Rikki Neave murderer James Watson loses appeal against conviction

By Helen Burchell and Brian Farmer

BBC News, Cambridgeshire and Press Association

A man jailed last year for murdering a six-year-old boy in 1994 has lost his appeal against his conviction.

Rikki Neave’s body was found in woods near his Peterborough home the day after he disappeared.

James Watson, now aged 42 but 13 at the time, was convicted in April last year and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years.

Rikki’s mother Ruth Neave said the ruling marked the end of a “horrific and tragic journey”.

Watson had challenged his conviction at a Court of Appeal hearing in London in June, but a panel of three judges have now dismissed his case at the Court of Appeal.

Jennifer Dempster KC, who led Watson’s appeal, had argued that a “wholesale loss and destruction of evidence” in the case meant a fair trial had not been possible for her client.

“It closed down completely any opportunity for the defence to explore the potential of other suspects,” she said.

However, John Price KC, for the Crown Prosecution Service, had told appeal judges there was no evidence that Watson’s case had been affected.

“The applicant failed to demonstrate that there was any prejudice caused to him by the loss of the material that has been identified,” he said.

“If there was… we do not accept that it was not capable of being ameliorated in the usual way.”

In November 1994, the body of Rikki was found naked and posed star-shaped with his arms outstretched and legs wide apart, in woodland near where he lived on the Welland estate. He had been strangled.

Watson denied murder but was found guilty by a jury and sentenced at the Old Bailey in London last June.

Watson, who also lived on the Welland estate, was the second person to stand trial for Rikki’s murder, after the boy’s mother Ruth Neave was cleared by a jury in 1996.

Three appeal judges – Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Morris and Judge Angela Morris – said Watson’s appeal against his conviction had failed and “must accordingly be dismissed”.

In a written ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde said lawyers representing Watson had argued his prosecution was an “abuse” of process because the “unavailability of important exhibits meant that it was impossible for him to have a fair trial”.

He said Watson’s lawyers had also complained about the trial judge allowing “bad character” evidence to be considered by jurors.

Prosecutors had “applied to adduce” evidence showing that Watson had a sexual interest in young boys and in strangulation, he said.

But the trial judge had held that it was “open to the jury to find that the killing had a sexual element”.

He added: “We are… satisfied that the judge was correct to find that the appellant could and would have a fair trial.

“We are satisfied that the judge did not err in admitting the bad character evidence.”

Watson’s lawyers also argued that remarks by the trial judge placed “undue pressure” on the jury to reach a verdict.

Lord Justice Holroyde said: “Taking the remarks collectively, we are satisfied that they could not have caused any juror to feel under any pressure to compromise his or her oath, and they do not render the conviction unsafe.”

Speaking after Watson’s appeal was dismissed, Ruth Neave thanked police officers and prosecutors “for all the hard work they have done to get Rikki and me the truth and justice after nearly 30 years” and said their “dedication and hard work have resulted in a monster being jailed for the murder of my son”.

She told the BBC: “The news today brings to an end a very long journey of horror and tragedy. This is the end of a chapter and the start of a new one.

“Now Rikki can rest in peace, and I can start a new chapter and start living again.”

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