Forensic scientists have revealed how their discoveries led Ian Huntley to be found guilty of murdering 10-year-old schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.
The 50-year-old school caretaker killed the 10-year-old girls at his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002, in a case that shocked Britain.
Holly and Jessica had been at a family barbecue when they went to walk to a nearby shop for sweets – and their bodies were found nearly a fortnight later in a ditch.
Now, a new Channel 5 documentary has delved into the work of Professor Patricia Wiltshire and Dr Andrew Mocrieff, which led to Huntley’s lifelong incarceration for the double murder.
Discussing his work on The Soham Murder Trial, Andrew said: ‘I have never worked on a case that was lucky enough to produce such a clear, simple, and incontrovertible answer as this enquiry.’
A new Channel 5 documentary explores the work of Professor Patricia Wiltshire (pictured right) and Dr Andrew Mocrieff (pictured left) that helped prove Ian Huntley guilty of double murder
One of the first people on the scene when police found Jessica and Holly’s bodies was Professor Patricia Wiltshire.
Patricia arrived at the scene to see if there was evidence that Ian Huntley had been at the scene, a place known as the drove.
She recalled: ‘I could see footmarks going in sideways going down a bank, so I thought, “those are the footprints I’ll take my sample from”.
Patricia found intricate details from the soil and the surrounding plants. She said: ‘If you tread on that, you will have that profile on your foot, and by picking up all these different profiles, we can work out where you’ve been.’
‘When they identified Ian Huntley as the main suspect, I had three pairs of shoes, clothing, and we had petrol cans.
She continued: ‘And when those were analysed, low and behold, they resembled the drove.’
Patricia gave evidence about the work she carried out at the Old Bailey. ‘It was packed to the ceiling, but it was so silent, and you could hear our feet as you walk in, it’s quite disconcerting,’ she recalled.
Unsatisfied with just one forensic expert, the prosecution called in another to give additional evidence in front of the jury – Dr Andrew Moncrieff.
Holly Wells (left) and her best friend Jessica Chapman (right) pictured in their Manchester United shirts shortly before they disappeared in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4, 2002
School caretaker Ian Huntley (pictured), 50, was sentenced to two life terms over the double murder
Huntley’s girlfriend Maxine Carr (pictured) was jailed for three-and-a-half years for her role in the case
Andrew was hired to assist with the case one year after the murders. ‘I was driven to where the bodies were left,’ he recalled.
He continued: ‘That’s the most telling moment because when you find that the place where the crime happened is actually quite unusual with some really good, distinctive properties, then the pulse starts racing.’
‘Later that day, I was taken to examine the red Ford fiesta [Huntley’s car], and what I could see there was very, very, exciting.
‘I could see that there were lumps of chalk, which I had already identified from the track [at the drove].
‘It was something of a cornucopia… there was a large amount of material lodged in and around the car.’
Once Andrew had found evidence, he presented his findings in court. ‘The actual process of giving evidence on the day is quite intimidating, everybody is staring at you,’ he recalled.
Huntley got new tyres put on his old Ford Fiesta car, which aroused suspicion and led to police investigating the vehicle. He is pictured sitting in his car outside his home on August 8, 2002
‘The point that I was trying to get across to the jury was extremely simple. That car got these fragments of soil from the drove and nowhere else.
‘I have never worked on a case that was lucky enough to produce such a clear, simple, and incontrovertible answer as this enquiry.’
Andrew’s evidence led to a shocking revelation in the case. For the first time, Huntley admitted that he was in the house with the girls when they died.
‘I’ve never come across a situation like this, before or since,’ Andrew said. He added: ‘I do find myself thinking about the case quite often…it’s probably one of the most important things I’ve ever done, and I’m pretty sure that it’ll stay that way’.
Huntley’s girlfriend Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ school, was also jailed for three-and-a-half years after being convicted of perverting the cause of justice.
In 2018, Huntley pleaded for forgiveness, claimed he thought about the girls every day and apologised for the pain he caused his family and those of the victims.
The new Channel 5 documentary uses transcripts from the trial, first-hand testimony of those who were in the courtroom, and reconstruction of key moments, to reveal the prosecution’s strategy to prove that Huntley was guilty.
The Soham Murder Trial, Thursday 27th June, 9pm on Channel 5