Evidence from a remarkable seven-year-old girl put double murderer Russell Bishop behind bars – and she tells her harrowing but incredible story in a documentary that started streaming today (Sunday 25 May).
Rachael Watts was rollerskating outside her home in Whitehawk in February 1990 when Bishop snatched her and bundled her into the boot of his car.
Bishop, who was 23 at the time, drove to a secluded spot near the Devil’s Dyke where he sexually assaulted Rachael, strangled her and left her for dead in gorse and brambles.
Miraculously, she survived and was able to give detectives enough crucial details to enable them to bring Bishop to justice later the same year.
He should never have been free to abduct her, having murdered two nine-year-old girls, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, in Wild Park, Moulsecoomb, in October 1986.
But at his trial in 1987, a key prosecution witness, Jennie Johnson, also known as Jennifer Robinson, lied under oath and the jury acquitted the double killer.
The case became known as the Babes in the Wood murders. It would take a change in the law of double jeopardy, fresh advances in forensic science and 32 years before a jury finally convicted Bishop of murdering the girls.
Thanks to Rachael Watts, though, he was never free to harm any other girls after kidnapping and trying to kill her.
Two-and-a-half years ago, she said: “I gave up my right to anonymity in 2022 when he died and I finally felt I was safe enough from him.
“But for the last eight or so years I have been living with complex PTSD, acute anxiety, agoraphobia and major depressive disorder.”
The documentary marks the first time that she has spoken on camera. Why now? One reason was that Bishop’s death from cancer three years ago, at the age of 55, relieved her of that lingering fear that he might still one day find her.
There were other reasons. She said: “I was tired of simply being referred to as the seven-year-old victim. I wanted people to realise that there was a person behind that footnote.
“My mental health has deteriorated significantly and I hoped that, by no longer carrying this burden alone, it would help me to heal and move forward without carrying this weight by myself any more.”
Rachael, now 42, lived in fear after the she was kidnapped and left for dead, even though Bishop was behind bars – outwitted by a seven-year-old girl, as one police officer said.
She said: “I used to have nightmares that he would climb the ladder and get up to my bedroom window and would come and finish me.
“Nobody knew how much it affected me. I didn’t know how much it affected me.”
Although Bishop was jailed for life in 1990, that didn’t put an end to her nightmares.
She married and had three children – and buried the terrible truth for years and years – but the past came back to haunt her.
In the documentary, she said: “For God knows how many years, I lived what I would consider to be a perfectly normal life.
“I just assumed there would never have to be a reason why I’d have to tell anybody and give up my right to anonymity. I never had the intention of telling my children ever.”
But Bishop came up for parole – and brought the old fears flooding back. She said: “I was so scared that he was going to come and find me.
“I thought a life sentence was a life sentence. Then I found out life in Russell Bishop’s case meant only 14 years just because he didn’t actually kill me.”
Rachael became frightened, fell into depression and became afraid to go out.
Now, she said: “I’m hoping that I can release myself of this secret that I’ve held for so long, that it would help remove this mental roadblock I seem to have hit.”
She also said: “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be a properly functioning individual again. I’m hoping that I will end up being able to get a job and get a proper career. Something with animals.
“I want to be able to go out and spend time with my family and have dates with my husband.”
Asked what she would say to Bishop if he were still alive, she said: “I’m still here. And I’ve got a fighting chance.”
In October 2022, a crowdfunding appeal started to raise money to turn Rachael’s garden into a therapy garden – something that has since happened.
The crowdfunding page included the original message from Rachael explaining what she needed and why. And she posted her thanks and news about the documentary in an update last month.
She said: “I have embraced the opportunity to tell my own personal story in so much intricate detail for the very first time on television since my attack for this documentary.
“Although having this opportunity is something I never expected, it has been incredibly cathartic and also a new learning experience.
“I have spent so long in the shadows that stepping into the light has created new challenges for me to face and overcome.
“I have been able to do so thanks to the help of my parents whose strength has got me this far and the love and support from my family and now all of you.
“I have been deeply moved by everyone’s love and kindness and by the wonderful messages I have received.”
The Girl Who Caught a Killer – on Sky and streaming service Now from today (Sunday 25 May).
Thanks to this remarkable lady, he wasn’t free to kill any other children. I’m so glad she survived, and hope that she can eventually heal completely. Bless her!
Such a brave lady.hopefully now she is free of fear of her attacker she can live in peace and without fear x
Please, if possible, pass on to Rachel what an amazing incredible woman she is. She proved to be an exceptional child when that dreadful thing happened to her, but as has been said so often, she did a remarkable thing in getting Bishop put away. I recall when it happened and the admiration for the child was beyond words. I hope this documentary is cathartic for Rachel. She is a major hero and I’m so sad she has suffered for so long.
God bless you Rachael, you are so fortunate to have survived when Karen and Nicola didn’t. Only you can truly understand what you all went through. I’m so glad you’re brave enough to tell your story and how it affected you your whole life. It can and will help others.
What a brave and wonderful lady you are despite your suffering you are an inspiration best wishes for the future I hope you get the happiness you deserve x
I am so happy that at last you can begin the process of healing within. Good luck to you and your family. Linda
Bless you Rachel, you’ve suffered so much and quiety but now you’ve released your pain.
Really hope by doing so you can with the support of all your family , live a happy and forefilled life you so deservedly deserve.
Let’s hope talking about it can help you heal some.
You are an incredibly young lady.
Hope the rest of your life is great for you.
You so deserve it.
You have a chance to rekindle what was taken from the child you. I have complex PTSD, Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS. These are the legacy of abuse and trauma. BUT, I found an excellent councillor. She guided me through the war in my head. She came with me into the war and she taught me how to calm it all down. I have regained my child self and you can too. Don’t give up. Find a good guide. You can do it. All my love xxxx
This is a heartbreaking story and my thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of this abhorrent beast and their families. But Rachael, my god what a shining light you were and still are in the face of such horror, your bravery has no doubt saved others from a similar fate. Most of all I admire your courage in refusing to be shamed by what was done to you even today, what an inspiration you are. I wish you all the best in your continued recovery, keep looking forward and know that your family and any decent person who knows of the case or has watched the documentary can have nothing but admiration and respect for your 7 year old self and the beautiful strong woman you are today. Any other opinions are simply irrelevant and not worthy of consideration.
You are such a brave person, I admire you for how strong you were when you were 7 and now today you are just as strong Take care .