Double killer brought to justice after ‘dogged fight’
AJUDGE highlighted the dogged pursuit of an elderly couple who helped bring their daughter’s ex-boyfriend to justice for killing her and another former girlfriend.
Mrs Justice Simler said Peter and Elizabeth Skelton, aged 83 and 81, “fought doggedly and continuously” to get police to reinvestigate Robert Trigg over the death of their daughter, Susan Nicholson.
Unemployed Trigg, 52, murdered former Coutts bank employee Ms Nicholson, 52, in 2011, five years after he killed mother of four Caroline Devlin, 35, in her bed.
Jailing Trigg for life with a minimum term of 25 years at Lewes Crown Court, Mrs Justice Simler said he caused the two women’s “senseless deaths”, and then lied about the circumstances.
She said: “Mr and Mrs Skelton, her parents, have fought doggedly and continuously since their daughter’s death for the police to re-investigate her death, classified as non-suspicious and accidental at the time.”
The judge told Trigg: “The efforts of Ms Nicholson’s family led to a review and re-investigation of her death and its cause, and you were not arrested until November 2016 in consequence.”
Foul play was ruled out following both deaths in Worthing, West Sussex, and Trigg, who has a history of domestic abuse against women, was initially treated as a bereaved partner rather than a suspect.
The death of Ms Devlin, whose body was found by one of her children on Mother’s Day 2006, was originally recorded as being due to natural causes, an aneurysm, following a post-mortem examination.
And an inquest held in 2011 into Ms Nicholson’s death ruled she died accidentally after Trigg claimed he inadvertently rolled on to her in his sleep while they were on a sofa.
But Ms Nicholson’s parents refused to accept their daughter died accidentally and they launched a five-year campaign to challenge the inquest’s conclusion.
Mr Skelton said they spent £10,000 from their life savings hiring their own experts, including a pathologist and barrister, to prove she was murdered because the police would not listen.
His motivation for pursuing the case stemmed from his deep suspicions over how a heavily built man like Trigg could roll over and suffocate his daughter on a narrow sofa.
Mr Skelton’s persistence finally paid off as he saw Trigg, of Park Crescent, Worthing, convicted on Wednesday of his daughter’s murder and Ms Devlin’s manslaughter following a 10-day trial, then sentenced yesterday.
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Skelton said the fight for justice had caused “mental torture” which triggered a mild heart attack in her and caused depression in Ms Nicholson’s brother.
In a separate victim impact statement, Ms Devlin’s son, Brandyn McKenna, said: “Our final message is that we don’t want to think of our mother as dead and her memory will live on in our hearts forever.”
Following the sentencing, Mr Skelton criticised Sussex Police.
He told reporters: “In 2011 the police didn’t do anything. They didn’t investigate Susan’s death thoroughly.
“It was very inadequate, in fact it was a disgrace. That’s why we had to take it up ourselves. It was only because we were forced to.”
The Skeltons said police appeared to give Trigg preferential treatment.
Mr Skelton said: “Whenever we complained to the police they seemed to make excuses for Robert Trigg.”
The couple believe their daughter could still be alive today had the police investigation into Ms Devlin’s earlier death been more thorough.
They also said officers never warned their daughter about Trigg’s history of domestic violence.
They described the inquest that ruled their daughter died accidentally as “a sham”.
Sussex Police have apologised for not presenting all the facts to prosecutors following the original investigation, and Mr Skelton has not ruled out taking civil action.
The trial heard both women’s causes of death were re-examined years later by pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary, who concluded that Ms Nicholson was suffocated by having her head forced into the bed.
In Ms Devlin’s case, Dr Cary found her death was caused by a blow to the back of her head.