Kindergarten Teacher Did This In Front Of Students For 5 Years

Kindergarten Teacher Did This In Front Of Students For 5 Years

“The man just held me down, and he squeezed quite hard.”

“Did that hurt when he put his hands around your throat? What do you think he did?”

This is 7-year-old **Rachel Watts**. Just a few hours ago, she was found alone on the side of the road without any clothes, covered in bruises, more than 7 miles from home. The woman standing next to her is her mom. Police have asked her not to cry, not to hug her daughter, and not to show any emotion. The investigators need Rachel to tell them what happened, but she doesn’t say a word. When she finally starts talking, detectives quickly realize she’s holding back part of the truth. She’s so terrified that she can’t bring herself to describe everything she went through.

Three days later, she’s asked to stand behind a one-way mirror and look at a lineup of men. She has to identify the one who kidnapped her, strangled her, and left her there to die. What Rachel doesn’t know is that one of those men has already stood trial for the murders of two young girls. He was acquitted and walked free. If she gets it wrong, he could escape justice all over again. But if she identifies him, detectives will have to prove the guilt of a man who had already managed to avoid punishment for a crime that shocked all of England. And this is the case that will force investigators to reopen a double murder that many believed would remain unsolved forever.

> *Hey guys. Let me grab you for just a second. I’m really curious where my audience is watching from, so I’d love for you to drop a comment and tell me what city you’re in and what time it is for you right now. Thanks for taking a moment. Go ahead and share that in the comments, and now let’s keep going.*

### The Interrogation

“Can you tell me what happened when he stopped the car?”
“He took me out and then he brought me here and threw me in the wood.”

“Did he say anything to you when he picked you up?”
“He just said be quiet.”

“Mhm. But did he carry you straight to the clearing, or did he take you somewhere else first? Did he put you somewhere else first?”
“He just took me straight to the clearing.”
“Mhm.”

Rachel looks down, nervously swinging her legs. It’s because she’s hiding something—something she doesn’t want anyone to know.

“Yesterday, when we were talking in the hospital, you said, ‘and then he got you in the back of the car.’ Do you remember that? Did he then touch you at all?”

This is the first time Rachel’s mom is hearing the details of what happened to her daughter, and it’s almost impossible for her to keep her composure. But Rachel is too terrified to tell the whole story, and what she’s about to say isn’t the full truth.

“He didn’t touch me at all. When he took me in the car, he didn’t touch me at all.”
“Did he then touch your face at all?”
“When we were in the back of the car, he put his hands around my mouth, and then his face was around my neck.”
“Mhm. When he put his hands around your mouth, can you show me where he put them? Can you show me?”
“I think so.”
“And then he said he put his hand around your throat.”
“And I had to suck back so I couldn’t say anything, Mom, or blow.”
“Did that hurt, or did his hands hurt you? Can you show me your neck? How he did it?”
“He put his hand there, and he squeezed quite hard.”

Rachel is terrified that the man who tried to kill her will come back for her. The problem is, she’s about to come face to face with him again. On **February 7th**, just 3 days after the attack, Rachel stands behind a one-way mirror only a few feet away from a lineup of suspects.

“And I’m going to ask you in a moment whether the person whom you saw on that day is here.”

But what Rachel doesn’t realize is that one of the men in that lineup has already murdered two other little girls, and if she can’t identify him, he’ll be free to strike again.

### The Abduction of Rachel Watts

The year is **1990**, in the Brighton suburb of Whitehawk on the South Coast of England. 7-year-old Rachel lives a happy life with her loving parents, **Jenny and Peter**. That day, Rachel is out roller skating while her dad works in the front yard. She asks him for some money so she can buy a chocolate bar at the local candy shop. At around 4:00 in the afternoon, Rachel rolls away on her white skates.

Just over an hour later, her parents begin to worry because she still hasn’t come home. Then, suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. It’s the police. Rachel’s in the hospital. She was found by a couple on **Devil’s Dyke Road**, more than 7 miles from her home.

“We saw her come out from behind this bush. She was completely naked. Kind of hands like this and crying. Her hair was all disheveled. There was blood in delicate places that I couldn’t care to mention. I jumped out of the car and ran towards her. And she said to me, ‘Are you going to kidnap me?’ And I said to her, ‘No, we’re here to help you. You’re going to be okay.'”

To the couple who found her, it was immediately obvious what had happened, and they were horrified. They rushed Rachel to the nearest house and called the police right away.

“When the police officer came, she just said, ‘Am I Mom?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ That was when she said Rachel was in the hospital. Sorry, it’s still raw now. Even after all these years.”

Rachel’s mom, Jenny, rushes to the hospital in Brighton, where she’s met by police officer **Deborah Wood**. Before she’s allowed to see her daughter, Jenny is asked to do something almost impossible. She’s told she can’t let Rachel see that she’s upset because it could cause her to shut down. And right now, the police still need to interview her.

“Debbie said to try and be strong. Try not to show any emotions. She was sitting in bed with a coloring book. And I just sat there with her while she colored.”

Three days later, Rachel is asked to identify her attacker. The police have arranged an identification lineup made up of one suspect and nine men who closely resemble him. One of them is a man named **Russell Bishop**, someone the police had already accused of murder. But in **1987**, after he was acquitted of all charges, Russell Bishop walked free.

### The “Babes in the Wood” Murders

It all began on **October 9th, 1986**, the day **Karen Hadaway** and **Nicola Fellows** disappeared.

“What time were they last seen?”
“At about half past four.”
“All right.”
“It’s not like her to go too far away unless she’s going to use it to bring her home.”
“And who was she with at the time, Mrs. Hadaway?”
“Who’s the other mother, Mrs. Fellows?”
“Right. And the two 9-year-old girls?”
“Two 9-year-olds.”

More than 150 police officers, along with neighbors of the girls’ families, combed through a large wooded area near their homes. But after nearly 24 hours without a single trace, people begin to lose hope that the girls will be found alive. The case captures the attention of the entire country, and Karen’s and Nicola’s parents appear on television pleading with the public for any information that could help bring their daughters home.

“Have they run away from home before?”
“No, she hasn’t.”
“So, you don’t think that they just run away for fun?”
“No, I thought they’re up to some mischief, but what, I can’t think. They wouldn’t just go. And Nicky, they both… The only way they’ve gone is if someone’s picked them up.”
“Come home and tell me. Please. But he’s not going to tell you off. Just come home. Please now.”

At 4:00 p.m. on **October 10th**, police officer **Paul Smith** is heading toward Wild Park, just a few blocks from where the two girls lived, when he unexpectedly encounters someone under extremely suspicious circumstances.

“I was doing house-to-house inquiries and as a result of a radio message, I went across to the other side of the road, which is Wild Park. This voice behind sort of shouted, ‘Oi, what are you doing?'”

That voice belonged to **Russell Bishop**. Russell lived in Moulsecoomb and was well known to the families of the two girls. He had even joined the search, walking through the area with his dog.

“And he said to me, ‘We’ve been tracking all day, but it’s getting late now and we’re going to give up.’ So, I said to him, ‘No, no, we’ve got to keep looking.’ And he said, ‘Well, if I find them and they’re dead, I’ll get nicked, won’t I?’ And it was quite strange. I mean, why did he say that? What made him say that?”

Bishop was already known to the police because of his petty criminal record, including car theft and shoplifting. Around the neighborhood, most people saw him as something of a joke, but the remark he made didn’t go unnoticed. As the men headed back toward Wild Park, they suddenly heard two young boys shouting, *”We found them! We found them!”* Russell Bishop immediately took off running toward the voices, moving faster than officer Paul Smith could catch up with him.

“I said to Bishop, ‘Look, you keep him away from the girls and you keep away from the girls.’ I was right behind him. And I got there and stepped between him and the two girls, and they were there as if they were sunbathing. Nicola Fellows was on her back with one knee up, and Karen Hadaway was laying on her stomach with her arm round as if she was asleep. They were arranged like that. I went across to them and took their pulses and… sorry, it still gets me. I took their pulses and they were stone cold dead, like pieces of marble.”

“Then the police officers come and tell me that yes, she’s been found. And I said, ‘Oh, great, great, you know.’ And I said, ‘Has anything happened to her?’ That destroyed my life. That was my daughter.”

“How was it she was in the park when they were found? And when I see the tapes come out, I just knew that something bad… You know, I just collapsed in a heap on the floor.”

“The worst thing I ever had to do in my life was go down and identify her.”
“I had 50 pence. What? So, did she put me down or did someone come away?”

### The Blue Sweatshirt

The murders devastated the entire community. Parents everywhere feared for the safety of their own children. Detectives interviewed more than 10,000 people during the investigation, which became the largest manhunt in Sussex’s history, but one name kept coming up again and again.

“Russell Bishop was always a person of interest. Everybody was saying, ‘Why’s he doing this? Why’s he done that?'”

Bishop knew both families, and the girls knew him well. That meant it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to persuade them to follow him into the woods. Several witnesses placed Russell Bishop in and around the area at the exact time the girls disappeared. One witness even claimed to have seen Bishop that night wearing a blue sweatshirt. The description matched a blue sweatshirt that had been found abandoned on a footpath near where the girls’ bodies were discovered. And that very path led directly to Russell Bishop’s home.

“On the blue sweatshirt, there were ivy spores that were consistent with where the girls had been found, but inconsistent with where it had been dumped. There were traces of fibers from the girls’ clothing on the sweatshirt. It became very clear that whoever had murdered Nicola and Karen had been wearing the sweatshirt at the time they did that.”

To confirm they had the right suspect, detectives needed to prove that the blue sweatshirt belonged to Russell Bishop. But in 1986, DNA testing was still in its infancy. Even so, forensic analysis revealed that the red stains on the sweatshirt weren’t blood; they were a highly distinctive type of paint. It was the very same red paint Bishop had used while repainting two of his friends’ cars. That suggested the sweatshirt really did belong to Russell Bishop, but investigators needed to be certain.

While Russell Bishop was at the police station being interviewed, officers took the blue sweatshirt to his home where they were met by his girlfriend, **Jenny Johnson**. The moment she opened the door, the very first thing she said was, *”Oh, you’ve brought Russell’s sweatshirt back.”* Jenny had no idea she had just provided evidence against her own boyfriend. The two officers took a formal written statement from her, and she signed it without hesitation. Her statement confirmed that Russell Bishop was the owner of the sweatshirt the girls’ killer had been wearing.

“And we thought: this is it, he’s guilty.”

### The Trial and Acquittal

In **November 1987**, more than a year after the murders, the trial of Russell Bishop finally begins. The entire country is watching. Everyone wants justice for the two girls who had become known as the “Babes in the Wood.” The prosecution is confident it has a strong case, but there’s one thing they never saw coming. When Russell Bishop’s girlfriend, Jenny Johnson, takes the witness stand, she completely changes her story.

The prosecution knew Jenny Johnson was lying under oath to protect her boyfriend, but they had no way to prove it. With the blue sweatshirt no longer definitively linked to Bishop, the defense argued that virtually anyone could have murdered the two girls. The prosecution’s case began to fall apart. After 4 weeks of testimony, the jury retired to deliberate.

“The man who had been accused of murdering two schoolgirls from Brighton has been found not guilty.”
“Not guilty, mate!”
“Everyone was just stunned. What could possibly have gone wrong? We knew that it was Bishop. Everybody knew that it was Bishop. Yet, he’d walked free.”

In 1987, a legal principle known as **double jeopardy** meant that a person could not be tried twice for the same crime. After Russell Bishop was acquitted, he could never be tried again for the murders of the two little girls, even if police later uncovered undeniable evidence proving he was the killer. As Bishop walked out of the courtroom, he raised his arms and shouted, “I’m innocent!” He then ran through a crowd of reporters and celebrated his victory with his brothers and girlfriend at a pub across the street from the courthouse.

The Hadaway and Fellows families were devastated. They believed they would never get justice for Karen and Nicola.

“You feel like everyone’s laughing at you, you know? You feel like they’re looking at you and thinking that those little girls’ lives were worthless.”
“I was so angry. I thought, ‘But who else could have done it then?'”

### Life After Acquittal

“It’s less than 4 months since Russell Bishop was cleared of murdering Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. Since the trial, Russell Bishop has been trying to readjust to family life.”

As the months passed, the supposedly “wrongfully accused” Russell Bishop found himself at the center of public attention while the country began to forget the real victims. Sussex police remained convinced that Bishop was guilty and that they had arrested the right man. But because of the double jeopardy law, there was no point in continuing the investigation. The public was outraged, and people demanded answers.

“The parents of Nicola and Karen are determined that the case shouldn’t be dropped.”
“Two little girls in a cemetery up in Brighton, and if only for them, we’ve got to get to the bottom of it.”

Fifty people set off in a march from Brighton’s Wild Park. As part of the protest, a petition was handed to the police calling for the case to be reopened.

“I’m adamant that my daughter was still to be found. I won’t rest till this man or people are brought to justice.”

On **August 19th, 1989**, the parents of the two murdered girls organized a march in the hope of persuading Sussex police to reopen the investigation. They refused to accept that their daughters’ murders might remain unsolved forever. Many members of the public joined the protest demanding that police continue searching for the killer. Among those taking part in the march was Russell Bishop.

“I suppose some people might be surprised that you’re now linking up with the parents of the two murdered schoolgirls, having been accused yourself of their murder.”
“People are very surprised. People keep on asking me why do I keep on and on and on. The fact is I want to see this case reopened. My name isn’t cleared until someone else is brought to justice for their deaths.”

“Everybody that knew anything about the case was sickened by seeing him behave like that. If he had any sense of decency, he would have shut himself away. But he had to put himself front and center.”

Anyone watching could see that Russell Bishop was using the victims’ families’ protest as an opportunity to improve his public image. Instead of staying out of the spotlight, he was actively trying to present himself as someone who wanted justice just as much as everyone else. It allowed him to deflect suspicion and gradually reshape the way the public saw him. To many people, it looked like he was exploiting the family’s tragedy for his own benefit, carefully building the image of a man who had been wrongly accused.

“Seeing the smirking Russell Bishop, seeing the parents of the kids who had been murdered and knew that Bishop had done it… He was arrogant.”

After his acquittal, Bishop was paid £15,000 by the tabloid *News of the World* to publish his version of the story, portraying himself as the victim of a miscarriage of justice. In the article, Bishop’s family openly tried to shift suspicion elsewhere. They specifically pointed to **Barry Fellows**, Nicola’s father, claiming they believed he was a more likely suspect in the case. The publication quickly attracted widespread attention, and those allegations spread far beyond the courtroom, causing serious harm to Barry Fellows’ reputation even though no new evidence against him had ever been presented.

“He said that during the police inquiry, nine people appeared to be suspects, and Barry Fellows was one of them. He said it was not unknown for a father to kill his daughter.”
“Hasn’t it been more hard to stomach in the sense that you’ve been accused of possibly being involved in the whole affair?”
“To think that anyone could think that I killed my little girl, no way. No way. No way at all. I deny it emphatically. I loved that girl.”

However, after conducting a full investigation, Sussex police concluded that those allegations were completely unfounded. Every fact they examined confirmed that the suspicions against Barry Fellows were false. Barry Fellows was found to be entirely innocent, and police officially cleared him of any involvement in the case. There was no evidence whatsoever linking him to the murders. But by then, the damage had already been done. Barry Fellows’ reputation had been seriously harmed, even though his name was ultimately cleared completely.

“The house, it was covered in confetti, mud… we don’t want to hear. Get away. Despicable people.”

Nicola Fellows’ father, Barry, felt moved to make a statement as to rumors and suspicion about him.
“There are various people out there who have accused me of various crimes. This not only hurts me personally, it hurts my wife and son even more.”

Russell Bishop had gotten exactly what he wanted. After his acquittal, he was no longer officially considered responsible for the murders, and over time the community stopped seeing him as the prime suspect. Then, on **February 2nd, 1990**, Sussex police sent Bishop an official letter informing him that the “Babes in the Wood” case had been formally closed. To him, it meant the investigation was over and he had nothing left to fear. But it meant something else as well. The person who had murdered two little girls had escaped justice and was still walking free.

Just 2 days later, on **February 4th, 1990**, shortly after Bishop received that letter, 7-year-old Rachel was abducted.

### February 1990: A New Nightmare

“We’re just going to talk about what we talked about yesterday at the hospital, okay? Come on. Yeah.”

At around 4:00 p.m., Rachel is roller skating near her home while her father works in the front yard. It seems like an ordinary day, no different from countless others. She enjoys a quiet afternoon outside, completely unaware that within minutes her life is about to change forever. As her father continues working in the yard, Rachel remains alone, skating near the house.

“It was really sunny. It was really warm. And my dad gave me a pound to go to the local sweet shop, but because we’d been living there not very long, I got lost.”
“So, what did you want to buy?”
“A Curly Wurly, Twix, and a Marathon.”
“Did Daddy say anything to you?”
“What he said: ‘Be careful.’ I saw a man, and he was fixing his car. And my dad’s a mechanic. So, because he was a mechanic just like my dad, I asked him for directions.”

Rachel doesn’t even have time to understand what’s happening. It all unfolds in a matter of seconds. Without saying a single word, the man grabs her in the middle of the street, forces her into the trunk of his car, and slams it shut. Moments later, the car speeds away.

Trapped inside the cramped, dark space, Rachel is overwhelmed with fear. But despite her panic, she forces herself to stay calm. In the faint red glow filtering through from the taillights, she looks around the trunk. That’s when she notices a can of WD-40 and a hammer. Without wasting a second, Rachel grabs the hammer and starts pounding on the trunk lid as hard as she can. At the same time, she screams at the top of her lungs, hoping someone will hear her and realize there’s a child trapped inside.

“I screamed that I would give him money, ’cause I had the pounds that my dad gave me. And his only response was, ‘Shut up or I’ll kill you.'”

Then, Rachel slowly begins unfastening her roller skates and carefully takes them off. Despite the fear and panic, she forces herself to think clearly, knowing that every second could determine whether she lives or dies. She realizes she’ll be able to run much faster without the skates. If the man opens the trunk, she’ll have at least a small chance to jump out and make a run for it. So, in complete darkness, Rachel silently prepares herself to seize the only opportunity she may have to escape.

“Can you tell me what happened when the man stopped the car?”
“He took me out and then took me into the clearing in the woods.”
“But did he carry you straight to the clearing, or did he take you somewhere else first? Or did he put you somewhere else first?”
“He took me straight to the clearing.”
“Mhm. You have to say… when we were talking in hospital, you said that the man put you in the back of the car. Do you remember that? Did the man touch you at all?”

When her mom sits beside her in the interview room, Rachel deliberately keeps part of the story to herself. Even as investigators ask her question after question, she doesn’t tell them everything she went through that night. She never mentions what happened in the back seat of the car. That part of the story remains unspoken, even though it could have been incredibly important to the investigation. To the investigators, it simply looks like the little girl can’t remember those moments. They assume the trauma she endured, along with losing consciousness, left gaps in her memory. Never realizing that Rachel had intentionally chosen to keep part of the truth hidden.

“So, I have a big secret. It’s been in my head for the last 30 odd years. Everybody believed that he strangled me before he sexually assaulted me. I don’t know whether I knew at the time. I do know the reason why I didn’t talk to my parents and tell them about it earlier was because I was ashamed. When we got to Devil’s Dyke, he took me out and threw me on the back seat. He told me to take off all my clothes, and I just complied. I was conscious when he sexually assaulted me.”

Then, without warning, the man wraps his hands around Rachel’s neck and starts choking her. She desperately struggles to catch her breath, but with every passing second, it becomes harder and harder to breathe. Rachel can’t call out for help. Before she has a chance to say a single word or even understand what’s happening, she loses consciousness. Believing she’s dead, the man carries her into the woods and leaves her there alone. Then he simply walks away, never realizing that Rachel is still alive.

### The Escape and Rescue

Sometime later, Rachel regains consciousness. There’s no one around. She’s completely alone, disoriented, and so weak that she can’t even stand up right away. Slowly feeling her way through the bushes, she tries to make her way out of the woods. Her head is spinning, her body won’t cooperate, and almost every step ends with her falling to the ground. Even so, Rachel keeps moving forward, somehow finding the strength to keep going.

“I just remember it being really cold and knowing that I had to find help. I saw some headlights. My first thought was that it was him again and that he was here to finish me off.”

But she quickly realizes she doesn’t have any other choice. If she doesn’t walk toward those headlights, she could simply freeze to death. Gathering the last bit of strength she has left, Rachel starts making her way toward the vehicle, not knowing who or what might be waiting for her. As she finally makes out figures through the darkness, she sees it’s a young couple. The moment they spot the frightened, exhausted little girl, they wrap her in a blanket, do everything they can to keep her warm, and immediately call for help.

Not long after, Rachel is taken to the hospital where, after everything she’s been through, she’s finally reunited with her mom. It’s the first real moment of relief after a night that changed both of their lives forever.

“I was worried that she’d be cross because I’d lost my brand new jumper. That’s what I was afraid of. Rachel just didn’t want to go to bed when she came home. And I remember Rachel was sitting on the sofa picking the thorns out of her feet. It just doesn’t bear thinking about.”

“As a father, you think that you can protect your family, your children. But you can’t. You can’t blame anybody except yourself ’cause that’s what you’re there for as a parent, ain’t it? You bring them up, you protect them. And you failed. And that’ll go with me to the end.”

### Connecting the Dots and the Arrest

At first light, over 100 officers began the most intensive search undertaken by Sussex police since the Wild Park murder inquiry. Thanks to the information Rachel provides, police immediately launch a large-scale investigation. Her account gives investigators a clear direction, allowing them to focus on a specific description of both the attacker and his vehicle. They begin searching for a white man with a mustache who was driving a red car. That description becomes their biggest lead, and detectives start looking into everyone who matches it.

When the information reaches the investigative unit, detectives quickly uncover an unexpected connection. They learn that a man they already know very well had been seen driving a red car on that very same night. That man was **Russell Bishop**.

“A number of officers drove up to his house and saw him scrubbing as if his life depended on it, his car. When we opened up the boot lid, we saw the WD-40, we saw the hammer, we saw the chip marks in the lid of the boot. There was clothing fibers which later matched up to the ones that the little girl was wearing. There was blood and there was semen, immediately linking the little girl to Bishop.”

Bishop is arrested immediately. Based on Rachel’s testimony and the evidence investigators have already gathered, detectives move quickly to make sure he can’t escape accountability. They know it’s critical to secure every key piece of evidence as fast as possible. But to make sure Russell Bishop can’t slip away from justice this time, investigators need one more crucial confirmation. They ask Rachel to face her attacker once again and officially identify him. That means the little girl has to relive one of the most terrifying moments of her life, all to help build the case and bring about a conviction.

“I remember the lineup…”

And Rachel identifies, without a moment’s hesitation, **Russell Bishop**. Her identification becomes one of the key pieces of evidence in the case that ultimately brings him to trial. For investigators, it means they’ve finally been able to connect the attacker to the brutal crime committed against the 7-year-old girl.

### The Verdict and Aftermath

On **December 13th, 1990**, the court finds Russell Bishop guilty of kidnapping, indecent assault, and attempted murder. After reviewing all of the evidence and testimony, the jury concludes that his guilt has been proven, and Bishop is convicted. For Rachel, the verdict is a major step toward justice.

But, despite that conviction, another case continues to haunt both the victims’ families and investigators: the unsolved murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows—crimes that many already believed Russell Bishop was responsible for.

“Here, a man who was acquitted of murdering two girls in Brighton 3 years ago has been jailed for trying to murder a girl of seven.”

The judge sentenced Bishop to life imprisonment for attempted murder, 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping, and 10 years imprisonment for sexual assault.

And, even though many people felt relieved that Russell Bishop had finally been punished for his crimes, there was no celebration inside the courtroom. There were no cheers, no applause. The atmosphere remained heavy because everyone knew this verdict couldn’t bring back the lives that had been lost or erase years of unimaginable pain. The reason was simple: People in Brighton were convinced that Bishop had murdered Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows back in 1986. For the victims’ families and many people in the community, that belief had existed for years, and they felt he never should have been given the chance to walk free again.

Even after the verdict was delivered, there was still a sense that justice had come decades too late. That’s why the courtroom wasn’t filled with relief or celebration. It was filled with silence—the silence of people hoping that this time, Russell Bishop would never again be able to pose a threat to anyone else.

“Parents of the two Brighton schoolgirls who Bishop had been cleared of murdering 3 years ago were among those in court.”
“It’s no less than what he deserves.”
“But, it can’t stop there, I’ll tell you that now. My fight for justice for my daughter don’t stop there.”
“Justice prevailed for that little girl, but the unfortunate thing is it wasn’t justice for Karen and Nicola.”
“They say life goes on, but it don’t. They’re still there. It hasn’t gone away from me. Do you know what I still do? I still go in shops and look for clothes for her. Thinking, ‘Oh, that’d look nice on her.'”

### Moving Forward

While the families of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows continue their relentless fight for justice for their daughters, Rachel tries to rebuild her life. After everything she’s been through, all she wants is to leave the past behind and focus on her family and her future. The court grants her the right to remain anonymous, protecting her identity from public attention. It gives Rachel hope that she can finally live in peace without constantly looking over her shoulder or fearing that her past will catch up with her again.

For more than 10 years, she actually manages to live a relatively normal life. As time passes, it begins to feel like the worst is finally behind her, and the painful memories are slowly fading into the past. But then, one day, everything changes. A phone call shatters that fragile sense of peace in an instant. The news she hears brings all of her worst fears rushing back. Russell Bishop has applied for parole. To Rachel, that means the man she’s feared for all these years could soon be free again.

“I thought a life sentence is a life sentence. Then I found out that life in Russell Bishop’s case meant only 14 years. Just because he didn’t actually kill me.”

By 2004, many years have passed, but for Rachel, the events of that day are anything but history. She’s now 22 years old, and the news that Russell Bishop could soon be released comes as a devastating shock. Every fear she’s carried for years comes flooding back with renewed force. Bishop, who has spent the last 14 years behind bars, is now eligible for parole and could be released at any time. For most people, it’s just another step in the legal process. But for Rachel, it means the man who changed her life forever could soon be walking free again. She’s convinced that if Bishop gets out of prison, he’ll come back for her. That fear becomes so overwhelming that it never leaves her, following her day and night and forcing her to live in constant anticipation of the worst.

Then, in 2005, for the first time in years, Rachel and the families of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows are given a real reason to hope. A major change in the law has the potential to completely reshape the future of the case. The double jeopardy rule is abolished, ending a legal principle that had been in place for nearly 800 years and prevented someone from being tried again for the same crime after an acquittal.

Suddenly, cases that once seemed permanently closed can be reopened. From that point on, if investigators can uncover new and compelling evidence, Russell Bishop can once again be brought to trial for the 1986 murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. After decades of dead ends and disappointment, justice is finally within reach again, but time is running out. Investigators have to move quickly because if Bishop is granted parole before they gather enough evidence for a new trial, it could make their job far more difficult.

“The key thing that they need is new and compelling evidence. And they only get one chance to present that evidence.”

After new information comes to light, the murders committed back in 1986 are officially reopened for investigation. Decades after the tragedy, detectives return to the case files, re-examine the original evidence, and begin searching for anything that may have been overlooked during the initial investigation. But it quickly becomes clear that finding new and compelling evidence will be far more difficult than they expected. Over the years, some of the physical evidence has lost its evidentiary value. Certain leads can no longer be followed, and the passage of time has only made the investigation more challenging. Even so, detectives keep pushing forward, knowing that a single new piece of evidence could change the course of the case once and for all.

“I used to have nightmares that he would climb up a ladder and get through my bedroom window and come and finish me.”

From the moment she receives that phone call, Rachel’s life changes completely. From then on, she lives with the constant fear that one day Russell Bishop could be released and walk free again. The thought follows her every single day, leaving her without a sense of safety even in her own home. Over time, Rachel develops a condition known as agoraphobia. Her fear becomes so overwhelming that she can no longer bring herself to leave the house. What most people see as an ordinary part of everyday life becomes for her a constant source of anxiety and danger.

The years go by, and every time Bishop’s possible release comes up for review, he’s denied parole. Even so, each hearing becomes another emotional ordeal for Rachel because she knows that one day the outcome could be different. Until Russell Bishop is finally held accountable for all of his crimes, Rachel can never truly feel safe. Even decades later, what she endured continues to shape her life, never allowing her to fully escape the fear.

The Breakthrough in DNA Evidence
Then, at last, in 2013, the case reaches the breakthrough investigators have been waiting for. After decades of unsuccessful attempts, the investigation is finally given a new chance to move one step closer to justice.

“Sweatshirt was still central to this investigation. Bishop had always denied any knowledge of the shirts at all. And Roy Green decided that he would test the inside of a tear on the cuff of the sweatshirt. And it came back with Bishop’s DNA.”

The discovery was a major breakthrough for investigators and for everyone who had spent years working on the case. It finally seemed like they had found the evidence that could change everything. But despite the excitement, one serious problem remained. Scientists couldn’t say with complete certainty that the sweatshirt hadn’t been contaminated with outside DNA back in 1986. More than three decades had passed, and there was simply no way to guarantee the evidence had remained completely untouched.

That meant any new DNA recovered from the sweatshirt using modern forensic techniques couldn’t be relied on as admissible evidence in court. No matter how significant those findings might be, the defense could argue that the DNA had been introduced through contamination, and the court might rule it inadmissible.

But investigators still had one incredibly important piece of evidence left. When the girls’ bodies were discovered, forensic pathologists had carefully collected scrapings from beneath their fingernails and preserved those samples in sealed conditions. The evidence remained untouched for decades, waiting for the day when science would finally be advanced enough to reveal what had been hidden inside.

At the time, forensic technology simply wasn’t capable of performing a full DNA analysis on those samples. But because they had been preserved so carefully, investigators knew that years later they could become far more valuable than anyone could have imagined during the original investigation.

“When we examined those scrapings we recovered, mixed profile of DNA of Russell Bishop and Karen Hadaway. This was massive for us. This was Russell Bishop’s DNA on Karen Hadaway’s arm.”

This could be the new and compelling evidence investigators had been missing for so many years to finally win the case. After decades of dead ends and failed attempts to achieve justice, there was real hope that this time the evidence would be strong enough to secure a conviction.

The Retrial
In May of 2016, Russell Bishop is unexpectedly escorted out of his prison cell. To him, it seems like nothing more than a routine procedure, and he’s convinced it can only mean one thing: his long-awaited release. Bishop believes the day has finally come for him to be granted parole and walk free. What he doesn’t realize is that freedom isn’t waiting for him at all. Instead, he’s about to face a new twist in the very case that has come back to catch up with him after all these years.

“I’m arresting you on the suspicion of murder of Lesley Ann Watts on the 24th of November 1986. Thursday night, 24th of November 1986.”
“Tell us what happened to Nicola.”
“I’ve got no comment. I’ve got nothing to say. I’m not responsible for this. I’ve nothing to do with it. I’m innocent. That’s some bullshit stuff… Genied up 30 years later.”
“This case has nothing to do with me. Nothing to do with me whatsoever. I cleared my name.”

After the interview, Russell Bishop is arrested and taken back to his prison cell where he must wait for his third trial. For him, it’s the beginning of yet another chapter in the case that has returned to court because of modern advances in DNA testing. Armed with forensic results showing Bishop’s DNA on the hands of one of the girls, prosecutors are confident they have an exceptionally strong case. Investigators and prosecutors believe they finally obtained the evidence that can directly connect him to a crime that remained unsolved for decades.

But they have no idea that Bishop has already prepared what appears to be a believable explanation for how his DNA could have ended up on the victim’s body. At first glance, his account sounds convincing, and if the court accepts it, it could once again put the entire case at risk and undo years of work by investigators.

“Russell Bishop arrived in a prison van for the start of the second trial, his face accused of murdering two school girls 32 years ago.”
“Their families were in court for the start of the trial.”
“It’s been a long time coming, but I’m I am smiling. We’re grateful for the first time that someone’s actually not slammed a door in our face.”
“32 years, I mean.”
“But then we did say that we come to this park every year until we got justice.”
“That’s right. Justice.”

On October 16th, 2018, Russell Bishop’s retrial begins in the murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. After more than 30 years of waiting, the case is finally back in court. Inside the courtroom are the victims’ families, journalists, and everyone who has followed the investigation for years, hoping to finally hear a definitive verdict.

As prosecutors begin presenting their evidence, the defense immediately moves to challenge it. Bishop’s attorneys argue that the sweatshirt introduced as evidence never belonged to him. At the same time, they offer their own explanation for how his DNA could have ended up on Karen’s hand, insisting there is a completely innocent reason for it.

According to Bishop, when the girls’ bodies were discovered, he simply approached them to check whether they still had a pulse. He claims that’s how his DNA was transferred. The defense presents this story as proof that any contact with the victims’ body was accidental and had nothing to do with the murders themselves. Bishop goes even further, claiming he told Detective John Morton the very same story back in 1986. His attorneys argue that this wasn’t a new explanation invented years later, but one he gave during the original investigation, long before modern DNA technology made it possible to reopen the case.

“I got a call asking me to come to the park where some local lads had found the bodies of the two girls. They had their heads down and were absolutely deflated. I was totally amazed when I saw the other guy who turned out to be Russell Bishop. It was strange ’cause he was standing there shuffling his feet and whistling out loud. So, I asked him what happened and he said to me, ‘I jumped over the tree and went to the girls and I felt both of their necks for a pulse.’ Now, that was really strange because from what the other two had said, I knew Russell Bishop had not gone within 15 ft of those girls on that afternoon.”

Russell Bishop’s entire argument begins to fall apart right there in the courtroom. The defense he had relied on so heavily can no longer stand up against the evidence. Piece by piece, his explanations lose their credibility, and the truth emerging before the court turns out to be far more horrifying than the story he had spent years trying to make everyone believe.

After strangling the two girls on October 19th, 1986, Russell Bishop joined the search party the very next morning. On the surface, he acted like any other volunteer, doing everything he could to avoid drawing attention to himself or raising suspicion. His plan was simple: Bishop wanted to be among the first people to reach the scene so he could check the girls’ pulses and later use that as an explanation for why his DNA might have been found on their bodies. That was the story he intended to rely on if he was ever forced to answer for the murders.

The problem was that his plan never worked. He never got the chance to get close enough to the bodies to touch them and create the explanation he believed would sound believable. That single fact completely destroys his entire defense.

Bishop becomes furious. He realizes more and more that he’s losing control of the situation and that this time there’s no escaping accountability. He knows he’s about to lose. That’s when prosecutors present their final piece of evidence against Russell Bishop: the letters he wrote to a 13-year-old girl during his 1987 trial. It’s another devastating blow to his defense, one that further destroys his credibility. One by one, the letters are read aloud in court. A heavy silence fills the courtroom as everyone listens, realizing just how significant this evidence could be in reaching the final verdict.

“And they were incredibly sexually suggestive, and clearly he didn’t want those letters to be read out of court, and he started shouting from the dock that he wanted a retrial, but in fact, those letters were read out.”

The Final Verdict
On December 10th at 12:30 in the afternoon, the jury leaves the courtroom to begin deliberations and reach a final verdict. For everyone in the room, the agonizing wait begins because the next few hours will determine the fate of a man who managed to avoid full accountability for his crimes for years.

Less than 2 hours later, the jury returns with its decision. A tense silence settles over the courtroom as everyone waits to hear the words that will finally bring this decades-long case to its conclusion.

“A convicted pedophile has been found guilty of murdering two schoolgirls found strangled and sexually assaulted near Brighton 32 years ago.”

After 32 years of escaping responsibility, Russell Bishop is finally found guilty of the murders he committed back in 1986. Decades of lies, impunity, and failed attempts to achieve justice finally come to an end with the verdict the victims’ families have been waiting more than three decades to hear. The court sentences Russell Bishop to an additional 36 years in prison. For many, the sentence comes painfully late, but it stands as a powerful reminder that even after decades, justice can still catch up with someone who spent so long trying to outrun it.

“This is a moment to remember the two girls. We should also acknowledge the courage, persistence, and dignity of Karen and Nicola’s families. I sincerely hope the families can now find some peace and move forward to the next chapter in their lives.”

“I said that I’d never stop fighting for justice. And now them little girls can rest in peace.”

“I used to go into the bedroom where her stuff was in the chest. When I opened the chest and all her stuff was there and I could just smell her. When the court case finished and we got the verdict, I said, ‘Well, now she can go to her angel bed and go to sleep. She hasn’t got to worry about anything now.’ And I know she’s around. You can’t see her and you can’t feel her, but she’s there in spirit.”

“If I could have a wish come true, a dream that’d come to pass, I’d ask to spend a day with you and pray that it would last. I’d run to you and hold you close. We’d laugh and smile again. We would talk about the old times and see how we’ve both been. My wish go ungranted, but always will be true. I’d trade many of my tomorrows for one yesterday with you.”

A New Beginning
After the trial came to an end, Rachel set out on a journey hoping to leave her most painful memories behind and slowly regain control of her life. It became her chance to take the first step toward a new future, one where fear and everything she had endured no longer defined every single day. In time, Rachel built a beautiful family with her loving husband. Despite everything she had been forced to endure, she was able to create a life filled with love, support, a sense of safety, and at last, hope for a happy future.

“The reason I fell in love with Jay, he made me realize what it was to actually be loved. And he made sure that I felt it. I had my first daughter when I had just turned 22. She’s turned out to be absolutely beautiful. All my children have. I’m very proud of each of them. I’m hoping by telling my story I will be able to put myself back in the now. I don’t want to stay a prisoner of my past. And I’m hoping that I can stop hiding. I want to be able to go out and spend time with my family, and have dates with my husband, and go to a pub and sit in a beer garden in the sunshine. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I’m still here. And I’ve still got a fighting chance.”