A look at André and Alex’s life in Spain now, 34 years after Rachel Nickell’s murder

After Netflix’s The Witness and The Murder of Rachel Nickell, here’s a look at what her husband André Hanscombe and son Alex Hanscombe are doing now, almost 34 years after the tragic murder.

The drama and true crime documentary both tell the tragic story of 23-year-old Rachel, who was stabbed 49 times while out walking with the family dog on Wimbledon Common in July 1992.

Alex was just three years old at the time and witnessed his mother being brutally murdered by a man called Robert Napper, but her killer wasn’t actually identified and sentenced until 2006.

André was left heartbroken over the loss of his girlfriend, while also having to deal with the effects of their son witnessing her murder. He moved them both to Spain to help Alex live a normal life, where they still live now.

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Inside André and Alex Hanscombe’s life in Spain now

André, 63, and Alex, 36, both live in Barcelona and are very close. After moving to Spain, Andre used to coach tennis, but he now focuses on writing.

Alex has had lots of jobs over the years. He is a certified hypnotherapist, musician and has trained in graphology, the analysis of handwriting for psychological purposes, his author bio reveals. The 36-year-old has spent recent years doing lots of travelling and studied yoga in India.

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The pair have written a collection of children’s books together called The Adventures of Little Louis, which helped “amuse and stimulate Alex in his recovery when they first fled to Europe over 20 years ago”. In 2017, Alex also released his own book called Letting Go: A true story of murder, loss and survival, where he wrote about his mother’s death and how he dealt with the trauma.

“Over the years, I have tried to make sense of and come to terms with what happened. Writing the book was part of that process, but it’s a complicated journey and, for me and my father, we never felt we’d got it quite right nor that we’d stopped growing, and we both felt that there was still a part of the story to share to truly honour my mother’s memory,” he said.

Credit: Netflix

“At the heart of sharing our journey from darkness to light is the desire to help others. We don’t always know why things happen, the ‘why?’ of our pain and suffering, nor are there guarantees of what our future will be – our message is to never give up or lose hope. That life is a battle worth fighting for, and that it’s worth sacrificing everything to follow what’s in your heart.”

The pair both moved back to London in summer 2024 to help on set with filming of The Witness, but have now returned to Spain.

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Featured image credit: Netflix