A Confession (2019) s01e04 Episode Script
Episode 4
- Are you going to tell me where Sian is.
- Have you got a car? She's down the side somewhere along here.
I moved her body a couple of nights ago.
- Her body? - Yeah.
- I was hoping we were gonna save her.
- Yeah, it's a shitty day.
- We need to chat, me and you, now.
- What do you want to talk about? - Do you want another one? - Another one? She's down there.
I was today taken to the locations of two bodies, but, thus far, only one has been recovered.
That second girl is Becky.
[APPLAUSE.]
Keir and I just wanted to add our congratulations to everybody else's.
Oh, thank you.
I did hear the confessions weren't PACE compliant.
No.
In my opinion, they were.
Well, I'm sure it'll all come out in the wash.
We've got a match for the second girl, Rebecca Godden.
We've got an address for the mother.
- I know why you're here.
- Mrs Edwards, can I come in? - What's going on? - It's the police.
They're here to tell me that Becky's dead.
Aren't you? Sorry.
Yes, I am.
- No! I can't! - Karen! Steve! Karen [SHE CRIES OUT IN ANGUISH.]
Karen [HE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR.]
John Godden? Father of Becky Godden? [HE SOBS.]
What am I gonna do without my little Becky? [SOBBING CONTINUES.]
Mr Godden, could I please ask? [HE SOBS.]
Mr Godden, does that name mean anything to you? - Christopher Halliwell? - No No, I never heard of him.
Oh! Mr Godden when did you last see Becky? It was It was me and Karen splitting up, that's why she went off the rails.
Mr Godden - Yeah? - So, when did you last see Becky? Oh, er Hm A while back.
I don't remember when.
I knew something like this was gonna happen now.
Everything's going against us.
My other daughter, she needs special care.
Which I'm trying to organise.
But this is It's just one blow after another.
[THEY BOTH SOB.]
Becky was killed in 2003.
Sian in 2011.
Eight years.
Now, that is too long a gap for him not to have been involved in any others in between.
- Steve - I mean, why say that you think the murder was in 2003, 2004 or 2005, unless there are other murders and you've got them mixed up in your head? I need you to stand down.
Take a break and recharge the batteries.
As soon as we can get it arranged, we're planning to put in a small team from MCIT Bristol to wrap things up, so we can all move on - You're not listening to me.
- .
.
after a brilliant result.
There will be more victims, Pat.
He said they're cutting everything back and they want to replace me.
No, not straight away, but they're making me hand the case over.
Well, what else am I supposed to do? It's like they're not even prepared to acknowledge the fact of the notion that we might have a serial killer on our hands.
Listen, anyway, I'd better go.
I'm at the checkout.
OK, love you.
Bye-bye.
Number two, please.
- £42.
70, please.
- Thank you.
Sorry, excuse me.
Aren't you the policeman who was on the Sian O'Callaghan case? - Er - It is you, isn't it? Well, it was a team effort, but, er - Can I just shake your hand, please? - Thanks.
Bloody brilliant what you did.
I couldn't believe you caught him so quick.
- Thank you.
- This is, er This is the guy who found Sian O'Callaghan's killer.
Well done.
[APPLAUSE CONTINUES.]
- Nice one.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Nice one, mate.
- Thank you.
OK, his bag's packed.
- He's just choosing a DVD.
- OK.
Before you go, I, erm I've got something for you.
It's a lock of Sian's hair.
The funeral parlour did it for us.
I've got one and I've given one to Mum.
Thanks.
I'll call tomorrow about the funeral, just to go through the arrangements with you.
Right.
- Go on, what did you choose? - Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.
Oh, not that again! Come on, then.
- Bye, Aiden.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye, sweetheart.
Bye.
Why are you going to speak to Mick about the funeral details? Because he's Sian's father.
Yeah, he doesn't need to be worrying about all that.
He's got enough on his plate.
Anyway, it's all done.
What is? The funeral.
I've booked for us to go and see Hilliers.
- What? - Yeah, I just said to myself, "We need to apply the KISS principle.
" Keep it simple, stupid.
Now have you been to see the doctor about? No.
I haven't been able to face it.
Right, I am booking you an appointment and I am taking you there myself.
No ifs or buts.
Hello, Declan! It's me.
It's Chris.
Chris.
How are you, mate? Yeah, not so bad.
Stuck in here, of course.
I'm on remand at the moment.
Well, it's a lot of waiting around, really.
But it's changed a lot since I was last in here.
Well, it was much more stricter then.
Well, it's a load of bollocks, mate.
But they want to interview me.
Yeah, they want to interview me about eight murders.
[HE LAUGHS.]
I don't know, mate.
I don't know.
WOMAN ON RADIO: For over a week her identity was a mystery.
But detectives have finally been able to name the unknown woman, her body found buried at a Cotswold beauty spot Where is everyone? - Re-assigned overnight.
- Already? I've only been given to the end of the week myself.
Right, get everyone who we have left in the briefing room.
Jesus Christ! OK, so the news back from the lab is mixed.
The good news is there's a match for Sian's DNA on the spots of blood on the car seat covers Halliwell was trying to dispose of.
Yeah, but surely he could just say that he was a cab driver and Sian got in as a passenger and had a nosebleed or something.
Yeah.
Although there is a match for Halliwell's DNA on Sian's body from the bite mark to her breast.
But it's only partial.
No match from the perfume bottle.
Erm, there is actually a full female DNA profile on it, but it's not Sian's or Becky's.
Which begs the question, whose is it? Also they've been unable to positively identify the item he left burning in the middle of the road.
What are they saying about the gaffer tape gag - found with Becky's body? - Very unlikely to provide any profile, given how long it's been in the ground.
Right, I think we're going to find other victims.
There's a big gap between Becky and Sian's murders.
So cross-reference Halliwell's known whereabouts between those dates against cold cases and mispers.
None of us knows how much longer we have got left on this investigation, myself included.
There are currently 1,500 actions pending on the Holmes System.
We actually need double the team that we had a few days ago, and we have less than half now.
I'm not quite sure how that logic prevails, but, erm, let's do what we can, eh? Right, see you soon.
What have we done? Oh, sit down, for God's sake.
[HE TRIES TO HOLD BACK A SOB.]
Oh - Do you want anything? - I'll have a cup of tea.
And a bacon sarnie.
[HE SIGHS HEAVILY.]
What are we gonna do without her? She was our little girl.
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
I asked to see you, John, because I want to know something.
Oh I want to know how you and your family were telling me you'd seen Becky when, all along, she was dead in the ground.
No, it's not right.
2003 she was murdered, John.
But I've been told that your dad, your nephew, all different members of your family have said they've seen her - as recent as a couple of years ago.
- I don't know.
- Maybe they got the dates wrong.
- Nonsense.
Your dad Your dad would remember when he saw his own granddaughter, wouldn't he? Well, his memory's not as good as it was.
It's not good enough, John.
Because while you lot were telling me you'd seen her, she never got properly reported as missing.
[HE SLURPS.]
Well, you can't blame me for your own guilty conscience.
I knew I knew she would have come to see me if she was still alive.
I knew it.
Why, John? Oh Was it? Was it just to try and hurt me? Hm? Was that it? You're talking trash, as usual.
God forgive you lot for what you've done.
The reason I got in touch is, er cos I shared a cell with Halliwell round about '87, '88 maybe.
He was just in for nicking stuff, as I remember.
And what was it that disturbed you? Two things I brought to mind.
Er Once, he asks me, "Have you ever had sex with a woman while you're strangling her?" I remember that.
Another time, we're lying there on the bunks, and this time he asks me, "How many do you have to kill to be a serial killer?" Mm.
Tends to stick in your mind, them sort of things.
Oh, his big hero, I can tell you, was that Myra Hindley off the Moors Murders.
They want to interview me.
Yeah, they want to interview me about eight murders.
From a phone call two days ago.
Eight.
Who's mentioned eight? Certainly not us.
- Who's he talking to? - A mate of his he phoned from prison.
He's known him since school.
2003, Becky.
2011, Sian.
- Eight years.
- Eight years, eight murders.
This is surely grounds for further investigation.
We have to step up resources again.
Steve, I've decided I'm moving on.
I'm going to take up a post with the UK Border Force.
Regardless, this recording may not be enough to keep this investigation open.
Sir we are starting to get hits and matches with unsolved murders and missing persons.
Locally, there's a sex worker went missing in the early '90s, body never found, last seen just around the corner from where Halliwell lived at the time.
And there will be others, absolutely no doubt.
Halliwell's hero is Myra Hindley.
We need more resources, not less.
Sir, we have got to investigate this properly, find out if there are any matches around the country.
Steve, it's not going to be my call, OK? It's gonna be Pat Geenty taking over as Chief, and, no doubt, Mike Veale becoming his deputy.
It's gonna be for them to decide if they want to put any more resources into this, not me.
Evening.
Nice to see you.
Usual deal, none of what we talk about can be used by ITV until after the verdict.
Yeah, agreed.
Well, he's a serial killer.
Rob, I am convinced of it.
On top of the two that we know he's killed, I think there's probably another six.
Six?! Mm-hm.
But I need a bigger team to properly investigate him.
I love that jacket.
That was her favourite.
I couldn't wear it.
Just have it as a keepsake.
Can you finish this one? When do you think you're going to move back in, Kev? I will at some point.
But just not now.
Why don't you sort something out for her to wear? For the funeral.
Don't tell me what you choose.
It'll just be between the two of you.
- Not too tight.
- OK.
You look so smart.
Come on, Pete, Sharon's her auntie.
- It's only a poem, please.
- I'm sorry, Sharon, but we've only got a certain amount of allotted time and the service has all been very carefully worked out.
But surely? Elaine asked me to do it and I've done it.
- Is the timing really that precise? - Mum, she's here! God bless her.
MALE REPORTER: Close friends told me she was outgoing, loyal, fun, caring.
A great auntie to her friends' children.
A young women with so much promise, so much zest for life.
That life was honoured today.
Today proved how much she meant to this town.
Are they for Sian? Yeah.
Mint sauce? - It's minted lamb! - I like mint sauce.
- Well, how bloody minty do you want it? - Minty.
If we're doing this mother-daughter thing, how's work? - OK.
- Just OK? I'm not gonna make a career out of it.
I want to have babies, don't I? It'll be some time before we can release Becky's body for burial.
And we are aware that this is a distressing time for you.
- We want her back.
- Of course.
Now, obviously, Becky's body was photographed as we found her.
And as this is an image which will be shown in court we wanted to give you the opportunity to view it first, should you feel you wanted to.
Yeah? - Yeah.
- OK.
So the main photo is her as we found her.
- Karen! - No, I'm all right, I'm all right.
Just leave me down here a minute.
I'll get some water.
[SHE CLEARS HER THROAT.]
He cut He cut He cut her head off and her hands and her feet.
The pathologist can't be sure whether Halliwell did that or if animals did.
He did it.
Come on, love, drink this.
Why would he do that to a little girl? [SHE SOBS.]
125 quid fine.
- That's not actually too bad.
- And a drugs rehabilitation course.
You can't take that lightly, or they'll put you back in prison, my young lady.
I ain't done any drugs for three whole weeks.
You'll be so proud of me.
- Also, look at that.
- What's that? One of those prison officers put a cigarette out on my arm.
Such a bitch! Oh, can we keep the hood down? I love it with the hood down.
And I don't smell bad, I just like it.
We'll get you home, give you a nice bubble bath and then we'll go out for a posh dinner.
- How about that? - Yeah.
- Mum - Yeah? Can I go see my boyfriend first? - No.
- Please, Mum.
I'm so excited to see him.
I'll just I'll pop in, I'll say hello.
That'll be it.
I'm not coming home, Mum.
Becky, get in the car.
I got I got myself clean.
I can't keep putting you through this.
I'm sorry.
- How are you coping? - OK.
You don't feel the need for any anti-depressants? I don't see the point.
I know why I am depressed.
It was two girls, wasn't it? Sian and another girl.
Just lift your arm.
All of us here, we're we're very sorry.
That pisses me off.
Sian's name always being mentioned in the same breath as the other girl.
I'm so sorry, have I got that wrong? Erm, get dressed again.
No, there was another victim.
But the circumstances were completely different.
She was a drug addict and a prostitute and must have accepted there was a risk attached to her profession.
Sian was an ordinary girl who had a boyfriend and a job in an office.
She was just on a night out with her friends.
Obviously, I feel sorry for Becky, but I'd hate for people to think Sian was the same as her.
Well, Elaine, there is something there.
So now we need to take a scan and a biopsy to try and work out exactly what it is.
So, look, don't worry about it too much just yet.
- Are we seeing him today? - No, just the lawyers.
All the legal arguments.
One of the solicitors said that Halliwell might try and claim that Sian is a prostitute.
If they start saying that, I'm telling you now, I'm gonna lose it.
- They can't say that! - They won't.
We can clearly demonstrate she was nothing like Becky.
We've got to wait in here, yeah? I'm Mick, Sian's dad.
- Pleased to meet you.
- This is, er, Debbie my wife.
I can't believe Elaine and I have gone through what we've gone through, and, all along, we've only lived a few doors away from each other.
But Becky and Sian are together forever now, aren't they? All rise.
Mr Geenty, I am not allowed to give evidence, but I can tell you that, apart from in terrorism cases, I have never come across the urgent interview provision to PACE being used.
It's a very unusual beast.
Would you agree with that? Yes, it is.
But what it does not mean is that, for example you can abandon the need to caution.
The PACE guidelines quite clearly indicate that a person is entitled to have his rights explained to him and a police officer's duty is to ensure that they understand those rights.
It is.
And that's an inviolate position.
Yes, it is.
But I have to say that I think the decision that Steve made was, to use the slang, a gutsy decision.
I'd like to think I'd make a similar decision in the same circumstances.
I've just been told the defence QC is going to move to have you excluded from the trial.
What? I'm sure they're just trying it on.
An attempt to rattle you before you testify today.
But what it does mean is they don't really have any defence, except attacking you.
So that's why they haven't put out a defence statement.
Exactly.
- Right.
- Thanks, Ian.
I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Detective Superintendent Fulcher, you knew that Sian O'Callaghan was dead long before you met Mr Halliwell in that car park, didn't you? I had no way of knowing if she was dead or alive.
Looking through your own notes at the time, you talk about "the prospect of recovering her body".
You believed she was dead, didn't you? Er, I think you're missing the point here.
What I thought, er, hoped or even believed is irrelevant to the execution of my duties as a police officer and my responsibilities to Sian O'Callaghan.
Barbury Castle's a remote area, isn't it? Yes, I suppose it is.
About as different from the custody suite of Gable Cross Police Station as it is possible to envisage, isn't it? Yes.
What I suggest to you is that you took Mr Halliwell there because you thought that would be an additional element of pressure upon him.
That's what you were doing, isn't it? I believed Barbury Castle was most likely to be where Sian was, and that, if I took Christopher there for an urgent interview, it would necessarily mean getting to her quicker, if he was prepared to tell us where she was.
And if that involved abandoning his PACE rights, you were prepared to do that? I believed the urgent interview provision enabled me to take the course of action that I did.
Mr Fulcher, your own deputy, Detective Inspector Kirby, told you it was not a good idea for you to conduct an additional urgent interview yourself with Halliwell, didn't he? Yes, he did.
He said you'd be sailing very close to the wind, in terms of a breach of PACE, didn't he? Words to that effect.
I can't believe he didn't caution Halliwell.
Why didn't he just do it when he was talking to him? It's not just the caution, Mum.
They've got to take him to a police station and give him a solicitor.
I feel so sorry for Steve.
That bloody lawyer is really going for him.
I think he's made a mistake.
But if he hadn't done what he did, we'd never have found Becky.
A big fucking mistake.
Let's move on now to the "Do you want another one?" conversation.
As soon as he began talking to you, you appreciated it had nothing to do with the Sian investigation.
Yes.
Well, surely, as the conversation progressed, you should have said, "Look, we'll talk about this at the police station later.
" That's what you should have said, shouldn't you? My view was that we were in the moment.
If he was offering the information, I would rather have it and not curtail it, than not find Becky Godden.
And once Mr Halliwell was taken back to Gable Cross Police Station and given a solicitor, to your intense annoyance, he decided he didn't want to answer any further questions in an interview.
It was frustrating, yes.
And you and your team went out of your way to undermine Mr Coleman, who attended throughout the interview process, didn't you? I thought it was utterly ridiculous that an individual, who had taken me and numerous other people from a surveillance convoy to two dead bodies, should seek to find some mechanism, some quirk of the law, some loophole, to get him away from the fact that he was a multiple murderer.
So PACE, in your view, is a loophole? It was a travesty! It was like I was on trial.
What about the judge? Hm, it's hard to tell.
She did seem more impressed with their QC than ours, I could see that.
And this is the first criminal case she's ever presided over.
Up to now, she's just done family stuff, you know.
But it's not just that Halliwell confessed.
He confessed and he took you to the bodies.
- How can that be a problem? - I don't know.
I mean, their side were looking very confident.
They're trying to paint me as some sort of renegade acting outside of the law.
But the judge has to see through that.
I have considered the evidence and oral submissions with care and I find, on the balance of probabilities, that the defendant's confession relating to the location of Sian O'Callaghan's body may have been obtained by oppression.
[MUTTERING AND WHISPERING.]
With regard to Becky Godden-Edwards, as soon as the defendant began to talk about another offence, he should have been immediately re-arrested and cautioned.
The urgent interview criteria had, at that point, expired.
There should have been no further discussion and the defendant should have been taken to a police station.
This whole series of events began with a deliberate decision by a senior officer to breach the PACE code.
And whilst Detective Superintendent Fulcher was entitled to adopt an approach which would lead to the gathering of intelligence and information, what resulted was not, in my judgment, such as can fairly constitute admissible evidence in a criminal trial.
Yeah, well, he's going to have to explain this at the trial.
Are you all right? [DOOR OPENS.]
Er, good afternoon, everybody.
So, the first thing to say is that we should still be OK with the case against him for Sian.
We have the DNA evidence.
Her blood in his car, his DNA on her body.
And what about Becky? The confession evidence is all we had.
And, er, I'm afraid, without that, we'll have to take her name off the indictment.
What, you? What, you mean he is not going to stand trial for murdering my daughter? I'm sorry.
Well, this is Fulcher's fault! He's fucked up here, he has! How can this be fair? Everybody knows he did it.
That judge knows it.
The lawyer knows it.
You know it.
I know it.
So how can that be right? Please, can you just tell me, how can this be right? WOMAN REPORTER: Christopher Halliwell was brought to court under police protection.
The 47-year-old mini cab driver is accused of killing Sian as she walked home alone from a girls' night out.
- MAN: Come here, you! - [BANGING ON THE VAN.]
The police had asked them to stay calm and let the legal process take its course.
[BANGING ON THE VAN.]
But the strength of feeling is etched on people's faces here.
[CROWD SHOUTS ABUSE.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
Will the defendant please rise? Christopher John Halliwell, you are charged that, on March 19th, 2011, you did murder Sian O'Callaghan, contrary to common law.
How do you plead? Guilty.
Christopher John Halliwell, you have advanced little by way of mitigation.
I accept, however, that your plea of guilty has avoided Sian's family having to endure a trial, which is an important factor.
Having careful regard to the overall seriousness of this offence, the starting point will be 30 years.
However, I will allow a discount of five years for your plea of guilty.
I therefore rule that the minimum term that you shall serve will be 25 years.
Take him down.
All rise.
WOMAN REPORTER: Christopher Halliwell could have been facing a jail term for murders of two women.
Instead, he was given life for one and, it appears, escaped justice for another.
So, I came to apologise to you both.
You have got nothing to apologise for, Steve.
Well If you hadn't done what you did, we'd never have found Becky.
Well not everyone sees it that way.
What I can't understand is why nobody seems to be applying any common sense here.
Why would that lawyer be fighting so hard to set free someone like Halliwell, who's admitted, himself, that he killed two young girls? Why put all that effort into defending someone who's guilty? Oh, I don't know, the principle, I guess.
What principle? And what about justice? They say that Halliwell was oppressed by you.
Well, I bet Becky and Sian were oppressed by him just before he killed them, but that doesn't seem to matter, does it? Look, I've thought about this a lot and if it's any consolation, I can honestly say, hand on heart, I wouldn't have done anything different.
I don't see how I could.
We're behind you one hundred percent, Steve.
Mm.
You brought my little girl home.
We can't thank you enough for what you've done for us.
Thank you.
That does mean a lot to me.
Contact the DVLA, madam, and they'll deal with it.
OK, all right.
Thank you.
Yes, sir? I want to make a complaint about one of your police officers.
His name is Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher.
Well, it's a complaint, Steve.
A complaint's a complaint.
And as the lead for Professional Standards for the force, I have to take it seriously.
But half the stuff he's complaining about is nothing to do with me.
I mean, not being invited to a press conference.
Us calling her Becky Godden-Edwards, not just Godden.
I had no say in that.
And the thing about my actions preventing justice for Becky We wouldn't have found Becky if it wasn't for my actions.
Well, I'll have to make a decision on whether to refer it to the IPCC and whether it constitutes just misconduct or gross misconduct.
- Really? - Mm.
[HE SIGHS HEAVILY.]
- Ah.
- Steve.
Sir, I need a word.
- OK.
- Thanks.
What is it? It's all clear.
What is? I had a biopsy.
- But you told me - It's benign.
Don't you ever go through something like that on your own again, hm? I just feel guilty.
Guilty that it's me who's been given another chance.
I'm sorry, sir, but it's bollocks.
None of what he's complaining about makes any sense.
And, for most of his points, I'm the wrong respondent.
All right, leave it with me, Steve.
- I'll have a quiet word with Mike.
- Would you? I'd appreciate that.
Thanks.
Oh, hello.
Come in.
Thanks.
As you know, the case against Halliwell for Becky's murder collapsed in court.
But at least we were able to answer the mystery of her disappearance and end what must have been for you the terrible pain of not knowing.
Yes.
And, for that, we are very grateful to Steve Fulcher.
The good news is that we were able to convict Halliwell for Sian's murder.
And, as you know, he received a sentence of 25 years' imprisonment.
Yeah, minus the time he's spent on remand.
Yeah.
Given that we do not have enough evidence to convict Halliwell for Becky's murder, Wiltshire Police Service hopes that you are, er, satisfied that, were Halliwell ever to be released, he would be a very, very old man.
You see, you don't understand me at all.
Yes, Halliwell is going to be in prison for a very long time, but not so long that he won't ever get out.
And Sian's family have got justice.
And I'm pleased for them.
Truly, I am.
But where is Becky in the pecking order? She's right down at the bottom, where's she's always been.
How dare you trample over my daughter? We're not gonna let go of this, not one bit.
Not till that man is made to pay for what he did to my Becky.
So you go back and you tell your bosses, no, I am not satisfied.
Not at all.
Steve I had a word with Mike.
Unfortunately, he's already referred it to the IPCC.
They're going to charge you.
Gross misconduct.
Sorry.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
Fuck Fuck, fuck, fuck
- Have you got a car? She's down the side somewhere along here.
I moved her body a couple of nights ago.
- Her body? - Yeah.
- I was hoping we were gonna save her.
- Yeah, it's a shitty day.
- We need to chat, me and you, now.
- What do you want to talk about? - Do you want another one? - Another one? She's down there.
I was today taken to the locations of two bodies, but, thus far, only one has been recovered.
That second girl is Becky.
[APPLAUSE.]
Keir and I just wanted to add our congratulations to everybody else's.
Oh, thank you.
I did hear the confessions weren't PACE compliant.
No.
In my opinion, they were.
Well, I'm sure it'll all come out in the wash.
We've got a match for the second girl, Rebecca Godden.
We've got an address for the mother.
- I know why you're here.
- Mrs Edwards, can I come in? - What's going on? - It's the police.
They're here to tell me that Becky's dead.
Aren't you? Sorry.
Yes, I am.
- No! I can't! - Karen! Steve! Karen [SHE CRIES OUT IN ANGUISH.]
Karen [HE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR.]
John Godden? Father of Becky Godden? [HE SOBS.]
What am I gonna do without my little Becky? [SOBBING CONTINUES.]
Mr Godden, could I please ask? [HE SOBS.]
Mr Godden, does that name mean anything to you? - Christopher Halliwell? - No No, I never heard of him.
Oh! Mr Godden when did you last see Becky? It was It was me and Karen splitting up, that's why she went off the rails.
Mr Godden - Yeah? - So, when did you last see Becky? Oh, er Hm A while back.
I don't remember when.
I knew something like this was gonna happen now.
Everything's going against us.
My other daughter, she needs special care.
Which I'm trying to organise.
But this is It's just one blow after another.
[THEY BOTH SOB.]
Becky was killed in 2003.
Sian in 2011.
Eight years.
Now, that is too long a gap for him not to have been involved in any others in between.
- Steve - I mean, why say that you think the murder was in 2003, 2004 or 2005, unless there are other murders and you've got them mixed up in your head? I need you to stand down.
Take a break and recharge the batteries.
As soon as we can get it arranged, we're planning to put in a small team from MCIT Bristol to wrap things up, so we can all move on - You're not listening to me.
- .
.
after a brilliant result.
There will be more victims, Pat.
He said they're cutting everything back and they want to replace me.
No, not straight away, but they're making me hand the case over.
Well, what else am I supposed to do? It's like they're not even prepared to acknowledge the fact of the notion that we might have a serial killer on our hands.
Listen, anyway, I'd better go.
I'm at the checkout.
OK, love you.
Bye-bye.
Number two, please.
- £42.
70, please.
- Thank you.
Sorry, excuse me.
Aren't you the policeman who was on the Sian O'Callaghan case? - Er - It is you, isn't it? Well, it was a team effort, but, er - Can I just shake your hand, please? - Thanks.
Bloody brilliant what you did.
I couldn't believe you caught him so quick.
- Thank you.
- This is, er This is the guy who found Sian O'Callaghan's killer.
Well done.
[APPLAUSE CONTINUES.]
- Nice one.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Nice one, mate.
- Thank you.
OK, his bag's packed.
- He's just choosing a DVD.
- OK.
Before you go, I, erm I've got something for you.
It's a lock of Sian's hair.
The funeral parlour did it for us.
I've got one and I've given one to Mum.
Thanks.
I'll call tomorrow about the funeral, just to go through the arrangements with you.
Right.
- Go on, what did you choose? - Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.
Oh, not that again! Come on, then.
- Bye, Aiden.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye, sweetheart.
Bye.
Why are you going to speak to Mick about the funeral details? Because he's Sian's father.
Yeah, he doesn't need to be worrying about all that.
He's got enough on his plate.
Anyway, it's all done.
What is? The funeral.
I've booked for us to go and see Hilliers.
- What? - Yeah, I just said to myself, "We need to apply the KISS principle.
" Keep it simple, stupid.
Now have you been to see the doctor about? No.
I haven't been able to face it.
Right, I am booking you an appointment and I am taking you there myself.
No ifs or buts.
Hello, Declan! It's me.
It's Chris.
Chris.
How are you, mate? Yeah, not so bad.
Stuck in here, of course.
I'm on remand at the moment.
Well, it's a lot of waiting around, really.
But it's changed a lot since I was last in here.
Well, it was much more stricter then.
Well, it's a load of bollocks, mate.
But they want to interview me.
Yeah, they want to interview me about eight murders.
[HE LAUGHS.]
I don't know, mate.
I don't know.
WOMAN ON RADIO: For over a week her identity was a mystery.
But detectives have finally been able to name the unknown woman, her body found buried at a Cotswold beauty spot Where is everyone? - Re-assigned overnight.
- Already? I've only been given to the end of the week myself.
Right, get everyone who we have left in the briefing room.
Jesus Christ! OK, so the news back from the lab is mixed.
The good news is there's a match for Sian's DNA on the spots of blood on the car seat covers Halliwell was trying to dispose of.
Yeah, but surely he could just say that he was a cab driver and Sian got in as a passenger and had a nosebleed or something.
Yeah.
Although there is a match for Halliwell's DNA on Sian's body from the bite mark to her breast.
But it's only partial.
No match from the perfume bottle.
Erm, there is actually a full female DNA profile on it, but it's not Sian's or Becky's.
Which begs the question, whose is it? Also they've been unable to positively identify the item he left burning in the middle of the road.
What are they saying about the gaffer tape gag - found with Becky's body? - Very unlikely to provide any profile, given how long it's been in the ground.
Right, I think we're going to find other victims.
There's a big gap between Becky and Sian's murders.
So cross-reference Halliwell's known whereabouts between those dates against cold cases and mispers.
None of us knows how much longer we have got left on this investigation, myself included.
There are currently 1,500 actions pending on the Holmes System.
We actually need double the team that we had a few days ago, and we have less than half now.
I'm not quite sure how that logic prevails, but, erm, let's do what we can, eh? Right, see you soon.
What have we done? Oh, sit down, for God's sake.
[HE TRIES TO HOLD BACK A SOB.]
Oh - Do you want anything? - I'll have a cup of tea.
And a bacon sarnie.
[HE SIGHS HEAVILY.]
What are we gonna do without her? She was our little girl.
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
I asked to see you, John, because I want to know something.
Oh I want to know how you and your family were telling me you'd seen Becky when, all along, she was dead in the ground.
No, it's not right.
2003 she was murdered, John.
But I've been told that your dad, your nephew, all different members of your family have said they've seen her - as recent as a couple of years ago.
- I don't know.
- Maybe they got the dates wrong.
- Nonsense.
Your dad Your dad would remember when he saw his own granddaughter, wouldn't he? Well, his memory's not as good as it was.
It's not good enough, John.
Because while you lot were telling me you'd seen her, she never got properly reported as missing.
[HE SLURPS.]
Well, you can't blame me for your own guilty conscience.
I knew I knew she would have come to see me if she was still alive.
I knew it.
Why, John? Oh Was it? Was it just to try and hurt me? Hm? Was that it? You're talking trash, as usual.
God forgive you lot for what you've done.
The reason I got in touch is, er cos I shared a cell with Halliwell round about '87, '88 maybe.
He was just in for nicking stuff, as I remember.
And what was it that disturbed you? Two things I brought to mind.
Er Once, he asks me, "Have you ever had sex with a woman while you're strangling her?" I remember that.
Another time, we're lying there on the bunks, and this time he asks me, "How many do you have to kill to be a serial killer?" Mm.
Tends to stick in your mind, them sort of things.
Oh, his big hero, I can tell you, was that Myra Hindley off the Moors Murders.
They want to interview me.
Yeah, they want to interview me about eight murders.
From a phone call two days ago.
Eight.
Who's mentioned eight? Certainly not us.
- Who's he talking to? - A mate of his he phoned from prison.
He's known him since school.
2003, Becky.
2011, Sian.
- Eight years.
- Eight years, eight murders.
This is surely grounds for further investigation.
We have to step up resources again.
Steve, I've decided I'm moving on.
I'm going to take up a post with the UK Border Force.
Regardless, this recording may not be enough to keep this investigation open.
Sir we are starting to get hits and matches with unsolved murders and missing persons.
Locally, there's a sex worker went missing in the early '90s, body never found, last seen just around the corner from where Halliwell lived at the time.
And there will be others, absolutely no doubt.
Halliwell's hero is Myra Hindley.
We need more resources, not less.
Sir, we have got to investigate this properly, find out if there are any matches around the country.
Steve, it's not going to be my call, OK? It's gonna be Pat Geenty taking over as Chief, and, no doubt, Mike Veale becoming his deputy.
It's gonna be for them to decide if they want to put any more resources into this, not me.
Evening.
Nice to see you.
Usual deal, none of what we talk about can be used by ITV until after the verdict.
Yeah, agreed.
Well, he's a serial killer.
Rob, I am convinced of it.
On top of the two that we know he's killed, I think there's probably another six.
Six?! Mm-hm.
But I need a bigger team to properly investigate him.
I love that jacket.
That was her favourite.
I couldn't wear it.
Just have it as a keepsake.
Can you finish this one? When do you think you're going to move back in, Kev? I will at some point.
But just not now.
Why don't you sort something out for her to wear? For the funeral.
Don't tell me what you choose.
It'll just be between the two of you.
- Not too tight.
- OK.
You look so smart.
Come on, Pete, Sharon's her auntie.
- It's only a poem, please.
- I'm sorry, Sharon, but we've only got a certain amount of allotted time and the service has all been very carefully worked out.
But surely? Elaine asked me to do it and I've done it.
- Is the timing really that precise? - Mum, she's here! God bless her.
MALE REPORTER: Close friends told me she was outgoing, loyal, fun, caring.
A great auntie to her friends' children.
A young women with so much promise, so much zest for life.
That life was honoured today.
Today proved how much she meant to this town.
Are they for Sian? Yeah.
Mint sauce? - It's minted lamb! - I like mint sauce.
- Well, how bloody minty do you want it? - Minty.
If we're doing this mother-daughter thing, how's work? - OK.
- Just OK? I'm not gonna make a career out of it.
I want to have babies, don't I? It'll be some time before we can release Becky's body for burial.
And we are aware that this is a distressing time for you.
- We want her back.
- Of course.
Now, obviously, Becky's body was photographed as we found her.
And as this is an image which will be shown in court we wanted to give you the opportunity to view it first, should you feel you wanted to.
Yeah? - Yeah.
- OK.
So the main photo is her as we found her.
- Karen! - No, I'm all right, I'm all right.
Just leave me down here a minute.
I'll get some water.
[SHE CLEARS HER THROAT.]
He cut He cut He cut her head off and her hands and her feet.
The pathologist can't be sure whether Halliwell did that or if animals did.
He did it.
Come on, love, drink this.
Why would he do that to a little girl? [SHE SOBS.]
125 quid fine.
- That's not actually too bad.
- And a drugs rehabilitation course.
You can't take that lightly, or they'll put you back in prison, my young lady.
I ain't done any drugs for three whole weeks.
You'll be so proud of me.
- Also, look at that.
- What's that? One of those prison officers put a cigarette out on my arm.
Such a bitch! Oh, can we keep the hood down? I love it with the hood down.
And I don't smell bad, I just like it.
We'll get you home, give you a nice bubble bath and then we'll go out for a posh dinner.
- How about that? - Yeah.
- Mum - Yeah? Can I go see my boyfriend first? - No.
- Please, Mum.
I'm so excited to see him.
I'll just I'll pop in, I'll say hello.
That'll be it.
I'm not coming home, Mum.
Becky, get in the car.
I got I got myself clean.
I can't keep putting you through this.
I'm sorry.
- How are you coping? - OK.
You don't feel the need for any anti-depressants? I don't see the point.
I know why I am depressed.
It was two girls, wasn't it? Sian and another girl.
Just lift your arm.
All of us here, we're we're very sorry.
That pisses me off.
Sian's name always being mentioned in the same breath as the other girl.
I'm so sorry, have I got that wrong? Erm, get dressed again.
No, there was another victim.
But the circumstances were completely different.
She was a drug addict and a prostitute and must have accepted there was a risk attached to her profession.
Sian was an ordinary girl who had a boyfriend and a job in an office.
She was just on a night out with her friends.
Obviously, I feel sorry for Becky, but I'd hate for people to think Sian was the same as her.
Well, Elaine, there is something there.
So now we need to take a scan and a biopsy to try and work out exactly what it is.
So, look, don't worry about it too much just yet.
- Are we seeing him today? - No, just the lawyers.
All the legal arguments.
One of the solicitors said that Halliwell might try and claim that Sian is a prostitute.
If they start saying that, I'm telling you now, I'm gonna lose it.
- They can't say that! - They won't.
We can clearly demonstrate she was nothing like Becky.
We've got to wait in here, yeah? I'm Mick, Sian's dad.
- Pleased to meet you.
- This is, er, Debbie my wife.
I can't believe Elaine and I have gone through what we've gone through, and, all along, we've only lived a few doors away from each other.
But Becky and Sian are together forever now, aren't they? All rise.
Mr Geenty, I am not allowed to give evidence, but I can tell you that, apart from in terrorism cases, I have never come across the urgent interview provision to PACE being used.
It's a very unusual beast.
Would you agree with that? Yes, it is.
But what it does not mean is that, for example you can abandon the need to caution.
The PACE guidelines quite clearly indicate that a person is entitled to have his rights explained to him and a police officer's duty is to ensure that they understand those rights.
It is.
And that's an inviolate position.
Yes, it is.
But I have to say that I think the decision that Steve made was, to use the slang, a gutsy decision.
I'd like to think I'd make a similar decision in the same circumstances.
I've just been told the defence QC is going to move to have you excluded from the trial.
What? I'm sure they're just trying it on.
An attempt to rattle you before you testify today.
But what it does mean is they don't really have any defence, except attacking you.
So that's why they haven't put out a defence statement.
Exactly.
- Right.
- Thanks, Ian.
I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Detective Superintendent Fulcher, you knew that Sian O'Callaghan was dead long before you met Mr Halliwell in that car park, didn't you? I had no way of knowing if she was dead or alive.
Looking through your own notes at the time, you talk about "the prospect of recovering her body".
You believed she was dead, didn't you? Er, I think you're missing the point here.
What I thought, er, hoped or even believed is irrelevant to the execution of my duties as a police officer and my responsibilities to Sian O'Callaghan.
Barbury Castle's a remote area, isn't it? Yes, I suppose it is.
About as different from the custody suite of Gable Cross Police Station as it is possible to envisage, isn't it? Yes.
What I suggest to you is that you took Mr Halliwell there because you thought that would be an additional element of pressure upon him.
That's what you were doing, isn't it? I believed Barbury Castle was most likely to be where Sian was, and that, if I took Christopher there for an urgent interview, it would necessarily mean getting to her quicker, if he was prepared to tell us where she was.
And if that involved abandoning his PACE rights, you were prepared to do that? I believed the urgent interview provision enabled me to take the course of action that I did.
Mr Fulcher, your own deputy, Detective Inspector Kirby, told you it was not a good idea for you to conduct an additional urgent interview yourself with Halliwell, didn't he? Yes, he did.
He said you'd be sailing very close to the wind, in terms of a breach of PACE, didn't he? Words to that effect.
I can't believe he didn't caution Halliwell.
Why didn't he just do it when he was talking to him? It's not just the caution, Mum.
They've got to take him to a police station and give him a solicitor.
I feel so sorry for Steve.
That bloody lawyer is really going for him.
I think he's made a mistake.
But if he hadn't done what he did, we'd never have found Becky.
A big fucking mistake.
Let's move on now to the "Do you want another one?" conversation.
As soon as he began talking to you, you appreciated it had nothing to do with the Sian investigation.
Yes.
Well, surely, as the conversation progressed, you should have said, "Look, we'll talk about this at the police station later.
" That's what you should have said, shouldn't you? My view was that we were in the moment.
If he was offering the information, I would rather have it and not curtail it, than not find Becky Godden.
And once Mr Halliwell was taken back to Gable Cross Police Station and given a solicitor, to your intense annoyance, he decided he didn't want to answer any further questions in an interview.
It was frustrating, yes.
And you and your team went out of your way to undermine Mr Coleman, who attended throughout the interview process, didn't you? I thought it was utterly ridiculous that an individual, who had taken me and numerous other people from a surveillance convoy to two dead bodies, should seek to find some mechanism, some quirk of the law, some loophole, to get him away from the fact that he was a multiple murderer.
So PACE, in your view, is a loophole? It was a travesty! It was like I was on trial.
What about the judge? Hm, it's hard to tell.
She did seem more impressed with their QC than ours, I could see that.
And this is the first criminal case she's ever presided over.
Up to now, she's just done family stuff, you know.
But it's not just that Halliwell confessed.
He confessed and he took you to the bodies.
- How can that be a problem? - I don't know.
I mean, their side were looking very confident.
They're trying to paint me as some sort of renegade acting outside of the law.
But the judge has to see through that.
I have considered the evidence and oral submissions with care and I find, on the balance of probabilities, that the defendant's confession relating to the location of Sian O'Callaghan's body may have been obtained by oppression.
[MUTTERING AND WHISPERING.]
With regard to Becky Godden-Edwards, as soon as the defendant began to talk about another offence, he should have been immediately re-arrested and cautioned.
The urgent interview criteria had, at that point, expired.
There should have been no further discussion and the defendant should have been taken to a police station.
This whole series of events began with a deliberate decision by a senior officer to breach the PACE code.
And whilst Detective Superintendent Fulcher was entitled to adopt an approach which would lead to the gathering of intelligence and information, what resulted was not, in my judgment, such as can fairly constitute admissible evidence in a criminal trial.
Yeah, well, he's going to have to explain this at the trial.
Are you all right? [DOOR OPENS.]
Er, good afternoon, everybody.
So, the first thing to say is that we should still be OK with the case against him for Sian.
We have the DNA evidence.
Her blood in his car, his DNA on her body.
And what about Becky? The confession evidence is all we had.
And, er, I'm afraid, without that, we'll have to take her name off the indictment.
What, you? What, you mean he is not going to stand trial for murdering my daughter? I'm sorry.
Well, this is Fulcher's fault! He's fucked up here, he has! How can this be fair? Everybody knows he did it.
That judge knows it.
The lawyer knows it.
You know it.
I know it.
So how can that be right? Please, can you just tell me, how can this be right? WOMAN REPORTER: Christopher Halliwell was brought to court under police protection.
The 47-year-old mini cab driver is accused of killing Sian as she walked home alone from a girls' night out.
- MAN: Come here, you! - [BANGING ON THE VAN.]
The police had asked them to stay calm and let the legal process take its course.
[BANGING ON THE VAN.]
But the strength of feeling is etched on people's faces here.
[CROWD SHOUTS ABUSE.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
Will the defendant please rise? Christopher John Halliwell, you are charged that, on March 19th, 2011, you did murder Sian O'Callaghan, contrary to common law.
How do you plead? Guilty.
Christopher John Halliwell, you have advanced little by way of mitigation.
I accept, however, that your plea of guilty has avoided Sian's family having to endure a trial, which is an important factor.
Having careful regard to the overall seriousness of this offence, the starting point will be 30 years.
However, I will allow a discount of five years for your plea of guilty.
I therefore rule that the minimum term that you shall serve will be 25 years.
Take him down.
All rise.
WOMAN REPORTER: Christopher Halliwell could have been facing a jail term for murders of two women.
Instead, he was given life for one and, it appears, escaped justice for another.
So, I came to apologise to you both.
You have got nothing to apologise for, Steve.
Well If you hadn't done what you did, we'd never have found Becky.
Well not everyone sees it that way.
What I can't understand is why nobody seems to be applying any common sense here.
Why would that lawyer be fighting so hard to set free someone like Halliwell, who's admitted, himself, that he killed two young girls? Why put all that effort into defending someone who's guilty? Oh, I don't know, the principle, I guess.
What principle? And what about justice? They say that Halliwell was oppressed by you.
Well, I bet Becky and Sian were oppressed by him just before he killed them, but that doesn't seem to matter, does it? Look, I've thought about this a lot and if it's any consolation, I can honestly say, hand on heart, I wouldn't have done anything different.
I don't see how I could.
We're behind you one hundred percent, Steve.
Mm.
You brought my little girl home.
We can't thank you enough for what you've done for us.
Thank you.
That does mean a lot to me.
Contact the DVLA, madam, and they'll deal with it.
OK, all right.
Thank you.
Yes, sir? I want to make a complaint about one of your police officers.
His name is Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher.
Well, it's a complaint, Steve.
A complaint's a complaint.
And as the lead for Professional Standards for the force, I have to take it seriously.
But half the stuff he's complaining about is nothing to do with me.
I mean, not being invited to a press conference.
Us calling her Becky Godden-Edwards, not just Godden.
I had no say in that.
And the thing about my actions preventing justice for Becky We wouldn't have found Becky if it wasn't for my actions.
Well, I'll have to make a decision on whether to refer it to the IPCC and whether it constitutes just misconduct or gross misconduct.
- Really? - Mm.
[HE SIGHS HEAVILY.]
- Ah.
- Steve.
Sir, I need a word.
- OK.
- Thanks.
What is it? It's all clear.
What is? I had a biopsy.
- But you told me - It's benign.
Don't you ever go through something like that on your own again, hm? I just feel guilty.
Guilty that it's me who's been given another chance.
I'm sorry, sir, but it's bollocks.
None of what he's complaining about makes any sense.
And, for most of his points, I'm the wrong respondent.
All right, leave it with me, Steve.
- I'll have a quiet word with Mike.
- Would you? I'd appreciate that.
Thanks.
Oh, hello.
Come in.
Thanks.
As you know, the case against Halliwell for Becky's murder collapsed in court.
But at least we were able to answer the mystery of her disappearance and end what must have been for you the terrible pain of not knowing.
Yes.
And, for that, we are very grateful to Steve Fulcher.
The good news is that we were able to convict Halliwell for Sian's murder.
And, as you know, he received a sentence of 25 years' imprisonment.
Yeah, minus the time he's spent on remand.
Yeah.
Given that we do not have enough evidence to convict Halliwell for Becky's murder, Wiltshire Police Service hopes that you are, er, satisfied that, were Halliwell ever to be released, he would be a very, very old man.
You see, you don't understand me at all.
Yes, Halliwell is going to be in prison for a very long time, but not so long that he won't ever get out.
And Sian's family have got justice.
And I'm pleased for them.
Truly, I am.
But where is Becky in the pecking order? She's right down at the bottom, where's she's always been.
How dare you trample over my daughter? We're not gonna let go of this, not one bit.
Not till that man is made to pay for what he did to my Becky.
So you go back and you tell your bosses, no, I am not satisfied.
Not at all.
Steve I had a word with Mike.
Unfortunately, he's already referred it to the IPCC.
They're going to charge you.
Gross misconduct.
Sorry.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
Fuck Fuck, fuck, fuck