The ex-girlfriend of Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop has said she had ‘no choice’ but to lie about the murders out of fear of the notorious schoolgirl killer, a court has heard.
Jennifer Johnson, now 55, has denied perjury and perverting the course of justice in relation to Bishop’s trial in 1987.
Johnson claimed she was acting under duress while giving evidence at the trial more than 30 years ago.
Jennifer Johnson, 55, (left) was accused of telling ‘lies that were important’ in the tragic case, including about a crucial piece of evidence – a sweatshirt found near the scene. Her ex-boyfriend Russell Bishop (right) was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 but was acquitted
Johnson (pictured under a coat outside Lewes Crown Court) – who had three children with Bishop – claims she had no choice due to violent and controlling relationship
On Thursday, she told Lewes Crown Court of being ‘treated like a criminal’ but that she ‘didn’t murder anyone’.
Bishop was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 but was acquitted.
The nine-year-olds were found sexually assaulted and strangled in a woodland den in Brighton in October 1986.
Within three years of the acquittal, Bishop went on to kidnap and sexually assault another young girl, leaving her for dead.
He was later found guilty of attempted murder and sexual assault and jailed for life.
It would be more than 30 years since the deaths of Karen and Nicola before he was convicted and jailed for their murders in 2018.
Johnson is accused of lying in the tragic case about a crucial piece of evidence, a sweatshirt found near the scene.
On Thursday, the jury heard evidence from Johnson at the beginning of the defence case.
Asked if she would like to declare anything to the court, Johnson responded: ‘I had no choice but to lie, I’m sorry, I put my hands up but I had no choice.’
She went on to say: ‘I feel sorry for the families, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to lose a child and I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.
‘But I’m sorry, I didn’t do the crime, but I’m in this court being treated like a criminal, I didn’t murder anyone.’
Johnson said she would ‘rather be dead’ than listen to the evidence in court again.
She added: ‘I’ve had to live with this all my life, nobody will know what I’ve been through.’
Chris Henley, QC, for the defence, also asked Johnson to speak about her relationship with Bishop prior to the murders.
Mr Henley told the court that Bishop had been abusive towards her.
Johnson refused to say Bishop’s name as she detailed the abuse.
She said: ‘He forced me to do things I didn’t want to, strangle me, hit me and I couldn’t get help, I was stuck.
‘I used to phone the police but they would do nothing, they’d say it was a domestic issue.’
Johnson told the court she stayed in a relationship with Bishop because there was ‘nowhere else to go’.
She went on to say her four children have been bullied as a result of Bishop’s crimes.
New forensic techniques led to Bishop’s conviction over the murders of nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows (left) and Karen Hadaway (right) in 2018 – and he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years
Pictured: A blue Pinto sweatshirt, allegedly worn by Russell Bishop and said to contain vital DNA evidence, which was found beside a path behind Moulsecoomb railway station
Johnson said: ‘They’re my children, they’re not his, they’re mine, all four of them are my children.’
Breaking down in tears, Johnson sobbed: ‘I am sorry. It wasn’t me who did the crime but I’m being treated like a criminal and maybe I am because I lied but I didn’t murder anyone
‘I lied under oath and that’s why I’m here. I had no choice but to lie. I’m sorry but I had no choice.
‘I feel sorry for the families and I wouldn’t know what its like to lose a child and I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.’
She said told Lewes Crown Court she did not trust the police and accused them of using her as a scapegoat.
Johnson said: ‘I had no faith in the police, not then and not now. Because they let him go the first time, they’re blaming me and it’s not my fault.’
Dressed in a black and white coat, black face mask and black trousers, she was appearing at Lewes – the same court where her former boyfriend was tried in 1987 – charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Johnson was a prosecution witness but she lied on oath about key evidence during the 1987 trial.
Three years later Bishop struck again, abducting, molesting and then attempting to murder a seven-year-old girl. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He was eventually convicted of the double murder of Nicola and Karen after a second trial in 2018.
The court was told Johnson lied about the ownership of a distinctive blue Pinto sweatshirt but says she was under duress from a ‘violent and abusive’ man.
Police investigating the murder of Karen and Nicola had discovered the sweatshirt close to the murder scene.
Johnson had initially provided a statement to police on October 31 1986 claiming she knew the sweatshirt found near the scene of the murders belonged to her long-time boyfriend.
She was even able to tell officers that red marks found on the jumper came from a compound he had used on his car and also told police a pair of light blue trousers of Bishop’s had the same red stains.
But she sensationally retracted her statement and, during the 1987 trial, claiming she had never seen the blue Pinto sweatshirt and it did not belong to Russell.
As a result the judge directed the jurors to acquit Bishop if they were unsure the sweatshirt belonged to him and he had been wearing it on the night of the murders.
However Bishop, who worked as a roofer, was rearrested in 2016 after advances in DNA testing irrefutably linked him to the sweatshirt.
At the Old Bailey in 2018 he faced a second trial for the murders where he was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 36 years behind bars.
As a result of the second trial Johnson, now 55, was arrested in 2020 and charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice.
The jury heard Bishop and Johnson met in 1983 through a shared love of CB ‘Citizens Band’ radio.
She told the court she fell pregnant the first time they had sex and she gave birth to son, Victor, as Bishop was serving a prison sentence for a series of burglaries.
Johnson said Bishop was ‘violent and abusive’ towards her, repeatedly beating and raping her.
She said: ‘He would strangle me, he would hit me. I couldn’t get any help. I was stuck. I always tried to resist but I always lost.
‘He used to slap me, pull my hair. I had bruises at the top of my thighs, black eyes, marks on my chest.
‘I used to phone the police and they didn’t do anything. They’d say: ‘It’s a domestic’ and leave. They wouldn’t help.’
Johnson told the court that at the time she was with Bishop she was working as a machinist for Cornelia James, making gloves and scarves for the Royal family.
The court heard that by the time Bishop went on trial for the murders in 1987, Johnson was pregnant with their second child, Hayley.
At the trial she stood by him and the couple went on to have a third child together after he was acquitted but split sometime after he was jailed for the 1990 attack.
The court heard that during an interview Johnson told police: ‘When I met him I should have run a mile.
After her arrest for perjury she told police she wished they had put ‘Russell in an electric chair and set him on fire,’ as she was worried about the safety of her four children and grandchildren.
The trial continues
