It didnt end there. A re-investigation began and evidence re-analysed. 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. Four months later, he resigned from the Wiltshire Police force. Thankfully, circumstantial and forensic evidence ensured Halliwell, 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 for killing Miss OCallaghan. 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. The taxi belonged to Halliwell, who told his company he had gone home at 1.30am - much earlier than Sian had disappeared. Its when these forces collide. On March 19 2011, 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan disappeared from Wiltshire after last being spotted at a nightclub in the area. Trying to find Ireland's best burger or best pizza? Buried around the pond were more items of womens clothing. For Fulcher had gone from being Wiltshire Polices man of the hour flavour of the month as he puts it to having his reputation destroyed. Wiltshire Police have since issued a statement saying, There is no evidence whatsoever to link him to any other murder in this country. However in a new one-off ITV documentary, To Catch a Serial Killer, DS Fulcher insists he did the right thing, saying: 'My view is that I have brought two daughters back to their mothers and I've prevented other victims resulting from Halliwell's continued pursuit of his career as a serial killer. Look no further! 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He added: It wasn't ignorance on his part, it was a conscious decision by him to drive a coach and horses through recognised police procedure.. For his emotion, when it comes, isnt for his own plight, but that of Becky, Sian, and their families. Martin Freeman plays DS Stephen Fulcher in new ITV drama A Confession. "He killed Becky in 2003, he killed Sian in 2011, so that's eight years. Officers observed Halliwell. Sians mother Elaine Pickford, who is played by Sobhan Finneran, was grateful to DS Fulcher. In January 2014, Fulcher was found guilty of gross misconduct and given a final written warning by a disciplinary tribunal. Four months later, he resigned from the Wiltshire Police force. 10:35 GMT 03 Sep 2019 '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.'. She had been brutally beaten and stabbed. January 2003 - Becky Godden, then aged 20, is last seen alive after getting into a taxi outside Destiny & Desire nightclub in Swindon. As he sentenced him, the judge dismissed Halliwells defence as a cock and bull story and deemed him to be calculating and devious. 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. Finally, Halliwell confessed to Sian's murder and offered to take him to Sian's body, leading the police to her burial spot. Halliwell admitted he had murdered Sian, and directed Det Supt Fulcher and his team to her body near Uffington, Oxfordshire. The fallout for Steve Fulcher was huge. The team found Sian's remains there. He just found it so difficult because youve managed to take him straight back into the most awful events of his life.. ', He considered his actions: 'Should I stop him confessing? Another potential victim is prostitute Sally Ann John, 24, who vanished from Swindon in 1995. Lara Keay For Mailonline, 'These dinosaurs are meant to be EXTINCT! There was no sign of a baby when they came by". They also seized his green Toyota Avensis. Fulcher recalled: 'Working on the hypothesis that she could have been kidnapped and was still alive, I conducted this investigation as a crime in action - that means everything else is subordinate to the notion of finding Sian, and seeking to save her life.'. The public needs to know what the police wont do if their own daughter went missing. It doesnt even sound true. Sian was caught on CCTV at 2.52am leaving the nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire. How Christopher Halliwell was brought to justice. Fearing he was planning to overdose, the police swooped in and arrested him in an Asda car park in north Swindon, charging him with the kidnap (not murder) of Sian. The decision Steve made to follow Halliwell's taunt almost derailed the case against the killer in court, and ultimately cost the officer his job. Only two of the items have ever been identified a cardigan worn by Becky, who disappeared in Swindon in 2003. Christopher Halliwell, 54, is serving two whole life terms after killing 20-year-old Becky Godden and Sian O'Callaghan, 22. The Sherlock actor said he 'couldn't believe' Fulcher's story when he heard it. When you suspect someone has been abducted or kidnapped their life remains under threat, and there are very clear procedural rules about that.. A High Court judge ruled that this breach of police guidelines made Halliwells confessions of killing both women inadmissible, which nearly derailed the cases. Wiltshire Police told the BBC: The IPCC investigation concluded that a misconduct hearing should take place to consider potential gross misconduct. Its a race against time. A race against a backdrop of high emotions, too. The protracted investigations into his conduct, meanwhile, have affected not only his health but that of Yvonne, his 48-year-old wife of 28 years, and their two 20-something daughters investigations which, as Fulcher emphasises in this blistering interview, could have been better used to secure Halliwells conviction for Becky Goddards death years earlier. He then offered to take the detective to the spot where he'd buried another victim, and procedure dictated that Fulcher should have charged Halliwell and returned him to a police stationwhere he had access to a solicitor - he decided not to. A TIMELINE: How Christopher Halliwell was brought to justice. Ultimately, Halliwell confessed to two murders to Fulcher and led the police to the bodies of both Sian and Becky. For two days undercover police in 12 vehicles kept him under constant surveillance in the hope he would lead them to Sian. Former detective superintendent Steve Fulcher has now told his side of the story With compelling circumstantial evidence, Fulcher authorised covert surveillance. Why on earth had this killer been given every conceivable privilege, while a brave, upstanding detective was hung out to dry? By 'He showed me a list of girls' names that he kept in his phone of those that trusted him as a taxi driver. You might think that witness statement would be taken, but it never has been to my knowledge. Natalie Corner For Mailonline, Trophy hunter mother, 41, who has travelled the world to kill more than ONE HUNDRED animals claims her hobby HELPS preserve wild species, Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio teases that Julia Montague is ALIVE - as he reveals how he manages to keep the show's plot a secret, TIMELINE OF A DOUBLE KILLING: HOW CHRISTOPHER HALLIWELL MURDERED TWO WOMEN THEN THWARTED JUSTICE FOR VICTIM'S FAMILY. The detective and suspect met at Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near Swindon, where Fulcher believed Halliwell may be keeping Sian alive. 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Beckys mother, Karen Edwards, began a petition calling for a change to arrest guidelines. 'He had done what I considered to be the right thing. Her name would not be discovered for some days, after her DNA was checked. 'But for my course of action Becky would still be in that field, Sian would never be found and Christopher Halliwell would be walking the streets.'. Steve Fulcher, the detective who put him behind bars, . As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Indeed, Fulchers commitment to the victims of crime shines through during our interview. His actions compromised the court case against Halliwell and called into question one of the most important principles of the criminal justice system, the PACE guidelines. It also meant Halliwell was able to evade justice for Becky's murder when he was found guilty of Sian's killing in 2012. 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. But CCTV showed him driving around the town for another 90 minutes. An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2013 found the police officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct for ignoring force orders. Asked about the difference between roles Fulcher and 'Tim' from The Office, he added:'I'm very, very pleased that I've been able to do other things that have resonated with people.'. DS Fulcher was found guilty of gross misconduct The following January Det Supt Fulcher was found guilty of gross misconduct and given a final disciplinary warning. Simone Lee was held captive in her home in Limerick by her former friend Christopher Stokes, who mercilessly beat her, placed bin liner over her head, and also poured boiling water over her before setting the apartment on fire on May 11, 2021. In the meantime he was suspended, left pacing the floor at home with worry. All I could do was try to keep him talking.. He was scrolling through pictures on his phone of other women, leading me to suspect there were other victims. He was only convicted of Becky's murder in 2016 after a new detective took over the investigation. 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. He has written a memoir 'Catching A Serial Killer' upon which "A Confession' is partly based. Sian's mother Elaine Pickford says what he did was understandable to her family. 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. Instead, everyone turned on me.. The case attracted widespread attention and press coverage, and on Tuesday 22nd March around 400 members of the public were allowed to help the police search the forest. With his name so closely associated with the story he has found it hard to branch out, though in 2017 he was working for a private company in Mogadishu, Somalia. I gave [Halliwell] a cigarette and he asked to talk to me. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. You can criticise me, but I felt I had no option - there was simply no other way I could have acted that was within the letter of the law. , updated I can understand what happened to Fulcher happened to Fulcher. CCTV of Sians last-known moments led him to 47-year-old father-of-three Christopher Halliwell. 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. In the mid 1980s, while serving time in prison, Halliwell reportedly asked another inmate how many women it's necessary to kill before you're considered a serial murderer. He had killed her two minutes after she got in his cab. The worst part, Fulcher says, is none of its surprising. A judge then ruled that Halliwell's confessions to killing both victims were actually inadmissible as evidence in court. It is a colossal effort. When do the clocks change in 2023? OPERS serves 1.2 million workers and retirees. Worse was to come: as the year unfolded, Fulcher learned that Halliwells legal team would attempt to get the charges thrown out on the basis that Fulcher had not adequately followed PACE guidelines. He said: If Im right, he had a propensity for killing on average once a year. While they could go ahead with Sians murder charge, thanks to Halliwells DNA being on her body, the refusal of Fulchers senior officers to further investigate Beckys death, and thus garner more evidence, led the CPS to withdraw that charge. But who was driving the vehicle? Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman, lost his career after catching a serial killer Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher resigned from Wiltshire Police in May 2014 ( Image: PA) As. And if were not protecting the victim then were all sunk., The comments below have not been moderated, By The disappearances of Tina Pryer, 39, Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, and Sandra Brewin, 21, have also been linked to the killer. Sian OCallaghans family certainly think so, as does Becky Goddens mother Karen. Sians only crime was to resemble Halliwells own mother, who he hated. The force arranged for an independent misconduct panel to convene. Via CCTV footage and tracing of her mobile signal it quickly became clear this was what Fulcher terms a crime in action. The comments below have not been moderated, By March 26, 2011 - Halliwell is charged with Miss O'Callaghan's murder. Something went wrong, please try again later. With the deaths of Becky and Sian some eight years apart, Fulcher is convinced there may be more undiscovered bodies a sentiment now echoed by other senior officers involved in Halliwells conviction this week. Her boyfriend raised the alarm and soon Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher was leading the inquiry into her disappearance. She was found in a shallow grave near Uffington in Oxfordshire, stabbed in the head and strangled. 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). Pope said: Watching the series with him afterwards, it was almost unbearable. DS Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman in A Confession, resigned from the police after being found guilty of gross misconduct in the Christopher Halliwell case A new team found witnesses and analysis showed a spade seized from Halliwells shed in 2011 had the same unique soil DNA as the field in which Becky was found. Why would this not be the biggest, most protracted, most vigorous investigation in the history of British policing?. ", A Confession will air on ITV in September 2019, Try 12 issues for 1 today - never miss an issue. Martin Freeman - plays Supt Det Steve Fulcher. The programme explores whether Steve's actions were brilliant detective work, or arrogance and recklessness which ultimately cost him his job. It was a fitting tribute for a man who prided himself on putting victims and their families first. She was a drug addict and sex worker, and after she disappeared her mother Karen Edwards (played by Imelda Staunton) had spent years hoping she would return. 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. It has since emerged Halliwell was obsessed with Linda after doing building work at the Razzells' home four years before she died. 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. Once Halliwell was in custody, Fulcher was hailed by his superiors. Halliwell described another victim, a prostitute he said he had killed much earlier, says Steve, and he could take him to the spot where he had buried her as well. 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