THE mother of one of Christopher Halliwell’s victims has launched a complaint over Wiltshire Police’s handling of the investigation into her daughter’s death.

Becky Godden went missing in 2003 when she was aged just 20. It would be eight years before her body was found buried in a Gloucestershire field.

The discovery came days after the body of 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan, reported missing days before after a night out with friends, was found.

Former taxi driver, Christopher Halliwell, led senior investigating officer, Steve Fulcher, to Sian’s body. But as the pair were set to leave he revealed that there was also another victim, Becky.

However it was not to be that simple.

Fulcher was judged to have broken the rules around the cautioning of suspects and, as a result, Halliwell escaped justice for Becky’s murder until a second investigation team successfully secured a conviction in 2016.

Halliwell was told he must serve a whole life tariff, meaning he will never be released from prison.

But now Becky’s mother, Karen Edwards, wants answers as to why the gap between the first failed attempt and the eventual successful conviction was so lengthy.

She believes that evidence existed throughout that time but that it was left untouched for many years.

Mrs Edwards has submitted a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission - the IPCC.

As is often the case, the IPCC has referred that complaint back to Wiltshire Police to investigate. The force is understood to be looking to identify a suitable independent investigatory body, perhaps another force, to carry out that role.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “Christopher Halliwell is no longer a danger to the public following his whole life sentence in 2016 and this could not have been achieved without the diligence and dedication of the investigation team.

“This was a hugely complex investigation with multiple strands and unprecedented legal issues that spanned across a period of five years from 2011 to 2016.

“The investigation team were absolutely dedicated to ensuring this case was not thrown out of court due to previous breaches in legislation by former Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher at the time of the arrest of Christopher Halliwell in March 2011. Their main focus throughout was ensuring justice was done for the families of the victims.

“We can confirm that we have received a complaint. The Commissioner, through the professional standards department, is seeking an appropriately independent body to carry out an investigation into the allegations.

“In order to preserve the integrity of the investigation in to the complaint, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”