Babes in the Wood: Killer's ex-girlfriend guilty of perjury

Jennifer Johnson denied perverting the course of justice in 1987

The ex-girlfriend of convicted Babes in the Wood murderer Russell Bishop faces jail after being found guilty of lying over evidence in his 1987 trial.

Jennifer Johnson admitted she lied over a sweatshirt found near the scene.

The 55-year-old said she had no choice after being threatened by her partner, but she was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Bishop was cleared in 1987 and not convicted of killing Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, both nine, until 2018.

Johnson is due to be sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday. Mr Justice Fraser said a custodial sentence was inevitable.

The jury reached a majority decision after 12 hours of deliberation.

Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right) were killed in Wild Park, Brighton, in 1986

The jury was told Johnson had lied "prolifically" and "significantly undermined" the trial in 1987.

Johnson claimed she had acted under duress and "had no choice" but to lie during the trial more than 30 years ago.

Jurors heard Ms Johnson first told police a sweatshirt found near the scene belonged to Bishop, but later denied it in a witness statement and at his first trial.

Mr Justice Fraser said Johnson was "infatuated" with Bishop but the relationship had been "problematic".

Russell Bishop faced a second trial in 2018 and was convicted

Karen and Nicola's parents - Michelle and Lee Hadaway and Susan and Barrie Fellows - did not give up their fight for justice and in 1988 called on Sussex Police to reinvestigate the case.

Mr Fellows told the BBC at the time: "There's a man out there (who) murdered two little girls."

Some of the girls' family members wept as verdicts on Johnson were delivered.

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After his acquittal, Bishop went on to attack a seven-year-old girl on the South Downs in 1990. She was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and left for dead.

Bishop was sentenced to life in prison.

He was finally convicted of the murders of Karen and Nicola in 2018 following a DNA breakthrough that linked the sweatshirt to the girls and his home.

Michelle Hadaway, Karen's mother, has sat through four court cases over the murder of her daughter

Following Johnson's conviction, Libby Clark, senior crown prosecutor at the CPS, said: "Jennifer Johnson's deception caused decades of distress to the families of Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway.

"Her actions were clearly those of someone who wanted their partner acquitted of murder, rather than a person living in fear."

After the hearing, Sussex Police Ch Supt Nick May said Johnson's lies "mattered".

He said her lies had undermined a key part of the prosecution in 1987.

'Champagne dinner'

During the trial, the prosecution claimed Johnson stood to benefit from Bishop selling his story as an innocent man to the News of the World for £15,000.

After the verdicts, Nicola's family criticised the now-closed Sunday newspaper and said it "provided encouragement for for Johnson to lie".

Lorna Clary, Nicola's cousin, said: "As a key witness in Bishop's 1987 trial, she [Johnson] lied knowing that there would be a huge financial reward if Bishop received two acquittals for the double child murders.

"He did indeed receive the wrongful acquittals. The News of the World got their stories. The perpetrators got their payday.

"Our two families were devastated again after those verdicts, yet on the same evening, Johnson and the Bishops celebrated with a funded champagne dinner at the Hilton Hotel. They should all hang their heads in shame."

She urged other historical murder families to "take hope", adding: "The truth does eventually catch up with those who hide in plain sight."

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