Roy Whitting

Summary

Roy Whiting was convicted of the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 24 November 2002, Home Secretary David Blunkett ordered that Roy Whiting must serve a minimum of 50 years in prison, making him ineligible for parole until 2051, when he would be 92.

Background

Roy Whitting (also shown as Roy Whiting) was born in Horsham, West Sussex, on 26 January 1959. He was described as a former car mechanic and as a convicted child killer. He was held in the maximum security Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire.

He left school in 1975 with no academic qualifications. He later worked in several jobs, including deliveries for the local Co-operative store and working as a car mechanic and paintsprayer at a local garage.

In 1986 he married a 19-year-old woman named Linda. They separated in April 1987, just before the birth of their son Terry, and they divorced in 1990. He was also involved in banger racing during the late 1980s and abandoned his interest due to a lack of success.

Roy Whitting was the second of three children born to George and Pamela Whitting, whose divorce occurred during the 1970s. He had an older brother, Peter, and a younger sister, Gillian. He attended Ifield Community College and also attended Jordans School in Crawley, West Sussex.

The offence

1995 abduction and sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl

On 4 March 1995, Whitting abducted and sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl in Langley Green, Crawley. He was arrested a few weeks later after a man who knew Whitting came forward after hearing that the abductor’s car had been a red Ford Sierra.

Three months later, Whitting admitted charges of abduction and indecent assault. He was sentenced to four years in prison. The maximum sentence would have been a life sentence for the crime, but the sentence was reduced because he had admitted the crime. After his conviction, a psychiatrist said he was likely to re-offend once released.

After serving part of his sentence, he refused to take part in a prison scheme designed to rehabilitate sex offenders and was forced to serve an extra five months in prison before being released on licence as a penalty for refusing to undergo a sex offenders rehabilitation course.

Murder of Sarah Payne

Sarah Payne was murdered in the United Kingdom. The case was associated with the period 13 October 1992 – 1 July 2000. Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne was murdered by car mechanic Roy William Whiting (born 26 January 1959).

Sarah Payne disappeared on 1 July 2000 from a cornfield near the home of her grandparents (Terence and Lesley Payne) in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, England, where she was playing with her brothers and sister aged between five and 13. A nationwide search was under way within 48 hours, and Sarah’s parents made numerous television appeals for her safe return.

On 17 July, a girl’s body was found in a field near Pulborough, some 15 miles (24 km) from the village of Kingston Gorse (near Littlehampton). The following day, forensic science tests confirmed that the body was Sarah’s. The Sussex Police began a murder investigation.

During the trial, the court heard that Sarah’s naked and decomposed body was found on July 17 in a shallow grave just six inches deep. The court heard that her make-shift burial site would have taken just six minutes to dig. A pathologist who analysed Sarah’s body told the court that the eight-year-old had met a “violent death” and she was the victim of a “sexually motivated homicide”.

Sarah’s body was also described as found just 3 miles (5 km) from the service station where Whiting had bought fuel on the night Sarah disappeared.

Investigation

On 2 July 2000, officers from Sussex Police visited Whiting’s flat making inquiries into the disappearance of Sarah Payne. The officers left his flat but were suspicious of his lack of concern for Sarah.

When Whiting re-appeared and attempted to drive away in his van, he was stopped by the police and arrested. He spent two days in custody, but the police had no concrete evidence. A receipt for fuel at Buck Barn garage near Pulborough contradicted Whiting’s story of being home by 10.00pm on the night Sarah disappeared, and the receipt also contradicted an alibi described as being at a funfair in Hove at 5:30 p.m. and then returning to his flat by 9.30 p.m.

When Whiting was released on bail, he went to live with his father in Crawley while his flat in St Augustine’s Road / Saint Augustine’s Road was being searched by forensic experts. No evidence was found in his flat suggesting Sarah had been there.

Whiting was subsequently re-arrested on 31 July 2000 / “soon after” after Sarah’s body was found, on suspicion of murder. Despite Sarah’s body being discovered just 3 miles (5 km) from the service station where Whiting had bought fuel and Whiting’s failure to confirm his alibi, there was still not enough evidence to press charges, and Whiting was released on bail again.

A few days after his second arrest, Whiting moved out of his father’s house after a vigilante mob smashed the windows with bricks and went to live in a tent in woodland behind a housing estate in Crawley. Whiting then took to the road in a stolen Vauxhall Nova and was pursued by police at speeds of up to 70 mph (112 km/h) before he crashed into a parked car and was arrested on dangerous driving charges.

When Whiting began his jail term for car theft, detectives were able to carry out forensic tests on his Fiat Ducato van, described as his F-registered white Fiat Ducato van. The van was said to have been bought on 23 June 2000.

By 6 February 2001, Sussex Police had found enough evidence to charge Whiting and he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on charges of abduction and murder.

Arrest

Whiting was arrested after officers stopped him when he attempted to drive away in his van following the visit to his flat on 2 July 2000. He spent two days in custody.

He was later re-arrested on suspicion of murder / was re-arrested on 31 July 2000 in connection with Sarah Payne’s disappearance and subsequent identification of the body.

He was arrested on dangerous driving charges after the police pursuit in a stolen Vauxhall Nova, was remanded in custody until 27 September 2000, and admitted taking the car and driving dangerously / admitted taking the car and driving dangerously on 27 September 2000.

Trial

On 6 February 2001, following a police enquiry, Roy Whiting was charged with the murder of Sarah Payne. He denied the charges and was remanded in custody to await trial.

The trial began on 14 November 2001 at Lewes Crown Court. The jury heard from several witnesses.

Key witnesses included Sarah Payne’s oldest brother Lee, who had seen a scruffy-looking man with yellowish teeth drive past the field where he and his siblings had been playing at the time Sarah vanished. Lee was described as five years older than Sarah. It was also stated that Lee had failed to pick Whiting out of an identity parade during the early days of the investigation.

A female motorist, described as Deborah Bray, found one of Sarah’s shoes in a country lane several miles from where her body was found. Forensic experts found fibres from Whiting’s van on the shoe. This was described as the only item of Sarah’s clothing to be recovered.

Another evidence described at the trial was a strand of blonde hair on a T-shirt found in Whiting’s van. The forensic experts who made this discovery said there was a one-in-a-billion chance of it belonging to anyone other than the victim, Sarah Payne. It was also stated that DNA test results meant there was a one-in-a-billion chance of the hair belonging to anyone other than Sarah Payne.

The trial was described as particularly notable for extensive use of forensic sciences, including entomology, pathology, geology, archaeology, environmental profiling, and oil/lubricant analysis. It was stated that twenty forensic experts from a variety of fields were employed during the inquiry and that the cost of the investigation involved a thousand personnel and cost more than £2 million.

On 12 December 2001, Roy Whiting was convicted of the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne.

Sentencing

Roy Whiting was sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 December 2001.

The trial judge, Richard Curtis / Mr Justice Curtis (shown in the material as Mr Justice Curtis and Richard Curtis), said it was a rare case in which a life sentence should mean life. The judge also told Whiting:

“You are and you will remain an absolute menace to any girl. This is one of the rare cases when I shall recommend to the appropriate authorities that you will be kept in prison for the rest of your life.”

The judge said he was satisfied Whiting was out hunting for children and said he had turned his van into a “moving prison”.

The court was told the van contained a rope, knife, ties and soft materials.

Appeals

Within 48 hours of the ruling made on 24 November 2002, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of another convicted murderer, Anthony Anderson, who was challenging the right of politicians to decide how long a murderer must spend in prison before being considered for parole.

In June 2004, it was confirmed that Whiting was going to apply to the Court of Appeal for a new minimum term to be set, although it was also described as having yet to be heard.

Outcome

Roy Whiting was convicted of the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne and received a life sentence. On 24 November 2002, Home Secretary David Blunkett ordered a minimum term of 50 years in prison.

Aftermath

After Whiting’s conviction of killing Sarah Payne, it was revealed that he was already a convicted child sex offender.

Renewed calls were made for the government to allow controlled public access to the sex offender’s register, leading to what was known as Sarah’s Law. The campaign was spearheaded by the News of the World newspaper and began in July 2000 in response to the murder of Sarah Payne. Sarah’s parents backed the campaign and believed a child sex offender had been responsible for Sarah’s death, a belief described as proved correct when Whiting was found guilty and it was revealed he already had a conviction for abducting and indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl. The aim was described as allowing controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register so parents with young children could know if a child sex offender was living in their area. Sarah’s mother insisted that such a law would have saved Sarah’s life.

In December 2002, Essex man Stuart Campbell was convicted of murdering his niece Danielle Jones, whose body had never been found. It was revealed that Campbell had served a prison sentence for holding a young girl against her will and had been placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Sarah’s mother said that Sarah’s Law would have saved Danielle Jones’s life, as her family had been unaware of his past as a sex offender, while the government continued to refuse public access to the Sex Offenders Register.

International parallels were described as similar to Megan’s Law in the USA, in honour of murder victim Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by her neighbour Jesse Timmendequas in 1994. The killer’s trial revealed he was a convicted child rapist. Megan’s Law even shows photographs and addresses of sex offenders. Sarah’s Law was described as giving lesser details, probably only knowledge that a child sex offender was living in a certain area.

Debate over effectiveness was described, including issues about risk of “vigilante” actions, mistaken identity, increased stereotyping and reduced housing/employment prospects, the “finesse” of American definitions of “sex offender” including indecent exposure being classified as sex offences, risks of sex offenders avoiding registration with offender management services, and the nature of offending being misrepresented by Sarah’s Law. The material stated that research suggested reoffending rates over a six year period run at around 8.5%, suggesting reoffending was not as suggested by some commentators. It also stated that for rape, 83% of attackers are known to their victims and 54% are partners or former partners, suggesting “stranger danger” had been exaggerated.

Sarah Payne’s mother, Sara Payne, subsequently wrote a book titled “Sara Payne: A Mother’s Story” about Sarah’s murder and the aftermath, including her campaign for Sarah’s Law. The book was published in 2004.

In July 2001, it was reported that Payne’s parents received £11,000 compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The offer was described as a “sick joke” and “derisory”.

Prison incident

On 4 August 2002, Whiting was attacked with a razor by another prisoner while fetching hot water at Wakefield Prison. Convicted killer Rickie Tregaskis was found guilty of carrying out the slashing that left Whiting with a six-inch scar on his right cheek.

Rickie Tregaskis, described as serving life imprisonment with a 20-year recommended minimum for the 1999 murder of a disabled man in Cornwall, was later sentenced. In June 2004, Tregaskis received a six-year sentence (to run concurrently alongside his life sentence) after being found guilty on a wounding charge relating to the attack on Roy Whiting, and it was stated this would not mean he would have to serve extra time when (and if) the Parole Board decided he could be freed on life licence.

Additional details

A BBC News entry described the verdict as unanimously reached by a jury of nine men and three women and stated that the judge told Whiting: “You are and you will remain an absolute menace to any girl. This is one of the rare cases when I shall recommend to the appropriate authorities that you will be kept in prison for the rest of your life.” It also recorded that as Whiting turned in the dock to be led down to the cells, Sarah’s grandfather, Terry Payne, shouted: “I hope you rot.”

The material also described that Whiting served just over two years of his four-year sentence for the previous assault and that he refused to take part in a prison scheme designed to rehabilitate sex offenders.

It also described an earlier assault in which Whiting was said to have been released from jail for the sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl. It stated that he bundled a nine-year-old girl into the back of his Ford Sierra in the village of Ifield near Crawley before sexually assaulting her, and that probation officers branded him a “dangerous paedophile” and put him under close watch between November 1997 to March 1998, seeing him once a week.

The material also described that widespread national revulsion at the crime led to a Sunday newspaper printing the names and photographs of sex offenders and that Sarah’s parents backed the campaign, while anti-paedophile mobs started demonstrating and attacking people they thought guilty.

It described multiple arrest attempts and releases of arrested men, and that the arrested men were released over the next two weeks during a nationwide search.

It also described that Whiting was regarded as someone who would do jobs on the side for knocked down prices and described him as an introverted loner with few friends, and that after his release he moved to St Augustine’s Road, Littlehampton.

It described that in 1984 he met his future wife, a petrol pump attendant, and that they married in 1986.