While Bishop was being interviewed, a reporting restriction order granted on 12 April 2016 was circulated to the media. To the world at large this ensured that there could be no coverage of the ongoing enquiry – an enquiry those on the outside were oblivious to up until that point.
For Jeff and the team, however, it provided them with a freedom they struggled to come to terms with; they had been so used to working away under a veil of secrecy. Now, with the safety net of the media blackout, they could start approaching witnesses.
The first to know were the families. Their patience had been extraordinary. Even during their annual visits to Wild Park, they kept their part of the bargain. It would have looked odd if they had clammed up completely but, in hindsight, their calls for justice were subtly muted while the enquiry had been going on. The family liaison officers, who had been alongside them throughout the reinvestigation, were delighted to break the news that finally Bishop had been arrested. This was what the Fellowses, Hadaways and Heffrons had campaigned so hard for, but they saw the bigger picture. Any elation, or otherwise, would have to wait. Let the police do their job. Let justice prevail.
As word trickled out more widely, Jeff instructed his intelligence cell to monitor any online mention of Bishop or the case. Occasional blogs would crop up and some social media posts, but swift visits to the unwitting offenders damped down any breaches and soon silence was restored.
Up until this point Operation Yukon had been identifying and locating witnesses who might be called in any subsequent trial, but the team had been unable to approach them. This was a task in itself as many had moved, some had died and some just seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Regardless, the time the team had spent beavering away, using state-of-the-art analytical tools, meant they tracked down all of those still alive, one way or another.
It must have felt odd finally knocking on strangers’ doors and breaking the news that the Babes in the Wood enquiry was again up and running. The overwhelmingly positive reaction the officers received emboldened them. In hindsight it was probably not surprising that each witness, whether civilian or ex-police, had lived with this case since the day Bishop walked free from Lewes Crown Court. Few had truly moved on and once they were reassured that, in the event of them being called to give evidence, it would not be a memory test all were keen to play their part – even those who knew they would be in for a hard time.
As with the families, however, it was crucial to prepare witnesses for the long haul. Nothing was certain. The DNA tests were being rerun with DNA 17 against the excellent profile from the sample obtained from Bishop at Durham Police Station. Counsel were considering all the evidence, including the new interviews, and the Court of Appeal had yet to rule on the ‘safety of the acquittal.’
Once all the witnesses had been warned, the team began working frantically to pull together the submission for the DPP to authorize the next stage. While the police had a dedicated team who were well versed in the case, others were continuing with with their day jobs. Scientists, CPS solicitors and counsel were all juggling other cases, and this created a frustrating delay for Jeff Riley.
The forensic results seemed to take forever. Conferences with counsel and the CPS were a nightmare to co-ordinate. Everything seemed so sluggish. Despite working on this for four years, Jeff was more used to the cut and thrust of fast-time live investigations: a body found, witnesses to interview, suspects to arrest, evidence to secure. He did not do slow time.
A constant fear also nagged away at him. The Court of Appeal might think there was an acceptable case for the acquittals to be quashed but may also feel it had taken too long to bring the case. As an experienced SIO, Jeff had ensured that there were no unnecessary delays in any aspect of this huge, unprecedented case that were within his control. He reluctantly had to respect that others were not in the same position but at least he did all he could possibly do.
In March 2017, having considered all the evidence, with the relevant legal and public-interest tests applied and after a final verbal briefing from CPS lawyer, Libby Clark, and her boss, Nigel Pilkington, DPP Alison Saunders signed the authority which paved the way to the Court of Appeal. Now there was no turning back. The families were cautiously ecstatic. Another hurdle cleared, but many more on the horizon.
In August that year, the CPS hosted a meeting with the families where they set out the next steps, providing them with the reassurances that everyone was on their side.
Finally, the day came. On 6 December 2017, the families, police and CPS met at London’s Royal Courts of Justice for the long-awaited Court of Appeal hearing. Brian Altman QC, over the course of three hours, set out the Crown’s argument that there was new, compelling and reliable evidence to justify quashing Bishop’s acquittal. He covered the science and what it all meant, before drawing the comparisons between the attack on Claire and the murders of Karen and Nicola. Meanwhile Joel Bennathan QC, for Bishop, raised concerns regarding the integrity of the forensic evidence and how difficult it would be for witnesses to remember exactly what they did over thirty years ago.
The following day the court heard from Ros Hammond, who sought to provide them with the reassurances they needed that the science was new and the results reliable. The court, at this stage, was only concerned with the new evidence as this was what the threshold demanded. After two long days, the judges adjourned until 12 December, offering their condolences to the families for their unimaginable loss.
Everyone gathered on that Tuesday, nerves jangling, knowing the finality of what their lordships’ decision could bring. The judgement, delivered by Sir Brian Leveson, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, was brisk. He and his colleagues found that the tests set by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 had been met and thereby quashed Russell Bishop’s acquittal, effectively ordering the retrial many had thought impossible.
Jeff, his team and the families allowed themselves a brief moment of elation before steeling themselves for the biggest uphill struggle of their lives.