| Flowers in Gods Garden
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12/12/01
- Whiting guilty of Sarah murder
BBC NEWS
Roy Whiting snatched Sarah
from a country lane |
Roy Whiting has been sentenced to life imprisonment after
being found guilty of the kidnap and murder of eight-year-old
Sarah Payne. He was convicted of both charges by a jury
of nine men and three women at Lewes Crown Court, after
a trial lasting almost four weeks.
| --------------------------- |
| "This
doesn't make us happy but justice has been done
- Sarah can rest in peace now" |
|
Sara and Michael Payne |
| --------------------------- |
There were cries of delight in the packed courtroom as
the verdicts were read out on Wednesday, listened to by
Sarah's parents and brothers Lee and Luke.
As soon as the unanimous verdicts were declared, the court
heard details of Whiting's previous conviction for the
kidnap and indecent assault of a nine-year-old girl in
1995. Trial judge Mr Justice Richard Curtis said it was
a rare case when he would recommend that a life sentence
should mean life.
Outside court Sarah's parents Sara and Michael said: "This
doesn't make us happy but justice has been done. "Sarah
can rest in peace now."
Sarah disappeared while playing with her siblings |
'Absolute menace'
They also called on the government to change the law to
ensure it does not happen again.
Sarah went missing on 1 July last year after playing near
her grandparents' home in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex.
Her naked body was found 16 days later. Whiting, 42, formerly
of St Augustine Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, had
denied having anything to do with her. But Mr Justice
Curtis said he believed Whiting was "an evil man"
and "a cunning and glib liar".
"You are and will remain an absolute menace to any
little girl," he told Whiting. "You're every
parent's and grandparent's nightmare come true. "I
recommend you be kept in prison for the rest of your life
so that no further child can be added to the list of your
victims."
Sarah's mother Sara said: "Let's make sure this stops
happening time and time again. "People are being
let out of prison when everybody concerned knows that
this is going to happen again."
Whiting's reaction when he was charged with the
murder |
Abnormal desires
The judge said a psychiatrist who saw Whiting after his
1995 attack warned he was a high risk repeat offender.
He said Sarah's tragic and appalling murder had proved
the psychiatrist right.
"It is important in ordinary
life that children are allowed to have some
freedom by their parents and others to learn self-reliance
and enjoy their childhood... You exploited this for your
own abnormal sexual desires."
The judge said he was satisfied Whiting was out hunting
for children and said he had turned his van into an "moving
prison".
During the trial, prosecuting lawyer Timothy Langdale
QC told the jury there was "compelling" evidence
against Whiting.
Fibres from his van were found on Sarah's shoe |
Snatched
A strand of Sarah's hair had been found on Whiting's sweatshirt,
and fibres from his van were found on her hair and shoe.
Items found by police in Whiting's van included a length
of rope, two plastic ties, a knife and a bottle of baby
oil.
The van also contained a receipt for diesel from a garage
near the spot where Sarah's body was found, close to the
A29 near Pulborough. Whiting had lied about his movements
to police, Mr Langdale said, as he had denied being anywhere
near the scene.
Mr Langdale questioned three scratch marks found on Whiting.
And he said Whiting had been seen grinning and driving
off just as Sarah's brothers were looking for her. Whiting
took the stand himself for two days during the trial.
He told the court he had changed doors on the back of
his van and stripped out wood panelling on the same day
as Sarah was kidnapped. But he told the jury: "It
wasn't me."
'On the prowl'
Sarah's parents, Sara and Michael Payne, had been present
for most of the trial. Mr Langdale told the jury Sarah
was snatched after a day out with her family. Sarah, her
brothers Lee, 13, Luke, 11, and her five-year-old sister,
Charlotte, had separated from their parents and grandparents
after a walk to the seaside, he said.
They were playing in a nearby cornfield when Sarah slipped
through a hedge into a country lane. Mr Langdale said
Whiting, who had been driving around "on the prowl"
for a young child or children, then grabbed her. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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