Overview
- On July 15, 1992, 23-year-old Rachel Nickell was attacked on Wimbledon Common while her toddler son witnessed the assault and she was stabbed 49 times.
- The original inquiry wrongly focused on local dog‑walker Colin Stagg after police used a covert 'honeytrap' operation that a judge later criticised and which led to the collapse of the case.
- A cold‑case DNA review later linked Robert Napper to Nickell’s murder; he pleaded guilty, was sentenced in 2008 and remains detained indefinitely at Broadmoor hospital under the Mental Health Act.
- Alex and André Hanscombe have given new interviews and appear in the Netflix documentary while actors portray them in a dramatisation that arrives on June 4, renewing public attention.
- Leaked Crown Prosecution Service material and reporting suggest Napper may have attacked many women and have prompted fresh calls for the Metropolitan Police to explain investigative failures and missed opportunities to stop him sooner.