Rachel Booth: body found in search for missing jogger in Cheshire
Rachel Booth, 38, was reported missing on Saturday, July 19, after she was last seen by her family in the village of Barnton near Northwich, Cheshire.
She was last seen in exercise gear, walking near the Sandiway garage on the A556 west of Northwich, at 3.50am on Saturday.
Booth was described as a mother to 'three gorgeous boys'
PA
Cheshire police said: 'Following extensive appeals and searches in the area, officers have now sadly recovered a body in a lake in Oakmere.
'Whilst formal identification is yet to take place, it is believed to be that of Rachel. Her family have been made aware and are being supported by specialist officers. They have requested privacy at this time.'
Officers had been searching Delamere Lake Sailing and Holiday Park and the Wild Shore Delamere water sports centre, Cheshire, on Monday, while underwater teams have also been deployed to the sailing lake.
Isaac Carolan, 19, who works at the Sandiway garage, told The Sun: 'I spoke to my colleague who had served her on Saturday morning. She bought milk and wine and jogged from 45 minutes away.
'But it didn't seem weird, she didn't seem disturbed or flustered.'
Another shopkeeper said she was 'a lovely clever lady'. They said she was 'very active and very nice', adding: 'We all like her.'
The water park was shut down temporarily due to an 'ongoing police investigations in the surrounding area', but the statement insisted the incident was 'unrelated' to the venue.
Police in Delamere search for Booth
PETER POWELL
Booth was described in one appeal as a mother with 'three gorgeous boys' and a 'loving husband'.
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Telegraph
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‘We give our genitals to Jesus': The cult that promoted celibacy while covering up its own abuse
Sarah left the Jesus Army 21 years ago. She has been in therapy, on and off, ever since, trying to reclaim her personality and dispense with a decade of indoctrination that saw her given the 'virtue name' Sarah Submissive and taught to suppress her 'Jezebel spirit'. But it was only while preparing to appear in a new BBC documentary about the church that she finally concluded it was a cult. In BBC Two's Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army, Sarah, now 53, is filmed in a group therapy session in Derbyshire trying to unpack her former life. She and other ex-members are seen studying a formal checklist, including points such as 'Dangerous leaders make important decisions about converts' lives'. It is a session on 'trauma theory', however, that most affects Sarah. She breaks down when the participants discuss 'appeasing, that is pleasing others to reduce harm'. She is so distressed that she gasps for breath, says she feels she is going to be sick and flees the room. It brought back memories of the excuses she made for the 'Elder' who psychologically and sexually abused her for four years from the age of 21. 'I think I just realised how I'd blamed myself really for somebody else's behaviour,' she tells the Telegraph on a video call. 'I'd told myself I'd been asking for it. It was just that realisation: they literally crushed my personality, particularly that person.' Her tormentor – whose abuse extended to 'having total control over your decision-making' – would molest her under the table while 'his wife would be sitting opposite'. The man, who was never prosecuted, was supposed to be 'my Shepherd, so looking out for me and not actually violating me'. The Jesus Fellowship was established in 1969 by the firebrand Baptist preacher Noel Stanton in Northamptonshire after he was 'visited by God and received the Holy Spirit'. This led him to favour a brand of Neo-Pentecostal Christianity that involved euphoric worship, having decided he was a prophet speaking God's will and determined to 'make the Earth tremble'. By the 1980s, it had been rebranded as the Jesus Army, and was drawing in vast numbers of young people through its camouflage jacket-clad street recruiters and warehouse a fresh-faced version of the Salvation Army, it targeted 'street kids, addicts, the poor, the homeless'. By 2001, the Army had almost 100 communal homes across the country, from London to Leicester. As late as 2014, months before the police launched an investigation, they appeared in a Grayson Perry documentary and in one of his ceramics, in the style of a medieval enamelled chest containing a holy relic. Sarah had lost both her mother and father by the age of 15 and was seeking not only a surrogate family but a faith in an afterlife, 'because I wanted my parents to be somewhere'. She was just one of thousands of converts amassed by the Army over 40 years, attracted to a dream of harmonious communal living and moral purity. Many signed the 'Celibates' Covenant' or, as Stanton put it in one of his impassioned sermons: 'Surrender the middle part of you… now we give our genitals to Jesus.' The reality was far less sacred. Children as young as two were given 'roddings' by assorted adults with birch canes secreted around the Fellowship's houses. Many teenagers were placed in households separate from their families and taught to place their trust in the all-male Elders, who laid down increasingly arbitrary rules. Everything from reading to crisps was outlawed as 'worldly'. Young children were told they were possessed with 'demonic spirits' and sent for exorcisms. Adherents, speaking in tongues, could be found convulsing on the floor. In the 1970s, one member died on a railway track and another was found naked in the garden in December, dead from exposure. And sexual abuse was rife. Across two one-hour films, survivors give harrowing testimony. Abigail was 14 when she was sexually assaulted and told 'if he didn't ejaculate, it's not rape'. Nathan was abused over eight years from the age of 10 (by a man who received an 18-month suspended sentence). Philippa was 12 when she saw her 13-year-old friend being indecently assaulted by an Elder. After the victim attempted suicide, Philippa was branded 'a traitor' by Stanton and the perpetrator was sentenced to three months in prison before 'he was welcomed back into the community, into a leadership position'. Thirty-three allegations have been made against Stanton himself, including the sexual assault of children. Yet the most shocking fact is saved until a title card at the very end: 'It is estimated that one in six children in the Jesus Army were sexually abused.' Stanton's grip on the organisation ended only with his death in 2009, aged 82, when he was replaced by the 'Apostolic Five'. In the wake of Jimmy Savile and other scandals, the Army's insurance company asked about any historic cases of abuse before agreeing to renew the policy. This prompted a wave of disclosures, which were compiled in a 'massive file of papers' that, when requested, was handed over to police. Operation Lifeboat was launched in 2014 and over two years gathered 214 allegations of physical and sexual abuse, mostly against children. Only five members were convicted. Two were jailed – the longest for three years, for anal rape. DC Mark Allbright, of Northamptonshire Police, blames a 'closing of ranks' among the Army's leadership for the dearth of prosecutions, with some worried about the effect on the church, and others 'personally implicated as well'. The Apostolic Five told the programme makers: 'In 2013, we as the senior leadership initiated a wide-ranging process that invited disclosures of any kind of abuse, both historic and recent, and referred all such reports to the authorities.' 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An Elder, David, is reduced to tears as he faces up to the harm caused by the church he still loves, while clinging to the idea that just five convictions 'said that it wasn't institutionalised'. 'The thing with David,' says Wood, 'is that he was really processing [it all] in that interview. I thought David was very courageous in the way that he actually goes to that space and acknowledges what happened.' A psychologist was on hand before, during and after filming and the production team has offered advice on making social media profiles private to limit the contributors' exposure to any social media backlash. In 2019, the Fellowship announced it was closing and liquidating assets, including a property portfolio worth an estimated £50 million (built up from members' own house sales and a thriving business empire including a health food shop and a building supply company). Solicitor Kathleen Hallisey represents more than 100 of the survivors, all of whom have received their compensation payments as part of the redress scheme launched in 2022. 'The biggest takeaway for me is that any government body should not be complacent in thinking that this was a strange anomaly that happened in Northampton many years ago,' she tells me. 'We have high-control groups operating throughout the country and there's been a proliferation since Covid [one expert has estimated there are 2,000]. So, this is absolutely a scenario that could happen again. None of these leaders have been criminalised because our coercive control laws only apply to domestic and intimate partner relationships.' Sarah left after tiring of a life focused more on 'gaining souls than making friends'. Her husband wanted to remain, so her marriage broke down at the same time. She is now working as a child and adolescent mental health nurse, and picking up the pieces of her life. Although she understands the need for recompense for others, she has not pursued a claim herself. 'I don't think money, for me, would make that much difference because you've still got to deal with whatever you've got to deal with, haven't you?' Instead, she hopes the documentary may offer her a form of closure as she still 'takes time to adjust and be part of life again'. Even after more than two decades, the old Sarah is still re-emerging. 'I've regained a lot of my confidence,' she says. 'I've learned that it's OK to dress in certain ways and not think I'm going to be causing some man to stumble and lead them to hell.' Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army is on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from July 27. Podcast, In Detail: The Jesus Army Cult, is available weekly from Monday July 28 on BBC Sounds
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28 minutes ago
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Inside The Cult Of The Jesus Army: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
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We ignored model's harrowing screams as she was raped and murdered on our street – we live with the guilt every day
WHEN we're sitting in our homes and we hear noises from out on our street, our first thought is often to look past them. But for guilt-racked neighbours in one leafy suburb in south London, they will never be able to ignore anything they hear in their street again. 18 On one fateful September night in 2005, residents of Blenheim Crescent in Croydon heard a flurry of high-pitched noises. Some believed it was a family of foxes. Others begrudgingly tutted at what they thought was a group of teenagers larking about. But the reality was far worse. Unbeknown to them, these were the last desperate breaths of teenage model Sally Anne Bowman, moments before she was raped and murdered just metres from her home in the early hours. Sally Anne was discovered by a neighbour at around 6am, roughly two hours after she was brutally slain by sick rapist Mark Dixie, who stabbed her seven times in the neck and stomach. She attended the nearby Brit School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon - which boasts a string of famous former pupils, including Adele and Amy Winehouse. Now, almost twenty years on, her neighbours have spoken of their guilt after they unknowingly ignored her cries for help. Ernest Mugadza said that he was still 'racked with guilt' after failing to investigate when he heard Sally Anne's harrowing screams. The 71-year-old retired defence lawyer told The Sun: 'I think some of us feel guilty that we didn't come and help this girl. 'I think we've become closer as a community because of the guilt, because we heard the sounds and we heard this woman cry. 'Yeah, I remember hearing the screams like it was yesterday. "But we didn't come out. And that's the guilt that I still feel even now. 'No, if I'd come out, I'm sure the guy would have stopped. "If I'd come out and said, come on, stop that, you know what I mean? 'I know that police always tell you not to intervene, but I should have at least made a noise, scared him away at least. 'You can't save your own life to let another one die. I think you should come out. And now I do. 'Now I come out as soon as I hear anything. I come straight out.' Racked with guilt Sally Anne had been dropped off by her ex-boyfriend, Lewis Sproston, after a night out in Croydon with her sister and some pals on September 25. But the 18-year-old had fallen out with Lewis, sparking a row between the pair as he drove her back. She was just metres from her family home when she was brutally slain at around 4am. As the last person to see Sally Anne alive, it initially led cops to believe that it was her 20-year-old former lover who had killed her. One of Ernest's neighbour added: "Sally Anne was just with her boyfriend beforehand and he left her, what, 50 yards from home? "A lot of people heard sort of like shouting and screaming back then, but thought it was just partying. "Since then, whenever we hear anything, we look out and our light goes on. I tend to go out. "People who have lived here long enough will go to their windows to check too. "Even now, I will walk my daughter's friends down the road to their front doors." 18 18 18 But plasterer Lewis was cleared of any involvement through DNA evidence after being held for four days. With the prime suspect ruled out, and in a desperate hunt for Sally Anne's killer, cops launched one of the largest drives for DNA samples the UK had seen. Horrifying discovery The part-time hairdresser was stabbed seven times, with bite marks discovered on her neck, breast and cheek. Her lifeless body was discovered a couple of hours later by a horrified neighbour, who initially believed she had stumbled across a mannequin. Speaking on the horrifying discovery, one local said: "The woman who found the body was taking a cup of tea to her mother. "That was early in the morning and she found Sally Anne behind the skip. "I think she thought it was a mannequin when she just saw the legs or something behind the skip. "And she'd only sort of briefly seen it when she went past on the way to her mother's place." "I think that severely affected her. She was definitely affected by it." DNA screening After her death, the road to catching Sally Anne's killer actually started eight months later, after an England football match. On June 15 2006, chef Mark Dixie was involved in a bar fight and arrested for a minor assault. It was following this incident that Dixie was made to give a saliva sample at the police station. Prior to this, he had not been approached to give DNA. His sample was collected and compared to that found at the crime scene in Blenheim Crescent. And on June 28, Dixie was arrested. It meant that Sally Anne's murderer had finally been caught, with traces of his semen attaching him to the crime. But question marks over the circumstances still remained. While traces of his DNA had been discovered, he denied murdering her. 18 18 At his trial, he shamelessly claimed he had "taken advantage of the situation" by having sex with her dead body. Residents in the crescent remember the heavy police presence in the area in the weeks after the murder. One local said: "The next day I had to go to work. I always remember going to work and the whole street was cordoned off. "The closed the road off for weeks and everybody was just shocked. "It went on for months. No one knew who it was. They initially thought it was the ex-boyfriend and he got done. "When it first happened they were DNA testing everybody. All the males along the road. "I remember being in the shower and the police coming round to ask. "They told my wife they were checking the DNA of everyone in the area. It was weird, something like that happening on your doorstep." Another neighbour continued: "I was in the front room on the Sunday morning when we got a knock on the door from the police. "They were testing males and looking at age brackets and stuff like that. "A lot of people went through it, but to me it was a shock how long it took to get there. "I remember asking the officer if it was serious. "He told me that it was probably the most serious it could get." Lengthy wait for justice It took a fortnight for Dixie's DNA to finally be added to the national database. 18 18 18 In February 2008, Dixie finally stood trial at the Old Bailey. He was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 34 years. His shocking past only came to light in the years after his conviction. In 2017, Dixie admitted to cops that he had attacked two other women previously. His shocking crimes included raping a woman in her car in Croydon and molesting another woman near a railway bridge in 2002. The serial predator was also deported from Australia in 1999 after attempting to rape a woman when he jumped out of a bush naked. But when he arrived back to the UK, cops received no warnings or information about Dixie's crimes Down Under. Speaking on the killer after his 2008 conviction, Det Supt Stuart Cundy said Dixie was "bad, not mad". Mr Cundy added: "There is a lot we don't know about Mark Dixie. "A lot of friends describe him as a normal person. "As far as we know Mark Dixie has kept his history secret from just about everyone." Impact on residents today Blenheim Crescent resident Debbie Dowd, 65, explained that the horrific murder would always live with her. The customer service agent said: "Yeah, I'll always remember it. "It's heartbreaking. And you always think of her, I always think of her. "Everyone in the crescent felt the shock. This is such a small crescent, but so much has happened. "It was just horrific... you know. It was sad, because her boyfriend was obviously the number one suspect at the time. "But as far as the community was, I think the Crescent had started changing then anyway. "I mean, we did know lots of people and we did talk to them and everyone used to talk to each other. "I don't know, community-wise. I don't know if it made people more fearful." Others told how they are still "scared at night" in the aftermath of Sally Anne's murder. They said: "We don't feel unsafe because it was such a one-off event. But it was just so traumatic. 18 18 "So the first thing I did when I moved in was cut my hedge because it was really tall. I cut it so there would be more visibility. "At the time, I remember feeling a sense of fear and being scared at night. And I still think I have it to this day. "When I catch an Uber I will often say to the Uber driver, can you wait until I get in? "Or the taxi driver, I'll say, can you please wait until I open the door and get in? "If I'm coming on my own, I'll sort of do a mental check and I'll look to make sure that it's safe. "I'll have the right key ready to quickly open my door." Stronger community Residents also explained that a Neighbourhood Watch has been set up in the area, which has helped improve the community feel in the crescent. One local added: "There is a local residents watch kind of thing. "I think, since that incident, it is reassuring. I think there have been a couple of instances when you hear noise in the street. "Everybody in the street is so aware. So, you know, everyone will call the police. "Everybody's phoning the police, everybody will switch on their lights and start looking out in the street. "Sometimes people will come out just to check and make sure that nothing untoward is happening. "It's a lovely thing because you could almost say that's her legacy in a way, that this community has become so strong and so close-knit. "Everyone is so desperate to look out for each other and make sure that nothing is going on. "It's certainly not anyone's fault on this street for what happened to her. But there is a slight sense of regret. "It's hard not to think what might have been different if we had gone out." 18 18
