THE brutal death of Rachel Nickell in 1992 on Wimbledon Common shocked the UK.
Here, we look at who killed her and how he was eventually brought to justice many years later.
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Robert Napper was found guilty of the killing of Rachel Nickell in 2008 Credit: PA
Rachel Nickell, who was brutally murdered on Wimbledon Common in 1992 Credit: PA:Press Association
What happened to Rachel Nickell?
Rachel Nickell was killed while walking her dog with her two-year-old son in July 1992.
The 23-year-old was stabbed 49 times, dying at the scene, with her son Alex the only witness to her death.
How was Robert Napper caught?
Police launched an appeal for information on Crimewatch, where they were given a tip-off from a man named Colin Stagg.
Like Rachel, Stagg lived in Roehampton, and often walked his own dog on Wimbledon Common.
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Despite no forensic evidence linking him to her death, and not admitting any guilt to an undercover policewoman who was pretending to be romantically interested in him, Stagg was arrested and held in custody for 13 months.
He stood trial for murder in 1994, but the case collapsed due to the actions of the police which led to his arrest.
The judge described the actions of the officers as “deceptive conduct of the grossest kind” and Stagg was acquitted.
In April 1995, Stagg was granted legal aid to sue the Met Police for malicious prosecution and wrongful arrest.
He was eventually paid £706,000 in compensation, and received a public apology from the police.
The case went cold for many years, but a DNA breakthrough in 2004 allowed the police to use new technology to better analyse swabs taken from Rachel’s body, officers found a match to the convicted murderer Robert Napper.
Napper had already been convicted of the double murder of Samantha Bisset and her daughter Jazmine Bisset in November 1993 – 16 months after the death of Rachel – and he was being held at Broadmoor hospital.
In 2008 Napper finally confessed to stabbing Rachel 16 years earlier.
He has paranoid schizophrenia, and because of this, in December 2008, he was convicted of the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Where is Robert Napper now?
Robert Napper remains detained in Broadmoor hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital that has been home to killers such as Peter Sutcliffe.
He is likely to remain in the hospital for the rest of his life.
