester and asked if he would want to give any specific advice as to how I should approach him." Pedder also claims that this consultation process was by no means a one-off, but rather went on throughout the three days that Stagg was held and interrogated: "Throughout the interviews, as and when Stagg's behaviour appeared to be contradictory, and in some cases downright confusing, I would ring Paul Britton; according to him, Stagg’s denials were indicative of his cunning and basic intelligence."
Trial
During the committalCommittal procedure
In law, a committal procedure is the process by which a defendant is charged with a serious offence under the criminal justice systems of all common law jurisdictions outside the United States...
hearing Britton claimed that "Operation Ezdell" was meant to present the subject with a series of psychological "ladders" to climb rather than a "slippery slope" down which a vulnerable person would slide if pushed. The defence argued that Britton's evidence was speculative and supported only by his intuition.
When the case reached the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
Justice Ognall ruled that the police had shown "excessive zeal" and had tried to incriminate a suspect by "deceptive conduct of the grossest kind". He excluded the entrapment evidence and the prosecution withdrew its case. Stagg was formally acquitted in September 1994.
Aftermath
An internal review estimated that the pursuit of Stagg had cost the Metropolitan Police Force 3 million and that vital scientific information had been missed. Stagg decided to sue the police for damages totalling £1 million following the 14 months he spent in custody.Stagg has co-written and published two books about the case, Who Really Killed Rachel? and, more recently, Pariah (with journalist Ted Hynds), the latter appearing on the same day as the real culprit Robert Napper's appearance in court to enter a plea.
"Lizzie James" quit the police force in 1998, eventually taking early retirement. With the support of the Police Federation
Police Federation
Police Federation may refer to:*Police Federation of England and Wales*Police Federation for Northern Ireland*Scottish Police Federation*Defence Police Federation...
she, too, sued the Metropolitan Police for damages arising from the investigation. In 2001, shortly before it was due to be heard, her case was settled out of court and she received £125,000. Her solicitor said: "The willingness of the Metropolitan Police to pay substantial damages must indicate their recognition that she sustained serious psychiatric injury." Stagg had offered to testify against "Lizzie James" in order to try to prevent what he claimed was an unfair demand on the taxpayer but, as the case was settled out of court, his testimony was not required.
The payout to "Lizzie James" was widely criticised by various sources, particularly as Nickell's son had been granted £22,000 (less than a fifth of the amount paid to the undercover detective) from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. The Authority administers a compensation scheme for injuries caused to victims of violent crime in Great Britain and is funded by the Ministry of Justice in England and Wales and the devolved...
.
Britton was charged with professional misconduct by the British Psychological Society
British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. The BPS is also a Registered Charity and, along with advantages, this also imposes certain constraints on what the society can and cannot do...
but, in 2002, in lieu of any substantive hearings, further action was dismissed due to the time delay in bringing proceedings. Britton's lawyer, Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer, QC, is a barrister in England and Wales. He became the fourteenth Director of Public Prosecutions and the sixth head of the Crown Prosecution Service on 1 November 2008...
QC (who was later appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
) successfully argued that the "exceptional" delay of more than eight years since the first complaint was made would mean his client would not be given a fair hearing. Stagg was invited to attend the proceedings but was not permitted to participate, address the committee or answer Britton's claims. A detailed account of the substantive case against Paul Britton can be found in Who Really Killed Rachel?.
André Hanscombe later wrote a book, The Last Thursday in July, about his life with Nickell, coping with the murder and life with Alex afterwards. In 1996 Hanscombe moved with Alex to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, driven abroad – according to notes in his book – by media intrusion. "Callous, mercenary, unfeeling ... cowardly, snivelling scum" is how he described some of the reporters who tracked him and his son down to his "sanctuary" in the French countryside. Hanscombe has since embarked on a new career writing and illustrating children's books.
In 2006, Nick Cohen
Nick Cohen
Nick Cohen is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He is currently a columnist for The Observer, a blogger for The Spectator and TV critic for Standpoint magazine. He formerly wrote for the London Evening Standard and the New Statesman...
, at the time of the murder a junior reporter on The Independent on Sunday, commented in his column in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
that the inaccurate reporting of the case – and, in particular, frequent suggestions by the press that Stagg was guilty – stemmed from too close a relationship between the police and the media.
In January 2007, the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
confirmed that Stagg would receive compensation for wrongful prosecution, with the amount to be set by an independent assessor. On 13 August 2008, Stagg's solicitor announced that the compensation, set by Lord Brennan QC and accepted by Stagg, was £706,000.
In 1996, despite Justice Ognall's previous criticism of "Operation Ezdell", Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
mounted a similar operation, "Operation Century
Operation Century
Operation Century was the code name for a sting operation by Essex Police for investigating a triple murder that happened at Rettendon, Essex, England, in December 1995. It was assisted by Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch officers...
", as part of their investigation of the "Rettendon Triple Murders" case. It too proved unsuccessful and highly controversial.
An episode of the TV comedy series "Bottom
Bottom (TV series)
Bottom was a British sitcom television series that originally aired on BBC2 between 1991 and 1995. It was written by comic duo Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson who star as Richie and Eddie, two flatmates living on the dole in Hammersmith, London...
", entitled "Bottom's Out
'S Out
s Out is an episode produced for the second series of British television sitcom, Bottom. For reasons of sensitivity, however, it did not air until 10 April 1995 - nearly three years after it was produced...
", due to be broadcast around the time of the murder, was postponed for two and a half years as it was set on Wimbledon Common.
Cold case revival
Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
annually came under pressure on the anniversary of the murder for progress. Under new management, they began to collate evidence and files related to the case from 2000.
In 2002, ten years after the murder, the Scotland Yard used a cold case review team, which used refined DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
techniques only recently made available. A small team of officers and retired veteran investigators working from secret offices in South London analysed statements from witnesses, reassessed files on a number of potential suspects, and examined the possibility that the case was linked to other crimes. Officers compared the injuries suffered by Nickell with other attacks and consulted forensic scientists about improvements in DNA matching.
In July 2003, reports surfaced that, after 18 months of tests on Nickell's clothes, police had found a male DNA sample which did not match her boyfriend or son. The sample at the time was insufficient to confirm an identity, but was large enough to rule out suspects.
Robert Napper
In July 2006, the Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
team interviewed a convicted sex killer for two days at Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. The 40-year-old man diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
(and also as having Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
) had been held at the secure institution for more than ten years.
Later reports revealed the man to be Robert Napper, the convicted killer of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine, murdered in November 1993, 16 months after Nickell's murder.
On 28 November 2007, Napper was charged with Nickell's murder. He appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 4 December 2007, where he was remanded until another hearing on 20 December 2007. On 24 January 2008, Napper pleaded not guilty to Nickell's murder. He faced trial in November 2008.
On 18 December 2008, at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
, Napper pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility
Diminished responsibility
In criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
. Justice Griffiths Williams said that Napper would be held indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
because he was "a very dangerous man". At the same time, Colin Stagg received a public apology from the police.
On 3 June 2010, a report into Napper's crimes established that the police team which had failed to stop Napper from committing the killing had made a "catalogue of bad decisions and errors" that had allowed him to remain free and kill Nickell as well as the Bissets. The report highlighted that police had failed to deal with a claim by Napper's own mother that her son had admitted raping a woman at Plumstead
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
in 1989, and that shortly after Nickell's murder he was eliminated from the enquiry just because he was deemed as "too tall" to have been the killer.
IPCC findings, 2010
Following an investigation, the Independent Police Complaints CommissionIndependent Police Complaints Commission
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.-Role:...
released a report, dated 3 June 2010, into the actions of the Metropolitan Police Force and their handling of the murder investigation.
It described a "catalogue of bad decisions and errors" by the Metropolitan Police which had resulted in Napper being free to kill Nickell.
It said that officers missed a series of opportunities to take the violent psychopath off the streets and suggested the lives of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine would also have been saved if police had acted on tip-offs, including one by Napper's mother after he confessed to rape.
Rachel Cerfontyne, of the IPCC, said that police failed to investigate the 1989 report that he attacked a woman on Plumstead Common, in London, and no record of the telephone call can be found.
She added that officers "inconceivably" eliminated Napper over a series of rapes on parkland in south London because he was thought to be too tall.
She said: "It is clear that throughout the investigations into the 'Green Chain' rapes and Rachel Nickell's death there was a catalogue of bad decisions and errors made by the Metropolitan Police.
"The police failed to sufficiently investigate after Napper's mother called police to report that he had confessed to her that he had raped a woman and, inconceivably, they eliminated Napper from inquiries into the Green Chain rapes because he was over 6ft tall.
"Without these errors, Robert Napper could have been off the streets before he killed Rachel Nickell and the Bissets, and before numerous women suffered violent sexual attacks at his hands."
The IPCC said no police officer would face disciplinary action because they have all retired, and one key senior detective has died. Criminal prosecutions were not considered.