Lawyer points finger at victim’s father in girls’ murder trial

0 Russell Bishop is on trial for the second time A lawyer for a sex predator accused of murdering two nine-year-olds has pointed the finger at the father of one of the girls, saying police spent “32 years building a case against the wrong man”.

Former roofer Russell Bishop is on trial for the second time for the murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows.

The girls were sexually abused and strangled on the South Downs on the outskirts of Brighton in October 1986.

In an opening speech, Bishop’s lawyer Joel Bennathan QC cast suspicion on Barrie Fellows, Nicola’s father, saying detectives had spent “32 years building a case against the wrong man”.

He told jurors at the Old Bailey: “Only one person is on trial here sitting in the dock – Russell Bishop. But the law allows a defendant like him to point out facts, ask questions, to the jury that might suggest the possibility that another person exists who may have carriedouttheseawfulattacks.

“We will ask questions of witnesses to show that when the girls went missing there was someone very close to them who has no alibi.

“That someone made comments after the killings that are far more incriminating than anything Russell Bishop said.

“That someone is someone who may actually – unlike Mr Bishop – have been able to order Nicola Fellows to meet him in Wild Park.

“That someone has a guilty secret – that he has been complicit in the sexual abuse of Nicola Fellows, which shows an interest in paedophilic sex.”

The trial continues.