The moment an undercover detective broke down under the weight of her role in the investigation into Rachel Nickell’s murder has been recreated for an upcoming Channel 4 drama.
A detective, only known by her codename Lizzie James, was used to befriend suspect Colin Stagg and lure him into making a confession.
Police had been investigating the murder of 23-year-old Rachel Nickell, who was stabbed 49 times in front of her young son on Wimbledon Common, when they pounced upon Stagg as their main suspect in the case.
Innocent loner Stagg was then contacted by Lizzie, played by 28-year-old Irish actress Niamh Algar, who called and wrote to him for five months – despite there being no evidence to link him to the 1992 murder.
The case against Stagg collapsed in 1994 when the judge threw the case out of court, ruling that the police evidence was inadmissible and denounced the honeytrap operation.
Lizzie took early retirement aged 33 in 1998 after the honeytrap operation, led by Detective Inspector Keith Pedder, played by Harry Treadway, was branded “reprehensible” by the judge.
(Image: PA)
However, she was awarded £125,000 compensation three years later after she claimed she wasn’t adequately supported by the Met.
Scenes filmed for Channel 4’s My Name Is Lizzie show see the detective collapse onto Leysdown Beach in Kent before making her way into the sea, fully clothed while holding a cigarette.
Robert Napper was convicted of Nickell’s manslaughter in 2008 on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his schizophrenia.
Following the conviction, the Metropolitan police issued an apology to Stagg and said in a statement at the time via Assistant Commissioner John Yates: “I must offer you an unreserved apology for the proceedings instigated against you in 1994. I acknowledge the huge and most regrettable impact this case has had on you for the last 16 years.”
Napper had only been linked to the killing in 2004 through advancements in forensic testing.
*My Name Is Lizzie will be air on Channel 4 next year
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/first-look-new-c4-rachel-23227000