Rachel Jane Nickell was a British woman stabbed to death on Wimbledon Common on 15 July 1992. The initial police investigation resulted in the arrest of an innocent man, who was acquitted.
๐ The Murder
Nickell was walking with her two-year-old son on Wimbledon Common when she was stabbed 49 times. An assailant killed her, then sexually assaulted her, leaving her son physically unharmed.
๐ The Wrongful Arrest
The investigation quickly targeted Colin Stagg, a man from Roehampton. Police used a covert “honeytrap” operation, code-named Operation Edzell, to try to obtain evidence from him.
An undercover policewoman contacted Stagg, feigning romantic interest over five months. Stagg did not admit to the killing, but was arrested and charged anyway.
โ๏ธ The Trial and Acquittal
At the Old Bailey in September 1994, the judge ruled police had shown “excessive zeal” and excluded all entrapment evidence. The prosecution withdrew its case and Stagg was acquitted.
๐ต๏ธ The Real Killer
In 2006, a cold case investigation identified Robert Napper as Nickell’s murderer. Napper had been convicted in 1995 for the murders of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter.
In 2008, Napper pleaded guilty to Nickell’s manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. He was ordered to be detained indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital.
๐ Investigation Failures
An IPCC report described a “catalogue of bad decisions and errors” by the Metropolitan Police. Officers missed opportunities to take Napper off the streets before Nickell’s murder.
The detectives investigating the Nickell case had rejected, with “hostility”, suggestions that the Bisset murders were linked. The pursuit of Stagg cost the public ยฃ3 million.
| Event | Date | Key Person | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murder of Rachel Nickell | 15 July 1992 | Rachel Nickell | Died at the scene |
| Wrongful arrest of Colin Stagg | 1994 | Colin Stagg | Acquitted at trial |
| Murders of Samantha and Jazmine Bisset | November 1993 | Robert Napper | Napper convicted in 1995 |
| Napper charged for Nickell murder | 28 November 2007 | Robert Napper | Pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2008 |