Home / Crime and Justice / True Crime Author Claims Possession of Victim's Clothes
True Crime Author Claims Possession of Victim's Clothes
15 Aug
Summary
- Author claims to have possessed child murder victim's lost clothing.
- BBC was alerted to author's claims by two whistleblowers.
- Corporation previously apologized and settled with victim's mother.
The BBC was reportedly informed by whistleblowers that true crime author Christopher Berry-Dee claimed to have obtained the lost clothing of murder victim Karen Hadaway. Berry-Dee, known for his true crime books, allegedly boasted about possessing the clothes during the 1990s and 2000s.
Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows were murdered in 1986. The clothing Karen was wearing was given to journalist Martin Bashir in 1991 for a potential BBC documentary but was subsequently lost. The BBC discovered the clothes were missing in 2004 and later apologized, offering a financial settlement to Karen's mother.
Berry-Dee confirmed to The Guardian that he had obtained the clothes and claimed to have since burned them. However, his account of the timeline remains unclear. A lawyer for Bashir stated he had no recollection of Berry-Dee and that the clothing was left at the BBC's offices.
Further warnings were sent to the BBC's whistleblowing unit and the office of the then director general. The corporation stated that it reviewed the allegations and has since settled with Karen's mother, believing the matter thoroughly investigated.
