The Babes in the Woods Murders

The shocking true story of how child murderer Russell Bishop was finally brought to justice

Paul Cheston

• Publisher: John Blake
• eBook ISBN:
  9781789461299
• Year: 2019

The heartbreaking true story of two families' thirty-year fight for justice for their murdered daughters

On 9 October 1986, Russell Bishop sexually assaulted and strangled nine-year-old Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, in woods near Brighton. He did not answer for his crimes for over thirty years.

Bishop - a petty criminal known to both girls' families - was charged after his suspiciously close involvement in the search for the bodies. But a last-minute change of testimony from his then-girlfriend allowed him to go free, and the Babes in the Woods murders became one of Britain's most infamous cold cases.

In this first book on the case, veteran crime reporter Paul Cheston brings to life this thirty-year saga of murder, betrayal and injustice - before three decades of hurt led, at last, to healing, justice and hope for the parents of two murdered girls.

Written with the approval and cooperation of the Fellows family, The Babes in the Woods Murders sheds light once and for all on the awful truth behind what happened on 9 October 1986, and how the courtroom dramas that unfolded over a generation finally brought down one of Britain's most depraved killers.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Bedlam
• Chapter 2: The Fellows and the Hadaways
• Chapter 3: Enter Russell Bishop
• Chapter 4: The Search
• Chapter 5: The Hunt
• Chapter 6: Prime Suspect
• Chapter 7: An “Inexorable” Link
• Chapter 8: Omnishambles
• Chapter 9: The Fall-Out
• Chapter 10: The Fight Back
• Chapter 11: “No One Wanted to Know”
• Chapter 12: Back to Lewes
• Chapter 13: But Still no Justice
• Chapter 14: Double Jeopardy
• Chapter 15: Breakthrough
• Chapter 16: “Hello, Russell, We’re From Sussex Police”
• Chapter 17: Sir Ivan
• Chapter 18: Heart Attack
• Chapter 19: “Overwhelming, Compelling and Powerful”
• Chapter 20: Facing Bishop
• Chapter 21: Turning Point
• Chapter 22: “Belittle and Shame”
• Chapter 23: “He Was my First Love”
• Chapter 24: Endgame
• Chapter 25: Peace
• Appendix I – Timeline
• Appendix II – The Families
• Acknowledgements
• Plates
• About the Author
• Copyright