India, June 9 -- Nearly thirty-five years after Rachel Nickell was killed on Wimbledon Common, the Netflix series The Witness revisits the 1992 tragedy and the subsequent breakdown of the police investigation.
A Tragic Crime and Failed Investigation
On July 15, 1992, 23-year-old Nickell was stabbed 49 times while walking with her young son, Alex. The subsequent criminal inquiry became heavily criticized after police wrongfully charged local resident Colin Stagg in 1993. The investigation was marked by:
* The use of honey trap tactics to coerce a false confession.
* A lack of forensic evidence connecting Stagg to the crime.
* Stagg spending 13 months in custody before being cleared.
Advanced DNA eventually identified Robert Napper as the ki...