Babes in the Wood victim's uncle reacts to terminal diagnosis of killer

Ian Heffron, uncle of Nicola Fellows, has spoken out after it was confirmed that Bishop is dying from terminal brain cancer.

Mr Heffron said: "He is serving 36 years in prison which fate will release him from. I'm angry that he didn't spend more time thinking on his actions and suffer as we have.

"I myself would have rather that Bishop swung at the end of a rope. We had obviously hoped that, you know 36 years, that seemed about right. But he's only done three years of it."

"He's going to meet his maker and I'm just hoping that whoever's there just pulls the trapdoor leaver and he just drops straight into hell where he belongs."

Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were nine years old when Bishop murdered them in a park in Brighton.

Bishop murdered Nicola and her best friend Karen Hadaway, both aged nine, in 1986 in Brighton's Wild Park.

He strangled the girls to death after luring them into a park before sexually assaulting them in what became known as the Babes in the Wood murders.

• READ MORE: Footage reveals guilt of Babes in the Wood killer - 30 years before conviction

He escaped justice for 32 years following various errors by police, forensic experts and prosecutors. He was eventually convicted of the murders in December 2018 due to DNA advances.

Mr Heffron, aged 66, told The Argus: "Currently there are huge mixed emotions within the families. We fought for over three decades with a true resolution to find justice for two lovely little girls who were cruelly taken from us by a person who is nothing less than a predatory paedophile."

Russell Bishop is currently serving 36 years in prison for the sexual assault and murders of the two girls.

Bishop has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, which has now spread to his brain. He underwent surgery to try to stop the growth of the disease, but it was unsuccessful.

The killer, who is said to be “devastated” by the diagnosis, is now having palliative care at HMP Frankland, County Durham, where he is held. He is said to have weeks to live.

In 1990 Bishop was convicted of the kidnapping, indecent assault, and attempted murder of another young girl, aged seven. He left her at Devil's Dyke to die, but somehow she survived.

• READ MORE: Babes in the Wood murderer Russell Bishop has 'weeks to live'

The case of Nicola and Karen was then reviewed in 2011 following new DNA advances linking him to a sweatshirt that had been found. Still in jail for the Devil's Dyke attack, Bishop was found guilty and given another 36 years for the Babes in the Wood murders in 2018.

Mr Heffron said that he has found some comfort in the fact that Bishop will die in prison.

"I know in my heart of hearts that at least he will be doing a whole life sentence. That's a consolation I suppose. Fate has kicked in and has offered the final blow on our behalf," he said.

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