Russell Bishop: who was the Babes in the Wood killer who has died at 55 from cancer - and what did he do?

Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop – who murdered two schoolgirls in the 1980s – has died in hospital of cancer.

The 55-year-old was jailed for at least 36 years in 2018 after being found guilty of killing nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway.

Bishop was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted and strangled the girls in a woodland den in Brighton, East Sussex, in October 1986.

When did he die?

Bishop died on Thursday (20 January).

A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Frankland prisoner Russell Bishop died in hospital on January 20. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”

It is understood he had cancer.

Who was Russell Bishop?

Growing up in Brighton on the south coast, Bishop was the youngest of Sylvia and Roy Bishop’s five sons.

Mrs Bishop, described in court as a “domineering” matriarch, was a successful international dog trainer and wrote a training manual.

Bishop’s roofer father was wrongly suspected in 1978 of being the “Beast of Stanmer Park”. He had been arrested but never charged over the unsolved rape and murder of Brighton woman Margaret Frame, who went missing in the park and was later found buried in a shallow grave.

Fearful of history repeating itself, he even warned his son not to get involved in the search for the missing girls in 1986, the court was told.

As a child, Bishop struggled with dyslexia and told jurors he had difficulty reading and writing and with “problem solving”.

At 5ft 5in and weighing just over 10 stone, in 1986 Bishop sported a moustache and was said to be charming.

He lived with his partner Jennie Johnson and their infant son Victor in Stephens Road, Brighton, while also carrying on a relationship with 16-year-old Marion Stevenson, who was “besotted” with him.

He knew both Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway’s families and the girls were befriended by Ms Stevenson.

Even before the murders, his behaviour towards young girls was a cause for concern.

The court heard how he had lusted after girls doing handstands in the park, saying “wait until she is 13 or 14”.

What happened with the Babes in the Woods murders?

On 9 October,1986, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway went missing while out playing in Wild Park, Brighton, after school. Bishop was seen in the area shortly before.

The following day Bishop and his dog Misty join the search, which ends when two 18-year-olds find their bodies in a woodland den.

On 31 October, Bishop, who had already been spoken to by police, was formally arrested and interviewed under caution. In December

he was remanded in custody after being charged with the murders.

Bishop was cleared of the murders of Karen and Nicola on 10 December 1987 but within three years went on to kidnap, molest and throttle a seven-year-old girl, leaving her for dead at Devils Dyke.

While serving life for attempted murder, Bishop was ordered to face a fresh trial under the double jeopardy law, in light of a DNA breakthrough.

More forensic work had been carried out in December 2005 and fibres provide “very strong support” for the suggestion a discarded Pinto sweatshirt was linked to Bishop’s home. Hairs from were also linked to Bishop. But the CPS concluded the evidence was not yet strong enough for a retrial.

But in June 2015 fibres and DNA linking Bishop and the victims to the Pinto sweatshirt were found. Bishop’s DNA was found on a swab from Karen’s left forearm. The following year he was taken from Frankland prison and re-arrested for the murders.

Bishop’s conviction brought to an end a long fight for justice for the two victims’ families. However, In 1998 Karen’s father, Lee Hadaway, died without seeing his daughter’s killer brought to justice.

During his trial Bishop tailored his evidence to counter the new forensic evidence, claiming to have touched the bodies to feel for a pulse after they were found by two 18-year-olds.

But jurors saw through the web of lies and convicted Bishop on the “overwhelming” evidence on the 31st anniversary of his acquittal.

Bishop refused to attend court for his sentencing at the Old Bailey.

What has been said about his death?

Nicola’s cousin Lorna Heffron said the news had not yet sunk in and while it was something the families “knew was coming”, it had still been “quite a shock to the system”.

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “We’re pleased that he’s gone and he absolutely won’t be able to hurt anybody else in the future. The world is a better place without him.

“I think the biggest relief is the fact that we got justice for Nicola and Karen before this happened.

“It’s the satisfaction of knowing that we don’t have to worry now that he, at any point in the future, might be able to apply for parole.”

She said the families “always knew” he had murdered the two girls and they wish he had not been initially acquitted, leaving him free to attack again, but they hope his death brings closure to his surviving victim.

Peter Kyle, the Labour MP for Hove, described Bishop as a “hateful man” whose “murders and deceit caused endless pain to so many people”.

In a post on Twitter, he added: “I hope his death behind bars starts a new chapter for his victims’ families. They deserve it. These events have scarred Brighton and Hove forever.”

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