Convicted paedophile Russell Bishop has been jailed for life for the murders of nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway 32 years ago.
Bishop was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted and strangled the girls in a woodland den in Brighton. He was cleared of their murders in 1987 but within three years went on to kidnap, molest and strangle a seven-year-old girl.
While serving life for attempted murder, Bishop, now 52, was ordered to face a fresh trial under the double jeopardy law in light of a DNA breakthrough. His fresh conviction will see him serve a minimum of 36 years for the two murders.
A sweatshirt discarded on Bishop’s route home was linked to the defendant by DNA, while fibre, paint and traces of ivy placed it at the murder scene in Wild Park.
Tests on a sample from Karen’s left forearm also revealed a “one in a billion” DNA match to Bishop.
Bishop denied murder, claiming the evidence could have been contaminated.
But the jury rejected his defence and convicted him at the Old Bailey after just two and a half hours, on the anniversary of Bishop’s original acquittal.
Bishop refused to attend court for his sentencing at the Old Bailey.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Sweeney said: “I have no doubt that you were a predatory paedophile.
“The terror that each girl must have suffered in their final moments is unimaginable.”
Members of the girls’ families wept and hugged each other after the verdict.
Karen’s mother Michelle Hadaway said Bishop was an “evil monster”. In a victim impact statement, she said: “Finally justice has been done and Bishop has been seen as the evil monster he really is.
“On October 15 this year he was tried for the second time. That trial has lasted for a couple of months and has finally led to conviction. This is the result we should have had 31 years ago. Having to go through a second trial has been traumatic and heartbreaking for me and my family.”
Sue Eismann, Nicola’s mother, told how her world “turned upside down” after the death of her daughter.
On her feelings about Bishop, she said: “I have lived with the pain, the loss and sheer hate towards him for what he had done for the last 32 years.
“Russell Bishop is a horrible, wicked man. No child is safe if he is allowed to be free.”
Barrie Fellows said the loss of Nicola destroyed his relationship with his wife, saying it “tore us apart”.
On the false accusations he has faced over the murders, he said: “Thirty-two years is a long time to be suspected of murdering your daughter. When they arrested and charged Russell Bishop I thought that would be the end and we would get some closure. It did not pan out like that.
“Since the trial began I have been through every feeling imaginable from hope to sheer dread.
“Words cannot describe how I feel about Russell Bishop and the effect it has had on people’s lives.”
Members of the girls’ families were embraced by jurors who had all turned up to see Bishop sentenced in his absence.
Afterwards, Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley, of Sussex Police, said: “Russell Bishop is a truly wicked man and the life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years reflects the true magnitude of the terrible crimes against these two young girls.
“Bishop will hopefully spend the remainder of his life behind bars where he truly belongs and never darken the streets of Brighton again.
“This significant term of imprisonment will of course never make up for the loss of Karen and Nicola but I hope their families will take some comfort from it.”
Timeline
- 1984: Russell Bishop is arrested for the Grand Hotel bombing but later found not to be connected.
- October 9 1986: Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway go missing while out playing in Wild Park, Brighton, after school. Bishop is seen in the area shortly before.
- October 10 1986: Bishop and his dog Misty join the search which ends when two 18-year-olds find their bodies in a woodland den.
- October 31 1986: Bishop, who had already been spoken to by police, is formally arrested and interviewed under caution.
- December 3 1986: He is remanded in custody after being charged with the murders.
- December 7 1987: Bishop’s 16-year-old girlfriend Marion Stevenson first is plied with champagne and interviewed by the News of the World (NotW) at a hotel.
- December 10 1987: Bishop is acquitted of the murders.
- December 13 1987: NotW publishes a story in which Stevenson claims she saw a video of Nicola in bed with a man and that Bishop’s home had been bugged.
- 1988: Stevenson first alleges to police that Nicola’s father Barrie Fellows watched a video of his daughter being abused by the lodger Dougie Judd.
- February 4 1990: Bishop abducts a seven-year-old girl and sexually assaults and throttles her, leaving her for dead at Devil’s Dyke.
- December 13 1990: Bishop is convicted of her attempted murder and sentenced to life.
- December 20 1993: The Pinto sweatshirt is taken to Aldermaston to be examined by forensic scientists. DNA testing at this stage is unsuccessful.
- February 1994: Bishop serves an unsuccessful writ against Sussex Police and gives evidence at the High Court.
- 1998: Karen’s father Lee Hadaway dies without seeing his daughter’s killer brought to justice.
- July 23 2002: The Pinto is submitted to the Forensic Science Service to examine a bloodstained cuff, prompted by a Parole Board hearing.
- 2003: The law on double jeopardy is passed, paving the way for Bishop’s acquittal to be quashed if new evidence can be found.
- August 2003: Results of DNA testing on the Pinto indicate more than two contributors, but are considered unsuitable for comparison against the National DNA Database.
- December 2005: More forensic work is carried out and fibres provide “very strong support” for the suggestion the Pinto was linked to Bishop’s home. Hairs from the Pinto are also linked to Bishop. But the CPS concluded the evidence is not yet strong enough for a retrial.
- 2007: Stevenson is interviewed again by police and gives conflicting accounts about the Nicola video. Barrie Fellows and Dougie Judd are interviewed but never charged with any offence.
- 2011: A further forensic review is led by LGC Limited in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
- August 2012: Cold case specialist Roy Green, from LGC, receives boxes of retained material from the Forensic Archive, including tapings from the post-mortem examinations of the girls.
- November 2013: Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley is appointed senior investigating officer in the cold case. Green informs police he has an almost complete DNA profile matching Bishop on the right cuff of the Pinto.
- Mid-2015: Senior scientific adviser Rosalyn Hammond concludes the DNA on the cuff cannot be relied on, due to the possibilities of inadvertent transfer.
- June 2015: Green finds fibres and DNA linking Bishop and the victims to the Pinto sweatshirt. Bishop’s DNA was found on a swab from Karen’s left forearm. Dr Louisa Marsh connects the girls to the Pinto by paint flecks, also connected with Bishop’s paintwork.
- May 10 2016: Bishop is taken from Frankland prison and re-arrested for the murders.
- December 12 2017: Bishop is ordered to stand trial for the murders a second time under double jeopardy rules in light of “new and compelling evidence”.
- February 2018: Bishop makes his first appearance at the Old Bailey and denies the murders.
- October-December 2018: Bishop goes on trial for the murders.
- December 10 2018: Bishop is convicted at the Old Bailey of the crimes, on the 31st anniversary of his acquittal in 1987.