Who were Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway & how long was the Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop sentenced to?

Scottish Sun

25-07-2025

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The infamous Brighton Babes in the Wood murders shocked the nation in 1986 when two innocent nine-year-old girls were found dead.
The case went unsolved for decades before modern science finally caught their killer.
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Russell Bishop being interviewed
Credit: PA:Press Association
Russell Bishop was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for the horrific crime, but how long did this predatory paedophile serve, and who were the young victims whose lives he so cruelly cut short?
This Sunday, July 27, viewers can discover the full shocking story on Cold Case Killers, which explores how detectives finally brought one of Britain's most notorious child killers to justice after a 32-year fight.
Who were Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway?
Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were two nine-year-old girls from Brighton who vanished after going out to play on October 9, 1986.
The schoolgirls lived near each other in the Moulsecoomb area of Brighton.
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On that fateful Thursday evening, they told their families they were going out to play but never returned home.
Their disappearance sparked an immediate search by concerned parents and neighbours before police were called.
The young girls became known as the "Babes in the Wood" - a reference to the old English folk tale - after their bodies were discovered the next day in nearby Wild Park.
Their deaths devastated the local community and would haunt Brighton for decades to come.
The horrific crime that shocked the nation
The bodies of Nicola and Karen were discovered in woodland at Wild Park, Brighton, on October 10, 1986.
In a crime that sent shockwaves across the country, both girls had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
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They had been killed in a densely wooded den, hidden from view, in what investigators described as a sexually motivated attack.
The discovery of their bodies prompted one of Sussex Police's most extensive ever manhunts.
Parents became afraid to let their children play outside, and the case quickly became one of Britain's most notorious unsolved murders.
The double killing left a lasting mark on the community and brought attention to child safety concerns nationwide.
The man behind the murders
Russell Bishop was a 20-year-old local man at the time of the murders.
He lived in the same neighbourhood as the girls and was known to both families.
Bishop quickly became a suspect in the initial investigation.
He had knowledge of the local area and was familiar with Wild Park, where the bodies were found.
Despite this, crucial forensic evidence wasn't strong enough at the time to secure a conviction.
In a shocking twist, Bishop was actually tried for the murders in 1987 but was acquitted after issues with the investigation and unreliable forensic evidence.
The verdict meant that the killer remained at large, while the families continued to seek justice for their daughters.
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The woodland den where the bodies of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows were found
Credit: PA:Press Association
The 32-year fight for justice
Following his acquittal, Bishop continued his predatory behaviour.
Just three years later, in 1990, he was convicted of the kidnapping, indecent assault and attempted murder of another seven-year-old girl in Brighton.
This attack had chilling similarities to the murders of Nicola and Karen.
While Bishop served time for this later crime, the double murder case remained open, with detectives convinced Bishop was responsible despite his earlier acquittal.
The breakthrough came after changes to double jeopardy laws in 2005, which allowed suspects to be tried twice for the same crime if "compelling new evidence" emerged.
This legal change gave investigators renewed hope of finally bringing Bishop to justice.
How modern science finally caught the killer
After decades of waiting, it was scientific advances in DNA testing that finally provided the crucial evidence needed to convict Bishop.
Cold case detectives meticulously re-examined evidence from the original crime scene using techniques that weren't available in the 1980s.
A blue Pinto sweatshirt found near the scene became a vital piece of evidence.
Using advanced DNA techniques, forensic scientists found Bishop's DNA on the sweatshirt, along with fibres linking it to both victims' clothes.
This evidence proved to be the smoking gun that investigators had sought for over three decades.
During the trial, Bishop tried to blame Nicola's father, Barrie Fellows, suggesting he had murdered his own daughter.
However, the forensic evidence against Bishop was overwhelming, leading to his conviction.
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Michelle Hadaway, the mother of Karen Hadaway (left) and Sue Eismann, the mother of Nicola Fellows, outside the Old Bailey in London
Credit: PA:Press Association
Russell Bishop's life sentence
In December 2018, 32 years after the murders, Russell Bishop was finally found guilty of killing Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway.
The Brighton Babes in the Wood murderer was convicted following a month-long trial at the Old Bailey.
On December 11, 2018, Bishop was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years.
As he was 52 years old when sentenced, this effectively meant Bishop would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Sue Eismann, Karen's mother, said after the verdict: "Finally justice has been done and Bishop has been seen as the evil monster he really is".
The case stands as one of Britain's most notorious child murders and highlights how advances in forensic science can help solve even the coldest of cases.
The memories of Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway live on, with their families finally seeing the justice they deserved be served after an agonising 32-year wait.
You can tune in this Sunday, July 27, at 11:05 PM, to Cold Case Killers and discover the shocking decades-long struggle that led detectives to finally apprehend one of Britain's most infamous child murderers.