The $30 million lie that kept a killer on the loose

A 13-month investigation and a £706,000 payout couldn't uncover the truth behind Rachel Nickell's murder. but advanced DNA forensic techniques finally led to the conviction of Robert Napper in 2008.

The case was reopened by Scotland Yard in 2002, using techniques that had developed in the intervening years. This led to the identification of Napper as a suspect, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Napper was ordered to be detained indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital, while Colin Stagg, the original suspect, was awarded compensation for the bungled probe.

Telling a child the unthinkable

André Hanscombe, Rachel Nickell's partner, has recalled how he told his two-year-old son that she had died after being stabbed in front of him in a London park.

Hanscombe became a single father when Miss Nickell was killed in July 1992, and he later told his son that 'mummy's dead' and 'she's not coming back'.

The child, Alex, 'just kept staring' and never again asked where his mother was after receiving the devastating news.

The £706,000 payout that didn't bring closure

Colin Stagg, the original suspect, was awarded £706,000 compensation from the Home Office for the bungled probe.

However, he revealed in 2017 that he had spent all the cash, and the payout didn't bring him closure or vindication.

The case remains a dark chapter in British policing history ,with many questions still unanswered about the investigation and the use of an undercover policewoman to try to make Stagg confess .