Murder of Sarah Payne

Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne
Sarah Payne
Born	13 October 1991 Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England
Died	c. 1 July 2000[1] Unknown
Body discovered	Pulborough, West Sussex 17 July 2000[2]
Parents	Michael and Sara Payne

Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne (13 October 1991 – c. 1 July 2000)^[3] was murdered by Roy William Whiting (born 26 January 1959)^[4][5][6] in July 2000.^[7] The subsequent investigation became a high profile murder case in the United Kingdom. Following his conviction, Whiting was imprisoned for life and is currently being held in the maximum security Wakefield prison, West Yorkshire.^[8]

Contents 1 Whiting's background 2 Whiting's first conviction 3 Sarah Payne's disappearance 4 Murder investigation 5 The trial 6 Attack in prison 7 David Blunkett's ruling 8 Sarah's Law 8.1 International parallels 8.2 Debate over effectiveness 9 Aftermath 10 References 11 External links

Whiting's background

Roy William Whiting
Roy Whiting
Born	26 January 1959 (1959-01-26) (age 50) Horsham, West Sussex, England
Conviction(s)	Murder
Penalty	Life imprisonment
Status	Convicted and currently in prison
Occupation	Car Mechanic/Delivery worker/Building labourer
Spouse	Linda Booker (m. 1986–1990) «start: (1986)–end+1: (1991)»"Marriage: Linda Booker to Murder of Sarah Payne" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sarah_Payne)
Children	1

Whiting was born at Horsham Maternity Hospital in West Sussex on 26 January 1959; the son of George and Pamela Whiting, who already had a son and later a daughter.^{[citation needed]}. The couple divorced during the 1970s. Pamela later remarried to Kenneth Green, a Crawley man. [1]

Whiting attended Ifield Community College^[9] and left in 1975 with no academic qualifications and over the next few years found himself employed in several different jobs, including doing deliveries for the local Co-operative store and working as a car mechanic and paintsprayer at a local garage.

In June 1986 he married Linda Booker in Ifield, West Sussex, who became pregnant the same year. They separated in April 1987, just before the birth of their son, and were divorced in 1990. [2]

Whiting was also involved in banger racing during the late 1980s, but abandoned his interest in the sport due to a lack of success.^[6]

Whiting's first conviction

On 4 March 1995, an eight-year-old girl (unnamed for legal reasons) was abducted and sexually assaulted in Langley Green, Crawley. Whiting was arrested a few weeks later after a man who knew Whiting came forward after hearing that the abductor's car had been a red Ford Sierra, which matched the description of the car that Whiting had just sold. [3]

Three months later, Whiting admitted charges of abduction and indecent assault, and was sentenced to four years in prison. The maximum sentence for the crime would have been life imprisonment; however, he received a lesser sentence because he had admitted to the crime at the earliest opportunity. A psychiatrist who assessed Whiting after his conviction said that he was likely to re-offend once he was released. [4] [5]

Whiting was released from prison in November 1997, having served 2 years and 5 months of his 4-year sentence, and was one of the first people in Britain to go on the sex offenders' register. He had been forced to serve an extra five months in prison before being released on licence as penalty for refusing to undergo a sex offenders rehabilitation course. [6]

Whiting moved 40 km (25 miles) away from Crawley to Littlehampton on the West Sussex coast, upon his release. [7]

Sarah Payne's disappearance

Payne disappeared on 1 July 2000 from a cornfield near the home of her grandparents; Terence and Lesley Payne in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, England.^[10] Payne had been playing with her brothers and sister; aged between five and 13 at the time.^[11] A nationwide search commenced within 48 hours, and Payne's parents made television appeals for her safe return. On 2 July 2000, officers from Sussex Police visited Whiting making inquiries into the disappearance of Payne.^[12]

On 17 July, a body was found in a field near Pulborough, some 24 km (15 miles) from Kingston Gorse where Payne had disappeared. The following day, forensic science tests confirmed that the body was Payne's, and Sussex Police began a murder investigation.^[13]

Murder investigation

Whiting was questioned about the disappearance of Payne, which had taken place about 8 km (5 miles) from Whiting's place of residence. Whiting was routinely questioned as he had been placed on the Sex Offenders Register. The officers left Whiting, but were suspicious of his lack of concern for Payne, something that some of the worst offenders had shown when questioned in connection with Payne's disappearance.^{[citation needed]} When Whiting re-appeared soon after he attempted to drive away in his van, he was stopped by the police and arrested.^{[citation needed]} Whiting spent two days in custody, but a lack of police evidence led to Whitings' release on bail. Although police had found a receipt for fuel from Buck Barn garage near Pulborough, which contradicted his alibi of being at a funfair in Hove at 5:30 p.m. and then returned to his flat by 9.30 p.m. on the night that Payne had disappeared, there was no other evidence to press charges.^[14]

When Whiting was released on bail, he went to live with his father in Crawley while his flat on Saint Augustine's Road was being searched by forensic investigators.^{[citation needed]} No evidence was found in Whiting's flat to suggest that Payne had been at the flat.^{[citation needed]}

Whiting was subsequently re-arrested on 31 July 2000. After Payne's body was discovered 5 km (3 miles) from Buck Barn service station where Whiting had bought fuel on the night of Paynes' disappearance and Whiting's failure to confirm his alibi. Police still had a lack of evidence to press charges and Whiting was released on bail.^{[citation needed]}

A few days following his second arrest, Whiting moved out of his father's house after a vigilante attack and went to live in a tent in woodland behind a housing estate in Crawley.^{[citation needed]} Whiting's father moved out of the house afterwards, fearing for his own safety.^{[citation needed]}

On 21 July 2000, Whiting stole a Vauxhall Nova and was pursued by police at speeds of up to 70mph before crashing into a parked vehicle. Whiting was arrested on a charge of dangerous driving. Whiting was remanded in custody until 27 September 2000, when he admitted taking the car and driving dangerously and was jailed for 22 months.^{[citation needed]}

When Whiting began his jail term for the car theft, detectives were able to carry out forensic tests on his Fiat Ducato van, which he had bought on 23 June 2000. On 6 February 2001, following a police enquiry, Whiting was charged with Payne's murder .^[5]

The trial

By 6 February 2001, Sussex Police had enough evidence to press charges against Whiting and appeared at Lewes Crown Court on charges of abduction and murder. Whiting pleaded not guilty to all charges and was remanded in custody, until 14 November 2001.^[15]

On 14 November 2001 at Lewes Crown Court, the jury heard from several witnesses. The key witnesses included Payne's oldest brother who had seen a 'scruffy-looking man with yellowish teeth' drive by. Whiting had not been selected in an identity parade.^[16] One of Payne's shoes was found by a member of the public in a country lane and forensic tests had found fibres from Whiting's van on the shoe. This was the only item of Payne's clothing to be recovered.^[17] A strand of blonde hair on a T-shirt was found in Whiting's van. DNA test established there was a one-in-a-billion chance of it belonging to anyone other than Payne.^[18]

On 12 December 2001, after a four week trial, Whiting was convicted of the abduction and murder of Payne and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial judge recommended a whole life tariff.^[19]

After Whiting was convicted his previous convictions were revealed. There were renewed calls for the government to allow controlled public access to the sex offender's register, although the Home Office commented the day after Whiting's conviction that such a system would be unworkable and run the risk of driving pedophiles "underground" as well as putting them in danger of vigilante attacks.^[20]

This case is particularly notable for the extensive use of forensic sciences in establishing the prosecution case against Whiting. Twenty forensic experts from a variety of fields were employed during the inquiry, including entomology, pathology, geology, archaeology, environmental profiling and oil/lubricant analysis. It has been estimated that the cost of the investigation involved one thousand personnel and cost more than £2 million.

Attack in prison

On 4 August 2002, Whiting was attacked with a razor by another prisoner while fetching hot water at Wakefield Prison. Convicted killer Rickie Tregaskis (serving life imprisonment with a 20-year recommended minimum for the 1999 murder of a disabled man in Cornwall) was found guilty of carrying out the slashing which left Whiting with a six-inch scar on his right cheek.^[21]

In June 2004, Tregaskis received a six-year sentence (to run concurrently alongside his life sentence) after being found guilty on a wounding charge relating to the attack on Roy Whiting. This will not mean that he will have to serve any extra time in prison if the Parole Board decides that he can be freed on life licence.^[21]

David Blunkett's ruling

On 24 November 2002, Home Secretary David Blunkett made a landmark ruling, ordering that Roy Whiting must serve a minimum of 50 years in prison. This would make him ineligible for parole until 2051, when he would be 92 years old.^[22]

Within 48 hours of the ruling being made, the European Court of Human Rights had ruled in favour of another convicted murderer (Anthony Anderson) who was challenging the right of politicians to decide how long a murderer must spend in prison before being considered for parole.^[23]

In June 2004, it was confirmed that Whiting would be applying to the Court of Appeal for a new minimum term to be set, although his appeal has yet to be heard.^[24]

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)

Sarah's Law

Sarah's Law was a campaign spearheaded by the News of the World newspaper which began in July 2000 in response to the murder of Sarah Payne. Payne's parents backed up the campaign as they were sure that a child sex offender had been responsible for their daughter's death. Their belief was proved correct 17 months later when Roy Whiting was found guilty of killing Payne, and it was revealed that he already had a conviction for abducting and indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

The aim of the campaign was for the government to allow controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register, so parents with young children could know if a child sex-offender was living in their area. Payne's mother has always insisted that such a law would have saved Payne's life.

International parallels

The concept of Sarah's Law is similar to Megan's Law, which operates in the USA in honour of murder victim Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by her neighbour Jesse Timmendequas in 1994. After the killer's trial, it was revealed that he was a convicted child rapist. Megan's Law even shows photographs and addresses of sex offenders. Sarah's Law would give lesser details, probably only the knowledge that a child sex offender was living in a certain area.

Debate over effectiveness

There has been considerable debate over the effectiveness of Megan's Law and therefore, by implication, Sarah's Law. Issues raised have included:

• The increased stereotyping of those on the sex offenders register. This may lead to a reduction in the ability of offenders to find housing and employment, thus leading to their being ostracised and therefore being more likely to reoffend.

• The lack of "finesse" of American definitions of "sex offender". In the USA, this has led those being convicted of urinating in a public place (which is classified as "indecent exposure") as sex offenders, and being placed on the register with those convicted of more serious offences such as rape.^[25]

• The increased risk of sex offenders avoiding registration with offender management services. In the USA, this figure stands at around 80%, compared with 97% in the UK. it has been suggested that the risk of harm mentioned above deters offenders from registering.

• The nature of offending is seriously mis-represented by "Sarah's Law". Research [8] suggests that reoffending rates over a six year period run at around 8.5%. Thus, it may be suggested that reoffending is not the problem that is suggested by some commentators.^[who?]

• Relationships of offenders to victims. In terms of rape, 83% of attackers are known to their victims [9] and 54% are partners or former partners. These statistics suggest that "stranger danger" has been exaggerated.^[26]

Aftermath

Sarah Payne's mother, Sara Payne, has subsequently written a book, Sara Payne: A Mother's Story, about her daughter's murder and the aftermath, including her campaign for Sarah's Law. The book was published in 2004.^[27]

In July 2001, it was reported that Payne's parents received £11,000 compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The offer was described as a "sick joke"^[28] and "derisory", even though it was the maximum CICA could offer by law.^[29]

Sara Payne was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in December 2008 for her work behind Sarah's Law.^[30]

References

External links

• Argument rages over Sarah's law
• Sarah's law explained