'Just in the minutes before Sian vanished, one of the police cars had filmed a Toyota Avensis driving the other way, and it had the number plate.'. Steve explains what happened next: 'He said, "You and I should have a chat". With the deaths of Becky and Sian some eight years apart, Fulcher is convinced there may be more undiscovered bodies a sentiment now echoed by other senior officers involved in Halliwells conviction this week. Spoken from the dock at Bristol Crown Court this month, these were the words of convicted murderer Christopher Halliwell as he finished cross-examining former detective superintendent Steve Fulcher, the man who had sacrificed everything his career, health and happiness to bring him to justice. When DS Steve Fulcher arrested Christopher Halliwell over the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan, it was the start of his own downfall. This was roughly 12 miles away. Fulcher has broadly received the support of the victims' families. Justice Cox got her judgment badly wrong. Halliwell had been spotted buying a large quantity of pills, so officers were sent in to arrest him. Kathryn Knight for the Daily Mail 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. I offered to give them full and frank disclosure immediately. Halliwell is thought to have killed Becky in 2003, while Sian was killed in 2011. The CPS should have appealed. And he decided this would be treated as a missing person inquiry, rather than a murder. Under the PACE code of practice (relating to The Police And Criminal Evidence Act of 1984), DS Fulcher should have taken Halliwell straight back to the police station as soon as he confessed to Beckys murder. So clear, in fact, that there is a police manual The Kidnap Manual with precise guidelines. Why on earth had this killer been given every conceivable privilege, while a brave, upstanding detective was hung out to dry? Instead resources went into investigating me for years.. 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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.. When cornered by detectives, Halliwell admitted that he had killed Sian and led them to her body. The 2022 loss represents about 12% of the total portfolio. He had killed her two minutes after she got in his cab. 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 gave [Halliwell] a cigarette and he asked to talk to me. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 'I would appeal to Christopher Halliwell if he wants to speak I'm willing to speak with him. That decision cost DS Fulcher his career. According to the PACE rules, he should have cautioned the killer and given him access to a solicitor after discovering that Sian was dead. Jeff Pope's new ITV drama A Confession stars Martin Freeman as Detective Steve Fulcher, whose hunt for missing 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan led him into an extraordinary situation in 2011. A Confession airs on Monday nights on ITV and is available on ITV Hub. She and Halliwell lived on the same street. The taxi belonged to Halliwell, who told his company he had gone home at 1.30am - much earlier than Sian had disappeared. To Catch A Serial Killer airs on Thursday at 9pm on ITV, The comments below have not been moderated, By Finally, Halliwell confessed to Sian's murder and offered to take him to Sian's body, leading the police to her burial spot. The nadir came in January 2014, when he was found guilty of gross misconduct after a hearing at which, notably, Karen Godden, Beckys mother insisted on accompanying him to show her support. For nine long minutes Halliwell said nothing. It seemed astonishing to me they were not pursing lines of enquiry. The CPS and senior police figures panicked, Fulcher says. He was given a whole-life jail tariff. And if were not protecting the victim then were all sunk., The comments below have not been moderated, By Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman, lost his career after catching a serial killer Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher resigned from Wiltshire Police in May 2014 ( Image: PA) As. His career was in tatters. 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. When OCallaghan was reported missing on 19 March 2011, DS Steve Fulcher of Wiltshire Police was brought in to lead the case. Joe Absolom plays the killer Christopher Halliwell. Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, 52, from Wiltshire, was one of the most respected officers in the UK when he caught taxi driver Christopher Halliwell in 2011, who went on to confess to the murder ofSian O'Callaghan, 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. There was no sign of a baby when they came by". How far should the police go in securing a confession and bringing a killer to justice? It has since emerged Halliwell was obsessed with Linda after doing building work at the Razzells' home four years before she died. 12:23 GMT 20 Sep 2018. 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. If Im right, well I take comfort from the fact that he hasnt been able to do that since 2011. Steve Fulcher, the detective who put him behind bars, . Later investigators discovered soil on a spade which placed Halliwell in the field where Becky was found, leading to his conviction by jury in 2016. 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. "I am satisfied also that the defendant's confession to the murder of Becky Godden and his taking the police to where he had buried her was not the consequence of oppression.". We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Linda Razzell, 41, disappeared in Swindon on March 19, 2002. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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 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. Place him under arrest and take him back into custody? Steve, who went on to get a job as a consultant for a private company in Somalia which offers aid from the Foreign Office, admitted he was shunned when trying to find work in the UK.. Wiltshire Police told the BBC : "The IPCC investigation concluded that a misconduct hearing should take place to consider potential gross misconduct. His story is a true story, and one which . Meanwhile, Halliwell's father lived a few streets from the home of chef Claudia Lawrence, who has been missing since March 19, 2009 - the same day as Halliwell killed Ms O'Callaghan. Do you want another one?. The disappearances of Tina Pryer, 39, Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, and Sandra Brewin, 21, have also been linked to the killer. At 9.45am he called the police to report that his girlfriend had gone missing. No one wants to go back to the old days where the police sometimes ran roughshod over the rules, but the pendulum has swung way too far in favour of the criminal, he says. 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.'. Halliwell had confessed to her murder of Sian, and revealed he had also killed prostitute Becky Godden in 2003 and left her body at another location. He also told The Guardian in 2017 that he believed Halliwell was responsible for more murders, as more than 60 items of womens clothing were found buried in woodland near Marlborough, including OCallaghans brown boots and Godden-Edwardss cardigan. You are talking about co-ordinating hundreds of officers. January 2003 - Becky Godden, then aged 20, is last seen alive after getting into a taxi outside Destiny & Desire nightclub in Swindon. There is a significant gap in his offending. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. With compelling circumstantial evidence, Fulcher authorised covert surveillance. Joe Absolom plays the Swindon taxi driver Christopher Halliwell who had taken the lives of two you women. Rebecca Godden-Edwards, aged 18, also known as Becky, whose remains were found by police investigating the murder of missing nightclubber Sian O'Callaghan. Common sense did not win the day. Fulcher was disciplined for misconduct and later resigned, losing his 500,000 police pension and selling his house. He wanted to use what he believed were emergency powers, to be used only when there is an imminent threat to life. It's a very dodgy road to go down, I think, for us as a society.'. How Christopher Halliwell was brought to justice. The fallout for Steve Fulcher was huge. 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.'. 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. But for my course of action Becky would still be in that field, Sian would never be found and Christopher Halliwell would be walking the streets.. The investigation into her murder was headed up by DS Fulcher who charged cab driver Chris Halliwell with the abduction of the office worker. Monday 7 October 2019, 5:22pm. Pope said: Watching the series with him afterwards, it was almost unbearable. For his emotion, when it comes, isnt for his own plight, but that of Becky, Sian, and their families. A Confession which starts on ITV on Monday 2 September at 9pm relives the shocking case of Sian OCallaghan who was murdered by local taxi driver Christopher Halliwell, and how Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher solved the crime, but was punished for his conduct. Police are still continuing their investigation into Halliwell as they believe other victims are yet to be found. 'I am really open-minded there is an eight-year gap between Becky and Sian,' Memory said. Halliwell is serving life for killing Sian OCallaghan, 22, and Becky Godden, 20. On the day of his arrest, Halliwell spoke to Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, and admitted to murdering two women and dumping their bodies in shallow graves. Once Halliwell was in custody, Fulcher was hailed by his superiors. The judge said I acted in good faith, he says. There's a distinct possibility there could be further offences.'. CCTV of Sians last-known moments led him to 47-year-old father-of-three Christopher Halliwell. Her name would not be discovered for some days, after her DNA was checked. Sophie Rundle: Motherhood has made me too tired to people-please', The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. You dont sleep, you dont eat, its a 24/7 commitment, says Fulcher. When detective Steve Fulcher broke arrest guidelines to persuade a serial killer to admit murdering two women, his gamble was hailed as brilliant policing. Steve says: We had a policeman under suspicion of sexual impropriety, who drove the exact kind of vehicle we thought had picked up Sian, took his own life just as the net might be closing in. The car had been seen on CCTV pulling up next to Sian on her way home. A police telephone trace threw up a clue - he had texted her half an hour after she left the nightclub saying, 'Worried'. PACE is there for a reason. He quit in 2014 after a disciplinary hearing, but the Hobbit star has defended Fulcher's actions, telling the Series Linked TV podcast:'There aren't enough police on the ground. Freeman, 47, plays Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher in the ITV show A Confession. Halliwell finally guided DS Fulcher and his team to a remote gully near the White Horse landmark at Uffington where he had dumped Sians body. Freeman met Fulcher during the filming of A Confession, and Fulcher has now watched the dramatisation. Then he turned to the officer in charge, DS Steve Fulcher, and said: Do you want another one? He then told them where he had buried BeckyGodden many years earlier. Fulcher, meanwhile, was being heartily congratulated by senior officers. There were 60. As a result of being found guilty of gross misconduct in January 2014, Steve Fulcher was given a final written warning, which could have led to his dismissal if he'd fallen foul of any more. That is always in your mind, he says. In the mid 1980s, while serving time in prison, Halliwell reportedly asked another inmate how many women it's necessary to kill before you're considered a serial murderer. Steve had been found guilty of gross misconduct by the Independent Police Complaints Commission for not reading Halliwell his rights and taking him back to the police station. 'But for my course of action Becky would still be in that field, Sian would never be found and Christopher Halliwell would be walking the streets.'. For other inquiries, Contact Us. In an explosive new book, Catching A Serial Killer, Steve tells the inside story of the case and how his quest for justice cost him his job. In essence, Fulcher was using his experience to make a judgment call a call that took him on another car journey with Halliwell to rural Gloucestershire. I need help. After joining the Wiltshire force in 2003, Fulcher was promoted to Detective Superintendent. However, criminal defence barrister Sebastian Gardiner said their must be a way to ensure "police powers are not abused". Sian's mother Elaine Pickford says what he did was understandable to. Jeff Pope, Executive Producer and Writer - explains PACE. Ultimately, Halliwell confessed to two murders to Fulcher and led the police to the bodies of both Sian and Becky. June 9, 2015 - Halliwell appears at Bristol Crown Court and denies Miss Godden's murder. 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. For two days undercover police in 12 vehicles kept him under constant surveillance in the hope he would lead them to Sian. Thankfully, circumstantial and forensic evidence ensured Halliwell, 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 for killing Miss OCallaghan. Drivers warned over incoming hike in petrol and diesel prices amid two key changes, "Its really important that we dont have any particular day where fuel goes up very dramatically", Limerick woman 'lucky to be alive' after being held captive, beaten and doused with acid in horror attack. The public needs to know what the police wont do if their own daughter went missing. He said: "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. 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. As he rose through the ranks, he enhanced his professional accomplishments with a postgraduate diploma and subsequent masters in Criminology. It has been devastating for everyone, he says quietly. 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. They are someones daughter, sister.. The fiend then revealed where cops could find the body of Becky Godden who police did not even know was missing at the time. Fulcher made the decision. DC Fulcher quit after being accused of gross misconduct over murder case. Worse was to come: as the year unfolded, Fulcher learned that Halliwells legal team would attempt to get the charges thrown out on the basis that Fulcher had not adequately followed PACE guidelines. That girl, we now know, was poor Becky Godden, a much loved daughter who had fallen into drug addiction, prostitution and, ultimately, Halliwells evil hands. The last sighting of her was in the Manchester Road area, in the towns red-light district, at 10.45pm on September 8, 1995. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. What are the real-life events behind ITV's true crime drama A Confession? In January 2012, at a preliminary hearing, Mrs Justice Cox ruled the confession obtained by Fulcher was inadmissible at trial. Sians only crime was to resemble Halliwells own mother, who he hated. A career copper, he joined what was then Sussex police in 1986 aged 21. Buried around the pond were more items of womens clothing. In September 2013, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found that Fulcher had a case to answer for "gross misconduct" for breaches of PACE and for ignoring force orders. Halliwell was convicted of Beckys murder in September 2016. But I had my maths wrong. Judge Mrs Justice Cox ruled both of Halliwell's confessions were inadmissable as evidence because Fulcher had breached Police and Criminal Evidence Act guidelines. From the point of his suspension in September 2012 to around April 2013 Mr Fulcher was obliged to inform the force if he planned to leave home for more than 24 hours, extended to two nights after a request to take his daughter to look around universities. He's not forensically linked to outstanding cases. It turned out to be the remains of Becky. February 18, 2015 - Halliwell is arrested on suspicion of murdering Miss Godden. 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