Rachel Nickell’s son has told of the horror moment his mum was murdered in front of him as a child – and how it has shaped the rest of his life.
The young mother’s life was brutally taken by serial killer Robert Napper while she was out walking with her dog and two-year-old son Alex on Wimbledon Common on July 15 1992.
Colin Stagg, a local dog walker, was arrested in the days that followed after callers to BBC Crimewatch said he resembled a photofit of the suspect – but the case collapsed in court as the judge criticised the police’s use of ‘honeytrap’ tactics.
View 6 ImagesPreviously unseen pic of Rachel Nickell and family before her murder have been released alongside a new Netflix documentary(Image: Netflix)
Napper was only brought to justice 16 years later after a cold case review used advanced DNA profiling to definitively link him to the crime. He is currently held indefinitely at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital.
As well as the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell, Samantha Bisset and four-year-old Jazmine Bisset, detectives also suspect Napper of being responsible for 106 attacks involving 86 victims across southeast London.
View 6 ImagesSerial killer Robert Napper evaded justice for 12 years after a series of police failings(Image: SWNS)
Rachel’s son Alex and his dad, André Hanscombe, relocated to southern France in 1993 and later to Spain in 1996 to rebuild their lives.
Speaking to the MailOnline this weekend, Alex said of the day his mum was murdered in front of him: “What we lived through leaves you with the awareness that evil is always present, just around the corner.”
View 6 ImagesRachel was stabbed 49 times(Image: PA)
Alex revealed that he recalls Napper approaching on the Common and pulling a knife from a bag, which he used to stab Rachel 49 times.
Though his mum was the main victim of the attack, Alex said he also suffered minor injuries, and remembers being “dragged on my face across the mud” by Napper and feeling “helpless” in protecting Rachel.
View 6 ImagesAndré and Alex left the country in the years after the brutal killing(Image: ITV)
And he shared for the first time that, eight months before she was killed, Rachel discovered she was pregnant – but decided to have an abortion as the family was struggling financially. André said that Rachel also believed she could be pregnant again in the days leading up to the attack, though it was “very early on” and he will “never truly know”.
In the decades since, Alex claims to have forgiven his mother’s killer – but has repeatedly criticised police for the failures that allowed Napper to carry out many more horrific attacks, including three rapes, two manslaughters and two attempted rapes.
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View 6 ImagesOne family photo shows André Hanscombe and Rachel Nickell with Alex as a newborn(Image: Courtesy of Netflix)
Alex said of the months and years that followed: “Time comes to a standstill. There’s a silence. Deep heartbreak. But through everything I felt a guiding hand on my shoulder.”
Two new TV depictions of the case – a documentary called The Murder of Rachel Nickell and a dramatised series called The Witness – are set to be released on Netflix on June 4. In The Witness, André and Alex Hanscombe will be played by actors, while they will appear on screen in the documentary.