Russell Bishop: Babes in the Wood murderer dies

Russell Bishop was convicted of murdering Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in 2018

Jailed Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop has died, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.

Bishop, 55, was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years for the murders of nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Brighton in 1986.

He was convicted in December 2018, having been cleared at an earlier trial in 1987.

Bishop was jailed in 1990 for the attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke near Brighton.

In a statement, a Prison Service spokesperson said: "HMP Frankland prisoner Russell Bishop died in hospital on January 20.

"The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed."

It is understood he had cancer.

Nicola's cousin Lorna Heffron said the news had not yet sunk in and while it was something the families "knew was coming", it had still been "quite a shock to the system".

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: "We're pleased that he's gone and he absolutely won't be able to hurt anybody else in the future. The world is a better place without him.

"I think the biggest relief is the fact that we got justice for Nicola and Karen before this happened.

"It's the satisfaction of knowing that we don't have to worry now that he, at any point in the future, might be able to apply for parole."

Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows had gone out to play after school

She said the families "always knew" he had murdered the two girls and they wish he had not been initially acquitted, leaving him free to attack again, but they hope his death brings closure to his surviving victim.

Bishop was aged 20 when he killed the girls in 1986.

In May 2021 his former girlfriend Jennifer Johnson was jailed for perjury, after lying at his 1987 trial.

Peter Kyle, the Labour MP for Hove, described Bishop as a "hateful man" whose "murders and deceit caused endless pain to so many people".

In a post on Twitter, he added: "I hope his death behind bars starts a new chapter for his victims' families. They deserve it. These events have scarred Brighton and Hove forever."

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