CCTV leads to a horrifying revelation in Swindon | Forensic Files

[Music] Swindon is a large town in the county of wiltshire southwest England about 126
kilometers or 78 miles west of London with a population of about 185 thousand people it has one of the lower crime
rates in the country Sean o Callaghan was a 22 year old woman who resided in Swindon with her boyfriend Kevin Raye
Sean was a bubbly friendly caring and loving go instantly likeable beautiful and considerate on the evening of the
18th of March 2011 Sean had a night out with some friends in the old town area of Swindon they went out for dinner
before visiting to bars a spot in Baker Street after which they went to SuJu nightclub at 2:53 a.m. on the 9th of
March Sean was captured on security footage leaving the nightclub alone she shared a
flat with her boyfriend Kevin about 800 meters away from the club but she never made it home
[Music] at 324 a.m. Kevin sent Shana text message to check if she was okay he was
concerned that she hadn't arrived home yet Shawn never responded this was completely out of character and at 9:45
a.m. that morning Kevin went to the police to report her missing after taking the report the wheelchair
police immediately treated her disappearance as a level 1 missing person investigation a level 1 missing
person case means police have assessed the person to be in immediate danger or likely to suffer significant harm they
implemented a four-point strategy to investigate the case they were one locate Shawn and safeguard her from any
harm to develop intelligence and information in order to establish her location 3 utilize media opportunities
in order to support those objectives for maintain an open mind in relation to potential criminal acts and seek to
secure and preserve evidence police immediately questioned the friends Shawn was out with they couldn't offer any
useful information they had no issues throughout the night there were no incidents or suspicious people in the
club Shawn simply left the club alone to go home a check of the security footage
showed her leaving the club at 2:53 a.m. she headed up High Street in the direction of her flat the security
footage of other businesses in the area was obtained so they could follow where Shawn went on this footage they noticed
the car repeatedly circling the old town area driving past the nightclub the car drove past shine a few times as
she was walking along the footpath it finally came to a stop on High Street a short distance in front of Sean about
257 a.m. the glare of the cars headlights Sean straight into the camera essentially blocking the footage but
Sean continued walking towards the car until eventually you lose sight of her in the glare a short time later the car
pulled away and started driving towards Marlborough Road Sean could no longer be
seen the quality of the footage meant that neither the make of the vehicle nor the registration plate could be made
here it was a breakthrough though police believed it very possible that Sean had
gotten into that vehicle the glare of the headlights meant it was impossible to know for sure and impossible to know
if she voluntarily got in or if she was forced in other investigators got to work on her cell phone records
the text message sent by Kevin at 324 a.m. pinged off a tower that put the location of Sean's phone in the area of
the seven ak-47 ak-47 on teen kilometers or 12 miles away the area of Sean's phone could only be narrowed down to a
six and a half mile radius around the cell phone tell given she left the club at 2:53 a.m. this meant she had 31
minutes to get to seven at first the only way she could have got there in time was by a car police believed it was
the car seen circling Knoll town on the security footage only a few hours after Sean had been reported missing police
formed operation Lyon to investigate her disappearance detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher was appointed as the
senior investigation officer he was an experienced detective who had headed over 50 major investigations throughout
his career the investigation was marked as category a the most serious category category a means a major investigation
of significant concern where any member of the public is at risk the offender is
unknown under the investigation and securing of evidence requires the alakay significant resources and significant
resources is what the investigation got up to 140 officers were involved search teams were immediately mobilized to
attend the seven act forest the forest is a densely wooded area with a thick undergrowth not an easy place to search
specialist police and dog units were called in Superintendent Fulcher had three scenarios running through his mind
at this early stage of the investigation one on leaving the night club Shawn had
been neither enticed into the vehicle or forcibly abducted into the vehicle seen
on the security footage then driven to the 7 act forest where she met with harm to she had met with an acquaintance and
gone with them voluntarily and for reasons unknown has failed to make contact with friends or family 3 just
because her phone was in the 7 act forest didn't mean Shawn was there for reasons unknown she may have become
separated from her phone and met with an accident or had harm done to her at another location a media strategy was
discussed with the police media unit and a press release was immediately issued appealing for information regarding
Shawn's whereabouts up to 400 volunteers from the public as well as members of Shawn's family and her boyfriend Kevin
joined police in the mammoth search of 7ik forest an anonymous donor offered a $20,000 reward for any information that
helped locate sharp volunteers also assisted distributing posters appealing for information press releases and
appeals were also widely shared on social media sites but after 48 hours police were no closer to discovering the
whereabouts of Shawn or what happened to her other than it was possible she may be in the 7 act forest area based on her
cell phone records it was three days after her disappearance that a major breakthrough
came an image specialist reviewed the security footage and was able to clear the images up it was his opinion that
the suspect vehicle on the footage was a dark tone Toyota Avensis estate manufactured between 2003 and 2008 he
also noted the presence of a slightly lighter area on the doors of the vehicle which he thought could be stickers of
some kind shortly after this information was discovered a police officer in a check
of the automatic number plate recognition records the ANPR this is relatively new technology fitted to some
police vehicles it automatically reads the number plates of all the cars that are passes the number plate is then
checked against police databases a record is kept of all number place that are checked by the ANPR an officer
checked all recordings of vehicles between 253 a.m. and 3:15 a.m. on the 19th of March he got a hit
vehicle registration AV 0 7 fzf registered to a green Toyota Avensis estate caught by the ANPR traveling
along mole burrowed from Swindon Old Town the vehicle passed the police car heading in the opposite direction it was
registered on the impr at 2:59 a.m. only minutes after you lost sight of sean in
the glare of the headlights on the security footage this information was relayed to superintendent Fulcher it was
2 p.m. on the 22nd of march police had a significant lead the registered owner of
the car was Christopher Halliwell and police got to work checking him out meanwhile the search of the 7 AK forest
continued other police have been analysing cellphone signal strength of the area through that analysis they were
able to identify hotspots of the forest where the phone was most likely to be the hot spots allowed police to rule out
large sections of the six and a half mile radius area so they were able to narrow their search
around this time another anonymous donor came forward and offered a further $20,000 for any information to find
Shawn that doubled the reward to forty thousand it was at 2:00 p.m. on the 22nd of March that police became aware of
Christopher Halliwell by 3:00 p.m. they were conducting covert surveillance on him the reason for the surveillance was
recorded in the investigation log as follows Shawn has yet to be found and surveillance provides the best
opportunity of identifying her current location should Holly will be prompted to wherever he had left Sean Christopher
Halliwell was a taxi driver and the police noticed the taxi stickers on the doors of Halliwell's car in the exact
spot where the image specialist believed stickers may be found and it wasn't long
before the surveillance team reported Halliwell was displaying some strange and suspicious behavior twice within a
short period around 5:30 p.m. Halliwell was seen cleaning the rear passenger seat of his car with cleaning fluid
later that night Halliwell attended the local police station he told the officers there that his daughter had
told him she had been raped the previous evening shortly after 10:00 p.m. that night
Halliwell was seen putting car seat covers headrest covers and a bottle of perfume in a bin about quarter past two
the next morning 23rd of March he was seen driving through the village of Warren bra and not long after he had
driven through police spotted some material on fire on the roadside near the village
superintendent full Joe was briefed on the behavior of Halliwell his plan was to try and engage Halliwell through
media releases in the hope that this would encourage him to return under surveillance to wherever he had left
Shawn basically the strategy was as follows the police would release a statement that evening saying they were
getting close to finding Shawn they had deployed specialist dog units to assist the search but the loss of daylight
meant that the search had been postponed and would resume the next morning a further tactic would be to release a
press statement about the green toyota vehicle of interest appealing to the public to come forward if they had cited
at around the time of Shawn's disappearance it was hoped that these press releases would increase the
pressure on Halliwell and he would respond under the cover of darkness and lead the police to wherever Shawn was if
Halliwell didn't respond as they had planned then they would arrest him at 7:00 p.m. the next night 24th of March
they determined that it was highly unlikely Shawn would be at Holly Wells house and they were doing nothing that
would jeopardize her life it was hoped that their plan would result in finding her alive that was the entire focus of
the investigation and the reason for the strategies they had put in place to foreign China life meanwhile other
officers paid Holly well his first visit it was about midday on the 23rd of March
when they knocked on his door they obtained a statement from him where he gave an account of his movements around
the time Shawn disappeared his statement was clearly inconsistent with what was captured on security footage but they
didn't make a big deal of it they said it was just simply routine because his vehicle had been captured in the area on
the impr the officers also took a buccal swab from him during this visit Halliwell was close to tears and visibly
shaken he looked to be highly stressed it was here that a risk was identified that risk was that Halliwell may attempt
to harm himself but they decided the risk was manageable and they continued as planned
officers were put on high alert to intervene should at any stage Halliwell make attempts to harm himself
the police were hoping Halliwell would react to the press releases but they were disappointed Halliwell didn't
respond at all it was clear the media strategy wasn't working later that night fuller spoke to
Detective Sergeant Cooper he was a tier 5 interview advisor tier 5 is the highest level you can get his role was
to give advice to his fellow police officers on interview procedures and it was here that Cooper informed Fulcher
about the urgent interview procedure under pace code C 11.1 pace stands for the police and Criminal Evidence Act
1984 and what that section of the Act says in plain English is that after a suspect has been arrested
they can't be interviewed about the offense unless they are at a police station or other authorized place of
detention but there are a few exceptions one of those being if the delay in getting to the station or authorised
place of detention would likely lead to interference with or physical harm to someone then police could conduct what
they call an urgent interview sergeant Cooper was of the opinion that this was one of the rare occasions that an urgent
interview could be justified as they were still acting with the hope shant would be found alive this section
doesn't change the fact that the suspect still has to be read their rights as most of you would know it in England it
is referred to as cautioning the suspect and goes like you do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so but
what you say may be given in evidence so basically you have the right to remain silent upon receiving when he considered
expert advice fuller made arrangements for an urgent interview to proceed after Halliwell was arrested he noted in his
report quote when the senior investigating officer directs that the arrest be effected an urgent interview
will be conducted because at this time I have no means of knowing whether Sean is
alive or dead and I consider this to be an emergency situation which requires measures to be taken to identify her
location nothing of interest was cited by the surveillance teams throughout the night of the 23rd of March and into the
early hours of the 24th it was just after 10:00 a.m. on the 24th when more suspicious behavior was
observed holliwell was seen to place two wrappings in a waste bin outside a store
he then purchased what was described as an overdose quantity of paracetamol fearing that Halliwell was going to
attempt to kill himself a plan was put in place to arrest him at 11:06 a.m. he was arrested in the Walmart carpark
of Swindon shopping centre Halliwell was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Sean
o Callaghan but PC horn who was working with PC Mullis PC horn cautioned Halliwell immediately after is placed
under arrest he was then put into the police car soon after that two detectives arrived Derek
and Bevan Detective Sergeant Cooper had prepared a strategy for an urgent interview to be conducted with Halliwell
and he picked detectives Derek and Bevan to carry out the interview as both were
experienced officers Cooper provided them a copy of the provisions of the police and Criminal Evidence Act which
allowed the urgent interview he also added in these instructions quote this investigation is a crime in action the
whereabouts of Shona Callaghan are unknown the senior investigating officer has directed that an urgent interview be
conducted immediately upon the arrest of mr. Halliwell to establish the whereabouts of Shaun the questioning is
only to establish the whereabouts of Shaun and will cease once the risks of Shaun's safety has been averted any
questioning will be recorded contemporaneously at the time their urgent interview took place in the
car park and was recorded and when as follows there was the arrest and caution and
explanation of the arrest Derek then said the focus of the investigation is to find Shawna Callahan
tell me where Sean is halli well I don't know Derek can you help us with where Sean is
Howie well I don't know where she is I don't think I should say any more without speaking to a solicitor Derek do
you know a Sean is safe Helle well no comment Derek can you help us know if shine is
safe or not Ali well no comment not until I speak to a solicitor can I go to the police station near as far as Derek
and Bevan were concerned the urgent interview was over the demeanor of Holly well at the time was described by Derek
as looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights Bevin called Cooper and told him the bad news
Cooper agreed there was not much more they could do and the urgent interview was over Cooper instructed two other
officers who had arrived at the scene to take halliwell to the nearest police station which was gable Cross
Superintendent Fuller was at the station waiting pacing the floor as the two officers were heading towards the
station Fulcher was advised by Cooper that the urgent interview had ceased and they've got nothing usefully out of it
Bulger reacted he told sergeant Cooper not to bring Halliwell back instead instructed that he'd be taken to Barbara
castle Barbara Castle is a historical landmark in England it's an Iron Age hill fort situated near
Swindon on a side of about 12 acres or five hectares of vast fields in the hills fuller wanted to continue the
urgent interview himself Cooper didn't discuss this request with full charm he just did as he was told
fulfilling the instructions of the senior officer on the case the escorting officers got the phone call and changed
their course from the station and headed towards Barbara castle as they were instructed they arrived at the castle at
1211 p.m. Derek and Bevan had been told to meet them there as well Bulger said the sole purpose of his decision was for
it to be a last appeal to Halliwell to give some indication of where Shaun was so as the try and save her life
he chose Barbara castle as he thought it was the most likely place shant would be
and he considered it better to take Halliwell to the most likely scene of the crime
culture headed to the scene when he arrived he walked alone with Halliwell to a spot about 50 meters away from the
other officers present the conversation went as follows Bulger are you going to tell me where
shinies lol I don't know anything full char are you going to show me where shinies what's going to happen if you
tell us where Shawn is that whatever you'll be portrayed you would have done the right thing Halliwell I want to go
to the station full gel are you prepared to tell me where shinies Halliwell you think I did it Bulger I know you did it
Halliwell can I go to the station filter you can go to the station what will happen is that you will be vilified if
you tell me where Sean is you would have done the right thing hello well I want to speak to a
solicitor Bulger you have been given an opportunity to tell me where shinies in one hours time you will be in the
press Helly well I want to speak to a solicitor Bulger you will speak to a solicitor I'm giving you an opportunity
to tell me where Sean is by the end of this cycle you'll be vilified tell me where she is Halliwell paused looked at
Fulcher and said have you got a car we'll go vultures plan had worked Halliwell remained calm and subdued as he got into
the vehicle with full charm it appeared as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders
vultures sat in the back of the car with Halliwell Halliwell gave them directions
in a quietly spoken voice the drive took 45 minutes Halliwell directed them to a remote area
about 32 kilometers away or 20 miles a quiet rural spot in South Oxfordshire holliwell couldn't locate the exact
point but he gave enough information for Marcus to be set up for the search teams
they located Sean's body later that afternoon at 1:20 p.m. vulture informed Halliwell he was going
to hand him over to a police constable who were taken to the police station where he would be booked for murder upon
hearing this holliwell said you and me need to have a chat vulture arrange for Holywell to be taken to another location
away from the other police Holly will then said this to full Joe I'm a sick [ __ ] do you want another
one falter interpreted this is Halliwell meaning that there was a second victim however he did not caution him he
decided to just let holliwell continue to speak he didn't want to interrupt his flow and risk him shutting down which he
thought would happen if a caution was issued if there was a chance to find a second victim which they didn't even
know existed he didn't want to risk losing that information this was a quote from for Chow I didn't consider it
relevant to the moment in time we were in I believe the right thing was to obtain the information we were going to
get not container although filcher did concede that if they were going on a trip to find
another victim the police and Criminal Evidence Act required Halliwell to be cautioned they got into the car again
and Halliwell directed them to a field about 48 kilometres away or 30 miles near the village of each leach in
South Gloucestershire when they got their holliwell pointed out an area of a forty acre field another quiet and
remote spot police searched the area and found the remains of Rebecca Godin Edwards Becky was a happy bubbly
beautiful intelligent girl as a teenager she got involved with the wrong crowd and was introduced to drugs she left
school and her life spiraled out of control a little bit her family tried everything they could to help Becky
including putting her into private rehabilitation clinics but the pool of her habit was stronger and she would do
whatever she had to to get her next fix it wasn't unusual for Becky to disappear
for weeks or months at a time after a conviction for stealing in 2001 Becky told her mother Karen Edwards she
couldn't keep putting her through hell so she was leaving and she wouldn't return home until she was clean
Karen believed Becky had moved to Bristol she never gave up hope that Becky would return home one day over the
years Karen was told by sources close to the family that they had seen Becky but
they were mistaken Karen did try and track her down through the police hospitals and other organizations
working under the assumption that Becky was alive and well somewhere tragically she wasn't she was last seen in late
2002 she was murdered sometime between then and early 2003 full Tara asked Halliwell a number of other questions
still all without a caution and 3:15 p.m. Halliwell was taken to the police station where he was formally processed
holliwell requested the assistance of a solicitor and one arrived within the hour
Halliwell was then interviewed again he was now at a police station in custody he had been cautioned and everything had
been done by the book now is the chance to get everything on record in compliance with the police and Criminal
Evidence Act vulture didn't run this interview it was handed over to other officers
Holywell had one response for every question that was asked of him no comment vulture was surprised annoyed
and frustrated he assumed Halliwell would continue to talk to the interviewing officers in the same way he
had been speaking to him for cherry furred to his interview with Halliwell at Barbara castle as a continuation of
the original agent interview vulture frankly admitted that he deliberately didn't caution him or remind him that he
was still under caution the reason he gave for not doing so was because the key issue was the save Shaun's life and
that aim would be thwarted if he opened up the interview by telling Kelly well he didn't have to say anything
he considered Shaun's right to life was more important than a police and Criminal Evidence Act compliant
interview vulture said I felt it was the right thing to do in the circumstances I
was faced with Hallie will was charged with both murders and he pleaded not guilty before the case went to trial
Hallie wells defense team put forward a submission that the questioning of Halliwell was inappropriate and could be
considered oppressive and persuasive and that no caution was issued therefore ruling all the evidence the police got
after Hallie Wells arrest inadmissible if the judge agreed everything Halliwell had told them and pointed out to them
would not be able to be used at the trial this was argued in what is known as a wired ear which is a preliminary
examination on whether or not evidence will be admissible in a trial the Vlade was heard before judge mrs. Justice Cox
in the Bristol Crown Court on the 9th of May 2012 this was her ruling and I've simplified this a little bit so it isn't
exactly work forward viewing this entire episode in my judgment it is at least possible that this was questioning which
by its nature and given all the circumstances affected the mind of this defendant and caused him to speak when
he otherwise would have stayed silent for these reasons I'll find the evidence relating to this confession and the
location of mr. Callahan's body is inadmissible the Creon accepts that on the evidence
in this case two separate urgent interviews were carried out and even where code C 11.1 is engaged all other
provisions of the code continue to apply a person whom there are grounds to suspect of an offense must be cautioned
before any questions about an offense are put to them after any break in questioning under caution the person
being questioned must be made aware that they remain under caution if there is any doubt the relevant caution should be
given again in full when the interview resumes failure to caution even when the police are investigating a very serious
offence but perhaps especially when it is a very serious offence amounts to a substantial and significant breach of
the code the second interview could and should have been conducted at a police station the defendant was just a short
distance away from cable cross and could have been formally processed immediately
instead detective Superintendent future adopted an approach which I consider was
deliberately designed to ensure that the protections to which this defendant was
entitled were not afforded to him his decision not the caution the defendant was a deliberate one precisely because
the defendant might have done what he would be told he could do stay silent his decision not to take the defendant
to the police station for interview was as he accepted because the custody sergeant would have ensured that the
defendant was informed of his rights the defendants removal to Barbara castle for the purposes of a further urgent
interview would not only have resulted in the placing of additional pressure upon him but also ensured his request
for a solicitor could not be granted for the reasons given above I do not accept
the prosecution's submission that what happened in this case had no impact upon this defendant or caused him no
disadvantage there were indeed significant and substantial breaches of the codes in circumstances deliberately
designed to persuade the defendant to speak further questions were asked all without caution during the journey to
miss a killing its body and miss ability of this evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the
proceedings that it will not be admitted the judge ruled against the police and in favor of Halliwell and because
everything relating to the questioning and the finding of Sean's body had been ruled inadmissible so too was the
questioning and the finding of Becky's body this was massive everything the police had after holywell was placed
under arrest couldn't be used at trial without that the police had no evidence in relation
to the murder of Becky the defense put forward a submission to withdraw the charge and the crown had no choice but
to accept Palli well had just beaten one of the two murder charges and he confirmed his
plea of not guilty in relation to Shawn's case that would still proceed to trial a few months later detective
Superintendent Fulcher was suspended pending an Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry in Shawn's case the
police still had a substantial amount of evidence they could use at the trial that included further compelling matches
on the automatic number plate recognition system which showed that Halliwell returned to the seven act
forest area where he had first left Shawn it showed that he scouted out the area where Shawn's body was eventually
found by police the media releases had worked they had spooked Halliwell and got him
to move her body but he had done that before he was identified as a suspect that's why he didn't react to the media
releases when he was under surveillance he had already moved it also the seat and headrest covers that Halliwell was
observed putting into a bin were recovered by the police surveillance teams the covers had Chan's blood on
them Halliwell and his defense team knew the police still had a strong case in October 2012 holliwell changed his plea
to guilty the trial was off he was sentenced at the Bristol Crown Court on the 19th of October 2012
mrs. Justice Cox gave him a 30-year prison sentence but then reduced it to 25 years because he pleaded guilty and
save Shawn's family the pain and suffering of a trial but that was little comfort for the family of Rebecca Gordon
Edwards after a very complicated and painful journey over the last 18 months Sean's family up
today had the justice for the murder of their beautiful daughter however our family's fight for justice
for Becky has only just begun police kept Becky's investigation open they knew who killed her but they just
couldn't use any of the evidence they had that meant they had to find more food choose actions effectively ended
his career the inquiry lasted quite a while at the conclusion the Independent Police Complaints Commission ruled he
was able to keep his job and he was given a warning but he was found guilty of gross misconduct the damage was done
he resigned a few months later in May 2014 Becky's parents had split up long ago and they shared very different views
on Fulcher and the police handling of Becky's case Becky's father was very critical he said
I can't explain to you what they have made me feel and what they have done to me mentally they've got off very cheaply
wheelchair police what they put me through this extra pain and suffering nobody has been made accountable for it
but her mother Karen had this to say it's really going to be such a waste of an extremely experienced detective who I
know has solved so many crimes how do you followed the guidelines then Becky would have never been found she would
have never have come into the equation and Shaun would have still been where he moved her to no one would have found
Shaun in a million years where they found her where he dumped her body it was Steve vultures experience okay he
bent the rules but he bent them for good reason Shana callaghan's family were also strong supporters of Fulcher and
his actions that day police continued to work on Becky's case the strategy they adopted for the investigation was to
painstakingly map Becky's last-known movements Becky was working as a sex worker at the
time of her disappearance they located a witness who worked with her and she was
able to identify holywell as one of Becky's regular clients they uncovered evidence showing Halliwell was very
controlling of Becky offering her money and making demands she stopped working in the red-light district
on one occasion Becky was seen arguing with Halliwell before getting into his taxi in early January 2003 Halliwell
visited a doctor he had a swollen hand in a scratched face they also matched soil on tools found in Halliwell shed to
the field where Becky's remains were found it was painstaking work and it took a lot of time but they were
eventually able to uncover enough knew overwhelming evidence linking Halliwell to the murder of Becky and that meant
they could now use his confession again in March 2016 police charged Christopher
Halliwell with the murder of Rebecca Godin Edwards for the second time Halliwell pleaded not guilty in the
trial he gave a story that he didn't know Becky at all as a taxi driver he used to turn a blind eye to whatever his
customers got up to he had two men who he regularly drove around and it became clear to him that they were drug dealers
one night he picked them up they were carrying a large sports bag which they put into the pool he didn't ask any
questions and assumed it may have been weapons or drugs he drove them to the field where Becky's body was found
Halliwell says that later on one of the men told him they had buried a sex worker in the field that night but
Halliwell thought he was just messing around at the time in relation to his confession which was now admissible he
said he deliberately gave a false confession as he new superintendent Fulcher was breaching guidelines and he
wanted to do everything he could to destroy his career holliwell represented himself during the trial when Steve
Fulcher was called to give evidence holywell told him during his cross-examination it was a pleasure
ruining your career you corrupt bastard fool cheer applaud I'm sure Polly well went as far to say that he had no reason
to lie he was already serving life with little hope of ever getting out what he did to Shaun was unforgivable and he
deserved every bit of his life sentence but he was innocent in Becky's case after a two-week trawl at Bristol Crown
Court that only concluded last month September 2016 the jury reached their verdict in about three hours we have
waited over five years for this momentous day it has been an extremely painful journey but today we've received
for justice that has felt like an eternity coming for our beautiful little girl Becky as the guilty verdict was
ready our holywell smiled at Becky's family judge Sir John William Griffiths had
this to say during sentencing I have concluded both murders involved the abduction of the victim and sexual
conduct and both were aggravated by the concealment of the bodies I was satisfied your offending is
exceptionally high and satisfies the criteria for a whole life term holly wells papers were marked never to be
released Holly will thank the judge before being laid away after his conviction an ex
cellmate of Halliwell's from back in the 80s had this to say he used to ask me about killing he said how many people do
you need to kill before you become a serial killer he just had a thing about them he wanted people to be proud of him
or an area to be afraid of him the officer in charge of the second investigation into Becky's murder
detective Superintendent Sean memory had this to say I'm really open-minded there
is an 8 year gap between Becky and Sean I would appeal to Christopher Halliwell if he wants to speak I'm willing to
speak with him I can't really out there are other victims he's not forensic ly linked to outstanding cases however
that's not to say he hasn't committed other offenses I'm not specifically looking at any one particular offense
but I do want to try and understand why there's an 80 year cap between his offending behavior there's a distinct
possibility there could be further offenses this police interview with Halliwell is pretty telling this is when
police had uncovered the new evidence connecting him to the murder of Becky and they were interviewing him about
that look at charge of this I don't think you'll see I'll get nothing right I mean not being 15 over 25 years to go
sometimes looking good as it is if far out there something the next few hours and other charges against me that
will be broke there's a bit surpassed I think it will be now about various things of the past
discloses break-ins piece isn't more serious well that will given this IP enough to
stop everything else I don't want to keep coming back to every couple years on a different charge all the time so
one thing is if I can clear this up the next few hours with everything else be forgotten because at the end of day when
we get sensitive oh I'm just doing a bit of good to go to the look and say that's
it good so what I'm saying is a play I can resolve the matter but I don't want you come with everything as if if it
goes to court found guilty that's it that's where the key stupid so he's trying to do a deal that if he please up
the murder of Becky he's going away for the rest of his life anyway so he wants that to be enough to
stop any other future investigations or charges against him he doesn't want to keep going back every couple of years on
a different charge every time of course the police didn't take his offer and Halliwell ended up pleading not guilty
but that interview seems to suggest that Halliwell thinks he could be linked to other crimes in the future this is Steve
vultures thoughts there's no question from all the information I gathered when I was running this inquiry in 2011 that
he has committed other murders and the one thing Halliwell said to Fulcher during their talks that as fuller so
convinced was pretty chilling halli well said the police want to interview me about eight murders police
are still working on this seeing if they can link him to any other crimes the investigation is still ongoing
after Halliwell's conviction for the murder of Becky Steve Bulger who now works as a consultant in Somalia
released this statement I'm very pleased that Karen Edwards has finally seen justice done for her beautiful daughter
Becky who was brutally murdered by Christopher Halliwell she has fought a very dignified battle for the past five
and a half years to bring Halliwell to court and she should not have had to I hope she finds some comfort in this
verdict I thank Karen for her resilience and determination to obtain justice for
her beloved daughter Holly well is an evil and depraved violator of women I did all I could to find an abducted girl
Shawn in an effort to save her life the first duty of a police officer I also recovered a second victim of
Halliwell's murder Becky returning her to her loved ones after eight years of their misery
I caught a serial killer preventing any further girls being murdered Halliwell had to be arrested as he was
about to commit suicide as the law stands the expectation was that I should have prioritized Halliwell's right to
silence and legal protection over Shawn's right to life I remain convinced that the action that I took in allowing
Halliwell to take me to the bodies of both Shaun and Becky was the right and moral thing to do in doing so I felt
that I correctly prioritized the human rights of the victims and their families balanced against the rights of the
perpetrator the stance that Halliwell has taken since his confession to both murders as demonstrated during this
trial I believe indicate the actions that I took it is perfectly clear that had I not acted as I did
neither Shaun nor Becky would have ever been found and Halliwell would be free to adduct and kill other girls my
actions are deemed by the police service to be acts of gross misconduct the public will need to know how this can
and what the police will do on behalf of their loved ones who are missing when the extraordinary facts of this case are
explained it is likely to lead to a public crisis of confidence in the competence and credibility of the police
service despite everything that has happened to me I cannot regret the decisions that I
took that day ultimately that decision ensured the return of two beautiful young women which brought comfort to
their families and ensure that halle role has been duly convicted of both murders now the trial is over and I'm no
longer a serving police officer I am able to put these issues into the public domain for the first time I would like
to prevent any family having to suffer the same agony that Karen Edwards has had to endure I want to ensure that any
senior investigating officer faced with crimes in action is able to take the right decision without suffering the
repercussions are experienced whilst performing my duty [Music] you

Case 35: Operation Mayan

Swindon is a large town in the county of Wiltshire, South West England, about 126km or 78 miles west of London. With a population of about 185 thousand people, it has one of the lower crime rates in the country.

Sian O’Callaghan was a 22-year-old woman, who resided in Swindon with her boyfriend, Kevin Reape.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-35-operation-mayan

Brief Summary

The episode details Shana Callaghan's murder investigation and Christopher Halliwell's arrest and confession, highlighting legal controversies in the case.

Key points

The Night of Disappearance. Sean O'Callaghan leaves a nightclub but never returns home, raising alarms.
Urgent Missing Person Investigation. Police treat Sean's case as a level 1 missing person, indicating immediate danger.
Breakthrough in the Case. A review of security footage leads to identifying a suspect vehicle linked to Sean's disappearance.
Halliwell's Arrest. Christopher Halliwell is arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Sean O'Callaghan.
The Urgent Interview. Detectives conduct an urgent interview with Halliwell to locate Sean.
Halliwell's Chilling Admission. Halliwell hints at another victim during an interrogation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She never made it home.

Sean's disappearance after leaving the nightclub.

1:14WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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