Rachel Nickell murder: The Witness creator reveals the shocking detail he couldn't ignore; 'no one knew…'

NBetimes 35 years after british people pose Rachel Nickell was murdered in spacious daylight on Wimbledon mutual in London, her story is finally being told in full. Netflix has released a three-part dramatized series, The Witness, alongside a companion documentary, The Murder of Rachel Nickell and both available to stream now.The series is created and written by Rob Williams, who was just 18 when Rachel was killed in 1992.What happened to Rachel Nickell and how the investigation went wrongOn July 15, 1992, 23-year-old Rachel Nickell was walking through Wimbledon Common in South West London with her two-year-old son Alex and their dog when she was attacked without warning. She was sexually assaulted and stabbed 49 times in broad daylight, with little Alex as the only witness.After the attack, Alex tried to wake his mother. “There was blood everywhere. Everything was silent,” he later recalled, as per TIME. “I said, 'Get up, Mummy' and she didn't respond. Then for the last time, with all my strength I said, 'Get up, Mummy.' She didn't. At that moment, reality came crashing down. I was very young but I knew at that moment she had gone and she was never coming back.”What followed was one of Britain's most heavily criticized criminal investigation. Police charged local man Colin Stagg in 1993 with no forensic evidence and were later found to have used “honey trap” methods to try to coerce a false confession from him. Stagg spent 13 months in custody before being cleared and was awarded £706,000 in damages, per the Independent.It was not until 2002 that advanced DNA techniques led investigators to Robert Napper, already held at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. Napper pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility in 2008 and remains at Broadmoor indefinitely.Also Read: The Witness: Where are Andre, Alex Hanscombe now? Latest update as Rachel Nickell's brutal killing explored on NetflixWhat The Witness creator revealsScreenwriter Rob Williams came across the case again decades later after Alex who is now 36, published a memoir about his mother's murder and its aftermath. “There had been this huge amount of interest in this little boy but actually no one knew what happened next,” Williams told the Independent. “No one knew what happened to the 'tragic tot' as the media called him.”Both Alex and his father Andre served as consultants on the series. Williams said he was struck by how open they were. “The idea of somebody putting words into my mouth during the rawest time of my life, that's just mind-boggling but I think it's a testament to just how passionately they feel this is a story they want to be told,” he said. “That you can get through this, and that there is something on the other side of it. They want to show what's possible.”Williams said the series is not a typical true crime show. “It's not the normal excavation of a true crime,” he said. “There has to be a good reason for excavating this kind of thing when people who are alive are still touched by it. I really felt there was a purpose to tell this story, not least because this is a father-son story.” He also wanted to set the record straight. “Not many people know the truth. If you mention Rachel Nickell, a lot of people still think Colin Stagg is responsible,” he said.Also Read: Sarah Kellen: 5 things to know as Epstein's former assistant claims she was ‘violently raped’ by himOn the police mistakes depicted in the show, Williams said Alex and Andre were remarkably understanding. “What's extraordinary about Alex and Andre is their reluctance to vilify individuals. They're not vengeful,” he told the Independent. “I don't think those officers set out to do a bad job. The mistakes were bigger than individuals, really.”He went on to say that this is “one of the most tragic things about it in a way. I don’t think anybody set out to compound the horrendous situation. What it did show was that there are huge systemic failings.” Those were, he says, “the last days of the police being an institution that people trusted and believed in”.Where are Andre and Alex now?Rather than focusing on the crime itself, the series centers on how Andre and Alex navigated life in the aftermath, dealing with intense media scrutiny, a chaotic police investigation and the weight of grief. The media hounded the father and son relentlessly, even shouting racist remarks at Andre to force him into speaking publicly. The pair eventually moved to France and were tracked down and had to relocate to Spain. Today they still live in Barcelona, per the Independent.