A Confession (2019) s01e06 Episode Script

Episode 6

Steve Fulcher was found guilty of two counts of gross misconduct and received two final written warnings.
He chose not to appeal and made the decision to resign from the force.
I think we should all remember that.
He was not sacked.
He chose to leave.
There has been much speculation by Fulcher and, consequently, the media, in relation to possible other victims of Christopher Halliwell.
We at Wiltshire Police made the ethical decision to maintain a position of not rising to these sensational and unsubstantiated claims because we believe this would lead to a media frenzy.
The murder of Becky Godden has raised a number of issues, including the Police And Criminal Evidence Act, which was introduced in 1984.
I believe that, if PACE is ethically followed and delivered in line with the codes of practice, the right outcomes can be achieved without evidence being inadmissible.
OK, gentlemen, I am now going to take you through the basic stages of the intelligence cycle.
Stage one will be planning and direction, in which we evaluate opportunities and decide on strategy.
Er, do you want to? Thank you.
So, that's planning and direction.
Next, collection Is this the same one? Yeah.
Christ Do you ever get used to that? OK.
Er, as I was saying, stage two is collection.
- When? - Yesterday.
I've told you before, don't believe everything you read.
- It's perfectly safe.
Don't worry.
- It was on BBC News.
There was a suicide bomb in Benghazi only about half a mile from your barracks.
It's news to me.
How have you been? I'm really enjoying it.
I'm feeling pretty chilled, actually.
And at least I'm wanted here.
I know you couldn't care less, but Debs Peach told me Pat Geenty's retired for personal reasons and Mike Veale is now Chief Constable.
I just thought you could do with a laugh.
You know what? You're right.
I really couldn't care less any more.
Well, that's all my news.
We love you very much and can't wait to see you.
I've got to go because I'm meeting the girls at the cinema tonight.
OK.
All right Give them my love.
I love you.
Please, be careful.
Mm-hm.
- LINE RINGS - Hello? - Debs - What the fuck is going on? - I wondered when you'd find out.
They've finally given Mike Veale the top job? And he's already been talking about you.
Blaming you for the fact they still haven't charged Halliwell over Becky Godden.
They've had years to come up with enough evidence.
It's all wearing a bit thin, this, isn't it, still blaming me? Yeah.
What happened with that stuff they dug up at the lake - at Ramsbury? - 60 items of clothing.
You'd think they'd have assigned a big team to it, wouldn't you? Oh, what? They haven't done anything? Let's just say, apparently, there hasn't been much progress.
They've only just put a small team on it.
And it's being headed up by Sean Memory, who's now a Detective Superintendent, by the way.
Do you know what, I think I'd rather be here with mad Libyans throwing bombs at me than anywhere near Gable fucking Cross.
How long are you out there for? I've got another six months.
And don't mention anything about bombs to Yvonne.
Please.
Karen? Come on, love, we'd better get going.
Let's at least hear what he's got to say.
I've written an open letter to Halliwell asking him to tell the truth about what he did to Becky.
I'm not expecting a response, but I just have to try to keep her in the public eye.
Cos she doesn't matter as much as Sian, you see? Because Sian was just a normal girl who worked in an office.
A good girl.
But Becky was a bad girl.
A bad little girl who must have deserved it - Karen - Well, I know that's what everyone thinks! Listen to me.
I am convinced that, because of you, the Police and Crime Commissioner is pressuring Wiltshire Police into looking for new evidence to bring Halliwell to trial.
So, whatever it is you're doing, it's working.
- Oh, God - There, you see? Oh, thank you very much.
Thank you.
I won't give up.
- Hi, Kev.
- Hi, Elaine.
How are you? Are you OK, love? I'm just feeling it a bit at the moment.
It's been hard.
You get people in the pub who think they're trying to be nice, rather than spiteful, but they say, "Don't you wish you'd gone out with her that night?" I ask myself that all the time.
You mustn't think about it like that, Kev.
She died because of Christopher Halliwell, not anybody else.
Certainly not you.
Is that what you wanted to see me about? Because that's easy to deal with.
No, it's not that.
Well, what, then, love? I'm seeing somebody else.
- Oh.
- I'm sorry.
Listen to me, you must never apologise for getting on with your life.
I feel so bloody guilty.
No! Sian's not here.
What are you supposed to do, pine for her for the rest of your life? It's a comfort to me that she knew what it was to share a life with someone, that she was loved and cherished.
But now she's gone and I'm glad for you that you have someone else.
I had to come here and tell you about Emma before you found out from anyone else.
Is that her name, Emma? Why don't you bring her to the wedding? Are you sure? Please.
It's important to me.
Bring her, Kev.
I can meet her before, if you like.
Take the pressure off.
Thank you.
And this is everything you have? Well, we do have some other leads we're following up, but basically, yes, it is.
I thought there were some items recovered from a pond with Sian's boots.
Does any of that relate to Becky? We did find some stuff, yeah.
But a lot of it had rotted.
And we've not been able to match any of it yet to Becky's clothing or descriptions of clothing of any missing persons, so I'd say we've got enough here to re-arrest and charge - and get it to court.
- Mm-hm.
But maybe not enough to convince a jury to convict.
Right.
It's all consistent with Halliwell having murdered Rebecca Godden.
And this prostitute who links the two of them is helpful.
But nothing actually says he did it.
The elephant in the room is, of course, the confession.
Well, that was ruled inadmissible, so Wrongly.
In my opinion.
But with a different judge, a different set of circumstances, there may be a way we can get it allowed this time round.
- How? - The key, ironically enough, is for Halliwell to come out and say, "I didn't do it.
" Remember, he's never had to actually state a defence for Rebecca Godden because the case was thrown out.
He'll probably stay silent and just challenge us to make our case, as is his right.
But if he now tries to claim he's never met her, or words to that effect, that's the game-changer.
His confession directly contradicts this.
So, it's unlikely, of course.
Any lawyer worth his salt would advise him to keep his mouth shut.
But if he did, that gives us the grounds to ask the judge to revisit the original ruling.
If that happens, Steve Fulcher would have to give evidence.
And his relationship with Wiltshire Police is not great, to say the least.
It's by far the strongest evidence we have.
Mum, don't embarrass me, OK? I really like this one.
- Hey! - Hey Mum - This is Kev.
- Hiya.
- Hi, Kev.
- Nice to meet you.
And you.
Do you want a cuppa? Please, yeah.
Elaine This is Emma.
- Pleased to meet you, love.
- Thanks.
Sorry it's in such difficult circumstances.
Well, that's not your fault, is it? Come on, sit down.
- Coffee? - Yeah, please.
Two coffees, please.
So How did you meet? Tell me everything.
Erm, just round a friend's house.
We got chatting and it sort of clicked.
We went out a few times.
I done her a chicken pasta and that sealed the deal.
Kev's a really good cook.
You're not so bad.
- She's brilliant, Elaine.
- He's just being kind, honestly.
So, how's the wedding stuff going, then, Elaine? Getting there.
Actually, I'm just going to go to the loo.
Christopher John Halliwell, I'm arresting you for the murder of Rebecca Godden, contrary to common law.
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
Do you understand? Mm.
OK, I'm going to take you now to Worcester Police Station, where you will be interviewed in the presence of a solicitor.
I don't want a solicitor.
Pardon? I don't want a solicitor.
I want to see what you have to say first.
Who's in charge of this case? That would be Detective Superintendent Sean Memory.
If I wrap this up in in the next few hours, any other charges against me various things in the past You're talking about car thefts, break-ins, bits and pieces? Some more serious.
Will clearing this up be enough to stop everything else? If Mr Memory is listening, the ball is in his court.
Get a print set up.
If we can get a confession now, that's it no need for Fulcher.
Now, what I'm saying there, Chris, and I've signed it at the bottom is that I lead the investigation into Becky Godden.
I'm not aware of any other allegations against you.
And I'm not investigating you for any other offence, apart from Becky.
If I clear this up, I don't want you coming back every two years saying, "What about this? What about that?" This interview is about one matter and one matter only.
But at this point in time I'm not aware of any other allegations against you.
OK.
Erm Actually, before I do anything else I think I'd better get my solicitor to check it first.
Is that OK? No, that's fine.
He's got no intention of clearing anything up.
He's playing with us.
He just wanted to know what we've got.
Ladies and gentlemen my wife and I Whoooo! would like to thank you all sincerely for coming.
It really is It's wonderful to have you all with us on this special day.
And I'd like to thank the children, my three and Elaine's, for being there for us through everything.
And of course I must mention Sian.
Now, we all remember those dark days when she went missing.
When there was nothing we could do but sit and hope.
Yeah, we'd get little bits and pieces of information, but not the message that we really wanted to hear.
That she was safe and well and coming home.
- What was all that about? - I asked him, Jackie.
I said, "Please, don't talk about Sian too much.
" But he had it all planned out in his head what he wanted to do.
He's planned everything today.
He likes to be in control.
He likes to organise everything.
- He likes to take over, more like.
- I care about him a lot.
I do.
He is a good person.
I don't want to be on my own, Jackie.
I want to be married.
I know.
Halliwell has parted company with the lawyers who represented him at the first trial.
Really? Why would he do that? Well, it would seem he has decided he wants to represent himself in court.
Bloody hell.
Precisely.
So, this morning, Halliwell finally issued an outline of his defence, which he's composed himself.
We've been asking for it for weeks.
It says simply he has no knowledge of the death of Rebecca Godden, nor any information regarding details of how she died.
I think we have our game-changer.
The confession now comes into play.
We can ask the new judge to reconsider admitting it.
An email came through this morning from the CPS saying that Wiltshire Police have discovered new evidence against Halliwell for Becky Godden's murder and that he's been charged as a result.
But in the next breath they say they want to try and reintroduce the confession evidence.
You're joking? Well, do you want an even bigger laugh? If they do manage to get it ruled admissible, they want me to come back and give evidence at the trial.
After all they've done to you, now they want you to help them out? The new evidence obviously can't be that strong, can it? It's not ever going to end, is it? For fuck's sake Oh, hello.
Come in.
- Hi, Karen.
- Hello.
- Come in, sit down.
- No, no, I can't stay for long.
I, erm I just came to tell you that we are hopeful of finally bringing charges against Halliwell over Becky.
He's been arrested.
We're still working to strengthen the case against him.
But we think we can go to trial.
- But how? - We've been working hard on the case and we've dug up plenty of new evidence.
- Can we know what it is? - I can't say too much now, but the evidence is compelling.
There's a little way to go yet, but we're optimistic.
Oh, that is so fantastic! We'd almost given up hope, hadn't we? I will, of course, be in touch if there's any more news, OK? Thanks for coming to tell us, Sean.
Well, it's important we're all on the same page, right? - Well, thanks a million, Sean.
- Yeah, thanks.
Oh, Charlie, I've I've got a knot in my tummy.
But why? We've just had the best bloody news you could hope for.
But what if it doesn't work again? What if another ruling goes against us or something? Because, if we don't get him this time, we never will.
Always the gloomiest way of looking at it, that's you! Yeah, well, I've had that smashed into me, haven't I, over the years? There hasn't been much to be optimistic about, has there? Elaine, look at where you are right now.
What are you doing? I mean, you've given up your job, you've even sold your car.
Pete prefers to drive.
It's not right, Elaine.
It's got to stop.
It's just you're not you any more.
You don't even behave like you any more.
To be honest, I feel like I've had the stuffing knocked out of me.
I can't stand any sort of confrontation.
There's just so much tension in the house.
I feel like I've lost all my confidence.
Thanks.
Hi.
Do you mind? I just think I'm being an idiot for coming out and helping them.
You're not helping them out, though, are you? This isn't about them, is it? Well, they deserve to be left on the beach, with the tide out, looking like the fucking idiots they are.
But Karen doesn't.
But Karen doesn't.
You're doing the right thing.
Thank you.
Here.
Cheers, Aiden.
Here.
Thanks, love.
We're going to go.
Don't you think it's better to wait and face him, rather than doing it like this? I told him I was moving out today.
Yeah, but he didn't believe you, did he? Look, I couldn't honestly handle him trying to talk me out of it.
- This way, it's much better.
- It's not Pete's fault.
- I should never have married him.
- So, why did you? I just thought, after what's happened, I needed someone to take control of my life for me.
It's the worst thing I could have done, all right? Oh, nice one.
Mr Fulcher to see you.
Thank you.
- Sean.
- Good to see you, Steve.
And you.
- Mr Fulcher.
- Hi.
Take a seat, please.
I see you've got a suntan.
I see you've got Detective Superintendent.
Thanks for coming in today.
We just wanted to give you some background on the trial.
Right, so, there's definitely going to be one? Yes.
And we are definitely going to need you to give evidence.
Well, I'm all ears.
Well, the pre-trial concluded this afternoon and the new judge, Mr Justice Griffith Williams, has ruled that the confession made to you by Halliwell will be admissible as evidence.
He was quite scathing of Mrs Justice Cox, - who ruled against you last time.
- Mm-hm.
Halliwell tried to have it excluded again, based on her original ruling, but the new judge said that the confession was made voluntarily.
In his view, there was no oppression.
And to not allow it would offend good sense.
You see, I thought I'd lost my career because other people, who should have known better, decided I'd done something terrible.
But now it seems, apparently, I haven't.
Look, I'd have understood if you'd told us to fuck off.
Yeah, that was never going to happen.
Hm So, how does your new Chief Constable feel about me being his star witness, then? It's Elaine.
Mrs Edwards, you've been waiting for four years.
- How are you feeling about the trial? - Well, it's difficult.
But we hope it's going to go our way.
How do you feel about Halliwell representing himself, Mrs Edwards? When was the last time you saw your daughter, Mrs Edwards? December 2002.
She would have been 21 the following April.
And I always thought she'd turn up for her 21st birthday, but she never did.
I got a card from her every Mother's Day, without fail.
But from 2003 onwards, I never got one.
Becky was very petite.
She was only 4'11" tall and she could wear children's clothing.
You know, like, for 12 to 14-year-olds.
She was just a child, really.
Miss X, you have been granted anonymity today.
I understand you have a history of drug abuse and prostitution, which is how you met Rebecca Godden.
That's correct, yes.
She was a friend of mine.
But you have turned your life around since then and are now married with two children.
Yes.
And my husband knows nothing about my past life.
And yet you still came along today, even though your past could have been revealed to all and sundry.
I thought it was important.
I'm very grateful to you.
Please, stay where you are.
Mr Halliwell According to you I was besotted with Rebecca Godden.
Correct.
Even though I've never met her before.
Sometimes you even give her money to stop her going with other men.
I remember, one night, you picked me up for sex, you knew she was my mate and you said, "Don't tell Becks about this.
" Right, so I'm supposed to have had sex with you, too, yeah? Yes.
Twice.
You see, I think there's a chance that you could be mistaken.
So, take a long, hard look at me and confirm that the person you're talking about is me.
Because this is serious.
Is this a joke? I am one hundred million percent sure it's you.
If we've had sex together twice what colour are my eyes? I don't know.
What colour were Becky's? We compared soil found on the spade in the garage at Christopher Halliwell's home address with a sample of soil from the field where Rebecca Godden's body was found.
Becky was outside the club having some sort of argument with this taxi driver.
He was shouting at her.
It went on for quite a while.
I'm pretty sure I heard him call her "a fucking slag", or words like that.
This row with the taxi driver, when was that? Er, just after New Year 2003.
I'm pretty sure it was the 3rd, early in the morning.
In the end, the driver somehow persuaded her to get in the back and they drove off.
Did you get a look at the driver? Not clearly, no.
And you never saw Rebecca again after that? No.
Never.
Nor indeed have we been able to find anybody else who has, after that night.
Mr Halliwell Do you have any questions? Yeah, erm The taxi she drove off in, did it have a white illuminated sign on it saying, well, "Taxi"? Yeah, it did.
Thank you.
Because, at that time, my car did not have a light on the roof.
So, thank you.
Thank you.
The court has now broken until tomorrow.
- If you could be back here for 9:00am? - Fine.
I'd heard most of that evidence before.
Hadn't you? Mm.
We had all that back when Steve was around, as far as I can remember.
So, what have they been doing for the last five years? All this new evidence! All they've got is Steve.
And he must be so nervous, after all this time, wondering what Halliwell is going to say.
Tell us again, Mr Fulcher, what Christopher Halliwell told you that day about the second victim.
He said he had taken a prostitute from the Manchester Road area of Swindon, had sex with her in the back of his taxi and then strangled her.
I said, "Was it similar to Sian?" He said, "Pretty much.
" I asked if there were any other victims, I said, "Is it just these two?" And he replied, "Isn't that enough?" OK, let's pause there.
I'm sure Mr Halliwell has some questions for you.
I couldn't care less about not being cautioned by you.
Sorry? It didn't bother me in the slightest that my rights were breached.
When I was arrested on 24th March, that was the first day of a life sentence.
- HE CLEARS HIS THROA - I knew that.
So, after I took you to Sian's body, everything after that well, that was about pure revenge.
I don't quite follow you.
Well, I didn't know about PACE and codes and all that, but I knew enough to know that, if I asked to speak to a solicitor, then everything else should stop until that's been given to me.
I knew that much.
I asked you six or seven times, it's all been recorded, and you kept refusing me.
I knew that was wrong.
I didn't care because I knew I could turn it to my advantage.
So, all that whole story about burying a girl in a field it was just a pack of lies.
Mr Halliwell, if you are alleging that revenge played a part in what happened that day, you must explain yourself.
Yeah, in a minute, Your Honour.
I had no idea if there was a body buried in that field in Eastleach.
How could I if I'd never met Rebecca Godden in my life? What happened was, at the end of 2001, I started driving these fellas around.
Well drug dealers, they were.
But I never asked them any questions and they seemed to trust me.
Now, one night, at the end of March time 2003, they directed me out to this field in Eastleach.
And they carried this big holdall out of the boot of my taxi into the field.
Now, I drove off.
I came back for them later.
I never asked them what they were doing.
A few months later, I was driving one of them around and he was drunk, right? And he tells me that they had buried a prostitute in that field that night.
Now, I thought he was messing because he said it like it was nothing.
So, when I took you to that field in Eastleach, I had no idea if there was a body buried there.
And I can prove it.
How deep down did I say the body was buried? - You said five feet.
- That's right.
And how deep was it actually buried? Er, about eight inches, cos the bedrock was so close to the surface.
Yeah.
So, why would I say five feet if it was only eight inches? Well, you also couldn't be sure when you had murdered Becky.
Cos I never did, cos I'd never met her.
You said it was in 2003, 2004 or 2005.
So what I surmised and from you getting wrong the depth that she was buried, was that you had other victims that you had buried, victims that we don't yet know about, and that you became confused about which was which.
That's an absolute pack of lies.
And you know that.
No, I know that you told me you had murdered a prostitute and buried her in that field.
I believed in that moment, that you were contrite and that you wanted to unburden yourself.
- That's ridiculous.
- You said you could take me to the exact spot in that field where she was buried.
In fact, you were a few feet out, but we later discovered the remains of Rebecca Godden in that field that you had directed us to.
Well, I only said that because I wanted to get you in the shit.
We need to know why, Mr Halliwell.
Because he threatened my daughters.
- I did what? - You threatened my daughters.
And nobody threatens my kids! - Absolute rubbish.
- That's why I took you to that field.
Cos I knew for certain, if anything was found there, then any third-rate solicitor would make mincemeat of the fact I hadn't been cautioned and you'd be dropped right in it.
But you haven't told us what this threat was.
I'm not going to say.
You're not going to say? No.
Don't you think it's rather important to tell us what it was? Well, there's no point.
I can't prove it.
It's my word against his.
I see.
So, do you have any more questions for Mr Fulcher? Er No.
Very well.
This might be a good time to take a break.
Er, just one more thing.
Erm It was a pleasure ruining your career, you corrupt bastard.
"I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm "that the evidence I give shall be the truth, "the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
" You really loathe Mr Fulcher, don't you? Absolutely.
You blame him for your confessions, don't you? I'm responsible for my own actions.
I've faced up to what I did to Sian.
No, but you see, you haven't.
You've never given a proper account of what happened when Sian died, other than some nonsensical claim that she tried to grab your steering wheel and then you went to punch her without realising you had a knife in your hand.
You abducted her for sexual purposes, just as you did Rebecca.
Er, that's ludicrous.
- It was an accident.
- Was it? Is that why her leggings and knickers were pulled down and her bra was missing? Listen, I came here to tell the truth.
It doesn't matter to me if the jury believes me or not.
Yes, you keep saying that.
But that's not true, either.
You received 25 years for the murder of Sian O'Callaghan.
But there is at least a chance you could be released, albeit you'd be in your 70s.
If you're found guilty of Rebecca's murder, then you will never be released.
So, actually, there's rather a lot riding on this.
Which is why you've constructed this fantasy account of how you led the police to her body.
It's what happened.
Yes.
Except, for it to be true, you have to try and convince the jury you have never met Rebecca Godden.
- I I haven't.
- Which is why you're so desperate to try and rebut the evidence of Miss X, whom you inconveniently had sex with on two occasions.
I've never set eyes on her before and, to be honest - she's not my type.
- Not your type? What is your type, then? Well, certainly not that thin.
Is your type size eight? Size ten? Pretty, young women who are out and about on the streets of Swindon in the early hours of the morning, is that your type? About five feet, five feet two inches tall, on their own vulnerable.
Is that your type? Foreman of the jury, have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed? We have.
Do you find the defendant, Christopher Halliwell, guilty or not guilty of murder? Guilty.
Christopher John Halliwell you have been convicted by a jury for the murder of Rebecca Godden.
I observe that you lied to this jury about the circumstances of the murder of Rebecca Godden, just as you lied to the jury about the circumstances of the murder of Sian O'Callaghan.
I have concluded that the level of your offending is exceptionally high and direct there will be a whole life order.
Take him down.
- Where's Yvonne gone? - Oh, she's gone to find Steve.
- Whole life? - Yeah.
The judge said his account made no sense at all.
He lied and lied.
He was right, though.
He did ruin me.
I mean, it occurred to me, when I was facing him in court, that we cancelled each other out.
That day, in order to bring him down, it was like I had to also lose everything.
As if it was some sort of pact between us.
Karen, we wondered if you could say something to the press.
I've drafted some thoughts for you.
I wondered if you and John could make a joint statement, mother and father together.
Right.
Because I'm not giving up, not till the truth comes out.
- What? - That wasn't a trial, that was a travesty.
What about the drug dealers Chris was talking about? Has anybody been looking for them? Was Fulcher involved with them? We need answers.
I'm not doing a joint statement with John.
You're on your own with him.
And I don't need your notes.
I know what I'm going to say.
Steven Can you take my bag? I want to place on record my thanks for the team led by Detective Superintendent Sean Memory, who have brought this case to a positive conclusion today.
We have waited over five years for this moment.
This has been an extremely painful journey, but at last we have finally received justice for our beautiful little girl Becky.
Sean and his team were left with virtually nothing to go on after the evidence, initially gathered by Steve Fulcher, had to be thrown out virtually in its entirety.
I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Steve Fulcher.
I will always be indebted to him for bringing my little girl home.
They worked tirelessly with the Crown Prosecution Service to uncover new evidence and bring this case to justice.
They are to be congratulated.
But Steve should never have suffered the terrible consequences, the loss of his reputation, the loss of his career just for doing the right thing.
Thank you.
Go on.
Go and talk to her.
I can't.
She's all right, you know? Like you, really.
I just can't.
It's too close.
Steve Fulcher, this has been a landmark case in many ways.
And I know it's been a difficult journey for you, personally.
But how do you respond to those who say we cannot have the police riding roughshod over the rights of a suspect - as if it were the 1970s again? - I agree.
I agree.
But what if next time it's your daughter who's gone missing? And if another police officer finds himself in the position I was in, what does he do? Now, after what's happened to me, he would be perfectly entitled to give up on her, to take his suspect back to the police station and let a lawyer advise him to go, "No comment.
" Now, if she was still alive, your daughter would then inevitably die.
And the police's official position on this seems to be, "So be it.
"We're very sorry, but she'll just have to die, then.
" Is that what we want?
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