The former girlfriend of the Babes in the Wood killer sobbed and covered her ears as graphic letters from him were read out in court.
Jennifer Johnson, 55, was infatuated with double child murderer Russell Bishop, 55, when she lied under oath in court to protect him in 1987, a jury heard.
Extracts from graphic, sexually violent letters written by Bishop were read out at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, today.
Ms Johnson broke down as the jury heard Bishop describe his violent sexual fantasies. The prison letters were written as he waited on remand.
Her ex-boyfriend Bishop was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 but was acquitted.
New forensic techniques led to his conviction over the murders of the nine-year-olds in 2018 – and he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years.
Ms Johnson has admitted she lied under oath at his first trial in 1987, after which Bishop was acquitted and freed to try and kill another little girl.
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
Jennifer Johnson was a teenager when she had her first child with Bishop.
Ms Johnson, who had three children with Bishop, denies perjury and perverting the course of justice.
She has described him as a monster and told police she was in fear for her life when she changed her story.
Ms Johnson told Bishop’s trial in 1987 a sweatshirt which proved his link to the murder scene did not belong to him.
Bishop was given his second life sentence in 2018 for the brutal 1986 murders of nine-year-olds Karen and Nicola.
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
He was already serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a third little girl in 1990.
The jury at Lewes Crown Court heard expert evidence from forensic psychiatrists who agreed Ms Johnson was infatuated with her violent partner.
Dr Ian Cumming said there was evidence to show Ms Johnson was infatuated with Bishop.
‘Knowing what a relationship is like is as an outsider is problematic.
‘There were certainly elements of infatuation,’ Dr Cumming said.
‘He was very important to her at the time for a lot of different reasons.’
The doctor agreed Ms Johnson was still concerned about Bishop coming after her more than 20 years after he was jailed.
Chris Henley QC for the defence as the psychiatrist if there was a profound traumatic legacy of her relationship with Bishop.
‘She still lives in fear of him,’ he said.
Dr Cumming replied: ‘I think it’s fair to say that.’
There was no independent reports which could confirm the elements of coercive control in their relationship, the psychiatrist said.
In transcripts of a 2019 police interview read out in court yesterday, Johnson called Bishop a ‘monster’ who used to ‘batter’ and ‘control’ her.
Johnson is charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice. She has denied the charges, and is set to claim she was under duress at the time.
Johnson claimed Bishop told her to lie about the blue Pinto sweatshirt which linked him to the Babes in the Wood murder scene at his trial in 1987.
Bishop being found not guilty of Karen and Nicola’s murders ’caused devastation’ for the girls’ families but there was ‘another terrible consequence’, a jury was told: Bishop went on to attack another girl in 1990.
During the 2019 Sussex Police interview – after Bishop was locked away for life – Johnson said: ‘It’s a nightmare and I’m still living it,’
‘He’s a monster. I lived my life in fear.
Johnson (pictured under a coat outside Lewes Crown Court) – who had three children with Bishop – has admitted lying in court to protect him in 1987
The girls were found dead in this ‘den’ in undergrowth in Wild Park, Brighton after the going missing the previous night
‘I’m still living my life in fear. I met a monster, I didn’t even know but I was young.
‘Young, naive and weak. This nightmare will never end, it will never end. They should’ve brought back hanging.’
Johnson told police Bishop blamed her for his arrest in 1986 and his conviction in 1990.
‘I put him inside and he said he would come after me and kill me.
‘I used to be petrified. I knew he was coming after me.
‘The day I heard he was never coming out, I thought this is when my life starts.
‘I know he used to batter me but I didn’t and I still don’t understand how he could do what he’s done.
‘He controlled me but you couldn’t say it in those days.
‘Police just said it was domestic.’
On the blue sweatshirt, Johnson said: ‘He told me to say it wasn’t his. I had no choice back then.
‘That’s all he said. I knew what the consequences would be.
‘I put him in there, that’s what he used to say, because I said it was his Pinto.
‘He always said he would come out and get me. I had to survive to save my own children.
‘No-one has lived my life. No-one has lived my hell.
‘My life is a disaster because I met the wrong person when I was young.’
Jennifer Johnson denies perverting the course of justice and perjury.
The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.
