He ripped my heart out by killing Rikki
» Mum labels Watson ‘evil with no conscience’ » Fiend is given 15 years for 1994 slaughter of lad
THE killer of schoolboy Rikki Neave has been jailed for 15 years after evading justice for decades.
James Watson was just 13 when he lured the six-year-old into woods near his home and strangled him from behind in November 1994.
The now 41-year-old showed no emotion yesterday as he was sentenced based on the age he was at the time.
Rikki’s mum Ruth, 53, branded Watson “pure evil with no conscience”, and said: “I miss Rikki so much it feels like I have had my heart ripped out.”
Mrs Justice McGowan, sentencing Watson at the Old Bailey, said: “Rikki was a child too willing to trust and engage with strangers.
“He never had the chance to be happy and lead a normal and fulfilling life. That opportunity was denied to him by his murderer.”
She said Rikki’s childhood “had been a sad one”, that he was neglected, was “the victim of violent and cruel behaviour” and went to school just to make sure he got a decent meal.
The judge said Watson will only be released after serving the minimum term of 15 years – less the two years he has already spent in custody – and once the Parole Board is satisfied that he no longer presents a risk to the public.
Police said Watson was “a fantasist and a compulsive liar” and he did not appear to show any remorse.
Rikki’s mother had previously been cleared of her son’s murder in 1996 but was jailed for seven years after admitting child cruelty. Yesterday in a witness statement read on her behalf, the mumof-four said: “Like stones dropping in a pond, the murder has rippled out far and wide. Rikki’s murder left a massive hole in our lives. I miss him so much that it feels like I have had my heart ripped out.”
Rebecca Maria Harvey, Rikki’s sister, broke down as she spoke to the court and said: “Though I was the eldest, it wasn’t like that as he would look after me.
“Losing Rikki was like losing the other half of me.” Without saying his name, she also addressed Watson and said: “After all these years of living your life, you finally get your comeuppance and Rikki gets justice.”
The murder was one of the most high-profile cold cases on file until Watson’s
DNA was found on Rikki’s clothes during a review of the investigation some 20 years later. In a police interview in 2016, Watson claimed it must have got there after he picked Rikki up so he could look at diggers over a fence.
Watson, who has a long record of convictions, fled to Portugal while on bail but was extradited back. He was found guilty of the murder in Peterborough, Cambs, in April.
Rikki never had the chance to be happy and lead a normal life. It was denied to him by his murderer
MRS JUSTICE MCGOWAN SENTENCING WATSON FOR THE KILLING