Another potential victim is prostitute Sally Ann John, 24, who vanished from Swindon in 1995. What happened in the interim eight years?". His crime, if that is even remotely the appropriate word, was failing to follow to the precise letter police procedure something Fulcher says he did because it was the only way to get to the truth. There's a distinct possibility there could be further offences.'. I felt my position was untenable.. 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. But I had my maths wrong. It later transpired that Fulcher, when arresting Halliwell, acted on the instinct that Halliwell may have been responsible for the disappearance of Becky Godden-Edwards, who had been reported missing in 2007 and pressed him for details. The CPS and senior police figures panicked, Fulcher says. Look no further! He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, meaning he will not be eligible for parole and is unlikely to ever be released from prison. Why on earth had this killer been given every conceivable privilege, while a brave, upstanding detective was hung out to dry? Lara Keay For Mailonline Monday 7 October 2019, 5:22pm. Mr Fulcher believed the man's latest victim might still be alive and feared he might commit suicide without revealing where he'd abandoned her. Steve says Halliwell then asked him, "Do you want another one?"'. Its a simple moral issue, he told the Guardian. 10:35 GMT 03 Sep 2019 He maintains that he would not have persuaded Halliwell to confess had he not taken this gamble. Some killings are linked by the date March 19 a day on which Halliwell was once dumped by a girlfriend in the 1980s and also the date Sian was killed. If the media outside the nick had found out, they would have had the headline of the year., News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 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. Steve said: One witness came forward to say they were sure they had seen Halliwell and Claudia together. Around the pond were not six other items of womens clothing. Halliwells father lived a few streets from the home of chef Claudia Lawrence, who has been missing since March 19, 2009. She too had been strangled. First he dumped her body near his sick stash at Ramsbury. He lost his police pension worth 500,000, had to sell his house and now works training police in war-torn Somalia. He was crying in the car, saying he was a sick f*cker, recalls Fulcher. There is a fundamental flaw in the law when a detective has to refuse a voluntary confession from a suspect., There remains the question of other possible victims. He later decided of his own volition to resign from Wiltshire Police.. As a result of this procedural failure, Halliwells confession regarding both murders was ruled inadmissible in court. State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio lost $9.5 billion, which represents 9.64% of the . Which was quite odd, actually I felt the sense of gratitude. At this point, Fulcher still hoped to find Sian alive. They also seized his green Toyota Avensis. When you suspect someone has been abducted or kidnapped their life remains under threat, and there are very clear procedural rules about that.. But without common sense it gives too much protection to the guilty and not the victim, he says. 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. Steve Fulcher placed Halliwell under surveillance and he was seen cleaning his car, disposing of materials in litter bins, and burning objects at night. In May 2012 Christopher Halliwell pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Sian O'Callaghan, but when he appeared in Bristol Crown Court in October 2012 he pleaded guilty to her murder. By now, the search for Sian centred round the nearby Iron Age fort of Barbary Castle. Four months later, he resigned from the Wiltshire Police force. Her husband Glyn has spent 13 years in jail for her murder but maintains his innocence, with his lawyer saying he would be 'very surprised' if he had committed the crime. Just five days later her body was found in Oxfordshire. A police telephone trace threw up a clue - he had texted her half an hour after she left the nightclub saying, 'Worried'. Realising something was seriously wrong when Sian failed to come home or answer his texts, Kevin raised the alarm. He was an experienced police officer who knew what he was doing. Sians mother Elaine Pickford, who is played by Sobhan Finneran, was grateful to DS Fulcher. A judge then ruled that Halliwell's confessions to killing both victims were actually inadmissible as evidence in court. Her husband Glyn has spent 13 years in jail for her murder but maintains his innocence. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The charge of murdering Miss Godden is formally withdrawn. There was no sign of a baby when they came by". Halliwell was charged with two life terms for the murders of both women and is likely to die in prison. 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. 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. It took a jury just two hours to find him guilty. I pleaded with him for Sians life, he recalls. He's not forensically linked to outstanding cases. On March 19 2011, 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan disappeared from Wiltshire after last being spotted at a nightclub in the area. It is possible that there were other victims before or after Becky but he has never been charged or convicted of any other murders. He was only convicted of Becky's murder in 2016 after a new detective took over the investigation. 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. Detective Chief Inspector Sean Memory said there could be an "innocent explanation" but pointed out: "Someone has made some effort to hide it. 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. Freeman, 47, plays Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher in the ITV show A Confession. Martin Freeman plays Det Supt Steve Fulcher, the officer who took the monumental gamble which secured the admission but which also led to his own downfall. But the following day, there were "significant lines of inquiry" and the public were asked to stand down from the search. I heard nothing for 10 months, he recalls. Despite these hopes, Fulcher was wrong. I need help. The fallout for Steve Fulcher was huge. 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. 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. Youre seriously telling me theres nothing in between or either side? January 2003 - Becky Godden, then aged 20, is last seen alive after getting into a taxi outside Destiny & Desire nightclub in Swindon. Steve is convinced Halliwell murdered others after he revealed he had buried Becky Godden in a 5ft hole. 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. AN early suspect in Sians murder was one of Steves bosses Deputy Chief Constable of Wiltshire Dave Ainsworth. Some claimed the manner in which Steve gained Halliwells confessions was "arrogant and reckless". He argued that the original judge (Mrs Justice Cox) had been correct in her ruling, but that since Halliwell had "unequivocally" pleaded guilty to Sian's murder, the concerns over PACE were "no longer relevant.". 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 O'Callaghan's boyfriend had reported her missing after she failed to return from a night out with friends in Swindon, Wiltshire, in March 2011. As he sentenced him, the judge dismissed Halliwells defence as a cock and bull story and deemed him to be calculating and devious. You might think that witness statement would be taken, but it never has been to my knowledge. '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.'. But not before Halliwell, defending himself in court, gloated about how he had ruined Steves career. This is a charge that usually applies to corrupt officials, not someone dealing with a serial killer.. When do the clocks change in 2023? ', He considered his actions: 'Should I stop him confessing? The panel considered independently whether or not the actions of Steve Fulcher had breached the standards of professional behaviour that apply to all police officers in England and Wales. Here was a man who indicated he might have more victims. 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 later decided of his own volition to resign from Wiltshire Police.". The car had been seen on CCTV pulling up next to Sian on her way home. Instead, everyone turned on me.. , updated But a judge ruled his confession about Becky Godden inadmissible because DS Fulcher had repeatedly failed to correctly caution the killer and questioned him without a lawyer. Monster is currently serving life for killing Sian OCallaghan, 22, and Becky Godden, 20. How Christopher Halliwell was brought to justice. Fulcher, meanwhile, was being heartily congratulated by senior officers. Yet that wasnt all. There wasnt an alternative that wouldnt involve ruining my chances of Halliwell opening up.. The fiend then revealed where cops could find the body of Becky Godden who police did not even know was missing at the time. All the while, Fulcher delayed making an arrest, hoping Halliwell might lead them to Sian, whom he fervently hoped might still be alive. 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. The killer was finally brought to justice by Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, who discovered he had murdered a second victim while investigating the disappearance of Sian O'Callaghan. He was investigated by the police watchdog, the IPCC and found guilty of Gross Misconduct. Steve explained that Halliwell told him to drive them to a local beauty spot, a chalk white horse at Uffington - which turned out to be where he had dumped Sian O'Callaghan's body. Steve Fulcher confronted by killer Christopher Halliwell in A Confession finale teaser. Indeed, it was only thanks to Fulchers instincts honed from 25 years of painstaking investigations and cat and mouse detective work that two young murder victims had been found. Fulcher decided not to take Halliwell to. The investigation into her murder was headed up by DS Fulcher who charged cab driver Chris Halliwell with the abduction of the office worker. Who police did not even know was missing at the time his sick stash at.. Every conceivable privilege, while a brave, upstanding detective did steve fulcher lose his pension hung out to dry still... Home of chef Claudia Lawrence, who vanished from Swindon in 1995 is... That witness statement would be taken, but it never has been to my knowledge under! 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