Mother of Babes in the Wood victim begins to grieve 37 years after tragedy
The heartbroken mum of a schoolgirl who was murdered says she has finally been able to "free" herself from the "torment" nearly 40 years after the tragedy.
Michelle Hadaway, 66, said she has just begun to grieve following the death of her daughter Karen, 9, who was found lifeless next to her friend Nicola Fellows, 9, in a wild park in Brighton.
The mum of five has opened up about her agonising pain in her new book called My Girl, which is the only insider's account of the deaths, known as the Babes in the Wood murders.
Karen and Nicola were discovered in thick undergrowth in the park on October 10, 1986, after they were sexually assaulted and strangled. Unemployed labourer Russell Bishop was charged with their murders but he was released in 1987 after a jury found him not guilty after just two hours of deliberations at Lewes Crown Court.
A blue Pinto sweatshirt was recorded as a vital piece of evidence for forensic clues. Jennifer Johnson, who was the partner of Bishop, claimed it belonged to him, which he denied. However, during the trial, she changed her story and said she had never seen the item before. She alleged that the police had fabricated her statement and forged her initials.
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Karen Hadaway was tragically murdered at the age of 9 (John Connor Press Associates Ltd)
The body of Nicola Fellows was found next to Karen (John Connor Press Associates Ltd #00 44 1273 486 851)The case was later re-examined and a "one in a billion" DNA match to Bishop on the shirt and Karen Hadaway's left forearm was identified, reports The Argus. In 2018, Bishop was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 36 years. He was previously found guilty of kidnapping, molestation and the attempted murder of Rachael Watts, 7.
Speaking about her journey to overcome the ordeal, Michelle said: “I had so much kept inside me and my life was on hold. For all those years I held everything in this little bubble inside my head. As time went on, I decided maybe I should write a book. I thought maybe it would help bring things to a close. I felt that with my health not being good and with having all this pressure that I’ve got in my head about it all, if I don’t let it out it’s going to burst, and I’ll remember nothing.
“So many people’s lives were destroyed by what he did to those little girls. When we didn’t get justice, we said we’d never stop fighting. So we carried on. I’m never going to forget about what happened all those years ago. It’s something I’ll take to the grave with me.
Russell Bishop died in prison (SUSSEX POLICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Russell committed the crime at the age of 20 (SUSSEX POLICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)“Writing the book did help me to free myself from the torment. It was about getting out there what we had to face on our journey. It has been a sad and lonely road. It has been heartbreaking at times. But in the end we got there. We just didn’t think it would take 30 odd years to get through.”
Michelle also addressed her upset after Nicola's dad Barrie was accused of killing the schoolgirls. She added: "The world needs to know what a monster Bishop was. He wiped everybody’s lives out in a blink of an eye. Barrie Fellows was used as a scapegoat. For 31 years that poor man was still made out to be the perpetrator.”
Bishop, 55, died from Covid-19 pneumonitis and heart disorders in January. According to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman ( PPO), he also had diabetes and metastatic bowel cancer. Michelle added: "I spoke to victim’s support and they asked if I wanted any updates about him and I said no just ring me when he’s dead."
The mum has a memory garden at her home in Walton, Surrey, in tribute of her daughter and her husband Lee, who sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1998. She continued: “My little great grandson keeps me going, he keeps my feet on the ground because I’m not getting any younger.
“I’ve started to get therapy and I’ve started to heal a bit. And I’m actually trying to start to grieve. Because I’ve not been able to grieve for that number of years I don’t know how to. Because I had to focus on getting justice for those little girls. I would never have got through anything without my friends and family.”
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