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13/12/01 - I had seconds to stop
his van
By MARTIN WALLACE
The Sun
COPS nailed Roy Whiting with a combination of forensic
science, dogged persistence and a detective's inspired
decision to seize his van before he could destroy vital
evidence. Officers knocked on the predatory paedophile's
door less than 24 hours after Sarah Payne was abducted.
He was on the Sex Offenders' Register after kidnapping
a nine-year-old girl in 1995 - and was top of a list
of suspects from the start.
Suspicions deepened when he gave evasive answers to
questions about his movements on the day Sarah vanished.
Officers noted his chilling lack of concern over the
sinister disappearance of a helpless eight-year-old
girl.
Yet it was to be a long haul before they were finally
granted the satisfaction of a conviction yesterday.
Sussex Police officers first called at Whiting's grubby
seafront bedsit overlooking a kids' playground in Littlehampton
at 7.45pm on Sunday July 2. When there was no reply
they visited another known paedophile. But they returned
to Whiting's place at 9.15pm - and he let them in.
He told PCs Chris Saunders and Richard Gardham he had
been at a funfair in Hove, 25 miles away, and had just
got home. PC Saunders said; "His demeanour made
us very suspicious. The thing that struck me was his
blank expression and non-communication. "He wasn't
overly concerned that Sarah had gone missing whereas
other people we had spoken to were even those on our
list of suspects."
The cops left the bedsit but went to sit in their unmarked
car 60 yards away. They had a clear view of Whiting's
home and his white van parked outside. Over the next
hour, they twice saw Whiting go to the van and rummage
around inside. The officers alerted their boss, Detective
Sergeant Steve Wagstaff, who arrived on the scene at
11pm as Whiting climbed into the F-reg van and started
the engine.
DS Wagstaff parked alongside as PC Saunders moved his
car in front. Whiting - thought to be attempting a getaway
- was boxed in. Inside the van was a pair of, black
socks, a red sweatshirt and a clown-pattern curtain.
Forensic scientists later linked the items to fibres
found in Sarah's hair and on the Velcro fastening of
one of her shoes.
Had Whiting managed to flee, he would have destroyed
the evidence. A fibre from the van seat was later found
in Sarah's body bag. Making the decision to stop Whiting
was not easy for DS Wagstaff for the alternative was
to let him go in the hope he would lead them to Sarah.
DS Wagstaff told The Sun: "After I stopped him
he seemed extremely nervous.
He was shaking and had problems turning off the engine.
I noticed he was sweating badly. "We had a split-second
decision to make. We could have allowed him to take
off, follow the van and see where it took us. "But
I had to ask myself whether we had the capacity to do
that.
"I decided I wasn't prepared to risk losing the
van. And with hindsight that was the best decision I
have ever made. We could have lost all the forensic
evidence that has been so important in this case."
Whiting was arrested and taken to Littlehampton police
station for questioning.
A marathon grilling by Detective Inspector Jeff Riley
was captured on a police video seen by The Sun. Time
after time, Mr Riley calmly put it to Whiting that he
had seen Sarah and had snatched her. But to each question,
to each suggestion, Whiting replied: "No comment."
Mr Riiey even begged the beast for help in finding Sarah.
But with arms folded and slouching in his chair, Whiting
gave a self-satisfied grin, looked the cop in the eye
and gave the same stark response. The hunt for Sarah's
killer began at 9.26pm the previous evening when her
mother Sara made a 999 call.
She told the operator: "Police, please. I've lost
my daughter." Cops who went to the home of Sarah's
grandparents, which the lost girl was visiting with
her family, quickly realised an abduction was the most
likely explanation. The following evening Det Insp Paul
Williams drew up a list of suspects.
Of THIRTY known sex offenders in the Littlehampton area,
FIVE were dangerous paedophiles. DI Williams put Whiting's
name at the top of the list. His choice seemed spot
on when the car mechanic was first quizzed. Three months
earlier Whiting had been questioned about the rape of
a woman in Hove.
On that occasion, he co-operated fully with police and
gave a full account of his movements on the day of the
attack. Yet he was strangely vague about what he was
doing when Sarah vanished. Whiting was NOT picked out
by Sarah's brother Lee, 14, at an identity parade a
few days later, Lee had seen the man who seized Sarah
when he waved at him as he sped off with the girl in
his van.
He was scruffy and wearing a checked shirt. But the
lad was confused by the row of men confronting him at
the ID parade. The second in line sported Whiting's
normal appearance unshaven with greasy hair. By contrast
devious Whiting, standing beside him, had given himself
a "steam clean" and looked nothing like he
usually did.
Whiting was freed on bail. He was arrested and quizzed
again after Sarah's body was found, but released for
a second time, He returned to his home town of Crawley
and moved in with his 80-year-old father, George. But
a vigilante mob forced him to flee and he had to sleep
rough under the watchful eye of police.
In a last-ditch attempt to escape justice, he stole
an old Vauxhall Nova and sped off. He tried to ram two
police cars which chased him and was taken to court
charged with dangerous driving and taking a vehicle
without consent. Whiting was jailed for 22 months in
September last year.
Three months later, the DNA evidence which finally linked
him to Sarah's murder was unearthed by scientists. As
the discovery was made senior police officers were having
lunch with Sarah's parents and grandparents at the George
and Dragon pub in Burpham, West Sussex.
The mood was sombre as the relatives sat with Det Supt
Peter Kennett, joint leader of the inquiry, his No2
Det Insp Martyn Underhill and two family liaison officers.
But then Mr Kennett got a text message on his mobile
phone telling him to "call the scientists".
After doing so he quietly informed the family of the
breakthrough.
Mr Kennett said: "There was total silence around
the table while I spoke, followed by a sigh of relief."
Whiting was in Elmley Prison, Kent, serving his time
for the motoring offences. But on February 6 he was
released to police for further questioning. It was again
carried out by Dl Riley and again Whiting's response
was cold and nonchalant.
He did show an interest in maps and photos of the kidnap
site - a reaction consistent with prowlers who carefully
plot their missions. But he reverted to his "no
comment" answers at any suggestion he was linked
to the abduction. He even YAWNED when he was directly
accused of killing Sarah.
When it became clear there would be no confession, Whiting
was formally charged with kidnapping and murder. He
yawned again.
Last night Det Supt Alan Ladley, the other joint leader
of the inquiry, called Operation Maple, said he had
no doubt Whiting would have killed again had he gone
free yesterday. The police chief added- "His crime
is the most vile I can think of." |
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