By then he had amassed an impressive CV, presiding over dozens of large investigations. March 26, 2011 - Halliwell is charged with Miss O'Callaghan's murder. It was a terrible Catch 22. On 24 March, OCallaghans body was found in a shallow grave near Uffington, Oxfordshire, and Christopher Halliwell, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Swindon was arrested, charged and later sentenced to a life sentence for the murder. In 2018 he appeared on the ITV show To Catch a Serial Killer with Trevor McDonald.My view is that I have brought two daughters back to their mothers and Ive prevented other victims resulting from Halliwells continued pursuit of his career as a serial killer," Fulcher told McDonald. Steve Fulcher, the detective who put him behind bars, . By The case attracted widespread attention and press coverage, and on Tuesday 22nd March around 400 members of the public were allowed to help the police search the forest. He published a book, titled Catching a Serial Killer: My hunt for murderer Christopher Halliwell, and has also spoken many times in the press about his experience of the case. Lara Keay For Mailonline Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Its an almost insoluble problem. I need help. After his arrest, Halliwell revealed the location of Sian's body. Sians mother Elaine Pickford, who is played by Sobhan Finneran, was grateful to DS Fulcher. Five days after her kidnap, they spotted Halliwell buying enough pills to kill himself so they swooped on his car and carried out an urgent interview. He's not forensically linked to outstanding cases. Det Supt Sean Memory, the senior investigating officer in the Godden case, said after he was convicted in 2016 that Halliwell may have killed others. Moreover, as forensic officers set to work, Fulcher was unprepared for what came next. Beckys mother, Karen Edwards, began a petition calling for a change to arrest guidelines. Its when these forces collide. September 19, 2016 - Halliwell is convicted of Miss Godden's murder. But Halliwell was eventually found guilty of the murder of Godden-Edwards and was given another life sentence. ", Why? As always you can unsubscribe at any time. I acted in good faith to save a life, and to recover a body we did not previously know about.. It has emerged Halliwell was obsessed with Linda after doing building work at the Razzells home four years before she died. But then Halliwell had a second horrific confession. Something went wrong, please try again later. The trace on her phone was tracked to the nearby Savernake Forest by Steve's team. But whats the true story behind Steve Fulcher? In January 2012, at a preliminary hearing, Mrs Justice Cox ruled the confession obtained by Fulcher was inadmissible at trial. You might think that witness statement would be taken, but it never has been to my knowledge. Once in the remote woodland, Halliwell stood on the exact spot where he claimed hed buried a girl years earlier. The CPS should have appealed. The lives of Sian OCallaghan, 22, and Becky Godden, 20, had been callously cut short by taxi driver Halliwell, who guided Fulcher to their bodies. BBC reporter Steve Brodie said of the detective's actions: 'At that stage there's absolutely no doubt under PACE [the Police and Criminal Evidence Act], Christopher Halliwell should have been charged on suspicion of murder, taken back to a police station and given access to a solicitor.'. It turned out to be the remains of Becky. All the while, Fulcher delayed making an arrest, hoping Halliwell might lead them to Sian, whom he fervently hoped might still be alive. He wanted to seize the opportunity to grill Halliwell before it was too late. The disappearances of Tina Pryer, 39, Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, and Sandra Brewin, 21, have also been linked to the killer. 23:33 GMT 23 Sep 2016 Freeman met Fulcher during the filming of A Confession, and Fulcher has now watched the dramatisation. The manner in which Steve gained Halliwells confession to killing second victim Becky Godden-Edwards breached police procedure by failing to caution him and denying access to a solicitor. I pleaded with him for Sians life, he recalls. Its a race against time. A race against a backdrop of high emotions, too. As a result of this procedural failure, Halliwells confession regarding both murders was ruled inadmissible in court. First he dumped her body near his sick stash at Ramsbury. However, criminal defence barrister Sebastian Gardiner said their must be a way to ensure "police powers are not abused". Fulcher went on to write a book about his experiences, called Catching a Serial Killer. He added: It wasn't ignorance on his part, it was a conscious decision by him to drive a coach and horses through recognised police procedure.. DS Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman in A Confession, resigned from the police after being found guilty of gross misconduct in the Christopher Halliwell case His story is a true story, and one which . Thankfully, circumstantial and forensic evidence ensured Halliwell, 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 for killing Miss OCallaghan. Her husband Glyn has spent 13 years in jail for her murder but maintains his innocence. There is another comfort, too. DS Steve Fulcher said he had always been convinced Halliwell had targeted more women. Fulcher has lost his career, he works as a security consultant in Africa. The investigation into her murder was headed up by DS Fulcher who charged cab driver Chris Halliwell with the abduction of the office worker. And where had they gone next? Catching a double killer led to Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher being hailed a hero by the families and twice nominated for a Queens Police Medal. He tells Tim Lewis why he'd do it again Tim. He said: If I had taken Halliwell into custody we would never have found Sian and obviously we would never have heard of his other victim Becky Godden. Joe Absolom, which has been gripping audiences for the past six weeks. But Fulcher had taken a different course: 'We drove for about 45 minutes trying to keep him in the moment. Away from the press, Fulcher and his team had also identified the taxi driver 47-year-old father-of-three Christopher Halliwell (played by Joe Absolom) and were keeping him under surveillance, hoping he would lead them to Sian. A Confession airs on Monday nights on ITV and is available on ITV Hub. That decision cost DS Fulcher his career. No trace of her has ever been found. Fulcher played by Sherlocks Martin Freeman ended up in a difficult ethical position that led him to find the killer, but in an unorthadox manner that ultimately ended his career in the police force. After a nail-biting drive, Halliwell guided the police to an isolated lane running alongside the White Horse near Uffington, close to the Berkshire border, where he said Sians body was lying in the open. They are someones daughter, sister.. Fulcher was disciplined for misconduct and later resigned, losing his 500,000 police pension and selling his house. So I thanked him and explained that he would be given his rights, taken back to the police station, 'I interpreted "you and I should have a chat" as some quid pro quo, I thought he would want the deal in terms of me catering for his family who would be affected by his incarceration.'. 12:23 GMT 20 Sep 2018. , updated Steve says Halliwell then asked him, "Do you want another one?"'. The senior investigating officer on the case was Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher (played in A Confession by Martin Freeman) and the events of 24th March would be the defining moment of his career. Fulchers once distinguished career, meanwhile, lies in ruins. "I for one stand by Fulcher's steadfast resolve to try and find my sister Sian," Liam O'Callaghan said. A High Court judge ruled that this breach of police guidelines made Halliwells confessions of killing both women inadmissible, which nearly derailed the cases. I was prepared for this his case wasnt defendable so it was the only thing they could do but I thought reason would prevail. Fulcher is more than qualified to reflect on how British policing has changed. By then, Halliwell had been charged with Sian OCallaghans murder he had stabbed her to death before dumping her body and placed on technical bail (where bail is granted as the accused is already in custody) for the murder of the as-yet-unidentified woman. During the investigation, Detective Steve Fulcher broke police protocol and extracted not one, but two confessions from the killer. But the following day, there were "significant lines of inquiry" and the public were asked to stand down from the search. At this point, with the focus shifting from kidnap to murder, Fulcher should, according to guidelines drawn up in The Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 (PACE), have cautioned Halliwell again. Kathryn Knight for the Daily Mail Haliwell was jailed for life in 2012 for Sians murder but it was ruled that the confession he gave Steve about where Becky was buried could not be used in court because police arrest guidelines were broken. We walked away and he said Do you want another one? He then told me he had killed a girl in 2003, 4 or 5, and he could take me to that body the exact spot.. A search of the forest proved fruitless, but the detective got a breakthrough several days into the investigation after his team spotted an unidentified taxi on CCTV in the area where she disappeared, explains ITV reporter Robert Murphy, who covered the case. He has written a memoir 'Catching A Serial Killer' upon which "A Confession' is partly based. It need never have been so. The programme explores whether Steve's actions were brilliant detective work, or arrogance and recklessness which ultimately cost him his job. If we mention one of those names a family might think, 'oh, I wonder if' So we very carefully say, 'We believe there are other victims,' and leave it at that. I cannot believe that was his first offence from being a burglar in the 1980s to a murderer in 2003. Sian OCallaghans family certainly think so, as does Becky Goddens mother Karen. Ultimately, Halliwell confessed to two murders to Fulcher and led the police to the bodies of both Sian and Becky. Her name would not be discovered for some days, after her DNA was checked. The CPS and senior police figures panicked, Fulcher says. Joe Absolom plays the Swindon taxi driver Christopher Halliwell who had taken the lives of two you women. Which was quite odd, actually I felt the sense of gratitude. He had killed her two minutes after she got in his cab. All rights reserved. But only this week, five-and-a-half years after he led Fulcher to her remains, was he convicted of the murder of Becky Godden, at last bringing closure to her anguished family. To Catch A Serial Killer airs on Thursday at 9pm on ITV, The comments below have not been moderated, By All you need to know about Jeremy Clarkson's Irish girlfriend as new Amazon Prime series starts, Clarkson's Farm is available on Prime Video, RTE's Dancing with the Stars viewers all say the same thing as Shane Byrne and Karen Byrne voted off, It's been fantastic. So while Halliwell was charged and convicted of the murder of Sian O'Callaghan (the case was strong enough without that confession), at this point he could not be tried for the murder of Becky Godden-Edwards. By In the aftermath of Halliwells arrest, Fulcher was nominated for a Queens Police Medal the highest honour in policing for his work in extracting the brutal killers confession. They have been fulsome in their support of a man they believe acted solely in their best interest. It didnt end there. Yesterday, the sentencing judge, Sir John Griffiths Williams, told Halliwell: But for your confession, I have no doubt Beckys remains would never have been found. But his decision to break police guidelines and drive Halliwell to where he thought Sian might be found alive, instead of taking him to the police station for a formal interview, was to cost him his job. If Im right, well I take comfort from the fact that he hasnt been able to do that since 2011. August 30, 2016 - Retired High Court judge Sir John Griffith Williams rules that the jury can be told of Halliwell's conviction for Miss O'Callaghan's murder and his confession to Miss Godden's murder. A TIMELINE: How Christopher Halliwell was brought to justice. With compelling circumstantial evidence, Fulcher authorised covert surveillance. Thats the question a new true-crime dramatisation asks, as it tells the story of a detective in a 2011 murder case who was found guilty of gross misconduct, but resulted in the conviction of a murderer guilty of two brutal killings. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Her boyfriend, Kevin Reape, raised the alarm at 9.45am the following morning when Sian hadn't turned up at . It made little difference: while Fulcher was not sacked he was given a severe reprimand, something he felt left him with no choice but to resign. When cornered by detectives, Halliwell admitted that he had killed Sian and led them to her body. The taxi belonged to Halliwell, who told his company he had gone home at 1.30am - much earlier than Sian had disappeared. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Sick cabbie Christopher Halliwell is serving life for murdering two women, Steve Fulcher, the detective who put him behind bars, says there could be dozens more victims, Police unearthed a 'stash of trophies' 15 miles from Sian O'Callaghan's body, The fiend also revealed where cops could find the body of Becky Godden, Potential victim Claudia Lawrence has been missing since March 19, 2009, The disappearance of Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, has been linked to the killer, Along with mother-of-three Tina Pryer, 39, who was last seen in 2001, Last September Halliwell was convicted of killing Becky and burying her body in a field at Eastleach, Gloucs, The killer, defending himself in court, gloated about how he had ruined the detective's career, A spade recovered from Halliwell's shed after he was found guilty of murdering Becky Godden, Twisted Christopher Halliwell could have raped and killed dozens more women as cops look into trophy store, Frogmore eviction shows King Charles has drawn a line with Harry - now he must do two more things with the spoilt brat, Harry's vicious attacks on Camilla could not be forgiven by King Charles - he had to hit back, Constance Marten: Baby's body found after massive police search, as cops question runaway aristocrat & Mark Gordon, Rishi Sunak to finally unveil delayed small boats law next week after Brexit win, Ministers vow to never use draconian spy law to jail journalists, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Sian was caught on CCTV at 2.52am leaving the nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire. March 18, 2011 - Sian O'Callaghan, 22, is murdered by Halliwell after getting into his taxi while walking home after leaving Suju nightclub in Swindon. View our online Press Pack. In it, he argues that his actions were to preserve the life of a hostage, as he was working on the assumption OCallaghan could still be alive and that Halliwell could lead him to her. Det Insp Steve Fulcher of Wiltshire Police faced a misconduct inquiry over his methods and later resigned from the force Meanwhile, Det Supt Fulcher's actions led to an inquiry by the. But back then it seems the Wiltshire Force was more preoccupied with a crusade against an officer for failing to follow procedure even when obeying that procedure could have prevented two grieving families gaining a terrible, final closure. So clear, in fact, that there is a police manual The Kidnap Manual with precise guidelines. As he sentenced him, the judge dismissed Halliwells defence as a cock and bull story and deemed him to be calculating and devious. Officers arrested Halliwell, but rather than read him his rights, provide him with a lawyer and bring him to a police station, Det Supt Fulcher said he wanted to speak with Halliwell man-to-man.. By now, the search for Sian centred round the nearby Iron Age fort of Barbary Castle. CCTV taken near the Suju nightclub in Swindon showed her getting into a Toyota taxi owned by Christopher Halliwell, a 47-year-old father of two teenage daughters. After Halliwell's arrest, Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher made an unusual decision with huge ramifications. The 22-year-old office worker had been out with friends, got separated from them and left the nightclub alone. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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