Babes in Wood killer: ‘I returned to girls’ bodies and made sure they were dead’
FIEND STRANGLED KAREN AGAIN DURING SEARCH
THE Babes in the Wood killer told a cellmate he went back to strangle one of his victims.
Russell Bishop believed she was still alive during the search for them.
The monster, 52, was originally cleared of murdering nine-yearold Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Brighton in 1986.
But last week he was found guilty and jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years, after new forensic evidence came to light.
He was already in jail for life for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of a sevenyear-old girl.
Now a cellmate claims Bishop – who joined the hunt for the girls after they went missing – told him he returned to the bodies during the search because he feared Karen was still alive.
The paedophile told his jail mate at HMP Full Sutton her skin was “very bright” so he strangled her again, believing she was still alive, just before she was found.
The lag said: “Bishop told me about the Babes in the Wood murders and how he sexually assaulted the girls before strangling them and leaving them.
“He didn’t say much about the details of the case but mentioned one moment after he murdered them which shocked me. He told me how he was taking part in a search for Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway.
“During the search, he realised Karen might be still alive so went over to where the bodies were.
“He told me how Nicola was completely dead because she was a dark marble colour, but Karen’s skin was very bright.
“He thought she was still alive. To prevent her from telling police about him, he put his arms around Karen’s neck and he strangled her to ensure she was dead.
“Every time he talked about strangling the two girls he could never look me in the eye. He said he was remorseful every single day and that he deserved to be inside for what he had done to them. “I remember him saying: ‘Because I have taken a life, I deserve to be in here for life’.
“He said that he regularly had nightmares and said that there wasn’t a night that would go by that he wouldn’t think about what he had done to the girls.
“He even shed a tear for them but tried to hide it.”
In October 1986, Nicola and Karen went missing from their homes in Moulsecoomb in Brighton, East Sussex.
The next day their bodies were found at Wild Park.
In December, 1987, Bishop was cleared of their murders at Lewes Crown Court.
The lag said Bishop lied when he first befriended him.
He said: “He told me that he was serving his time for the kidnap and attempted murder of a man.
“But after six months he told me it was a seven-year-old girl and I felt slightly uncomfortable and sorry for the victim’s family.
“I was still serving my prison sentence and I needed to have a prison buddy.”