Halliwell guilty of Becky's murder

There were cheers across the courtroom as the unanimous verdict was delivered.

Halliwell smiled as the forewoman read out the verdict.

Justice Griffith Williams called Halliwell a liar before announcing he would be sentenced on Friday.

He confessed to killing Miss O'Callaghan and took police to her body before offering "another one" and leading them to where he had buried missing prostitute Becky Godden years earlier.

A High Court judge later ruled Halliwell's admissions could not be used as Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher had breached police guidelines on interviewing suspects.

The charge of murdering Miss Godden was withdrawn until March this year following an investigation by Wiltshire Police that uncovered overwhelming evidence against Halliwell.

The father-of-three denied murder and represented himself during a two-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.

But the jury of six men and six women took less than three hours to convict Halliwell of the charge.

During the new investigation, Wiltshire Police uncovered vital evidence to pin Halliwell to Becky's murder without his confession.

The confession was ruled inadmissible by Mrs Justice Cox in 2011 because Mr Fulcher, who was leading the hunt for Miss O'Callaghan, had failed to caution Halliwell and denied him a solicitor during a three-hour period after his arrest when he believed there was still a chance of finding her alive.

The judge's ruling meant that prosecutors had no other evidence against Halliwell to link him to Miss Godden's murder and the charge was withdrawn.

But retired High Court judge Sir John Griffith Williams ruled the confession could be presented to the jury following two days of legal argument at Bristol Crown Court in July 2016.

The judge also stated that the jury could be told of Halliwell's conviction for murdering Miss O'Callaghan, as well as admissions the taxi driver made to a police doctor.

Following his arrest, Halliwell told Dr Nazeer Ali that he was being detained at Gablecross police station in Swindon because he had "killed two people".

Police believe Halliwell abducted Miss Godden in early 2003 from Destiny & Desire, a nightclub in Swindon town centre close to where he took Miss O'Callaghan.

"Both were taken in a taxi," prosecutor Nicholas Haggan QC told the hearing.

"Both bodies were deposited in rural locations on the eastern side of Swindon. Becky is believed to have been buried naked. When Sian was found she was only partially clothed."

Halliwell described himself as a "sick f*****" before telling Mr Fulcher that he had strangled Miss Godden after having sex with her.

He led the experienced detective to Oxo Bottom field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, where he fumbled in a wall for a dip then paced heel to toe to the exact spot where she was buried eight inches below.

But Halliwell refused to cooperate with officers after being taken to a police station - later claiming this was an act of revenge due to his "loathing" of Mr Fulcher.

In his defence case statement, Halliwell said: "I have no knowledge of the manner of her death, nor any information regarding details of how she died."

New evidence uncovered by Wiltshire Police included witness accounts and forensic analysis of a spade and garden tools.

One witness saw Miss Godden getting into a taxi in early January 2013 - crucially this was days after the last confirmed sighting of her by a police officer in Swindon in December 2012.

Another saw Halliwell and a woman, who he believed to be Miss Godden, arguing in a pub in Eastleach at that time.

After Halliwell confessed to murdering the two women and took Mr Fulcher to their bodies, the detective announced live on television that the remains of Miss O'Callaghan had been found at Uffington, Oxfordshire, and the location of a second body had been identified to him.

But he did so before a solicitor had arrived at the police station for Halliwell.

The detective resigned from Wiltshire Police in May 2014, months after being handed a final written warning when he was found guilty of gross misconduct following a formal conduct hearing.

Halliwell, formerly of Ashbury Avenue, admitted the murder of Miss O'Callaghan in October 2012 and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years' imprisonment.

Miss Godden's mother, Karen Edwards, launched a campaign for changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace) following the case.

She had made several attempts to find her daughter, who she believed was living in the Bristol area, and did not learn the truth until police knocked on her door on April 4, 2011 - on what would have been her 29th birthday.

Miss Godden had turned to prostitution after becoming addicted to heroin.

Halliwell laughed and smiled as the verdict was returned by the jury.

Members of Sian O'Callaghan's family and the Godden family cheered, wept and hugged each other when they heard the guilty verdict.

As Halliwell was led away from the court he paused to stare and smile at Miss Godden's family.

Ian Harris, Head of the Complex Casework Unit for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex, said: “After Christopher Halliwell had led Wiltshire Police to the body of Sian O’Callaghan, he also confessed to the murder of Rebecca Godden, who had been missing since January 2003.  

“That was in 2011. Since then, our focus has been to get justice for Becky and her family as well. My team in the Complex Casework Unit in CPS Wessex has worked tirelessly with Wiltshire Police to build up a strong case against Christopher Halliwell and this meant that earlier this year we were able to re-start the prosecution for Becky’s murder.

“In the course of his defence, Christopher Halliwell dismissed his legal team and then maintained that he had not been involved in Becky’s murder.  This meant we could ask the court to reverse the ruling which prevented the jury from being told about his confession.

"We succeeded and this meant that we could tell the jury not only that he was serving a life sentence for Sian’s murder but also that he had confessed to Becky’s murder and knew where she had been buried. 

“Even then, despite all the evidence, including his own confession, Mr Halliwell continued to fight the case.  In the process, he has put Becky’s family through untold suffering on top of the terrible pain he has caused them by murdering Becky. 

“In the end, despite his every effort to evade justice, he has been convicted and I hope that this will finally give some comfort and closure to Becky’s family. Our thoughts have been very much with them, and also with Sian’s family, throughout this dreadful ordeal.”

Trial judge Sir John Griffith Williams told the court this afternoon he is considering either a whole life order or a "significant" minimum term of imprisonment for Halliwell.

The judge said: "I have read the mitigation of Mr (Richard) Latham QC who acted for Mr Halliwell and the sentencing remarks of Mrs Justice Cox.

"They merely reinforce me in the view that he is a liar whose word should be taken in some instances with a pinch of salt."

"Where is Savernake Forest? His mitigation to Mrs Justice Cox is that was where he had taken Sian O'Callaghan which is completely at odds with what he told the jury.

"There are a number of other discrepancies which he contradicted in his evidence on oath before this jury."

The judge said he would reread the sentencing remarks of Mrs Justice Cox, who sentenced Halliwell at Bristol Crown Court to life imprisonment for Miss O'Callaghan's murder.

He added that he believed Miss Godden had been murdered by Halliwell on the night of January 2 leading to January 3 in 2003.

The judge added that when sentencing Halliwell he would put himself in the position of Mrs Justice Cox and "consider the appropriate sentence for the murder of Sian O'Callaghan but also for the murder of Rebecca Godden".