Russell Bishop (murderer): Difference between revisions

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+#REDIRECT [[Babes in the Wood murders (Brighton)#Russell Bishop]]
-'''Russell Bishop''' (born 9 February 1966<ref name=argus>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/16986176.russell-bishop-murder-trial-everything-said-by-the-prosecution-on-morning-of-day-1/ |title=Russell Bishop murder trial |newspaper=[[The Argus (Brighton)|The Argus]] |date=16 October 2018 |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> in [[Brighton]]) is an [[English people|English]] convicted [[murder in English law|murder]]er, [[child sexual abuse|child molester]], and [[child abduction|abductor]].
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-== Early life ==
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-Russell Bishop grew up in a respectable family with his parents and four brothers. His mother, Sylvia—an internationally renowned dog trainer—was described in court as "domineering". After educational problems and [[dyslexia]], Bishop was sent away to a special Catholic school in [[Worcester]] aged 15; he ran away and hitchhiked home to Brighton. Bishop had been fined £200 for burglary in 1984 and was partial to smoking [[cannabis]]. He also stole car radios and [[Hot-wiring|hot-wired]] vehicles. His 2018 defence barrister admitted that, in 1986, he was "a semi-literate, occasional, not very successful car thief ... an occasional burglar."<ref name=independent>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/babes-in-the-wood-murders-russell-bishop-trial-verdict-paedophile-karen-hadaway-nicola-fellows-a8629771.html|title=How Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop escaped justice to strike again|date=10 December 2018|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=11 December 2018}}</ref>
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-At the time of the murders Bishop, who was 20 years old, was working as a [[roofer]] and was living in a ground floor flat in the [[Hollingdean]] area of Brighton. He had fair hair and sported a moustache.<ref name=argus/>
-== Criminal history ==
-Bishop is serving [[life imprisonment]] for the abduction, molestation, and [[attempted murder]] of a 7-year-old girl in the [[Whitehawk]] area of Brighton.<ref name="Quinn">{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Ben|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/10/man-found-guilty-of-1986-brighton-babes-in-the-wood-murders-karen-hadaway-nicola-fellows|title=Man found guilty of 1986 Brighton 'babes in the wood' murders|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=10 December 2018|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> He committed the crime on 4 February 1990, and was sentenced on 13 December 1990. By 2007, Bishop was still in prison and one of the longest-serving prisoners in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] not serving a sentence for murder, despite the trial judge recommending a minimum term of 14 years, which could have seen him out of prison in 2004.{{cn|date=December 2018}} In 2005, there was debate over whether he should be classified as mentally ill.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2005/3/8/104751.html |title=Babes in the Wood suspect is sane says father |newspaper=The Argus |date=8 March 2005 |accessdate=9 November 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127051920/http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2005/3/8/104751.html |archivedate=27 January 2009 |df= }}</ref>
-Bishop first became the centre of media attention in October 1986 when he was arrested on suspicion of the [[murder in English law|murders]] and [[child sexual abuse|molestation]] of two 9-year-old girls whose bodies were found in [[Wild Park]], Brighton. The murders became known as the [[Babes in the Wood murders (Wild Park)|Babes in the Wood murders]] after the [[Babes in the Wood|children's tale]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5349106.stm |title=Sweatshirt at heart of murder case |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=15 September 2006 |accessdate=9 November 2007}}</ref> He was cleared on both murder charges at his trial in December 1987.<ref name="March over murder">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/6036403.stm |title=March over Babes in Wood murder |publisher=BBC News |date=26 October 2006 |accessdate=9 November 2007}}</ref> [[Double jeopardy|Double-jeopardy]] rules had seemed to eliminate any possibility that Bishop might one day face a new trial for the murders, but new legislation in 2005 meant that a criminal could face a new trial for a crime if substantial new evidence came to light.<ref name=Wapo>{{cite news |first=Kyle |last=Swenson |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/11/bungled-case-let-child-killer-go-free-police-waited-years-another-chance/ |title=A bungled case let a child killer go free. Police waited 32 years for another chance |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=11 December 2018 |accessdate=11 December 2018 }}</ref> In September 2006, the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] decided that there was not enough evidence for Bishop to face a second trial for the murders.<ref name="March over murder"/>
-On 10 May 2016, however, a man, initially not named for legal reasons, was arrested.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/10/man-arrested-1986-babes-in-woods-murders-brighton |title=Man arrested over 1986 'babes in the wood' murders in Brighton |work=The Guardian |date=10 May 2016 |accessdate=10 May 2016}}</ref> On 2 February 2018, the [[Press Association]] reported that Bishop was to stand trial at the [[Old Bailey]] accused of the murder of the two girls killed in Brighton in 1986. Bishop was charged and pleaded not guilty; on 10 December 2018, he was found guilty of murder.<ref name="Quinn"/><ref name=Wapo/><ref>{{cite news |title=Russell Bishop: Paedophile guilty of 1986 Babes in Wood murders |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46512496 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 December 2018 |accessdate=10 December 2018}}</ref> The Old Bailey jury was told that in 2014 samples, taken from left forearm of one of the victims in 1986, had been re-examined in the hope of finding traces of [[DNA]]. This yielded skin flakes which were subjected to ultra-modern profiling techniques, to produce a result that was one billion times more likely if Bishop’s DNA were present than if it was absent.<ref name=independent/> On 11 December 2018, Bishop received two life sentences; he will serve a minimum of 36 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-46528206 |title=Russell Bishop jailed for 1986 Babes in the Wood murders |publisher=BBC News |date=11 December 2018 |accessdate=11 December 2018}}</ref>
-==References==
-{{Portal|England|Biography|Crime}}
-{{reflist}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Russell}}
 [[Category:1966 births]]
-[[Category:Living people]]
+[[Category:2022 deaths]]
 [[Category:20th-century English criminals]]
+[[Category:20th century in Brighton and Hove]]
+[[Category:21st century in Brighton and Hove]]
+[[Category:British people convicted of attempted murder]]
 [[Category:British people convicted of kidnapping]]
-[[Category:British people convicted of attempted murder]]
 [[Category:Crime in Brighton and Hove]]
 [[Category:Criminals from Sussex]]
-[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]
+[[Category:English murderers of children]]
 [[Category:English people convicted of child sexual abuse]]
 [[Category:English people convicted of murder]]
+[[Category:English people who died in prison custody]]
 [[Category:English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
-[[Category:English sex offenders]]
 [[Category:People from Brighton]]
 [[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales]]
+[[Category:Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention]]