Plea for case review Call to investigate double murderer for further victims
AFORMER detective wants police chiefs to investigate if a double murderer who dumped one of his victims in a county field is a serial killer.
Mike Rees believes detectives need to look again at the case of Christopher Halliwell, who is currently serving two life sentences for murdering Sian O’callaghan and Becky Goddenedwards.
Steve Fulcher, the senior investigating officer, who was played by Martin Freeman in an ITV drama titled A Confession, is backing the call for a review because he also believes there are more victims.
Mr Rees has not named any specific unsolved murders he wants re-investigating but there have been several suggested over the years because of their similarities.
One cold case linked to Halliwell in the past is that of Carol Clark whose body was found dumped in the Gloucester-sharpness Canal in Gloucester in March 1993.
Taxi-driver Halliwell was given life in prison after being found guilty of the murder of 22-year-old office worker Sian O’callaghan who failed to return home after a night out with friends in Swindon in in March 2011.
He was also eventually convicted of the killing of Becky Godden-edwards, who had been missing since 2007 and found in a shallow grave in a remote spot near Eastleach, in 2011, but not before he nearly got away with it after his confession was ruled inadmissible.
Becky’s mother Karen wrote a book, a Killer’s Confession, about the tragedy and also believes there are more victims who have not had justice.
Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for Wiltshire Mr Rees, a retired detective who worked on the Halliwell case, said: “I believe there is a strong possibility of other victims which either needs to be confirmed or negated through a thorough investigation.”
He says if elected he would he would help Wiltshire Chief Constable Kier Pritchard to find more funding for a new review, but accepted the final decision would be operational.
Finding more victims would mean Halliwell would be officially classed as a serial killer because the definition is somebody who kills at least three people over a period of time.
Mr Rees added: “As a former detective inspector - who did have some involvement in this case ten years ago as part of a large team - I know that it’s distinctly possible that Christopher Halliwell may be responsible for other matters
“I also know that there are lines of enquiry which have not yet been explored fully and, I believe, it’s the duty of the police to see where those lines of enquiry take us.
“The public need to have confidence that when a case like this happens - and it is rare - our police forces will do their utmost to get to the truth.”
He said the lines of enquiry could include physical evidence found during the original investigation; anecdotal evidence provided by members of the public and an investigation of any possible outstanding leads on the HOLMES system or anything which is thrown up via the National Homicide Index.
Steve Fulcher, the police chief who brought the killer to justice, but resigned from the police force after he was found guilty of misconduct for not reading Halliwell his rights, backs his calls.
Only recently he told The Mirror the reasons behind his belief that Halliwell is a serial killer and back in 2016 he said: “There’s no question, from all the information I gathered when I was running this inquiry in 2011, he committed other murders.”
Rival PCC candidate Liz Webster, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats, said it was up to Halliwell to put families out of their misery.
Calling for more funding to stop violence against women she said: “Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. Not knowing what happened to them makes that agony even worse.
“Every effort must be made to end that and bring closure to the families concerned.
“That means serial killers like Halliwell coming clean and identifying where their victims lie buried and using the latest science to investigate the evidence to deliver justice.”
Wiltshire Police, which has previously carried out searches at Halliwell’s home, will not comment on the calls for a review.
But a statement issued in March, the tenth anniversary of Ms O’callaghan’s death, said: “Halliwell is not currently under investigation for any other crimes.
“We continue to keep an open mind in relation to any further offences that Christopher Halliwell may have committed and will follow the evidence wherever that may take us.
“It is important to stress that we would not encourage unhelpful speculation as this may cause distress to families involved who are desperate to have news of their loved ones.
“Although we are not currently investigating any offences alleged to have been committed by Halliwell, at the time of his arrest all forces were notified of the circumstances of both murders and, importantly, the facts that were known at that time.”
But last month Becky’s mother Karen said she will never get over being told they had found her missing daughter’s remains in a field in Gloucestershire on what would have been her 29th birthday.
The Mirror analysed scores of unsolved murders for cases that shared Halliwell’s methods and matched ocations he may have been in while working over the UK.
Carol Clark - Carol Clark was 32 when she was abducted from Bristol, killed and dumped in the Gloucester-sharpness canal. Carol’s brother-inlaw, Terry Townsend, told the Mirror the family had noticed similarities between the cases when they watched a A Confession on ITV and they also learned that Halliwell was interested in narrowboats.
Jackie Waines/linda Guest - Linda Guest’s body was found on a bridlepath near Frampton Cotterell on Sunday, April 22, 1985. The 35-year-old had been repeatedly stabbed. It later emerged she had been using an alias and she was really mother-of-three Jackie Waines.
Avon and Somerset Police said this week: “There is no current evidence to link this investigation to the convicted murderer Christopher Halliwell.
“Unsolved murder cases are never closed. They are subject to regular reviews to check whether new techniques, such as advances in DNA technology, can be used to generate further lines of enquiry.
“We’re extremely grateful to the public for any help they can provide us and we often receive calls with new information, even on some of our oldest unsolved cases.”
Julie Finley - Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson of Merseyside Police confirmed the force is investigating a new line of enquiry in relation to the murder of Julie Finley, a 23-year-old who disappeared from the middle of Liverpool.
“A new witness has recently come forward with information and has been spoken to by detectives,” said the statement. “Julie’s body was found in a carrot field off the St Helens bound carriageway of the Rainford by-pass by a cyclist at lunchtime on Saturday, 6 August. “She had been strangled and there was no sign of her clothing at the scene. There was also no indication that where she was found was the scene of the murder.
Yvonne Fitt - Yvonne Fitt was last seen on January 16, 1992, in Bradford and her body was discovered in a shallow grave outside Otley, West Yorkshire. According to The Mirror she was last seen on January 16, 1992, in Bradford - 15 miles away from Halliwell’s dad’s home in Huddersfield.
Following a withdrawal by the winner of the Wiltshire police and crime commision election, Conservative candidate Jonathon Seed the competition is likely to be rerun.
The public need to have confidence that when a case like this happens - and it is rare - our police forces will do their utmost to get to the truth
Mike Rees