THE independent candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner says he will push for a new investigation into a murderer currently serving two life sentences.
Christopher Halliwell pleaded guilty in 2012 to the murder of Becky Godden-Edwards and Sian O’Callaghan, and Mike Rees says it "has long been suspected" that he also killed other women.
The investigation by Wiltshire Police, according to Mike, "has apparently fizzled out".
He has now pledged to re-investigate the case, should he be elected to PCC.
'All lines of enquiry must be exhausted'
Mike Rees is running for Wiltshire police and crime commissioner, with former Det Supt Steve Fulcher
Mike said: "It has long been suspected that there are potentially more victims.
"The Wiltshire public, and in fact the UK public need to be satisfied that all lines of enquiry have been exhausted. From my personal knowledge of the case, I don’t believe this to be the case.
“Wiltshire Police is one of the most poorly funded in the country and I suspect this is one of the reasons this has not been pursued vigorously."
He added that, if elected, he intends to speak with and encourage the Chief Constable to re-visit this matter and will "support him by seeking extra funding, if required, allowing us to exhaust every avenue to find out if there are other victims of this killer.”
Mike worked on the Halliwell case ten years ago and was one of the officers who searched for the remains of Becky Godden-Edwards which were found in a field in Gloucestershire.
Becky’s mum Karen Edwards has long campaigned for more work to be done around the activities of her daughter’s killer.
'Moral duty to keep investigating'
Undated ITV Handout Photo from A Confession. Pictured: (L-R) Martin Freeman as Steve Fulcher and Joe Absolom as Christopher Halliwell. See PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Staunton. Picture credit should read: ©ITV. WARNING: This picture must only be
Mike said: “Some cases stay with you. Based on my 30 years’ police experience and as a former detective, I feel there is a moral duty to try to find out if there are other victims of this man.
"I’ll be open and honest with the public throughout any investigation so that they can be confident that Wiltshire Police have done their utmost with the evidence available – especially given there’s no indication that Halliwell will cooperate with any investigation.”
Mike’s pledge has been backed by Steve Fulcher, the former detective superintendent who was the original senior investigation officer (SIO) into the abduction and killing of Sian O’Callaghan.
Steve left Wiltshire Police in 2014 after becoming subject to an investigation over decisions he made when questioning the killer.
Halliwell admitted killing another woman and offered to show Steve where he’d buried her body.
Steve has always stood by the decisions he made in the fast-moving situation of a high-pressure murder case.
Steve’s side of the story was told in his own book ‘Catching A Serial Killer – My Hunt For Murderer Christopher Halliwell’ which was later made into an ITV series ‘A Confession’ where Steve was played by actor Martin Freeman.
To find out more about the other PCC candidates for Swindon and Wiltshire, click here.
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