DOCUMENTARY
RACHEL NICKELL: THE UNTOLD STORY
TV3, 9pm
The brutal murder of young mother Rachel Nickell in the summer of 1992 was a case that horrified the nation.
The 23-year-old was stabbed 49 times in broad daylight on London’s Wimbledon Common in front of her infant son Alex, who was reportedly found clinging to her bloodstained body saying: “Mummy, please wake up.”
During Fiona Bruce’s 26 years as a news reporter, this is a case that has stayed with her more than most, and here she revisits the crime, speaking to key people and trying to understand what mistakes were make in the murder enquiry.
She even meets Colin Stagg, the man who was pursued by police as the main suspect for killing Rachel, but who was charged and acquitted.
Finally, 16 years later in 2008, Robert Napper, a man already convicted of a double killing, confessed to the crime.
It’s a fascinating and in-depth look at an appalling and tragic case that changed British policing.