Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GET UP, MUMMY
Son of killed Rachel speaks out after 25yrs Frenzied attack etched on Alex’s mind
THE son who saw his mum Rachel Nickell murdered in a frenzied knife attack nearly 25 years ago has spoken out for the first time.
Alex Hanscombe was just two when 23-year-old model Rachel was stabbed 49 times in a park. But he vividly remembers being flung to the ground by the killer then staring at Rachel’s blood-soaked body and shouting “Get up, Mummy!” The heartbroken toddler saw the murderer washing blood off in a stream and disappearing “like a ghost”. Yoga teacher Alex, now 27 and living in Barcelona with 54-year-old dad Andre, will never forget July 15, 1992, the day his happy life changed for ever. He remembers his mum cooking breakfast and having a play fight with his dad before she took him to Wimbledon Common in South-west London. He said: “I was walking hand in hand with her. There was beautiful sunshine and I remember the sound of people having picnics in the grass and our dog Molly circling around us. “We saw a stranger who was lurching towards us and he had a black bag over his shoulder. I was grabbed and thrown to the ground, my face dragged across the mud. A few seconds later my mother collapsed beside me. I picked myself up. “I looked down at my mother lying on the ground. She looked so peaceful, as if asleep and ready to wake up at any moment. I shouted, ‘Get up, Mummy!’ with all my strength. “In less than a second, life seemed to come to a standstill. She was gone. My heart was completely broken. It’s all remained engraved in my mind. It was a frenzied attack but like a silent movie. “The moment I watched my mother’s soul leave her body is one I will never forget. Even today, almost 25 years later, I can still see the film running inside my mind. I was slightly dizzy and disorientated and I spotted the stranger walking to the stream. Everything was fast. He started to wash the blood off his hands. He just disappeared off into the distance like a ghost.” Blood-splattered Alex was comforted by strangers until the police arrived. Alex said: “I still remember her smile, her smell, the sound of her voice. She used Coco by Chanel and I still have that with jewellery and pictures of her.” He revealed his dad was so griefstricken after Rachel’s death he contemplated killing himself and his son. Police botched the murder hunt and Robert Napper was only brought to justice in 2008, when he admitted stabbing Rachel to death. He was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Surprisingly, Alex has forgiven Napper. “Putting him behind bars brings me no satisfaction. He had a tough upbringing and childhood. He was a schizophrenic. I don’t feel resentment.”