Twisted strangler’s vile taunts at victim’s family from the dock leads to fears he killed other women
A CABBIE convicted yesterday of murdering sex worker Becky Godden may be a serial killer with many more victims.
Police fear an eight-year gap between Christopher Halliwell’s killing of the 20-year-old in 2003 and Sian O’Callaghan, 22, in 2011 suggests he could have killed other women.
Det Supt Sean Memory, who led the case against Halliwell, said he is in “no doubt” he was capable of other murders.
He said: “I can’t rule out that there are other victims. I’m not specifically looking at any one particular offence but I want to try to understand why there’s an eight-year gap.”
Halliwell had already admitted killing Sian, when he told police of “another one”.
He then led officers to the spot where he had buried Becky.
It was also revealed that he once asked a cellmate how many women he had to kill to be a serial killer.
And when interviewed about Becky’s murder, Halliwell asked detectives: “Will clearing this up be enough to stop everything else?”
Sian’s mum Elaine Pickford also believes Halliwell killed others. She said: “I don’t think he’d have gone the length of time between Becky and Sian without needing another fix.”
There are six unsolved suspected murders near Halliwell’s home in Swindon.
Melanie Hall, 25, disappeared in 1996 and prostitute Sally Ann John, 24, a year earlier. Tina Pryer, 39, Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, and Sandra Brewin, 21, have also been missing for years.
And Linda Razzell, 41, disappeared in the Wiltshire town in 2002.
The convicted killer is already serving a life sentence for murdering Sian O'Callaghan, 22, after he abducted her as she made her way home from a night out in Swindon in 2011.
Evil Halliwell has now been found guilty of killing Becky, 20 - despite having taken cops to her body after confessing to Sian's murder in 2011.
The 52-year-old asked cops if they would like "another one" after being arrested for Sian's murder, before leading them to Becky's grave in exchange for a fag.
But despite leading cops to Becky's "skeletal remains" and admitting killing a woman, he denied murdering Becky.
A High Court judge later ruled Halliwell's admissions could not be used as Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher had breached police guidelines on interviewing suspects.
The charge of murdering Becky was withdrawn until March this year following an investigation by Wiltshire Police that uncovered overwhelming evidence against Halliwell, including a spade recovered from his shed used to dig Becky's grave.
The dad-of-three denied murder and represented himself during a two-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.
But the jury of six men and six women took less than two hours to convict Halliwell of the charge.
Halliwell laughed and smiled as the verdict was returned by the jury.
Members of Sian O'Callaghan's family and the Godden family cheered, wept and hugged each other when they heard the guilty verdict.
Becky's mum Karen said: "We have been waiting for such a long time that we can't actually believe that we would get to this point.
"We doubted that we would get here all the time. I still feel I haven't grieved yet because I have been running on adrenaline."
She added: "This is never going to bring her back. It is never going to make anything right. It is not going to bring my little girl back to me.
"But at the end of the day, to see him standing there....I couldn't protect Becky from him but I can do the next best thing and get justice for her.
"I have longed for the day. To see Halliwell have his justice. It has been my sole ambition and goal in life. Nothing else really matters."
As Halliwell was led away from the court he paused to stare and smile at Miss Godden's family. He will be sentenced on Friday.
Sian, of Swindon, Wilts, was abducted and stabbed in the neck by Halliwell as she walked home from a nightclub in March 2011, a court heard.
Former taxi driver Halliwell, 52, was arrested after her body was discovered in a field in Lechlade-on-Thames, Glos.
He told officers he was a “sick f*****r” and “is it too late to get help?”
Despite initially denying Becky's murder, Halliwell admitted taking a girl from Swindon between 2003 and 2005, when he "had sex with her and then strangled her."
DS Steve Fulcher, told a jury that Halliwell led him to believe he had killed more people.
He told Bristol Crown Court that Halliwell couldn't remember the year he had killed Becky, saying it "led me to conclude that there were other victims."
It has led to speculation that Halliwell could be linked to the disappearances of four other women, all of whom vanished in Swindon.
Becky's heartbroken nan today blasted the cop whose mistake ''robbed'' her family of justice for five years.
Miranda Godden, 77, wants DS Steve Fulcher to be held accountable after he breached protocol when arresting killer Christopher Halliwell.
The top detective failed to read Halliwell his rights after he owned up to the murder and led police to 20-year-old Becky's unmarked grave in a farmer's field.
When he later withdrew his confession, prosecutors were forced to abandon the case due to lack of evidence - leaving Becky's family in limbo.
She has called for an investigation into Wiltshire Police's handling of the case and wants the officer - who was never sacked over the blunder - to be prosecuted.
Through tears, the grieving pensioner, who calls Becky 'Lou Lou' as her middle name was Louise, said: "Fulcher was a top-ranking officer with years of experience.
"Why did he make that mistake? Why didn't he read him his rights?
"We were so angry when we found out he had done that because we didn't get justice for Lou Lou then and there.
"If he had done his job we would have done."
The grieving gran claims DS Fulcher has never apologised for the error and said: "If he did apologise now, I wouldn't accept it."
She added: "He broke the law and he got away with it. I have lost all the trust in the police.
"Their mistakes have had a devastating impact on our lives. No way in this world did Becky deserve this. Nobody deserves this.
"Fulcher should be prosecuted. He should go to prison. He has broken the law and that's a terrible thing to do when it's a murder case.
"I would like him locked away for life and living on bread and water."
Becky's family's fight for answers began 14 years ago, in 2002, when the then 20-year-old went missing.
Who else has he killed?
During the recent trial, the detective leading the investigation, DS Steve Fulcher, told a jury that Halliwell led him to believe he had killed more people.
Sex worker Sally Ann John, 24, disappeared in September 1995 but despite continuous appeals she has never been seen since.
Sandra Brewin disappeared from her parents' home in 1994 aged 21 just months after she became penfriends with a man who was in prison in Oxfordshire.
Other unsolved missing person cases in the area include college worker mum-of-four Linda Razzell, 41, who disappeared from Swindon in 2002.
Her husband, Glyn, was convicted of her killing but continues to protest his innocence.
The whereabouts of Vietnamese immigrant Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, have also been unknown since she went missing from her temporary home in Swindon in June 2005.
Across the border in Gloucestershire, the body of Kate Prout has never been found after she went missing from her farm in 2007.
Her mum, Karen Edwards, who has separated from Becky's father, did not report her missing until 2007 as she believed her daughter was living in Bristol.
The young woman's body was found nine years later, minus her hands, feet and skull, after Halliwell led cops to her shallow grave.
Becky's family found out she had been killed on what would have been her birthday - April 4 2011.
Miranda, a mum-of-seven whose husband Pete, who was in the Royal Engineers, died four years ago, said she has thought about it "24/7" ever since.
he said: "Me and my husband were sat in the corner of the room - he was in his chair and I was sat next to him on the settee - when they came out and told us.
"I said, 'Could you please tell me what happened to her?' and they said, 'She was strangled.'
"It is awful. It was terrible. To think that somebody has deliberately hurt one of your grandchildren. To hurt them that bad.
"It is just the thought of somebody really hurting her. I don't know what she went through.
"There were no arms, no legs, no head. No nothing."
Halliwell and his sister, who were born in Swindon, Wilts., came to Scotland in 1974 after their mother Sofia left their dad, an RAF worker, for another man.
The young boy had a dysfunctional childhood which his little sister, Sarah Halliwell, said left him "cold and emotionless" after being beaten by his parents.
The children were beaten with a leather strap their mum and step-dad, who ruled with "cruel discipline".
Sarah also claimed her brother would often pull the legs and wings of insects, but showed little emotion when doing so.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Halliwell lived in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway, where he attended the local high school.
A former schoolmate told the Daily Record in October 2012 that Halliwell was a "quiet, thin and rather strange boy".
He said: "Chris was certainly a very strange individual."
Timeline of Becky Godden and Sian O'Callaghan murders
This is a timeline of the disappearance and murders of Becky Godden and Sian O'Callaghan at the hands of taxi driver Christopher Halliwell. He has now been convicted of murdering of Miss Godden more than a decade after he killed her.
2002
:: December 27 - Becky Godden, then aged 20, is last seen alive in the Manchester Road area of Swindon, Wiltshire.
2003
:: January 3 - Rebecca Boast, a friend of Miss Godden, sees her getting into a taxi outside Destiny And Desire, a nightclub in the town.
At 5.25am Halliwell logged a call with the RAC reporting that his Volvo S80 had run out of fuel on the A361 at Inglesham, near Lechlade-on-Thames, which is only a few miles from a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, where Miss Godden's body is later found.
Later that afternoon, Halliwell went to his GP, Dr Philip Mayes, complaining of a swollen right hand and was diagnosed with a suspected fractured finger. The doctor noticed Halliwell also had scratches on his face and appeared "emotionally distressed".
2011
:: March 18 - Miss O'Callaghan, 22, goes for a night out with girl friends in Swindon. She fails to return home and is reported missing the following day by her family.
:: March 21 - Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, leading the investigation, says he has been trying to establish Miss O'Callaghan's movements.
:: March 22 - Halliwell becomes a "TIE" - a person to Trace, Interview and Eliminate after his car is seen is the area where Miss O'Callaghan disappeared.
:: March 24 - Halliwell is arrested. An "urgent interview" is carried out by detectives. Halliwell starts journey to Gable Cross police station but is diverted to Barbury Castle.
:: 12.11pm - Mr Fulcher meets Halliwell at Barbury Castle.
:: 12.20pm - Fulcher and Halliwell are driven to Uffington.
:: 1.21pm to 1.53pm - Fulcher interviews Halliwell on grassy bank near Uffington White Horse. Halliwell is not cautioned or given the opportunity to speak to a solicitor.
:: 1.53pm - Halliwell directs police to Eastleach, Gloucestershire where he steps out the paces in a field where he buried Miss Godden.
:: 2.43pm - Halliwell arrives at Gable Cross police station and only now is he cautioned and read his rights.
:: 4.41pm - A solicitor is called.
:: 5.20pm - Mr Fulcher announces live on television that Miss O'Callaghan's body has been found and the suspect has identified the location of a second body.
:: 5.45pm - Solicitor arrives.
:: March 26 - Officers announce they have found human remains following extensive searches at Eastleach. Mr Fulcher says he had been told they were those of a woman abducted in Swindon between 2003 and 2005.
:: March 26 - Halliwell is charged with the murder of Miss O'Callaghan.
:: April 4 - The police knock on the front door of Miss Godden's mother Karen Edwards and tell her they have found the body of her daughter. That day would have been Miss Godden's 29th birthday.
:: May 23 - Halliwell is charged with murder of Miss Godden.
2012
:: January 30 - A week long abuse of process hearing begins at Bristol Crown Court. Barristers argue Halliwell cannot get a fair trial because of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act codes and briefings given to the media by Mr Fulcher. The trial judge, Mrs Justice Cox, rules Halliwell's confessions to the murders of both women are inadmissible because of breaches of PACE.
:: May 31 - Halliwell denies the murder of Miss O'Callaghan during a plea and case management hearing at Preston Crown Court. The charge of murdering Miss Godden is formally withdrawn.
:: October 19 - Halliwell pleads guilty to the murder of Miss O'Callaghan during a hearing at Bristol Crown Court. He is jailed for life and told he will serve a minimum of 25 years by Mrs Justice Cox.
:: October 22 - Halliwell's daughter Natasha urges her father to give Miss Godden's family "justice" over her murder.
2013
:: April 23 - Mrs Edwards pleads with Halliwell to ";come clean" over the death of her daughter. An inquest hears the remains of Miss Godden were found in a shallow grave and that she was identified by DNA evidence. Police were working on the basis Miss Godden died in either December 2002 or early 2003.
2014
:: January 21 - Wiltshire Police says a disciplinary hearing has found Mr Fulcher guilty of gross misconduct and he has received a final written warning.
:: May 1 - A bone belonging to Miss Godden is discovered close to where her remains were found at Eastleach.
:: May 15 - Wiltshire Police confirms that Mr Fulcher had resigned from the force.
:: May 16 - Property belonging to Miss O'Callaghan, including a pair of brown 'New Look' boots are found in a pond two miles from the village of Ramsbury, near Marlborough, Wiltshire. Police keep an "open mind" as to whether Halliwell has killed more women.
:: September 23 - Detectives appeal for information about a silver Volvo S80 car in Swindon in 2002 and 2003 which may relate to the murder of Miss Godden.
:: November 10 - Forensic experts begin a search of Halliwell's former home in Ashbury Avenue, Swindon and find "a number of items of interest".
2015
:: January 14 - Mrs Edwards calls on David Cameron to address Britain's "unjust" justice system after handing a 42,000-strong collection of signatures to 10 Downing Street asking for changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
:: February 18 - Halliwell is arrested on suspicion of the murder of Miss Godden. He tells Superintendent Sean Memory he will accept responsibility for Miss Godden's murder provided the police do not ask further questions about other offences he may have committed.
2016
:: March 3 - The Crown Prosecution Service makes an application to the High Court for a voluntary bill to be granted in order to charge Halliwell with the murder of Miss Godden.
:: March 30 - Halliwell is charged with Miss Godden's murder.
:: June 9 - Halliwell appears at Bristol Crown Court and denies Miss Godden's murder.
:: August 30 - Retired High Court judge Sir John Griffith Williams rules that the jury can be told of Halliwell's conviction for Miss O'Callaghan's murder, his confession to Miss Godden's murder and that he told a police doctor he "killed two women".
:: September 5 - Halliwell goes on trial at Bristol Crown Court for Miss Godden's murder.
:: September 19 - Halliwell is convicted of Miss Godden's murder.
When Halliwell was 15, his mother decided she no could no longer cope with him and she placed him in foster care, according to sister Sarah.
In a 2012 interview with the Daily Telegraph, she said her brother showed virtually no emotion when he was handed over.
Instead, he told her how much he hated his mother and that he would get her back.
His ex-girlfriend, Heather Widdowson, later told The Sun that Halliwell her he was "beaten by his mum from the age of three and left home at 16".
After leaving school, Halliwell got various menial jobs including working as a chauffeur, a bin man, a window cleaner and a cab driver.
He also worked as a butcher at Carson's Butchers.
Workmate Norman Neilson told the Record in 2012 that he was a "quiet, thin young boy".
At the age of 23, in 1991, Halliwell met Lisa Byrne, a shop assistant. They married in July 1991 and had three children - Natasha, Carissa and Shane.
In 2004, Halliwell started seeing another woman, his neighbour Heather Widdowson.
The pair had lived on the same road - Ashbury Avenue in Swindon, Wilts., - and hit it off after she asked him to help her convert her garage.
A year later, in 2005, Halliwell split with wife Lisa and moved in with Heather and her three children.
Speaking in October 2012, Heather told The Sun they had a "happy, loving relationship".
She said: "He was quiet and normally kept his feelings to himself but he once told me he'd done 'horrendous' things when he was young but I didn't want to know
what.
"I knew he'd been in prison and had a difficult childhood. He was beaten by his mum from the age of three and left home at 16."
In the interview, she also revealed that she and Halliwell slept together "hours" after he abducted and killed 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan on March 19 2011.
After he was arrested for her murder, neighbours and colleagues described him as a nice, normal guy.
Taxi driver Neil Barnett described him as a "real nice bloke, a genuine bloke, a normal run-of-the-mill bloke" in an interview with ITV.
Neighbour Brian Jerome, 71, said Halliwell was a "smashing bloke".
He told the Swindon Advertiser: "He was a hard-working man - he was always working on his car."
Another, who asked not to be named said: "I would have been happy for my daughter to get in his taxi and she is 20."
Becky's trial heard that Halliwell used sex workers and was a regular customer of Becky's.
A woman known as 'Miss X', who was a prostitute at the time, claimed that Halliwell had been her customer on two occasions - something he denies.
On the first occasion, they went to an industrial estate in Swindon, and on another they went to his flat, it was alleged.
During the second liaison, Halliwell showed Miss X images of "Thai brides" on his desktop computer, she told the jury.
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