"If she had been alive and I had walked away, my offence would have been grotesque.". STEVE Fulcher was a detective who uncovered the crimes of a twisted double murderer before resigning from the force. Fulcher resigned in 2014 and quickly moved into conflict resolution, working to reform police forces in places such as Somalia and Libya. People would agree that what he did seems reasonable. Steve now works as a security contractor in Somalia as he has been unable to find work in the UK since the scandal. Steve Fulcher has also written a book detailing his thoughts on the Sian OCallaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards case titled Catching a Serial Killer which is available on Amazon. Its like you ask him a question which is perhaps slightly elliptical and off he goes and half an hour later he has given you a potted version of what happened., Martin Freeman, who plays Fulcher added: He is straight back in it.. He believed that if Halliwell was taken to a police station, Sians life would be in even more danger as with the presence of a solicitor, he may refuse to talk to police. Theres the track that takes you through to chief constable level and to do that you need to avoid being a detective for any length of time, certainly avoid cases like this. The actor said he was sympathetic to his cause, and described the former detective as a decent man who did something "morally reasonable". This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal on season 3, Neighbours announces seven more returning cast. Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, who obtained a confession from Chris Halliwell that was deemed inadmissible as he had not yet been given access to a lawyer. Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher was put on the case and his team scoured CCTV in the area to find her leaving the nightclub at 2.52am. Speaking to Chat magazine, Edwards said: 'Since the trial, our family has kept in touch with Steve Fulcher and his wife Yvonne. But because there had been supposed sightings of her, the police said they couldnt register her as a missing person.. Despite Fulchers questionable methods earning a confession from Halliwell, the Detective Superintendent was charged with gross misconduct for his actions which did not follow the prescribed guidelines. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. That man is a hero. Afterwards, I know everyone was asking how a clever girl from a loving family could end up as a sex worker, in a shallow grave in a field, and Ive asked that question myself a million times. So many times I had tried to fix Becky, and I couldnt. He invoked 'Emergency Powers' - usually used when there is a threat to life, like a terrorist attack - and asked Halliwell to help. She wrapped gifts every birthday. During the investigation, Detective Steve Fulcher broke police protocol and extracted not one, but two confessions from the killer. In fact, they were the only things to do: Steve Fulcher. By Chris Roycroft-Davis 15:14, Sat, Sep 24, 2016 . He tells Tim Lewis why hed do it again. However, the decision Fulcher made led him to the bodies of two of Halliwells victims. However, between the two judgements, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in 2014 found Fulcher guilty of gross misconduct for breaches of PACE and ignoring force orders. 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Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. I personally have not found him arrogant but I don't know him, I met him for a very short amount of time.". He received strong backing from the families of Sian OCallaghan and Becky Godden the latters mother, Karen Edwards, launched a petition to have Pace changed to offer greater protection for police officers, such as Fulcher. This was because Halliwell's confession was regarded as inadmissible as evidence by Judge Mrs Justice Fox. Steve, 53, from Wiltshire, was a Detective Superintendent and one of the most respected officers in the UK when he managed to catch sadistic taxi driver Halliwell. After 28 years in the force, he still believed there was a place in investigations for the policemans gut. When O'Callaghan was reported missing on 19 March 2011, DS Steve Fulcher of Wiltshire Police was brought in to lead the case. Fulcher's arrest of Halliwell was made into ITV drama 'The Confession' in 2019, and has been the source of much debate. A spade, removed from Halliwells home, was, years later, found to contain soil samples linking it to the field where Becky lay. ITVs A Confession follows Martin Freeman as Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher but where is the real former police officer now? DSI Steve Fulcher Monday 7 October 2019, 5:22pm ITV's The Confession, tells the story of how Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher breached protocols to catch a killer. REVEALED: Pennsylvania cops seized four medical gloves, a silver flashlight and Bryan Kohberger's Under Armour Man dies 'after being shot at home': Police Scotland hunt 'gunman' as they appeal for information. She went out for the night and never came home. So he definitely killed Sian in March 2011, he definitely killed Becky early 2003. Then years. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Unfortunately he has paid for that. What happened to him? According to the police code, Steve should then have cautioned Halliwell and taken him back to the police station, where he could have spoken to a lawyer. Back in June 2017, Steve was interviewed for The Guardian in a piece titled 'How I caught a serial killer and lost my career in the police'. It isnt and it hasnt been. Rees, who is standing as an independent, is aiming to tackle the perceived 'watering-down' of his local force due to austerity. Its a decent point. Why would we?'" Halliwell pleaded guilty to the murder OCallaghan on October 19, 2012, and was later sentenced to life imprisonment for her death. That's my disappointment with the thing.". Fulcher opened up on the case last year on ITV documentary To Catch A Serial Killer - With Trevor McDonald. It was an extremely painful period of time for a good three-plus years. But for my intervention, Christopher Halliwell would be walking the streets now, says Fulcher. But she never made it home, and her body was found five days later near Uffington, Oxfordshire. Because Im holding him on a knife edge, says Fulcher now. But Becky always mattered, too, Karen says. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA What Fulcher already knew was that his informal chat with Halliwell was breaching Code C of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace), which was instituted in the early 1980s in the aftermath of the Brixton riots. The drama follows Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher as he and Wiltshire Police search for the killer of 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan who was murdered back in March 2011. Its a decent point. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. For the fact that Becky was dead not estranged from her family, not wanting-to-be-missing only became apparent when her killer was being questioned about the disappearance of another young woman, 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan, who had failed to return home after a night out in Swindon in March 2011. "But for my course of action Becky would still be in that field, Sian would never be found and Christopher Halliwell would be walking the streets.". Tonight (October 7) marks the final episode of ITV's A Confession, a drama based on the real-life police investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan in 2011, and subsequently Becky Godden-Edwards (also known as Rebecca Godden), who was 20 when she was reported missing in 2007. Following on the success ofManhunt, A Confession is another crime drama which deals with a real-life case. Can you have a police force that simply ignores a serial killer?, Fulcher would also like to see amendments made to Pace that take into account exceptional positions that investigators sometimes find themselves in. Karen remembers one incident where dog dirt was smeared on her cardigan and she was made to put it on. Senior Investigating Officer Steve Fulcher is in charge of handling the case and firmly believes that Sian is still alive. After tonight's episode, the entire series will be available to stream via the ITV Hub. Time after time, she went to drug dens and dragged her home. "I'm left with a very bad taste in my mouth - it's the summary of it.". "I was surprised and disappointed," says Steve, who was told the confession would be inadmissible in court. There were members of the family on her dads side who said they had seen her. For other inquiries, Contact Us. When tracking her mobile phone, Fulcher's team. Its really interesting to be with him to just sort of see and try and understand how ones life can be f****** destroyed by something like this. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. And in general, right now, we will not get your daughter back., Fulcher wearily shakes his head, We wont get your daughter back., Catching a Serial Killer by Stephen Fulcher is published by Ebury at 7.99. Theres a good reason for that, because they are self-serving and hopeless generally speaking., Hell, it appears, hath no fury like a police officer scorned. A nice girl who had never been in trouble, her disappearance was immediately deemed out of character, and police acted quickly. Despite Halliwell's conviction being set back by four years by DS Fulcher's error - he was eventually convicted in 2016 when new evidence emerged - Becky's mother reveals she's now struck up a close friendship with the detective and his wife. They've actually become good friends of ours.'. There are so many questions Karen still needs answers to. In the end he links Sian's case to the disappearance of Becky. View our online Press Pack. He decided to leave Wiltshire Police in 2014 and had now told the Mirror that he is still "bitter" a decade after the events. He then calmly offered information about 20-year-old Becky Godden, who had been missing since 2003. Fulcher was tasked with investigating the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan, who was last seen leaving a nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire in the early hours of March 19, 2011. Shed gone off before, but shed always remembered Mothers Day and birthdays, she recalls. Continuing ITVs long-running penchant for excellent drama series is the newly released A Confession which first hit our screens on September 2nd. PACE mainly addresses police powers relating to searching an individual or premises the handling of seized evidence and the treatment and rights of suspects in custody, including during the interview stage. Its revealed in the article that, at the time, he was working for a private company in Mogadishu, Somalia, as a consultant, subcontracted to deliver aid from Foreign Office and DFID(Department for International Development) programmes outside the green zone. And whatever the public thinks about it and Im as liberal as the next person theres a very good chance hed have killed other women in the meantime., Fulcher was a lifer in the police force. Theresa May, who was a disaster as a home secretary, absolutely loathed the police, but particularly chief constables. "It's about keeping the peace, preventing and detecting crime and protecting life and property. He said: "What should have been a triumph became a disaster. Any mother would. Fulcher said he will be providing help to Rees as best he can, offering advice and support. CCTV footage showed her getting into a cab of local man Halliwell. But the injustice of it all and not necessarily being able to make it all better because obviously, it is out of your power, is very, very tough., Jeff Pope, who created the six-part drama, added: Ive said to him, theres an aspect of him, that seems to be a form of PTSD. Not only was Becky dead, but she had been for years. So far, so police procedural. What could I have done? and the best drama gives you the opportunity to insert yourself into a position thinking how would I have played this? and thats what he says a lot: What should I have done? The manner in which Steve gained Halliwells confessions breached police procedure by failing to caution him and denying access to a solicitor. Karen last saw her daughter in 2002, on that day theyd been in court. The press could be relentless, he warned; just look at the innocent Christopher Jefferies, who had become a front-page punchbag after the Joanna Yeates murder a couple of months before. Something went wrong, please try again later. Secondly, Fulcher wanted to look Halliwell in the eye and try to extract a confession from him. So its a fair question: what would you do if you were in Fulchers shoes that day? When do the clocks change in 2023? "I had people phoning me to offer me a job and when they do due diligence, which only consists of Googling me at the end of the day, not unreasonably they say: 'Look, I'm sorry, but we're not going to take this on. But in 2014, Fulcher resigned from the service. March 24, 2011 - Halliwell leads Detective. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. I think we've lost sight of that.". I got in touch with all the clubs nothing. EXCLUSIVE: It is exactly 10 years to the day since Sian O'Callaghan, who was murdered by Christopher Halliwell, went missing while walking home from a nightclub in Swindon - an investigation which ultimately cost Steve Fulcher his career. "The tragedy for me is that, quite clearly - and it's not my romanticism - quite clearly there are other victims. Digital Spy is launching a newsletter sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. "Everything about his MO, everything about the calls he received and made from prison - the notion that 'police are investigating me for eight murders', his own words. After four hours of unsupervised questioning - which saw Fulcher breaking Code C of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace) which protects the rights of an individual against the police with regard to questioning and detention - Halliwell eventually cracked and took the detective to where he had dumped Sian's body. However, the second murder charge, for the death of Becky Godden-Edwards was dropped. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Never.. Yet Karen thought about Becky constantly. Steve Fulcher said: "Halliwell murdered other people without any shadow of a doubt. But Fulcher breaches police procedure to ensure that justice prevails. And there was a second, more nebulous justification. Fortunately, there was enough forensic evidence including Sian's blood being found in the taxi and traces of Halliwell's DNA was on her body to convict the killer. Fulcher currently works for a private company in Mogadishu, Somalia. He has also written a book, 'Catching a Serial Killer', and featured in the 2018 documentary To Catch a Serial Killer with Trevor McDonald on ITV. What I do accept is that you cannot have a situation in which every police officer feels that he can breach Pace and point to me and say: Well, Steve Fulcher did it. But these are very explicit circumstances, recorded in detail at the time and presented fully, transparently and accurately by me to a court, laying myself open to what did happen to me, which is dismissal., Although he is adamant he is not bitter, Fulcher does struggle to keep his emotions in check. She had a white wicker coffin and Stargazer lilies. The music played as they said farewell to Becky was Coldplays Fix You, an apt choice. Over the coming years, Karens whole life became about getting Becky help, or dealing with the fallout from her addiction. "It is very unlikely that having killed Becky in 2003 and Sian in 2011 he committed no other offences in those eight years," he told Bradford Zone. The newsletter is emailed out first thing every morning, at 12noon and every evening. "It's incumbent on a police force to pursue an investigation into a known murderer and serial killer using. Then, suddenly, the police were at the door, with the most devastating news. Halliwell admitted to murdering Becky, and took Fulcher to the where he had disposed of Becky's body. Fulcher explained at his misconduct trial that he had been keen to lead Halliwell to the spot where the killer said he'd buried Becky and that's why he hadn't escorted him back to the nearest police station, as regulations dictate, to formalise his confession. He joined aged 21 and ascended smoothly through the ranks: constable to sergeant to inspector and then, in 2007, to detective superintendent, the highest rank for a boots-on-the-ground police officer. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. It doesn't even sound true.". Fulcher was tasked with investigating the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan, who was last seen leaving a nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire in the early hours of March 19, 2011. The taxi driver was eventually convicted of the murder of Becky in 2016 when new evidence arose. In 2016, a judge, Sir John Griffith Williams, decided that the evidence collected by Fulcher about Becky Godden could and should be heard in court. Fulcher said of Rees: "He was willing to stand because he's spent his entire life working for Wiltshire Police. Judge Mrs Justice Fox has regarded the confession evidence as inadmissible as Fulcher had failed to caution Halliwell and denied him access to a solicitor at the time he had confessed. You can unsubscribe at any time. Although not technically fired, the stress led Fulcher to take leave from work and he began taking antidepressants and sleeping pills. I'm not a expert in Pace but I'm a person and I'm alive and I can't think of what else he should have done," he ruminated. Halliwells confession to Beckys murder had been given without him being reminded of his rights by DS Fulcher subsequently described, wrongly, as a police blunder meaning he couldnt be held to account for killing Becky. She started her own petition to have charges brought, trudging streets to collect signatures. "Which ever way you slice it when he asks that question, 'What should I have done?' Edwards only knows that some time between 2002 and 2003, when her daughter was 21, her path crossed with taxi driver Christopher Halliwell and she was never seen again. Halliwell, serving life for killing Sian, was convicted of Beckys murder in September 2016. Its been a horrendous experience, and I really feel for people like Paul Gambaccini [the BBC radio presenter wrongly arrested during Operation Yewtree, the investigation into historic sex offences]. The popular office worker had been partying in Swindon, Wiltshire before she set off on the 800m journey back to her flat. Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman, lost his career after catching a serial killer Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher resigned from Wiltshire Police in May 2014 ( Image: PA) As. He argues that Karen might never have known what had happened to her daughter had Fulcher taken Halliwell back to the police station rather than interrogating him right then and there. I doubt any person in this room or anyone we have ever met would want someone to behave differently were it our child, it comes down to that. However, the actions he took to try to save Sian and later Beck Godden-Edwards, cost him his career and reputation. This man paid a really high price for something that I think we'd all be hard pushed to condemn him for, apart from in the minutiae of Pace.". If you were in my position, what would you do? he asks. And disappointed, '' says Steve, who had never been in,! That day Godden-Edwards, cost him his career and reputation procedure to ensure that Justice prevails dog was. Navigating to the user icon in the eye and try to save Sian and later Beck,! Was willing to stand because he 's spent his entire life working for police... Character, and was later sentenced to life imprisonment for her death breaches... Before resigning from the force Karen says had a white wicker coffin and Stargazer lilies, says Fulcher.. 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