True Criminals

In February 1990, seven-year-old Rachel Watts went out on her roller skates to buy sweets near her home in Brighton. On her way back, she encountered Russell Bishop — the man acquitted three years earlier of murdering Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. Bishop abducted Rachel, drove her to Devil's Dyke, sexually assaulted and strangled her, and left her for dead. Miraculously, Rachel survived. Her extraordinary courage and detailed evidence helped put Bishop behind bars. But for Karen and Nicola's families, the fight for justice was far from over. In Part 2 of this two-part True Criminals special, Martin Brunt and Helen Fospero are joined once again by journalist and author Jean Ritchie, co-author of My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice with Karen's mother, Michelle Hadaway. We examine Rachel Watts' remarkable survival, the conviction that followed, and the decades-long campaign to overturn the legal barriers preventing Bishop from being tried again. We explore the historic changes to the double jeopardy law, the breakthrough DNA evidence recovered from exhibits preserved since 1986, and the crucial role of the blue Pinto sweatshirt in securing Bishop's conviction at the Old Bailey in 2018 — exactly 31 years after his original acquittal. Jean reveals the deeply personal story behind the families' fight for justice: Michelle's determination never to give up, the emotional ordeal of the second trial, the devastating impact on Barry Fellows, and the extraordinary moment when the guilty verdict was finally delivered. We also investigate the subsequent perjury conviction of Bishop's former girlfriend Jennifer Johnson, Bishop's death in 2022, and the unresolved controversy surrounding Karen's missing clothes, handed to BBC journalist Martin Bashir in 1991 and never returned. After more than three decades, the families of Karen and Nicola finally had the justice they had fought so hard to achieve. This is the story of a remarkable survivor, a mother's relentless determination, and the forensic breakthroughs that finally brought one of Britain's most notorious child killers to justice. SPECIAL GUEST: JEAN RITCHIE READ THE BOOK My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice by Michelle Hadaway with Jean Ritchie. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454786/my-girl-by-hadaway-michelle/9781804943526 SUPPORT TRUE CRIMINALS Listen ad free and access bonus content and our full catalogue on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS Instagram: @true.criminals TikTok: @truecriminalspodcast FOLLOW MARTIN BRUNT Twitter/X: @skymartinbrunt Discover more about Martin's career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter. Buy Martin's book: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY FOLLOW HELEN FOSPERO Instagram: @helenfospero Listen to Helen's podcast, The Convex Conversation: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575 PRODUCTION CREDITS True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global. Website: https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals Executive Producer: Lee Mann  Producer: Russell Barnes  Audio Production: BLEACHED  Music Composition: BLEACHED  Artwork: BLEACHED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October 1986, nine-year-old best friends Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows disappeared after going out to play near their homes on the Moulsecoomb estate in Brighton. The following afternoon, their bodies were discovered in Wild Park. The case became known across Britain as the Babes in the Wood murders — one of the most notorious and heartbreaking cases in British true crime history. In Part 1 of this two-part True Criminals special, Martin Brunt and Helen Fospero are joined by journalist and author Jean Ritchie, co-author of My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice with Karen's mother, Michelle Hadaway. We examine the disappearance and murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, the original police investigation, the search of Wild Park and why suspicion fell on Russell Bishop. We also explore the crucial evidence surrounding the blue Pinto sweatshirt, the weaknesses in the prosecution case and Bishop's 1987 acquittal at Lewes Crown Court. Jean reveals the devastating human story behind the headlines: Michelle's desperate search for her daughter while seven months pregnant, the impact of Bishop's acquittal, the false suspicions that later surrounded Nicola's father Barry Fellows, and the extraordinary emotional toll the case took on both families. For more than three decades, Karen and Nicola's families waited for justice. This is the story of two little girls, two grieving families and a murder case that would haunt Brighton for 31 years. SPECIAL GUEST: JEAN RITCHIE READ THE BOOK My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice by Michelle Hadaway with Jean Ritchie. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454786/my-girl-by-hadaway-michelle/9781804943526 SUPPORT TRUE CRIMINALS Listen ad free and access bonus content and our full catalogue on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast FOLLOW MARTIN BRUNT Twitter/X: @skymartinbrunt Discover more about Martin's career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter. Buy Martin's book:https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY FOLLOW HELEN FOSPERO Instagram: @helenfospero Listen to Helen's podcast, The Convex Conversation:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575 PRODUCTION CREDITS True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global. Website:https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this second of two special episodes of True Criminals, journalists Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are joined once again by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, whose reporting helped expose Malaysia’s extraordinary 1MDB scandal and the disappearance of billions of dollars from a state investment fund. With former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak behind bars, the investigation turns to the mysterious financier Jho Low, the fugitive businessman at the centre of the scandal, whose extravagant spending brought him into the orbit of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Rewcastle Brown reveals how money stolen from 1MDB helped finance The Wolf of Wall Street, and how Low showered celebrities with extraordinary gifts, including a Picasso painting for Leonardo DiCaprio and millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery for supermodel Miranda Kerr. From champagne-fuelled parties in Las Vegas to private jets, priceless artwork and a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar superyacht, she describes a world of almost unimaginable excess – and the public money that helped pay for it. But Low’s disappearance following the first major 1MDB exposé in February 2015 would lead Rewcastle Brown towards an even more extraordinary story. In her latest investigation, detailed in her new book, The China Contract, she uncovers evidence of an alleged international cover-up involving Chinese state-linked companies, inflated infrastructure contracts and billions of dollars in secret financial transactions, designed, she alleges, to plug the enormous financial hole left by the 1MDB scandal. She explains how a mysterious leaked document first alerted her to an alleged $8bn scheme involving China's Belt and Road Initiative, and how a whistleblower who escaped from Kuwait with crucial documents helped her piece together the money trail. Rewcastle Brown also discusses her belief that Jho Low is hiding in China, the reported attempts to secure pardons in Malaysia and the United States, and her continuing efforts to trace billions she believes remain hidden within the international banking system. From Hollywood and Macau to China, Kuwait and London's financial institutions, this is a remarkable account of how corruption can cross borders, implicate powerful institutions and evade justice long after the original crime has been exposed. And at the heart of it all is a devastating question: what could those billions have done for the ordinary people of Malaysia, particularly the indigenous communities of Borneo, whose struggle first inspired Rewcastle Brown’s investigation? As she tells Helen and Martin, the story is far from over. There is still missing money to trace, powerful institutions to scrutinise and new evidence to uncover. Clare Rewcastle Brown’s latest book, The China Contract: The Inside Story of the World's Biggest Financial Scandal … and How It Was Covered Up, continues her investigation into the 1MDB affair. Find The China Contract here: https://saqibooks.com/books/the-westbourne-press/the-china-contract/?utm_source=truecrime&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=truecrimepodcast  SUPPORT THE SHOW Listen ad-free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals⁠  As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE⁠  FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS Instagram: @true.criminals TikTok: @truecriminalspodcast CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: ⁠https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY⁠  CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575⁠  CREDITS True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global. Visit: ⁠https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals⁠  Executive Producer: Lee Mann  Producer: Russell Barnes  Audio Production: BLEACHED  Music Composition:BLEACHED Artwork: BLEACHED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices