Brighton crime writer Peter James turns TV presenter this evening (Monday 25 April) for a documentary on the long fight for justice for the Babes in the Wood.
The author of the Roy Grace detective novels – one of which was televised last night – tells the story of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows who were murdered in 1986.
Tonight’s programme, Once Upon a True Crime, is a new series on the Crime + Investigation channel which is number 156 on Sky, 209 on Virgin and 328 on TalkTalk.
It follows the story from the disappearance of the two nine-year-olds through the discovery of their bodies in Wild Park to the trial of murderer Russell Bishop.
Sensationally, Bishop was cleared at the end of his first trial in 1987 but remained the prime suspect in many people’s eyes.
He struck again in 1990, abducting a girl from the street in Whitehawk, molesting her and leaving her for dead near the Devil’s Dyke.
In the meantime, the families of Karen and Nicky never gave up their fight for justice, and played a key part in changing the law of double jeopardy.
Their campaigning paid off when advances in forensic science – notably in DNA evidence – enabled police and prosecutors to put Bishop on trial a second time in 2018.
Crime + Investigation said: “This episode takes viewers on the gruelling 30-year fight for justice and one of the largest and longest-running inquiries in Sussex police history.”
Peter James said on Facebook: “Two years ago, I co-wrote with Graham Bartlett, crime and policing adviser, a non-fiction book about the horrific killing of two young girls in Brighton which became known as the Babes in the Wood murders.
“I’ve now presented a documentary about the murders and how the killer escaped justice for a long time. It will be shown at 9pm tonight on Crime + Investigation.
“If you’d like to read the book here is the link https://amzn.to/3irznm8.”
The one-hour documentary is scheduled to be shown from 9pm to 10pm.
