Sussex Police’s Achilles heel…the Jenkins case

The police case against Siôn Jenkins was always flawed, relying on innuendo rather than evidence. Sussex Police can no longer rely on that innuendo.

Today in 2023, facts are what matter. There are facts, still known by some today, that went unmentioned in 1997. They would have shed a very different light on the interpretation of events.

In the words of Linda Watson, victim of another major miscarriage of justice by Sussex Police in 1996, “truths that were so obvious were so deliberately misconstrued”.

There is still a profound need for a review of the investigation into Billie Jo’s murder, in the wider context of the performance of Sussex police in the last decade of the twentieth century.

The conduct of Sussex Police in the case of Siôn Jenkins has always been a contentious matter. It has to be hoped that the day will come when the truth of what actually took place will be disclosed.

  • The CV story : An account of how innuendo played its part in securing an unsafe conviction.

  • A bad year for justice in Sussex : 1997 was not a good year for Sussex police.

  • A time for integrity : The time has come for Sussex police to be held to account.

  • An invasion of privacy : David Jenkins, Siôn Jenkins’ father, made a disturbing discovery about the time when his son was in Wales on bail after the successful second appeal.

  • An Insider’s View… : Not everyone in Sussex Police was feeling comfortable…

  • A Dismal History : An overview of police conduct in this case, in the context of increasing public concern, over a number of years, about the force

  • Ten Years On : Sussex Police should accept the burden of their responsibility to find Billie-Jo’s murderer

  • Trail of Guilt : Immediately after Siôn Jenkins’ first appeal failed, the Sussex Police’s view was highlighted in this BBC 1 television programme.

  • The Richard Watson Murder : Text of an article by Bob Woffinden in The Daily Mail, 10 April 1999. It documents a saga of ineptitude by Sussex police in the Watson case, which has important parallels with the Jenkins case.