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[Music] Swindon is a large town in the county of wiltshire southwest England about 126
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kilometers or 78 miles west of London with a population of about 185 thousand people it has one of the lower crime
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rates in the country Sean o Callaghan was a 22 year old woman who resided in Swindon with her boyfriend Kevin Raye
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Sean was a bubbly friendly caring and loving go instantly likeable beautiful and considerate on the evening of the
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18th of March 2011 Sean had a night out with some friends in the old town area of Swindon they went out for dinner
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before visiting to bars a spot in Baker Street after which they went to SuJu nightclub at 2:53 a.m. on the 9th of
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March Sean was captured on security footage leaving the nightclub alone she shared a
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flat with her boyfriend Kevin about 800 meters away from the club but she never made it home
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[Music] at 324 a.m. Kevin sent Shana text message to check if she was okay he was
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concerned that she hadn't arrived home yet Shawn never responded this was completely out of character and at 9:45
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a.m. that morning Kevin went to the police to report her missing after taking the report the wheelchair
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police immediately treated her disappearance as a level 1 missing person investigation a level 1 missing
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person case means police have assessed the person to be in immediate danger or likely to suffer significant harm they
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implemented a four-point strategy to investigate the case they were one locate Shawn and safeguard her from any
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harm to develop intelligence and information in order to establish her location 3 utilize media opportunities
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in order to support those objectives for maintain an open mind in relation to potential criminal acts and seek to
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secure and preserve evidence police immediately questioned the friends Shawn was out with they couldn't offer any
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useful information they had no issues throughout the night there were no incidents or suspicious people in the
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club Shawn simply left the club alone to go home a check of the security footage
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showed her leaving the club at 2:53 a.m. she headed up High Street in the direction of her flat the security
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footage of other businesses in the area was obtained so they could follow where Shawn went on this footage they noticed
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the car repeatedly circling the old town area driving past the nightclub the car drove past shine a few times as
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she was walking along the footpath it finally came to a stop on High Street a short distance in front of Sean about
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257 a.m. the glare of the cars headlights Sean straight into the camera essentially blocking the footage but
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Sean continued walking towards the car until eventually you lose sight of her in the glare a short time later the car
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pulled away and started driving towards Marlborough Road Sean could no longer be
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seen the quality of the footage meant that neither the make of the vehicle nor the registration plate could be made
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here it was a breakthrough though police believed it very possible that Sean had
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gotten into that vehicle the glare of the headlights meant it was impossible to know for sure and impossible to know
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if she voluntarily got in or if she was forced in other investigators got to work on her cell phone records
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the text message sent by Kevin at 324 a.m. pinged off a tower that put the location of Sean's phone in the area of
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the seven ak-47 ak-47 on teen kilometers or 12 miles away the area of Sean's phone could only be narrowed down to a
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six and a half mile radius around the cell phone tell given she left the club at 2:53 a.m. this meant she had 31
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minutes to get to seven at first the only way she could have got there in time was by a car police believed it was
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the car seen circling Knoll town on the security footage only a few hours after Sean had been reported missing police
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formed operation Lyon to investigate her disappearance detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher was appointed as the
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senior investigation officer he was an experienced detective who had headed over 50 major investigations throughout
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his career the investigation was marked as category a the most serious category category a means a major investigation
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of significant concern where any member of the public is at risk the offender is
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unknown under the investigation and securing of evidence requires the alakay significant resources and significant
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resources is what the investigation got up to 140 officers were involved search teams were immediately mobilized to
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attend the seven act forest the forest is a densely wooded area with a thick undergrowth not an easy place to search
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specialist police and dog units were called in Superintendent Fulcher had three scenarios running through his mind
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at this early stage of the investigation one on leaving the night club Shawn had
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been neither enticed into the vehicle or forcibly abducted into the vehicle seen
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on the security footage then driven to the 7 act forest where she met with harm to she had met with an acquaintance and
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gone with them voluntarily and for reasons unknown has failed to make contact with friends or family 3 just
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because her phone was in the 7 act forest didn't mean Shawn was there for reasons unknown she may have become
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separated from her phone and met with an accident or had harm done to her at another location a media strategy was
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discussed with the police media unit and a press release was immediately issued appealing for information regarding
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Shawn's whereabouts up to 400 volunteers from the public as well as members of Shawn's family and her boyfriend Kevin
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joined police in the mammoth search of 7ik forest an anonymous donor offered a $20,000 reward for any information that
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helped locate sharp volunteers also assisted distributing posters appealing for information press releases and
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appeals were also widely shared on social media sites but after 48 hours police were no closer to discovering the
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whereabouts of Shawn or what happened to her other than it was possible she may be in the 7 act forest area based on her
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cell phone records it was three days after her disappearance that a major breakthrough
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came an image specialist reviewed the security footage and was able to clear the images up it was his opinion that
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the suspect vehicle on the footage was a dark tone Toyota Avensis estate manufactured between 2003 and 2008 he
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also noted the presence of a slightly lighter area on the doors of the vehicle which he thought could be stickers of
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some kind shortly after this information was discovered a police officer in a check
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of the automatic number plate recognition records the ANPR this is relatively new technology fitted to some
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police vehicles it automatically reads the number plates of all the cars that are passes the number plate is then
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checked against police databases a record is kept of all number place that are checked by the ANPR an officer
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checked all recordings of vehicles between 253 a.m. and 3:15 a.m. on the 19th of March he got a hit
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vehicle registration AV 0 7 fzf registered to a green Toyota Avensis estate caught by the ANPR traveling
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along mole burrowed from Swindon Old Town the vehicle passed the police car heading in the opposite direction it was
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registered on the impr at 2:59 a.m. only minutes after you lost sight of sean in
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the glare of the headlights on the security footage this information was relayed to superintendent Fulcher it was
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2 p.m. on the 22nd of march police had a significant lead the registered owner of
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the car was Christopher Halliwell and police got to work checking him out meanwhile the search of the 7 AK forest
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continued other police have been analysing cellphone signal strength of the area through that analysis they were
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able to identify hotspots of the forest where the phone was most likely to be the hot spots allowed police to rule out
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large sections of the six and a half mile radius area so they were able to narrow their search
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around this time another anonymous donor came forward and offered a further $20,000 for any information to find
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Shawn that doubled the reward to forty thousand it was at 2:00 p.m. on the 22nd of March that police became aware of
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Christopher Halliwell by 3:00 p.m. they were conducting covert surveillance on him the reason for the surveillance was
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recorded in the investigation log as follows Shawn has yet to be found and surveillance provides the best
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opportunity of identifying her current location should Holly will be prompted to wherever he had left Sean Christopher
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Halliwell was a taxi driver and the police noticed the taxi stickers on the doors of Halliwell's car in the exact
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spot where the image specialist believed stickers may be found and it wasn't long
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before the surveillance team reported Halliwell was displaying some strange and suspicious behavior twice within a
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short period around 5:30 p.m. Halliwell was seen cleaning the rear passenger seat of his car with cleaning fluid
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later that night Halliwell attended the local police station he told the officers there that his daughter had
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told him she had been raped the previous evening shortly after 10:00 p.m. that night
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Halliwell was seen putting car seat covers headrest covers and a bottle of perfume in a bin about quarter past two
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the next morning 23rd of March he was seen driving through the village of Warren bra and not long after he had
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driven through police spotted some material on fire on the roadside near the village
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superintendent full Joe was briefed on the behavior of Halliwell his plan was to try and engage Halliwell through
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media releases in the hope that this would encourage him to return under surveillance to wherever he had left
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Shawn basically the strategy was as follows the police would release a statement that evening saying they were
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getting close to finding Shawn they had deployed specialist dog units to assist the search but the loss of daylight
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meant that the search had been postponed and would resume the next morning a further tactic would be to release a
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press statement about the green toyota vehicle of interest appealing to the public to come forward if they had cited
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at around the time of Shawn's disappearance it was hoped that these press releases would increase the
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pressure on Halliwell and he would respond under the cover of darkness and lead the police to wherever Shawn was if
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Halliwell didn't respond as they had planned then they would arrest him at 7:00 p.m. the next night 24th of March
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they determined that it was highly unlikely Shawn would be at Holly Wells house and they were doing nothing that
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would jeopardize her life it was hoped that their plan would result in finding her alive that was the entire focus of
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the investigation and the reason for the strategies they had put in place to foreign China life meanwhile other
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officers paid Holly well his first visit it was about midday on the 23rd of March
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when they knocked on his door they obtained a statement from him where he gave an account of his movements around
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the time Shawn disappeared his statement was clearly inconsistent with what was captured on security footage but they
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didn't make a big deal of it they said it was just simply routine because his vehicle had been captured in the area on
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the impr the officers also took a buccal swab from him during this visit Halliwell was close to tears and visibly
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shaken he looked to be highly stressed it was here that a risk was identified that risk was that Halliwell may attempt
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to harm himself but they decided the risk was manageable and they continued as planned
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officers were put on high alert to intervene should at any stage Halliwell make attempts to harm himself
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the police were hoping Halliwell would react to the press releases but they were disappointed Halliwell didn't
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respond at all it was clear the media strategy wasn't working later that night fuller spoke to
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Detective Sergeant Cooper he was a tier 5 interview advisor tier 5 is the highest level you can get his role was
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to give advice to his fellow police officers on interview procedures and it was here that Cooper informed Fulcher
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about the urgent interview procedure under pace code C 11.1 pace stands for the police and Criminal Evidence Act
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1984 and what that section of the Act says in plain English is that after a suspect has been arrested
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they can't be interviewed about the offense unless they are at a police station or other authorized place of
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detention but there are a few exceptions one of those being if the delay in getting to the station or authorised
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place of detention would likely lead to interference with or physical harm to someone then police could conduct what
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they call an urgent interview sergeant Cooper was of the opinion that this was one of the rare occasions that an urgent
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interview could be justified as they were still acting with the hope shant would be found alive this section
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doesn't change the fact that the suspect still has to be read their rights as most of you would know it in England it
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is referred to as cautioning the suspect and goes like you do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so but
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what you say may be given in evidence so basically you have the right to remain silent upon receiving when he considered
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expert advice fuller made arrangements for an urgent interview to proceed after Halliwell was arrested he noted in his
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report quote when the senior investigating officer directs that the arrest be effected an urgent interview
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will be conducted because at this time I have no means of knowing whether Sean is
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alive or dead and I consider this to be an emergency situation which requires measures to be taken to identify her
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location nothing of interest was cited by the surveillance teams throughout the night of the 23rd of March and into the
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early hours of the 24th it was just after 10:00 a.m. on the 24th when more suspicious behavior was
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observed holliwell was seen to place two wrappings in a waste bin outside a store
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he then purchased what was described as an overdose quantity of paracetamol fearing that Halliwell was going to
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attempt to kill himself a plan was put in place to arrest him at 11:06 a.m. he was arrested in the Walmart carpark
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of Swindon shopping centre Halliwell was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Sean
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o Callaghan but PC horn who was working with PC Mullis PC horn cautioned Halliwell immediately after is placed
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under arrest he was then put into the police car soon after that two detectives arrived Derek
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and Bevan Detective Sergeant Cooper had prepared a strategy for an urgent interview to be conducted with Halliwell
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and he picked detectives Derek and Bevan to carry out the interview as both were
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experienced officers Cooper provided them a copy of the provisions of the police and Criminal Evidence Act which
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allowed the urgent interview he also added in these instructions quote this investigation is a crime in action the
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whereabouts of Shona Callaghan are unknown the senior investigating officer has directed that an urgent interview be
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conducted immediately upon the arrest of mr. Halliwell to establish the whereabouts of Shaun the questioning is
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only to establish the whereabouts of Shaun and will cease once the risks of Shaun's safety has been averted any
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questioning will be recorded contemporaneously at the time their urgent interview took place in the
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car park and was recorded and when as follows there was the arrest and caution and
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explanation of the arrest Derek then said the focus of the investigation is to find Shawna Callahan
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tell me where Sean is halli well I don't know Derek can you help us with where Sean is
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Howie well I don't know where she is I don't think I should say any more without speaking to a solicitor Derek do
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you know a Sean is safe Helle well no comment Derek can you help us know if shine is
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safe or not Ali well no comment not until I speak to a solicitor can I go to the police station near as far as Derek
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and Bevan were concerned the urgent interview was over the demeanor of Holly well at the time was described by Derek
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as looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights Bevin called Cooper and told him the bad news
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Cooper agreed there was not much more they could do and the urgent interview was over Cooper instructed two other
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officers who had arrived at the scene to take halliwell to the nearest police station which was gable Cross
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Superintendent Fuller was at the station waiting pacing the floor as the two officers were heading towards the
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station Fulcher was advised by Cooper that the urgent interview had ceased and they've got nothing usefully out of it
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Bulger reacted he told sergeant Cooper not to bring Halliwell back instead instructed that he'd be taken to Barbara
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castle Barbara Castle is a historical landmark in England it's an Iron Age hill fort situated near
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Swindon on a side of about 12 acres or five hectares of vast fields in the hills fuller wanted to continue the
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urgent interview himself Cooper didn't discuss this request with full charm he just did as he was told
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fulfilling the instructions of the senior officer on the case the escorting officers got the phone call and changed
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their course from the station and headed towards Barbara castle as they were instructed they arrived at the castle at
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1211 p.m. Derek and Bevan had been told to meet them there as well Bulger said the sole purpose of his decision was for
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it to be a last appeal to Halliwell to give some indication of where Shaun was so as the try and save her life
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he chose Barbara castle as he thought it was the most likely place shant would be
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and he considered it better to take Halliwell to the most likely scene of the crime
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culture headed to the scene when he arrived he walked alone with Halliwell to a spot about 50 meters away from the
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other officers present the conversation went as follows Bulger are you going to tell me where
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shinies lol I don't know anything full char are you going to show me where shinies what's going to happen if you
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tell us where Shawn is that whatever you'll be portrayed you would have done the right thing Halliwell I want to go
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to the station full gel are you prepared to tell me where shinies Halliwell you think I did it Bulger I know you did it
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Halliwell can I go to the station filter you can go to the station what will happen is that you will be vilified if
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you tell me where Sean is you would have done the right thing hello well I want to speak to a
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solicitor Bulger you have been given an opportunity to tell me where shinies in one hours time you will be in the
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press Helly well I want to speak to a solicitor Bulger you will speak to a solicitor I'm giving you an opportunity
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to tell me where Sean is by the end of this cycle you'll be vilified tell me where she is Halliwell paused looked at
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Fulcher and said have you got a car we'll go vultures plan had worked Halliwell remained calm and subdued as he got into
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the vehicle with full charm it appeared as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders
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vultures sat in the back of the car with Halliwell Halliwell gave them directions
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in a quietly spoken voice the drive took 45 minutes Halliwell directed them to a remote area
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about 32 kilometers away or 20 miles a quiet rural spot in South Oxfordshire holliwell couldn't locate the exact
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point but he gave enough information for Marcus to be set up for the search teams
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they located Sean's body later that afternoon at 1:20 p.m. vulture informed Halliwell he was going
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to hand him over to a police constable who were taken to the police station where he would be booked for murder upon
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hearing this holliwell said you and me need to have a chat vulture arrange for Holywell to be taken to another location
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away from the other police Holly will then said this to full Joe I'm a sick [ __ ] do you want another
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one falter interpreted this is Halliwell meaning that there was a second victim however he did not caution him he
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decided to just let holliwell continue to speak he didn't want to interrupt his flow and risk him shutting down which he
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thought would happen if a caution was issued if there was a chance to find a second victim which they didn't even
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know existed he didn't want to risk losing that information this was a quote from for Chow I didn't consider it
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relevant to the moment in time we were in I believe the right thing was to obtain the information we were going to
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get not container although filcher did concede that if they were going on a trip to find
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another victim the police and Criminal Evidence Act required Halliwell to be cautioned they got into the car again
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and Halliwell directed them to a field about 48 kilometres away or 30 miles near the village of each leach in
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South Gloucestershire when they got their holliwell pointed out an area of a forty acre field another quiet and
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remote spot police searched the area and found the remains of Rebecca Godin Edwards Becky was a happy bubbly
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beautiful intelligent girl as a teenager she got involved with the wrong crowd and was introduced to drugs she left
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school and her life spiraled out of control a little bit her family tried everything they could to help Becky
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including putting her into private rehabilitation clinics but the pool of her habit was stronger and she would do
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whatever she had to to get her next fix it wasn't unusual for Becky to disappear
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for weeks or months at a time after a conviction for stealing in 2001 Becky told her mother Karen Edwards she
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couldn't keep putting her through hell so she was leaving and she wouldn't return home until she was clean
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Karen believed Becky had moved to Bristol she never gave up hope that Becky would return home one day over the
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years Karen was told by sources close to the family that they had seen Becky but
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they were mistaken Karen did try and track her down through the police hospitals and other organizations
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working under the assumption that Becky was alive and well somewhere tragically she wasn't she was last seen in late
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2002 she was murdered sometime between then and early 2003 full Tara asked Halliwell a number of other questions
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still all without a caution and 3:15 p.m. Halliwell was taken to the police station where he was formally processed
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holliwell requested the assistance of a solicitor and one arrived within the hour
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Halliwell was then interviewed again he was now at a police station in custody he had been cautioned and everything had
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been done by the book now is the chance to get everything on record in compliance with the police and Criminal
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Evidence Act vulture didn't run this interview it was handed over to other officers
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Holywell had one response for every question that was asked of him no comment vulture was surprised annoyed
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and frustrated he assumed Halliwell would continue to talk to the interviewing officers in the same way he
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had been speaking to him for cherry furred to his interview with Halliwell at Barbara castle as a continuation of
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the original agent interview vulture frankly admitted that he deliberately didn't caution him or remind him that he
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was still under caution the reason he gave for not doing so was because the key issue was the save Shaun's life and
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that aim would be thwarted if he opened up the interview by telling Kelly well he didn't have to say anything
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he considered Shaun's right to life was more important than a police and Criminal Evidence Act compliant
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interview vulture said I felt it was the right thing to do in the circumstances I
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was faced with Hallie will was charged with both murders and he pleaded not guilty before the case went to trial
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Hallie wells defense team put forward a submission that the questioning of Halliwell was inappropriate and could be
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considered oppressive and persuasive and that no caution was issued therefore ruling all the evidence the police got
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after Hallie Wells arrest inadmissible if the judge agreed everything Halliwell had told them and pointed out to them
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would not be able to be used at the trial this was argued in what is known as a wired ear which is a preliminary
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examination on whether or not evidence will be admissible in a trial the Vlade was heard before judge mrs. Justice Cox
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in the Bristol Crown Court on the 9th of May 2012 this was her ruling and I've simplified this a little bit so it isn't
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exactly work forward viewing this entire episode in my judgment it is at least possible that this was questioning which
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by its nature and given all the circumstances affected the mind of this defendant and caused him to speak when
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he otherwise would have stayed silent for these reasons I'll find the evidence relating to this confession and the
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location of mr. Callahan's body is inadmissible the Creon accepts that on the evidence
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in this case two separate urgent interviews were carried out and even where code C 11.1 is engaged all other
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provisions of the code continue to apply a person whom there are grounds to suspect of an offense must be cautioned
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before any questions about an offense are put to them after any break in questioning under caution the person
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being questioned must be made aware that they remain under caution if there is any doubt the relevant caution should be
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given again in full when the interview resumes failure to caution even when the police are investigating a very serious
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offence but perhaps especially when it is a very serious offence amounts to a substantial and significant breach of
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the code the second interview could and should have been conducted at a police station the defendant was just a short
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distance away from cable cross and could have been formally processed immediately
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instead detective Superintendent future adopted an approach which I consider was
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deliberately designed to ensure that the protections to which this defendant was
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entitled were not afforded to him his decision not the caution the defendant was a deliberate one precisely because
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the defendant might have done what he would be told he could do stay silent his decision not to take the defendant
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to the police station for interview was as he accepted because the custody sergeant would have ensured that the
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defendant was informed of his rights the defendants removal to Barbara castle for the purposes of a further urgent
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interview would not only have resulted in the placing of additional pressure upon him but also ensured his request
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for a solicitor could not be granted for the reasons given above I do not accept
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the prosecution's submission that what happened in this case had no impact upon this defendant or caused him no
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disadvantage there were indeed significant and substantial breaches of the codes in circumstances deliberately
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designed to persuade the defendant to speak further questions were asked all without caution during the journey to
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miss a killing its body and miss ability of this evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the
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proceedings that it will not be admitted the judge ruled against the police and in favor of Halliwell and because
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everything relating to the questioning and the finding of Sean's body had been ruled inadmissible so too was the
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questioning and the finding of Becky's body this was massive everything the police had after holywell was placed
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under arrest couldn't be used at trial without that the police had no evidence in relation
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to the murder of Becky the defense put forward a submission to withdraw the charge and the crown had no choice but
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to accept Palli well had just beaten one of the two murder charges and he confirmed his
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plea of not guilty in relation to Shawn's case that would still proceed to trial a few months later detective
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Superintendent Fulcher was suspended pending an Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry in Shawn's case the
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police still had a substantial amount of evidence they could use at the trial that included further compelling matches
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on the automatic number plate recognition system which showed that Halliwell returned to the seven act
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forest area where he had first left Shawn it showed that he scouted out the area where Shawn's body was eventually
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found by police the media releases had worked they had spooked Halliwell and got him
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to move her body but he had done that before he was identified as a suspect that's why he didn't react to the media
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releases when he was under surveillance he had already moved it also the seat and headrest covers that Halliwell was
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observed putting into a bin were recovered by the police surveillance teams the covers had Chan's blood on
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them Halliwell and his defense team knew the police still had a strong case in October 2012 holliwell changed his plea
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to guilty the trial was off he was sentenced at the Bristol Crown Court on the 19th of October 2012
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mrs. Justice Cox gave him a 30-year prison sentence but then reduced it to 25 years because he pleaded guilty and
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save Shawn's family the pain and suffering of a trial but that was little comfort for the family of Rebecca Gordon
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Edwards after a very complicated and painful journey over the last 18 months Sean's family up
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today had the justice for the murder of their beautiful daughter however our family's fight for justice
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for Becky has only just begun police kept Becky's investigation open they knew who killed her but they just
00:34:10
couldn't use any of the evidence they had that meant they had to find more food choose actions effectively ended
00:34:18
his career the inquiry lasted quite a while at the conclusion the Independent Police Complaints Commission ruled he
00:34:25
was able to keep his job and he was given a warning but he was found guilty of gross misconduct the damage was done
00:34:32
he resigned a few months later in May 2014 Becky's parents had split up long ago and they shared very different views
00:34:43
on Fulcher and the police handling of Becky's case Becky's father was very critical he said
00:34:49
I can't explain to you what they have made me feel and what they have done to me mentally they've got off very cheaply
00:34:56
wheelchair police what they put me through this extra pain and suffering nobody has been made accountable for it
00:35:04
but her mother Karen had this to say it's really going to be such a waste of an extremely experienced detective who I
00:35:12
know has solved so many crimes how do you followed the guidelines then Becky would have never been found she would
00:35:19
have never have come into the equation and Shaun would have still been where he moved her to no one would have found
00:35:25
Shaun in a million years where they found her where he dumped her body it was Steve vultures experience okay he
00:35:34
bent the rules but he bent them for good reason Shana callaghan's family were also strong supporters of Fulcher and
00:35:43
his actions that day police continued to work on Becky's case the strategy they adopted for the investigation was to
00:35:51
painstakingly map Becky's last-known movements Becky was working as a sex worker at the
00:35:56
time of her disappearance they located a witness who worked with her and she was
00:36:01
able to identify holywell as one of Becky's regular clients they uncovered evidence showing Halliwell was very
00:36:08
controlling of Becky offering her money and making demands she stopped working in the red-light district
00:36:14
on one occasion Becky was seen arguing with Halliwell before getting into his taxi in early January 2003 Halliwell
00:36:23
visited a doctor he had a swollen hand in a scratched face they also matched soil on tools found in Halliwell shed to
00:36:33
the field where Becky's remains were found it was painstaking work and it took a lot of time but they were
00:36:40
eventually able to uncover enough knew overwhelming evidence linking Halliwell to the murder of Becky and that meant
00:36:48
they could now use his confession again in March 2016 police charged Christopher
00:36:55
Halliwell with the murder of Rebecca Godin Edwards for the second time Halliwell pleaded not guilty in the
00:37:03
trial he gave a story that he didn't know Becky at all as a taxi driver he used to turn a blind eye to whatever his
00:37:09
customers got up to he had two men who he regularly drove around and it became clear to him that they were drug dealers
00:37:16
one night he picked them up they were carrying a large sports bag which they put into the pool he didn't ask any
00:37:24
questions and assumed it may have been weapons or drugs he drove them to the field where Becky's body was found
00:37:31
Halliwell says that later on one of the men told him they had buried a sex worker in the field that night but
00:37:37
Halliwell thought he was just messing around at the time in relation to his confession which was now admissible he
00:37:45
said he deliberately gave a false confession as he new superintendent Fulcher was breaching guidelines and he
00:37:51
wanted to do everything he could to destroy his career holliwell represented himself during the trial when Steve
00:37:59
Fulcher was called to give evidence holywell told him during his cross-examination it was a pleasure
00:38:05
ruining your career you corrupt bastard fool cheer applaud I'm sure Polly well went as far to say that he had no reason
00:38:16
to lie he was already serving life with little hope of ever getting out what he did to Shaun was unforgivable and he
00:38:23
deserved every bit of his life sentence but he was innocent in Becky's case after a two-week trawl at Bristol Crown
00:38:32
Court that only concluded last month September 2016 the jury reached their verdict in about three hours we have
00:38:42
waited over five years for this momentous day it has been an extremely painful journey but today we've received
00:38:50
for justice that has felt like an eternity coming for our beautiful little girl Becky as the guilty verdict was
00:39:01
ready our holywell smiled at Becky's family judge Sir John William Griffiths had
00:39:07
this to say during sentencing I have concluded both murders involved the abduction of the victim and sexual
00:39:14
conduct and both were aggravated by the concealment of the bodies I was satisfied your offending is
00:39:20
exceptionally high and satisfies the criteria for a whole life term holly wells papers were marked never to be
00:39:29
released Holly will thank the judge before being laid away after his conviction an ex
00:39:36
cellmate of Halliwell's from back in the 80s had this to say he used to ask me about killing he said how many people do
00:39:44
you need to kill before you become a serial killer he just had a thing about them he wanted people to be proud of him
00:39:51
or an area to be afraid of him the officer in charge of the second investigation into Becky's murder
00:39:58
detective Superintendent Sean memory had this to say I'm really open-minded there
00:40:05
is an 8 year gap between Becky and Sean I would appeal to Christopher Halliwell if he wants to speak I'm willing to
00:40:12
speak with him I can't really out there are other victims he's not forensic ly linked to outstanding cases however
00:40:20
that's not to say he hasn't committed other offenses I'm not specifically looking at any one particular offense
00:40:26
but I do want to try and understand why there's an 80 year cap between his offending behavior there's a distinct
00:40:33
possibility there could be further offenses this police interview with Halliwell is pretty telling this is when
00:40:41
police had uncovered the new evidence connecting him to the murder of Becky and they were interviewing him about
00:40:46
that look at charge of this I don't think you'll see I'll get nothing right I mean not being 15 over 25 years to go
00:40:54
sometimes looking good as it is if far out there something the next few hours and other charges against me that
00:41:06
will be broke there's a bit surpassed I think it will be now about various things of the past
00:41:13
discloses break-ins piece isn't more serious well that will given this IP enough to
00:41:23
stop everything else I don't want to keep coming back to every couple years on a different charge all the time so
00:41:30
one thing is if I can clear this up the next few hours with everything else be forgotten because at the end of day when
00:41:37
we get sensitive oh I'm just doing a bit of good to go to the look and say that's
00:41:44
it good so what I'm saying is a play I can resolve the matter but I don't want you come with everything as if if it
00:42:00
goes to court found guilty that's it that's where the key stupid so he's trying to do a deal that if he please up
00:42:14
the murder of Becky he's going away for the rest of his life anyway so he wants that to be enough to
00:42:20
stop any other future investigations or charges against him he doesn't want to keep going back every couple of years on
00:42:26
a different charge every time of course the police didn't take his offer and Halliwell ended up pleading not guilty
00:42:34
but that interview seems to suggest that Halliwell thinks he could be linked to other crimes in the future this is Steve
00:42:42
vultures thoughts there's no question from all the information I gathered when I was running this inquiry in 2011 that
00:42:50
he has committed other murders and the one thing Halliwell said to Fulcher during their talks that as fuller so
00:42:57
convinced was pretty chilling halli well said the police want to interview me about eight murders police
00:43:06
are still working on this seeing if they can link him to any other crimes the investigation is still ongoing
00:43:14
after Halliwell's conviction for the murder of Becky Steve Bulger who now works as a consultant in Somalia
00:43:20
released this statement I'm very pleased that Karen Edwards has finally seen justice done for her beautiful daughter
00:43:28
Becky who was brutally murdered by Christopher Halliwell she has fought a very dignified battle for the past five
00:43:34
and a half years to bring Halliwell to court and she should not have had to I hope she finds some comfort in this
00:43:40
verdict I thank Karen for her resilience and determination to obtain justice for
00:43:46
her beloved daughter Holly well is an evil and depraved violator of women I did all I could to find an abducted girl
00:43:55
Shawn in an effort to save her life the first duty of a police officer I also recovered a second victim of
00:44:03
Halliwell's murder Becky returning her to her loved ones after eight years of their misery
00:44:08
I caught a serial killer preventing any further girls being murdered Halliwell had to be arrested as he was
00:44:16
about to commit suicide as the law stands the expectation was that I should have prioritized Halliwell's right to
00:44:23
silence and legal protection over Shawn's right to life I remain convinced that the action that I took in allowing
00:44:32
Halliwell to take me to the bodies of both Shaun and Becky was the right and moral thing to do in doing so I felt
00:44:39
that I correctly prioritized the human rights of the victims and their families balanced against the rights of the
00:44:44
perpetrator the stance that Halliwell has taken since his confession to both murders as demonstrated during this
00:44:52
trial I believe indicate the actions that I took it is perfectly clear that had I not acted as I did
00:44:58
neither Shaun nor Becky would have ever been found and Halliwell would be free to adduct and kill other girls my
00:45:07
actions are deemed by the police service to be acts of gross misconduct the public will need to know how this can
00:45:13
and what the police will do on behalf of their loved ones who are missing when the extraordinary facts of this case are
00:45:20
explained it is likely to lead to a public crisis of confidence in the competence and credibility of the police
00:45:26
service despite everything that has happened to me I cannot regret the decisions that I
00:45:31
took that day ultimately that decision ensured the return of two beautiful young women which brought comfort to
00:45:39
their families and ensure that halle role has been duly convicted of both murders now the trial is over and I'm no
00:45:46
longer a serving police officer I am able to put these issues into the public domain for the first time I would like
00:45:53
to prevent any family having to suffer the same agony that Karen Edwards has had to endure I want to ensure that any
00:45:59
senior investigating officer faced with crimes in action is able to take the right decision without suffering the
00:46:06
repercussions are experienced whilst performing my duty [Music] you