{"id":5143,"date":"2026-06-11T16:53:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2026-06-11T16:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:53:35","slug":"colin-stagg-stalker-10-years-after-wrongful-arrest-for-rachel-nickell-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/06\/11\/colin-stagg-stalker-10-years-after-wrongful-arrest-for-rachel-nickell-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Stalker’s disturbing demand for Colin Stagg after wrongful arrest for Rachel Nickell\u2019s murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

While The Witness focuses on the murder of Rachel Nickell and its impact on her loved ones, Andr\u00e9 and Alex Hanscombe, a throwback interview reveals that Colin Stagg was still dealing with terrifying harassment more than a decade after he was wrongly accused of the crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the book Letting Go by Rachel\u2019s son Alex, The Witness was released alongside documentary The Murder of Rachel Nickell on Netflix<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both detail the shocking murder of Rachel<\/a>, 23, who was brutally attacked in broad daylight walking across Wimbledon Common with her then-two-year-old son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the incident took place on July 15, 1992, the real perpetrator, Robert Napper, wasn\u2019t convicted of the crime until 2008. The Netflix series and the documentary focus on the impact this had on Andr\u00e9 and Alex, as well as the errors made by the Met Police during the investigation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo
Credit: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Years prior, a man named Colin 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite no forensic evidence linking him to the crime, the mission continued, with the undercover police officer – using the pseudonym Lizzie James – trying to elicit a confession.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When she told him she enjoyed hurting people, he replied, \u201cPlease explain, as I live a quiet life. If I have disappointed you, please don’t dump me. Nothing like this has happened to me before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She then said, \u201cIf only you had done the Wimbledon Common murder, if only you had killed her, it would be all right,\u201d to which Stagg replied, \u201cI’m terribly sorry, but I haven’t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the lack of any evidence, Stagg was arrested and charged with Rachel\u2019s murder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn’t until the trial in 1994 when he was acquitted, with the judge ruling the evidence as inadmissible and saying the police were guilty of a \u201cblatant attempt to incriminate a suspect\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stagg eventually received \u00a3706,000 in compensation, but as he later revealed, the damage had nothing to do with money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Colin Stagg had a stalker years after being acquitted<\/h2>\n