Editing Russell Bishop
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On 9 October 1986, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were playing together and decided to go to Wild Park, where they were not allowed to go. The last time they were seen alive was at 6:30 PM, when they were seen passing by a police box. Russell Bishop was also seen nearby. When the girls failed to return home, Karen's mother Michelle called the police and a search party was organized. Bishop joined in the search, claiming his dog was a highly trained tracker dog. The two girls were found dead in a makeshift den in Wild Park on 10 October, having been raped and strangled. | On 9 October 1986, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were playing together and decided to go to Wild Park, where they were not allowed to go. The last time they were seen alive was at 6:30 PM, when they were seen passing by a police box. Russell Bishop was also seen nearby. When the girls failed to return home, Karen's mother Michelle called the police and a search party was organized. Bishop joined in the search, claiming his dog was a highly trained tracker dog. The two girls were found dead in a makeshift den in Wild Park on 10 October, having been raped and strangled. | ||
Bishop was the main suspect in the murders due to his close involvement in the search. When interviewed he gave an inconsistent account of his location on the night of the murders. He also claimed to have felt the girls | Bishop was the main suspect in the murders due to his close involvement in the search. When interviewed he gave an inconsistent account of his location on the night of the murders. He also claimed to have felt the girls pulses when they were found in order to check if they were dead; however, witnesses reported that Bishop hadn't even gotten close enough to see the bodies. Police assumed he was lying in order to explain potential trace evidence left on the bodies. He was arrested on suspicion of murder on 31 October. | ||
The case against Bishop was surprisingly weak due to a series of errors by forensic teams. The girl's body heat when they were found had not been recorded, so the time of death (and, by extension, whether or not Bishop had a solid alibi for that time) could not be established. Furthermore, hand marks on the girl's necks had not been measured or tested for fingerprints and blood discovered in Karen's underwear was never analysed. The prosecution's case mainly rested on the recovery of a blue sweatshirt matching the description of the one Bishop was wearing when seen in Wild Park on 9 October, which had been disposed of near the murder scene and which had traces of paint and ivy hairs on it linking it to the scene. Bishop's girlfriend Jennifer Johnson told police it was Bishop's, only to change her story when called as a witness, claiming she had never seen it before the police showed it to her and that the police had fabricated her earlier claims (she would later admit this was a lie). Bishop was acquitted after only two hours of jury deliberation and went on to sell his story to ''News of the World'' for £15, 000. | The case against Bishop was surprisingly weak due to a series of errors by forensic teams. The girl's body heat when they were found had not been recorded, so the time of death (and, by extension, whether or not Bishop had a solid alibi for that time) could not be established. Furthermore, hand marks on the girl's necks had not been measured or tested for fingerprints and blood discovered in Karen's underwear was never analysed. The prosecution's case mainly rested on the recovery of a blue sweatshirt matching the description of the one Bishop was wearing when seen in Wild Park on 9 October, which had been disposed of near the murder scene and which had traces of paint and ivy hairs on it linking it to the scene. Bishop's girlfriend Jennifer Johnson told police it was Bishop's, only to change her story when called as a witness, claiming she had never seen it before the police showed it to her and that the police had fabricated her earlier claims (she would later admit this was a lie). Bishop was acquitted after only two hours of jury deliberation and went on to sell his story to ''News of the World'' for £15, 000. | ||