Sinister South Podcast

Victims: Rachel Nickell, 23 (L), Jazmine Bisset, 4, Samantha Bisset, 27 (R)

Perpetrator: Robert Napper, 27
Date of Incident: Rachel Nickell Murder: July 15, 1992 / Samantha & Jazmine Bisset
Location: Wimbledon Common & Plumstead

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​Key Details: 

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• Samantha Bissett Murder:

  • Stabbed in the neck and chest

  • Sexually assaulted

  • Body mutilated post-mortem

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• Jazmine Bissett Murder:

  • Smothered to death

  • Arranged on her bed surrounded by toys

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• Rachel Nickell Murder:

  • Attacked while walking with her son on Wimbledon Common

  • Stabbed 49 times and sexually assaulted post-mortem

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• Investigation Failures:

  • Napper was twice identified through e-fits but failed to show up for DNA testing

  • His mother reported his rape confession in 1989, but police errors prevented follow-up

  • Napper's attack locations were marked in his A to Z map, including Wimbledon Common, which police overlooked

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• Colin Stagg:

  • Wrongly accused and charged for Rachel Nickel's murder based on a psychological profile

  • Undercover operation (honey trap) failed to elicit a confession

  • Acquitted in 1994 due to lack of evidence; received £706,000 in compensation

  • Suffered public suspicion and media scrutiny, affecting his life significantly

  • Co-authored two books about his ordeal: "Who Really Killed Rachel" and "Pariah"

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• Capture and Conviction:

  • Napper's DNA matched to the Nickel case in 2004

  • Pleaded guilty to manslaughter of Nickel on grounds of diminished responsibility in 2008

  • Sentenced to indefinite detention at Broadmoor Hospital

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• Psychological Profile:

  • Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia

  • Displayed obsessive-compulsive behaviours and social withdrawal

  • History of sexual deviance and violent behaviour

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• Additional Details:

  • Forensic evidence re-examined in 2001 and 2004 led to Napper’s capture

  • Napper's crimes included a series of rapes known as the Green Chain Walk rapes

  • His crimes were characterised by extreme violence and post-mortem mutilation of victims

  • Napper was first convicted of an air gun offence in 1986 and later for rapes on Plumstead Common in 1989