POLICE have apologised for their failings in the Babes in the Wood case after a double child killer escaped justice for 30 years.
Russell Bishop strangled nine-year-old Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Brighton in 1986 but was cleared of the double murder a year later.
Just three years after he walked free, the monster was sentenced to life for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs.
Bishop was finally convicted over Nicola and Karen's death in December 2018 but served just four years for the double murder after he passed away in 2022.
Sussex Police today apologised for their failings in the original investigation, which saw Nicola's father Barrie arrested.
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Bishop sickeningly tried to cast doubt on Barrie - claiming he had watched his daughter being filmed while she was sexually abused.
He was questioned by police following his daughter's death and a hate campaign was started on the Moulescoomb estate where he lived - forcing him to leave.
Graffiti daubed on a nearby house read: "Fellows Out" as locals hungry for justice sought out someone to pin the horrific slaughter on.
Even after Barrie moved, he continued to be shrouded in suspicion by police who arrested him in 2009 over an alleged plot to rape Nicola before her death that turned out to be completely baseless.
The officers who arrested him were not aware that the allegations had already been investigated and dismissed in 1988.
Chief Constable of Sussex Police Jo Shiner confirmed there was no evidence he had done anything wrong.
She said: "The murders of Karen and Nicola were horrific crimes which rocked the local community, and still resonate today.
"The impact on the community, however, pales into insignificance against the lifelong impact these crimes had on Karen and Nicola's parents and families.
"Not only did they have to cope with the loss of two children in the worst possible circumstances; following Bishop's acquittal in 1987, they campaigned tirelessly to ensure that their children received some justice, and Bishop was finally convicted in 2018.
"It is clear that, despite the successful prosecution in 2018, mistakes were made in those earlier investigations in 1986 and 2009.
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"On behalf of Sussex Police, I have met in person with both families to formally and personally apologise for those failings in the initial investigation.
"I have further apologised to Nicola's father, Barrie Fellows, for his unjustified arrest in 2009 and for the distress and the long-lasting impact this had on him and his family.
"I make it clear now. Barrie should not have been arrested. There was, and remains, no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part.
"It is evident that Nicola and Karen's families were let down by Sussex Police in the past and it is right that we own and learn from these mistakes.
"My thoughts remain with Karen and Nicola's parents and families and it is my sincere hope that our apologies today will help them finally have some form of closure."
Karen was discovered lying across Nicola with her head in her friend's lap and their hands close together following the murder in Wild Park.
"Wicked" Bishop took part in a police hunt for the girls and appeared "grief-stricken" when told they were dead.
In his evil attempt to throw cops off, he also produced a series of fake alibis, including a "wild man" of the woods and his drug dealer.
But he gave harrowing details of the murder scene only the killer could have known - including how one of the girls had foam around her mouth.
Bishop, then aged 20, was subsequently charged with the murders but was cleared after a trial at Lewes Crown Court in 1987.
The fiend lapped up publicity - warning the double child killer was still at large.
He even vowed to "keep fighting" in sickening TV interviews - and claimed the ordeal would stay with him for life.
Bishop was put on trial for the second time over the killings under the double jeopardy law following a DNA breakthrough.
He was finally convicted of the murder in 2018 - 32 years after the horrific double killing.
Bishop died in January 2022 after being rushed to hospital from top security HMP Frankland, Co Durham.
