Steve Fulcher, 54, resigned from Wiltshire Police in 2014, Christopher Halliwell is serving two life sentences for the murders, Ms O'Callaghan's disappearance sparked a huge manhunt, Fulcher was played by Martin Freeman in ITV's 'The Confession', Fulcher is backing Mike Rees (right) for the role of PCC in Wiltshire. And there was a second, more nebulous justification. I personally have not found him arrogant but I don't know him, I met him for a very short amount of time.". Freeman revealed that he met with Fulcher and they kept in touch during filming. Since 2015, he has "been on contract in Somalia as the adviser to the federal government". Writing Catching a Serial Killer has been cathartic and also allows Fulcher to set out his thought processes methodically and furthermore to clear his name. Then years. He joined aged 21 and ascended smoothly through the ranks: constable to sergeant to inspector and then, in 2007, to detective superintendent, the highest rank for a boots-on-the-ground police officer. There are so many questions Karen still needs answers to. Then, suddenly, the police were at the door, with the most devastating news. Not only did Fulcher manage to extract a confession for one murder, but Halliwell also admitted to killing Becky Godden-Edwards. ", We pay for your stories! But she still went back, every time. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Born in April 1982, a little sister for Steven, Becky was a sensitive child who was deeply affected when her parents split up when she was six. March 24, 2011 - Halliwell leads Detective. If you were in my position, what would you do? he asks. A Confession follows Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher as he and his team investigate the disappearance and murder of Sian OCallaghan who was killed in March 2011. Instead of bringing Halliwell back to Gablecross police station in Swindon, Fulcher told his officers to take him to Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort on the Ridgeway route. In fact, they were the only things to do: Steve Fulcher. What should have been a straightforward double murder investigation became much more complicated as the trial got underway. But Becky always mattered, too, Karen says. Using her phone signal and sightings of a taxi, they arrested Halliwell within days. "He was in a relationship and had two daughters and a son, so he wasn't an obvious suspect," explains Steve, who caught Halliwell behaving oddly. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. A Confession: Killer told DS It's a pleasure ruining your career'. She went out for the night and never came home. But the situation was confused. I doubt whether anyone in this room wants the old days of the police back so of course PACE is important, of course, accountability is really really important and those checks and balances are important, you talk to Steve Fulcher, hes a modern policeman, he is passionate pro-PACE but there is light and shade and nuance in all walks of life and certainly in policing. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. Fulcher believed OCallaghan was still alive and argued that if the suspect, Christopher Halliwell was taken to a police station, he would be given a solicitor and would have the right to say no comment to any questions asked. Sians mother Elaine Pickford, played by Sobhan Finneran in the ITV series, was grateful to DS Fulcher. His story is a true. The newsletter is emailed out first thing every morning, at 12noon and every evening. That man is a hero. DSI Steve Fulcher Monday 7 October 2019, 5:22pm ITV's The Confession, tells the story of how Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher breached protocols to catch a killer. Although Halliwell had already been cautioned twice, Fulcher should have done it again. He knew that Sian was dead, which meant that his argument regarding preservation of life was no longer relevant. Weeks became months. Fulcher was tasked with investigating the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan, who was last seen leaving a nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire in the early hours of March 19, 2011. He said: "My view is that I have brought two daughters back to their mothers and Ive prevented other victims resulting from Halliwells continued pursuit of his career as a serial killer. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. She had a white wicker coffin and Stargazer lilies. The music played as they said farewell to Becky was Coldplays Fix You, an apt choice. As a result, Halliwell was found guilty by a jury and his sentence increased to life imprisonment, meaning that he will never be released. "People don't always do the right thing. Steve is no longer working for Wiltshire police, having left the force back in 2014, but his decision to hand in his notice wasn't one he made lightly. READ MORE:A Confession on ITV location: Where is A Confession filmed? It was a murder than could have gone unsolved had it not been for the actions of Det Supt Fulcher - but those actions cost him his career. Then he turned to the officer in charge, DS Steve Fulcher, and said: Do you want another one? He then told them where he had buried Becky many years earlier. Ive been described as a maverick, he sighs, which I reject, actually., How so? Never.. "It's about keeping the peace, preventing and detecting crime and protecting life and property. EXCLUSIVE: It is exactly 10 years to the day since Sian O'Callaghan, who was murdered by Christopher Halliwell, went missing while walking home from a nightclub in Swindon - an investigation which ultimately cost Steve Fulcher his career. When do the clocks change in 2023? Steve Fulcher confronted by killer Christopher Halliwell in A Confession finale teaser. I think my job is fairy stressful and I dont have to keep anyone alive so for people that are doing a life and death job, I dont know what the answer is but I think its definitely a shame and seemingly morally unjust that he lost his livelihood and his work here.. I feel I failed her. He has since been, in his words, unemployable in the UK. Yet Karen thought about Becky constantly. And actually I think that Id be a far better police officer now understanding the pain, because when we arrest people we might have them on bail for a period of time and they go through sheer hell., Fulcher is currently employed by a private company in Mogadishu, Somalia, as a consultant, subcontracted to deliver aid from Foreign Office and DFID programmes outside the green zone. A Confession on ITV: Who is Steve Fulcher? After 28 years in the force, he still believed there was a place in investigations for the policemans gut. When DS Steve Fulcher arrested Christopher Halliwell over the disappearance of 22-year-old Sian OCallaghan, it was the start of his own downfall. We are talking about the Sweeney era when suspects would be put in rooms and doors were shut and confessions were beaten out of them, no one wants to go back to that for a second.. and my conclusion was no, that was patently absurd in my opinion.. But there were also dark times. READ MORE:A Confession on ITV: Who is Steve Fulcher? A Confession on ITV: Who is Steve Fulcher? DS Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman in A Confession, resigned from the police after being found guilty of gross misconduct in the Christopher Halliwell case What Fulcher already knew was that his informal chat with Halliwell was breaching Code C of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace), which was instituted in the early 1980s in the aftermath of the Brixton riots. I did these things because they were the right things to do in these circumstances. Steve Fulcher said police uncovered a secret stash of women's clothing, 15 miles from where Halliwell had buried his victim Sian O'Callaghan, which could belong to other women he has targetted. So many times I had tried to fix Becky, and I couldnt. According to the police code, Steve should then have cautioned Halliwell and taken him back to the police station, where he could have spoken to a lawyer. it's pretty hard to answer. That's my disappointment with the thing.". It would prove to be a costly decision for Fulcher. Steve Fulcher said: "Halliwell murdered other people without any shadow of a doubt. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. On claims from critics and former colleagues that Fulcher's behaviour was "arrogant", Freeman asserted that ultimately his motive was well-intentioned and justifiable. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Repeatedly, Halliwell refused to be drawn, but Fulcher chipped away, telling him that if he didnt co-operate, he would be vilified. He has now returned to the public eye after throwing his support behind former colleague Mike Rees, 55, who is standing for the role of Police and Crime Commissioner in Wiltshire. And he has a warning. I KNOW HER: Is Lisa Faulkner in A Confession? Then they. So far, so police procedural. He directed the detective to the field in Gloucestershire where he had buried Becky Godden in a shallow grave in 2003. In the final episode,Steve Fulcher (played by Martin Freeman) will face a displinary hearing over his conduct in the case of Sian O'Callaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards. Halliwells confession to Beckys murder had been given without him being reminded of his rights by DS Fulcher subsequently described, wrongly, as a police blunder meaning he couldnt be held to account for killing Becky. Its precarious work, but Fulcher was not exactly inundated with job offers. I'm not a expert in Pace but I'm a person and I'm alive and I can't think of what else he should have done," he ruminated. Theres a good reason for that, because they are self-serving and hopeless generally speaking., Hell, it appears, hath no fury like a police officer scorned. Can you have a police force that simply ignores a serial killer?, Fulcher would also like to see amendments made to Pace that take into account exceptional positions that investigators sometimes find themselves in. How should I have done it differently?. It tells the story of22-year-old Sian OCallaghan who went missing in Swindon in 2011 after leaving a nightclub to walk to her boyfriend's house. Sian OCallaghan, a popular 22-year-old from Swindon, had been reported missing the previous Saturday, five days earlier. Ahead of the shows premiere, actor Martin Freeman, show creator Jeff Pope and director Paul Andrew Williams spoke to press in London, including Express.co.uk about Detective Fulcher and what happened to him. His admission took police to the remains of Becky Godden, 20, who had disappeared from the same town in 2003. Detective Sergeant Steve Fulcher resigned from the police force in 2014 after he was found guilty of misconduct for not reading Halliwell his rights when he first confessed to killing. Fulcher admits he was only seconds from giving up, but suddenly Halliwell cracked and offered to take him to where hed dumped Sians body. Givn him an alternative of what he should have done and got those girls back. We had her home, where no one could hurt her any more., Karens book, A Killers Confession, is published by Headline at 20, By A nice girl who had never been in trouble, her disappearance was immediately deemed out of character, and police acted quickly. Fulcher later said the situation was on a "knife-edge", fearing that Halliwell might change his mind about showing them where the body was located. However, the actions he took to try to save Sian and later Beck Godden-Edwards, cost him his career and reputation. If Im right, he had a propensity for killing on average once a year, says Fulcher. Rees, who is standing as an independent, is aiming to tackle the perceived 'watering-down' of his local force due to austerity. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. Fulcher didnt think so and when Halliwell was seen under surveillance buying an overdose-quantity of pills on the morning of 24 March, he ordered his arrest. Despite Fulchers questionable methods earning a confession from Halliwell, the Detective Superintendent was charged with gross misconduct for his actions which did not follow the prescribed guidelines. You have to ask, was he acting at all times in good faith? and I am certain that the answer to that is yes and therefore, if the decision is that because of the way that Steve used the interview provision and arguably preached PACE, the correct decision then is that the evidence shouldnt be allowed in court, its not that he is guilty of gross misconduct which is perverse to me.. At the time, the real Steve Fulcher, who is played by Sherlocks Martin Freeman in the ITV drama, came under fire for his methods in attaining a confession from the murder suspect Christopher Halliwell. "Which ever way you slice it when he asks that question, 'What should I have done?' And whatever the public thinks about it and Im as liberal as the next person theres a very good chance hed have killed other women in the meantime., Fulcher was a lifer in the police force. However, Fulcher did receive praise from Karen Edwards, the mother of Becky Godden-Edwards who went missing in 2003, whose body was found as a result of the Halliwell confession that Fulcher managed to ascertain. So why the delay? Fulcher had elicited a confession from a cold-blooded murderer who had evaded police scrutiny for decades a serial killer who studied forensics so he would be better able to cover his tracks. I had to I knew she would go anyway, Karen says. henever Steve Fulcher is asked to explain his actions during four excruciatingly tense hours on Thursday 24 March 2011 which he often is by former police colleagues, official enquiries and now journalists he always turns the question round. Speaking to Chat magazine, Edwards said: 'Since the trial, our family has kept in touch with Steve Fulcher and his wife Yvonne. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. At first, they nominated Fulcher for a Queen's Police Medal. "Steve Fulcher - and the families of victims who often have to watch those responsible for the murder of their relatives walk free, have my sympathy." @Mock Turtle "Perhaps the pendulum should be . Earlier this year, Karen was invited onto the set as filming got underway on an ITV drama based on the story of how Beckys killer was caught and the extraordinary legal saga that led to his conviction. He should also have reiterated the fact that Halliwell had the right to speak to a solicitor. A Confession on ITV: Martin Freeman reveals challenges of series. Her determination paid off. Steve, 53, from Wiltshire, was a Detective Superintendent and one of the most respected officers in the UK when he managed to catch sadistic taxi driver Halliwell. 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