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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| New 'babes in wood' case rejected | New 'babes in wood' case rejected |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The man cleared of strangling two schoolgirls in Brighton 20 years ago will not face a fresh prosecution. | The man cleared of strangling two schoolgirls in Brighton 20 years ago will not face a fresh prosecution. |
| The bodies of 10-year-old Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, who was nine, were found in woodland, in a case dubbed the "Babes in the Wood". | The bodies of 10-year-old Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, who was nine, were found in woodland, in a case dubbed the "Babes in the Wood". |
| Sussex Police believe they do not have enough evidence to prosecute Russell Bishop, who was cleared in 1986. | Sussex Police believe they do not have enough evidence to prosecute Russell Bishop, who was cleared in 1986. |
| New so-called double jeopardy laws allow suspects who have been acquitted to be tried for a second time. | New so-called double jeopardy laws allow suspects who have been acquitted to be tried for a second time. |
| After the law was amended, detectives began looking for new evidence to link roofer Russell Bishop to the murders. | After the law was amended, detectives began looking for new evidence to link roofer Russell Bishop to the murders. |
| He is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and attempting to murder another girl from Brighton whom he indecently assaulted. | He is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and attempting to murder another girl from Brighton whom he indecently assaulted. |
| Unsolved case | |
| As part of the review, scientists re-examined a sweatshirt, thought to belong to Bishop, found near the crime scene. | As part of the review, scientists re-examined a sweatshirt, thought to belong to Bishop, found near the crime scene. |
| But BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said he understood that police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) agreed that the scientific findings did not amount to "genuinely new evidence" - as required under the new laws to mount a fresh prosecution. | |
| Sussex Police's Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo said the murders remained an unsolved case. | |
| Mr Yeo said: "We have recently carried out an extensive review... and are satisfied that there is insufficient [evidence] to meet the necessary evidential standard required to formally seek the opinion of the CPS in relation to any possible suspects. | |
| "As with any unsolved case we remain anxious for any further evidence and will regularly review what we have." | |
| Dunlop case | |
| Relatives of the girls claim there is other significant new material and are considering bringing a private prosecution instead. | Relatives of the girls claim there is other significant new material and are considering bringing a private prosecution instead. |
| Ian Heffron, Nicola Fellows' uncle, said: "These two girls lie in a grave in Brighton and have not received justice. That's not fair, that's not right, that's not proper." | |
| Earlier this week, Billy Dunlop became the first person to be convicted under the double jeopardy law when he pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in Teesside. | |
| Dunlop, 42, was formally acquitted in 1991 of his former girlfriend Julie Hogg's murder after two juries failed to reach a verdict - but he later confessed to the killing while in prison for another offence. | |
| A retrial was brought after Ms Hogg's mother, Ann Ming, campaigned for a review of double jeopardy laws. |