06 December 2023 , 20:00
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The tragic death of Shani Warren was a mystery for over three decades - but could have been solved sooner if the pathologist hadn't failed to take 'significant' evidence.
In April 1987, Shani's body was found floating face down in a Buckinghamshire lake, with her hands tied behind her back and her mouth gagged. The home office pathologist, the late Dr Benjamin Davis, conducted a post-mortem examination and found no evidence that the 26-year-old secretary had been assaulted.
At the time, he was certain Shani had taken her own life. He told the hearing that she could have bound her own hands and feet and then attempted to strangle herself. Her heartbroken parents, lawyer and doctor all vouched that she had shown no signs of being suicidal, but as a result of Dr Davis' investigation, the coroner recorded an open verdict.
Shani Warren, 26, was horrifically found bound and gagged in a Buckinghamshire lake in 1987 (PA)
The pathologist working on her case failed to record 'significant' evidence that could have led to her killer (Reading Evening Post)Then in 2020, a major crime review team re-examined Shani's case and discovered new evidence that proved she had been raped and killed. Semen and DNA traces that were found on her mouth gag and the strap of her bra were a match to prolific serial rapist Donald Robertson, and he was charged with her murder in April 2022.
After his conviction, principal investigator Pete Beirne, head of the crime review team, explained that Dr Davis had failed to take any swabs from Shani's mouth - which he described as a "significant and culpable omission". He said that "had mouth swabs been taken it would have caused the investigation to have a different direction potentially".
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"Lines of inquiry would have been looked at – people with convictions for serious sexual assaults," he continued. "Robertson would have fitted in that category." At the time of Shani's death, Robertson - who lived locally - had been arrested for the rape of a 16-year-old girl, but there was not enough evidence to charge him.
Due to Dr Davis' blunder, detectives failed to consider Robertson in Shani's investigation, and so two months later, he was able to pounce on a 17-year-old girl - just four miles from the lake where Shani had drowned. The victim reported her attacker to police as soon as she was released, but no arrests were made at the time, as she struggled to identify him.
The lake in Slough where the body of Shani was found after Robertson had murdered her (Graham Trott/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)Two decades later, in 2010, Thames Valley Police reviewed the teenager's case and found new scientific evidence that linked Robertson to the crime. He was convicted of kidnap and rape and sentenced to life in 2011. He was in prison when Shani's death was re-examined and his DNA was found. In 2021, Robertson was arrested for Shani's murder and handed a life sentence at Reading Crown Court the following year.
Her family revealed that both her parents had died during the Covid-19 pandemic, never knowing who had killed their daughter. Shani's brother, Stephen, said the family had been "forced to live with a lie" and hit out at the pathologist's failings which left Robertson free to claim more victims. He said: "The loss of Shani left a gaping hole in the family. Not just of a central member and surely its brightest light, but of a force of energy, hope and positivity. Her parents never recovered, and for us all, nothing felt the same again."
In one final insult to Shani and his other victims, Robertson refused to attend a single day of his case and told lawyers that he "couldn't face the proceedings". Stephen called Robertson "a psychopath and a coward who lacked the courage to attend court". Speaking to absentee Robertson, Justice Wall noted that Shani's remaining family members had to wait 35 years to find out the truth.
"They have been told at times she might have killed herself, and at other times, she might have been killed by another man," he said. "The anguish of having to wait for so long for the truth to emerge must make the suffering so hard to endure." In 2052, a parole board will decide whether Robertson can be released, if he is still alive.
- Dark Water: The Murder of Shani Warren airs on repeat on Channel 5 at 10pm tonight.