The Witness writer and creator Rob Williams has opened up about the case at the centre of the new Netflix drama, including what he found to be one of the “most tragic” discoveries after Rachel Nickell’s murder. Based on the book Letting Go by Rachel’s son Alex Hanscombe, The Witness was released alongside documentary The Murder of Rachel Nickell, delving into the heartbreaking case. Rachel, 23, was walking across Wimbledon Common with her two-year-old son Alex and the family dog when she was brutally attacked in broad daylight on July 15, 1992. The young mother was stabbed dozens of times and sexually assaulted, while Alex was left at the scene. According to reports, he was later found trying to comfort his mother’s body by passers-by. Credit: Netflix The murder sparked one of the biggest police investigations in British history, but despite intense public pressure to find the killer, detectives initially focused on local man Colin Stagg. Stagg was subjected to a controversial undercover “honeytrap” operation in which an officer posed as a woman and attempted to persuade him to confess to violent fantasies. But the case eventually collapsed, with a judge ruling the evidence as inadmissible. Years later, advances in DNA testing linked serial offender Robert Napper to the murder. Napper had already been convicted of the killings of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine before forensic evidence connected him to Rachel’s death. In 2008, Napper admitted responsibility for Rachel’s murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was detained indefinitely in a secure psychiatric hospital. The Witness also examines the controversy surrounding the investigation with regard to how Alex – the only person who saw what had happened – was treated, and how both Alex and his father André Hanscombe’s lives were turned upside down by the press. The Witness creator explains Rachel Nickell case tragedy Credit: Netflix Rob Williams opened up about the creation of the series in a conversation with the Independent, describing how Rachel’s son and partner, Alex and André, worked together on the Netflix show as consultants. Aside from the case itself, Williams said one of the most upsetting aspects he found was that no single individual was to blame for the investigation – the issue was far more systemic. “What’s extraordinary about Alex and André is their reluctance to vilify individuals,” the writer told the outlet. “They’re not vengeful. What we didn’t want to do was use this as an excuse to vilify police officers. “Speaking with Alex about it, we don’t think those officers set out to do a bad job. I think they were under incredible pressure, and they wanted to catch Rachel’s killer. The mistakes were bigger than individuals, really.” He went on to say that this is “one of the most tragic things about it in a way. I don’t think anybody set out to compound the horrendous situation. What it did show was that there are huge systemic failings.” Williams described this as being during “the last days of the police being an institution that people trusted and believed in.” How accurate is the Netflix show? Credit: Netflix He also clarified that the warning at the start of The Witness – that “some characters and aspects of the story have been changed or invented for dramatic purposes” – doesn’t mean they made huge edits to the story. “We’ve stayed really close to the evidence. However, what I hope we’ve done is give a voice to people who wouldn’t ordinarily get that,” Williams explained. That includes killer Robert Napper, who is now 60 and being held at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in England. Napper had a troubled upbringing and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, with a history of criminal violence. Elaborating on the scene in which Alex goes to visit Napper’s psychiatrist, Williams told the Independent, “What we wanted to get across was Alex’s willingness and desire to understand. It’s incredibly brave. “One of the things that really struck me was the parallels between these two young men who experienced awful things in their lives – you can use the word trauma – things they had to find a way to come back from. “And so, while nobody is taking away, or playing down, the awful things that Napper is responsible for, I think Alex’s desire to look beyond that is something I wanted to get across. And so did he.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Netflix Post navigation Next story
