A murderer brought to justice more than 27 years after strangling a six-year-old boy has been jailed for life.
James Watson was 13 when he lured Rikki Neave into a forest just a few minutes walk from his home in Welland, Peterborough, on 28 November 1994.
The 41-year-old man was sentenced to serve a minimum of 15 years at the Old Bailey on Friday morning after being found guilty in April of the murder. The case had remained unresolved for nearly three decades.
Prosecutor John Price QC had said Watson would be convicted for his age at the time of the murder. The prosecution and defense agreed that the starting point was a 12-year-old.
There was “the clearest possible indication” of a sexual motive in the way Rikki’s naked body was displayed, he added.
Watson strangled the boy from behind with a tie or anorak necklace, to fulfill a “morbid fantasy” he had told his mother about three days earlier.
He undressed Rikki and put his naked body in the shape of a star for sexual gratification, deliberately “exposing” him near a den in a children’s forest. Rikki’s body was found the day after his disappearance.
The court heard several impact statements from the victims, first and foremost Rochelle Orr, one of Rikki’s younger sisters.
She said: “I was only three years old when Rikki was murdered and I was taken out of my family. After entering the care system, I suffered serious mental health problems.
“I remember Rikki feeding me, washing me and helping me with my clothes.
“He’s missed a lot of our lives, happy moments we’ve been through. I also wonder what he would be like if he were still here, but unfortunately I’ll never know because I was taken away.”
James Watson has a long criminal history that includes convictions for stealing cars and setting fire to a British transport police station.
(CPS / PA)
Rebecca Maria Harvey, Rikki’s older sister, broke up while on her way to court.
She said, “Even though I was the eldest, it wasn’t like that because he would take care of me. Losing Rikki was like losing the other half of me.
“I still wake up every day thinking it was a nightmare. I never had a brother to grow up with.
“Rikki is the one who is not here and lost her life, but the effect this had on me and my family is endless.”
“I can’t understand what happened or why. This has been so traumatic, not knowing what happened to him or why. Not only did I lose Rikki, but I lost my whole family.
“I miss him so much. All our lives have been turned upside down and since then nothing has been the same.”
Addressing Watson, but without using his name, he said, “After all these years of living your life … you finally have your rise and Rikki Lee Harvey finally gets justice.”
Police initially charged Rikki Neave’s mother with murder, but she was acquitted after a trial.
(PA)
Jennifer Dempster QC, in defense of Watson, said the most important mitigation of her client was her age at the time of the offense.
He also said there were “particularly sensitive issues” in Watson’s life, not issued in court, that made him vulnerable and that he was cared for in 1993 after being assaulted by his father.
She said: “The same accused was a victim at the hands of other people.
“The defendant’s education and general childhood were affected by the fact that he was disappointed by a variety of adults in his life who should not have done so.”
Mrs Dempster added: “This was a young man, a young boy, who really had no stability in his life.”
He added that there was no evidence “in any way or form” that Watson had sexually assaulted Rikki.
Police had initially charged Rikki’s mother, Ruth Neave, with murder, but she was acquitted after a trial in 1996. However, she was jailed for crimes of child cruelty, a conviction that has now said he hopes to challenge.
At that time Watson was spoken to as a witness because they saw him with Rikki on the day of his disappearance.
But his lying story was not questioned and was not considered suspicious until a DNA breakthrough years later linked him to Rikki’s discarded clothes.
Ruth Neave left Rikki’s funeral in 1995
(John Giles / PA)
Watson was found guilty of murder by the majority after an Old Bailey jury deliberated for 36 hours and 31 minutes.
Earlier, the court learned how police knew of Watson’s sexual interest in the younger boys, who interviewed him for a complaint that upset a five-year-old boy in 1993.
More disturbing behavior was observed in Watson’s children’s home, including him masturbating with photos of young children in underwear and keeping a dead pheasant in his room, according to the court.
Prosecutors said it was no coincidence that, three days before the murder, Watson was the source of a fake radio report about the strangulation of a two-year-old boy.
Immediately after Rikki’s murder in identical circumstances, Watson became obsessed with the newspaper coverage of the murder, copying front-page stories into the school.
Jurors heard that key evidence in the case against Watson included Weikabix’s last meal of Rikki, which set the time of his death around noon.
It meant that Rikki was killed shortly after being seen with Watson heading into the woods where he used to play.
Peterborough Forest where the body of six-year-old Rikki Neave was found in November 1994.
(Alan Water / PA)
Rikki’s muddy Clarks shoes also indicated that his walk through the woods was a one-way trip.
In a police interview in 2016, Watson tried to explain the presence of his DNA in Rikki’s clothes by stating that he caught him looking at the excavators through a hole in a fence.
Prosecutor John Price QC said it was his “really big mistake,” as police were able to prove the fence was not there in 1994.
Jurors said Watson has a long criminal record, which includes convictions for stealing cars and setting fire to a British transport police station.
Watson fled to Portugal on bail on suspicion of murder, but was extradited back to Britain.
In his defense, Watson’s legal team pointed the finger of suspicion at Rikki’s mother, which he rejected.
After the verdict in April, Ms. Neave thanked the jury for making “the right decision,” calling her son’s killer a “monster,” but said, “It’s not the time to celebrate, since it should never have happened. “
Additional Press Association report