0:00:02 > 0:00:04In 2014 there were over 500,000 criminal prosecutions
0:00:04 > 0:00:06in England and Wales.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Each one was prosecuted, not by the police,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12but by the lawyers of the Crown Prosecution Service.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17My job is about applying the law to other people's lives,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and hopefully for the public good.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23The defendant is found locked inside the house,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26with his mother dead downstairs.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30In every serious criminal case, the Crown Prosecution Service
0:00:30 > 0:00:34must decide who to charge and what to charge them with.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38I think that this will come down to, I suppose, is he bad or is he mad?
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Sometimes the difficult decisions are unpopular decisions,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44but they are the right decisions.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49It's their job to build the case and battle to secure a conviction.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52All the defence have to do is just pick at things.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53They just have to go like that.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And say "Well, you're not right about that."
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Now, for the very first time, the Crown Prosecution Service has let
0:00:59 > 0:01:04cameras in to film this unseen world between the police and the courts.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07These are real people, they're real people's lives
0:01:07 > 0:01:08and real emotions involved.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10We may have our suspicions, but if the evidence isn't there,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12the evidence isn't there.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15For them it's evidence.
0:01:15 > 0:01:16It's my life.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26For over 21 years no-one has been brought to justice
0:01:26 > 0:01:29for one of Britain's most notorious murders.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Now the CPS is preparing for a trial.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38On the evening of Monday 18th January 1993,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42in an alleyway just off the London Road, in Greenhithe North Kent,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Claire Tiltman, a 16-year-old schoolgirl,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49was killed in an apparently motiveless attack.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55A massive police investigation followed, but uncovered no suspects.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Claire, the only daughter of Lin and Cliff Tiltman,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03had been stabbed no less than nine times.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Cliff, this is obviously a very difficult time for you.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09How are you managing to get through it with your wife?
0:02:11 > 0:02:12Very, very difficult.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Well, we're not really. Sort of shattered.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Erm... I don't know, a lot of people...
0:02:18 > 0:02:21People have asked me how I am...
0:02:21 > 0:02:25and all I can say is what I've said to the doctor and everyone else -
0:02:25 > 0:02:28do you know anyone that's got a tablet for a broken heart?
0:02:29 > 0:02:33If anybody knows anything, you know, if they just phone the police...
0:02:33 > 0:02:36- Please.- If anybody's got any idea...
0:02:36 > 0:02:40So that they can't do it again to anybody else.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46The investigating team believe that Claire's killer did indeed attack again.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49And now they want to use the details of that attack
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and a recent change in the law to try and prove
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Colin Ash-Smith guilty of the murder of Claire Tiltman.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04We're here to talk about the murder of Claire Tiltman.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And I know, looking around the room here, there's a fair few
0:03:07 > 0:03:10of you that have followed this case for many years,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14and probably like I, share a real passion to try and bring
0:03:14 > 0:03:18some resolution to the murder of Claire Tiltman,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21in such horrific circumstances, back in 1993.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26For the past three years Nigel Pilkington has been in charge
0:03:26 > 0:03:29of building the case for the prosecution.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Claire Tiltman was walking to her friend's, Victoria Swift.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It's about a mile or so from her house.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37They were going to discuss college.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39She never made it to her friend's house.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42She was stabbed in an alleyway near to where Victoria Swift lives.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Initially, people see her come staggering out
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and they think there's been a car accident.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49It's very quickly when people go to her aid,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51see that she had actually been stabbed a number of times.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And Claire died tragically at the scene.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56And what then took place was probably one of the largest
0:03:56 > 0:03:59murder investigations that Kent Police have ever run.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03However, Claire's attacker was never identified.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Then we have to go forward
0:04:06 > 0:04:11about two and three quarter years to the 17th October, 1995.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14On that day, literally, round the corner -
0:04:14 > 0:04:16we are talking no more than 300 yards -
0:04:16 > 0:04:20a woman called Charlotte Barnard is approached by a man.
0:04:20 > 0:04:27He grabs her, pulls her across the road, he stabs her about 14 times.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It is literally a miracle that she did not die.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30But she did not die.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Now, on that night and on that evening
0:04:33 > 0:04:36a very distinctive car was seen just up the road.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40And also recognised in the area was Colin Ash-Smith.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43He was the attacker for this lady.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46He subsequently went on to admit it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:52Did you attack Charlotte Barnard on the 17th of October with a knife?
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Yes.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Why did you do it?
0:04:57 > 0:04:58I don't know.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Is there anything at all that actually triggers off this act in you?
0:05:04 > 0:05:08It's like an impulse. I don't know if...
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Most of the time I just snap out of it.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17The similarities of the two attacks were...well, remarkable.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22And so at that stage Colin Ash-Smith's name had been
0:05:22 > 0:05:24linked to Claire Tiltman's murder.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I would be lying to you if I said I'm not going to be looking
0:05:27 > 0:05:31very closely at you for the death of Claire.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Out of all the interviews I've...been in,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I haven't told one single lie.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Out of every single interview I haven't told one single lie
0:05:45 > 0:05:47in any interview at all.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And I can categorically deny I didn't have anything to do with that.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54OK. That's a double negative, but I take what you mean.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I didn't have anything to do with that.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00You didn't kill... You're telling me you didn't kill Claire Tiltman?
0:06:00 > 0:06:03I know I didn't her, kill Claire.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10Colin Ash-Smith, born on 3rd of June '68, lived not far away.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14And what we also knew was that Colin Ash-Smith actually knew Claire Tiltman -
0:06:14 > 0:06:17an association through the British Legion.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23Colin Ash-Smith was arrested for Claire's murder and denied it.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26At that stage we couldn't link it.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Despite his denials,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31the manner of the attacks made Colin Ash-Smith a suspect.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34He was put into an identity parade.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37OK, I suggest, in consultation with your solicitor,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40you select your position in the line-up, please.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Number two to swap, please.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Witnesses who'd seen someone on the London Road
0:06:45 > 0:06:48on the night of Claire's murder three years earlier
0:06:48 > 0:06:51could not make a positive identification.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55And with no forensic evidence Colin Ash-Smith was not charged.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Right, if you'd like to come this way.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01He did, however, plead guilty to the attack on Charlotte Barnard
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and to an earlier attack on another woman, and was sentenced
0:07:04 > 0:07:08to life imprisonment with a minimum of term of 15 years.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Have we looked at attacks since 1990 kind of 5?
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- Oh, there's been no attacks. - There haven't?- No.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16So they stopped after Colin Ash-Smith
0:07:16 > 0:07:18- had been arrested?- Yes.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20The similarity of the cases meant Colin Ash-Smith remained
0:07:20 > 0:07:24the prime suspect for the murder of Claire Tiltman.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28But the details of those cases could not be used as evidence
0:07:28 > 0:07:31until a recent change in the law.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33The prosecution can now introduce
0:07:33 > 0:07:35what's called bad character evidence.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39So if there is behaviour which is very similar,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42the prosecution could then rely upon it as part of their case.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44But there would have to be other evidence,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47so it's part of the prosecution case.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The law was changed to allow bad character to be introduced,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53not completely, but on certain conditions.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56But there's still quite a high hurdle,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and I couldn't run a case if all I had was a bad character.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00And people might take the view well, you shouldn't
0:08:00 > 0:08:03because it could be a little bit difficult for a defendant
0:08:03 > 0:08:06if all the prosecution are saying is that he's a man of bad character.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Before the prosecution will be allowed to introduce any
0:08:09 > 0:08:11bad character evidence, they will have to persuade
0:08:11 > 0:08:15the judge that it is not the only thing their case is relying upon.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18It'll be a difficult case because it's a circumstantial case.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20But then there's no point in doing this job
0:08:20 > 0:08:22unless you do difficult cases.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Difficult historic crimes often form part of a workload
0:08:27 > 0:08:30of the complex casework unit.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Here, lawyers on average spend a year to 18 months on a case.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39In Mersey Cheshire, a non-recent sex abuse case is being
0:08:39 > 0:08:42prepared for trial in five months' time.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Shall we just start from...base one really.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48When's the trial?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51The trial is the 27th of October.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53We've got one defendant,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55and at the moment we've got...
0:08:55 > 0:08:5913...complainants.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04The defendant, Cavendish-Coulson, was a teacher
0:09:04 > 0:09:07in a private school in Cheshire.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10It was a boarding school.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14And some complainants came forward to say that many years ago they'd
0:09:14 > 0:09:18been indecently assaulted by him when they were boys at the school.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50So the 13 we've got,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54how many are from the school in Chester?
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- 12.- So we've got 12 from that school,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59and the 13th is from where?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- He was privately tutored.- Right.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06There's actually a sort of ten year gap between the offences
0:10:06 > 0:10:11involving the boys from the Cheshire school and the offence on him.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I think that the fact that something happened some years ago
0:10:14 > 0:10:16doesn't mean it didn't happen,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18or doesn't mean we shouldn't bother with it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22If they give a credible description of what happened to them
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and they're reliable witnesses,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27who are we not to prosecute?
0:10:27 > 0:10:30We look at the evidence, and if we think there's enough evidence,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33then I think it's very much in the public interest
0:10:33 > 0:10:35to prosecute sex offenders.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38We had our original, very original two,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42if you recall, and one of those wasn't wanting to give evidence.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- Is that right?- That's staying the same for his health reasons.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49His family don't want him to become involved.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- And that's sad.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Because it's probably because of this offending...- It may be.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- ..that he's not in a fit state to... - It may be, yeah.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02We get criticised in the press sometimes as if
0:11:02 > 0:11:07we've dredged it up, we've dreamt up cases, we've found victims.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Those victims come to the police and they come to us.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38And what offences are we going for on the indictment?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's all indecent assaults.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41Right. Under the old...
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Under the '56 Act, yeah.- Yes.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- And he won't plead?- No.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Just denies it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Accepts he was at the school, denies committing the offences,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and says they were colluding.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56It's been fabricated.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58And yet there's no evidence of collusion.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01They've come forward separately, from separate lives now.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04This was a prep school.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07There were only there till they were 13.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11So they've had no contact, many of them, for many, many years.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It's like some old school friend of mine
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- coming forward at the same time as me and I haven't seen them.- No.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20It's the only defence he can come up with though.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23If he's still going to plead not guilty, that IS his only defence.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Cos why else would all these people come forward?
0:12:26 > 0:12:31So he can only really claim collusion and fabrication, can't he?
0:12:31 > 0:12:32Yes, he can.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35He's filed a defence case statement now, which confirms that.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- Oh, does it?- Yes. That that's his defence.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Is that it there?- Yes. - That's it there.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43When people say there isn't any evidence,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46well, the evidence is the fact that somebody's come forward
0:12:46 > 0:12:49and has given a good description of what happened to them.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54And if there's no reason to distrust them or disbelieve them,
0:12:54 > 0:12:55then we believe them.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58And I'm sorry, but if you get a lot of victims in essence saying
0:12:58 > 0:13:03more or less the same thing, it does make it more likely to be true.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Difficult though in front of juries,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08particularly with non-recent sexual offences.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11The main bit, which is paragraph two, isn't it?
0:13:11 > 0:13:16"None... None of the assaults took place, and they're all false."
0:13:16 > 0:13:17Yes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19And then he has to say... He HAS to, doesn't he?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22"The defendant suspects there's been collusion."
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- That's because he's got no evidence of collusion.- No.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29He's going to suggest possibly that the police in their investigation
0:13:29 > 0:13:35gave information away that indicated what they were investigating...
0:13:35 > 0:13:38- Oh, I see.- ..to come forward.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- So the collusion is sort of via the police.- Yeah.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- As if they've corralled it all. - Yeah.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45That kind of makes more sense.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49We're satisfied that he is somebody who is a serial sex offender.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53So clearly in the public interest to prosecute, as far as I'm concerned.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59In North Kent, the prosecution team are on their way to visit
0:13:59 > 0:14:01the site of Claire Tiltman's murder.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06This offence took place in 1993.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09And over 21 years a lot has changed.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Not just the geography of where the offence took place,
0:14:12 > 0:14:18but also people's thinking and social habits have changed,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22the way people now communicate in terms of telephone evidence,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25all impact upon the thinking.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29So for us, it's very important that how we present a case to a jury
0:14:29 > 0:14:35is how the case would have looked like back in 1993.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Claire lived at Woodward Terrace.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Just this one here.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48So she left five to six, I think around then.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50She walked along here.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52It's a dark January night.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55She's made an arrangement with Victoria Swift,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59who lives over here, to discuss college, because they're 16.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01She's only just 16,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04she was 16 four days previously, on the 14th January.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06So she walked all the way down here.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It's quite a lengthy route. People see her along this road.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Following the 1993 appeal for information,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16the police took over a thousand witness statements.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22We'll park in here and walk the rest of the way.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26At the trial, Nigel wants to try and use five of these witnesses
0:15:26 > 0:15:29to piece together the events of that night.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Lee Hooper arrives here at almost certainly six minutes past six.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34So Lee Hooper, remind us who he is.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36He takes a call from his father, which is on a BT phone bill.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39He puts the phone down and leaves the house,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41and it takes him 12 minutes to walk here.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44And on the south side of the road he sees Claire Tiltman.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Now, that's really important because, if we turn around,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50she is going to go to her friend's, Victoria Swift's,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52which is in the corner there.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55To get to that house, if you were a 16-year-old girl in the dark,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59you'd probably walk that way along Station Road and up there,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00there's a road up there.
0:16:00 > 0:16:01She doesn't do that.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Because she's murdered in the alleyway which is
0:16:04 > 0:16:06- just beyond those lights.- OK.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09To get from here to that alleyway is going to take us about 90 seconds.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12She's here at 18:06, she's murdered 18:20.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14- So what happened? - That's 14 minutes later.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16So where does she go in 14 minutes?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19We say she went up the hill and came down.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24And when you do that timing, you arrive at the alleyway about 18:20.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Why did she go up the hill?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31We say, almost certainly,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34or probably, she went up to go to a shop to buy cigarettes.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Cigarettes were found on her. Ten, but one was missing.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Cigarettes are found on her but we've got no evidence to
0:16:39 > 0:16:41say that she bought any cigarettes up at the shop there.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42No, we don't.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44We then say she came down across the zebra crossing.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47We say the zebra crossing's really important in this case.
0:16:47 > 0:16:48We say he drives down here.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51He sees Claire crossing the zebra crossing.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55So he sees her. His plan is hatched in ten seconds.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58He's going to get in front of her, he's going to kill her,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00he's going to go round, double back and come back to his car.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- It was more opportunist. - It's opportunist.- That's it.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05OK. We're going to go back now to the alley.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08We've got a number of eye-witnesses,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12who see a bit of what happened in the case.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Now, the prosecution role is to ensure we bring all those
0:17:15 > 0:17:20pieces together to show that it was Colin Ash-Smith who murdered Claire.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24The role of the defence barrister is challenging, undermining,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28bringing out the inconsistencies,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32trying to show that the story doesn't fit.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Kathleen Still is driving her car up London Road.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38And as she drives up the road, she sees something quite unusual.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41She sees a man on that side of the road.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42You can look at that side of the road.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45You can't walk on that side of the road. Look how busy it is now.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49She notices this man because it's unusual,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51and she gives a description of him.
0:17:51 > 0:17:525 foot 8, 5 foot 10.
0:17:52 > 0:17:5620 to 22, fair blonde hair.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Light, fawn beige jacket, dark trousers. That is Colin Ash-Smith.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04He's on this side of the road when she's on the other side of the road.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06He's determined to get in front of her.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09A thing he was to repeat in the attempted murder
0:18:09 > 0:18:11of Charlotte Barnard two and a half years later.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12That's what he does.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16We say that's what we call a very similar fact - that he moves in front of his victim.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Danny French has walked from the station, getting off his train
0:18:19 > 0:18:23about 18:07, 18:08, and he's going to get here at about 18:13.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28And as he's walking up the road he will see Claire Tiltman coming down.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31The other thing he sees, he sees a man in front of Claire.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34His description - young man, lightish hair.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37He says a light blue denim wash jacket, which is disappointing
0:18:37 > 0:18:40cos we don't think Mr Ash-Smith was wearing such a jacket.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42But he can't really describe him very well.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44And he sees the man in front of Claire,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47but he doesn't see anybody behind her.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48He walks on. She walks down.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Claire gets to the alleyway.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56So here's the alley.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59He may know it's her or he may not realise it's her.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02But he's in this state that he has to attack.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03This is one of his characteristics.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06He's says he's got to, you know, when the urge comes upon him he has to attack.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10And he stabs her. And it's a ferocious attack, and it's seconds.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Witnesses Harris and Hanson are driving,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and they come up here and they see a girl.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19- And she's waving her arms, and clutching her back and looking behind her.- Right.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20They see nobody else on the road.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22What happened to the suspect?
0:19:22 > 0:19:25His car, remember, is up the top of the hill.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27He got down, got in front of her. So what does he do?
0:19:27 > 0:19:31He needs to get back to his car, but in a circuitous route.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33So, in my view, he comes this way.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- Oh, I see.- Yeah, OK.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39He gets to the top of the stairs and he runs past this house.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41And there's a woman in there and she sees a man.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46And she describes that man as having blonde fair hair with a beige jacket.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48And he's about 5 foot 10.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52She gets the age as 40, which is way out.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53But I'm not so concerned about that
0:19:53 > 0:19:57because people's misdescription of age is understandable.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00People's misdescription of people's clothing is not, or hair colour.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I mean, you'd want to get that right. But you can understand.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04And he's limping.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07We've checked everybody at the Ivy Bower Surgery,
0:20:07 > 0:20:08nobody went in for a limp.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12That's not to say that they didn't go in for something else and they had a limp.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14But isn't it possible that he fell over running up the stairs?
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Well, he would have run away.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18He's looking behind him, he seems to be agitated.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22He is the description, save for age, which is a description of Colin Ash-Smith.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Once again this evidence is challengeable. There's thousands of statements of people giving
0:20:26 > 0:20:30descriptions of different people in different clothing. Why are we picking these people?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Well, of course we're picking them people because they say it fits our case.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37But we're also picking them because they give the most proximate times and they give that
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- narrative of the clothing and the age and the hair is Ash-Smith.- Yeah.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44And he's got to double back and get up to his car.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47So he's gone round here, he's come up here.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50There are three boys here who do see a man whom
0:20:50 > 0:20:54- they give a description of, and he's limping.- Right, OK.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Unfortunately the description's not great.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- Are we using them in evidence? - No, we're not using them.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02We have to be careful about completely exposing our case.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05I mean, what we say about Colin Ash-Smith, this is the evidence.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07And these are some of the witnesses who will help us.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10But we don't have to prove definitely how he got back to his car.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12We don't have to provide a whole story.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- We don't know how he got back to his car.- No.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16We suggest that that's a way.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Yeah. That's not...
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Sure, the murderer did go somewhere.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26It is possible that it is another man who has perpetrated
0:21:26 > 0:21:28the attack on Charlotte Barnard two and a half years later,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31in exactly the same way, entirely motiveless, with a knife,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35having moved in front of the girl he was about to attack,
0:21:35 > 0:21:36about 200 yards away.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39It's possible that it's another man.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42But the more you look at it, and the more you put your case together,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44the more we considered, actually,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Colin Ash-Smith did kill Claire Tiltman.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49That's the reality. Do we have sufficient evidence?
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Well, yes, I think we do. He'll never admit it.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54And it'll go to full trial, I've no doubt.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Following press coverage of Keith Cavendish-Coulson being charged
0:22:01 > 0:22:05with indecent assault, more pupils from the preparatory school where
0:22:05 > 0:22:09he taught French in the 1970s have been to the police to make reports.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27The defendant has now been charged with a number of other offences
0:22:27 > 0:22:30involving other complainants, and then...
0:22:30 > 0:22:31How many more complainants?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- 13, I think.- Yeah.
0:22:34 > 0:22:3613 more? Because didn't we have...
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- presumably coincidentally 13 before? - Yeah.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- So we've now got 26.- Yeah.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48Presumably the idea being that we'll link those 13 into the trial, the October trial?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- No. There's going to be two trials. - Yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55The victims who have suffered the greatest impact
0:22:55 > 0:22:57are in the first indictment,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00so they don't have to wait for the second trial to give their evidence.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Right.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The hope is that if trial number one does go for full trial
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and he's convicted, the hope is trial two,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12he'll just see sense and plead guilty.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17So with a bit of luck those complainants will never have to give evidence.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20If he's acquitted in trial number one,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22we just need to regroup, don't we?
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- And consider our position, cos it's the same defence.- Yeah.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28But we've got quite a lot of evidence as well as all
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- these people saying the same thing. - Yeah.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32And what's he going to do?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Sit there for eight weeks and listen to that?
0:23:34 > 0:23:38He needs to really be thinking about his position now.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40The longer he pleads not guilty and won't plead,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42the worse it is for complainants.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46- The worse it is for him. - And the longer sentence he gets.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49But you imagine that he's got no care for the complainants anyway,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51really, wouldn't you?
0:23:51 > 0:23:54In that this is just dragging on.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00- Anyway...- It's serial offending, isn't it?
0:24:02 > 0:24:07Colin Ash-Smith has now served 19 years of his life sentence
0:24:07 > 0:24:09and has applied for parole.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11That hearing will not take place
0:24:11 > 0:24:15until after he goes on trial charged with the murder of Claire Tiltman.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Five and a half weeks before the trial begins,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22the prosecution have a conference to make sure they're ready.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Do you want to go through page by page, Brian?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28No, because I think that would take us forever to do.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30The CPS have instructed Brian Altman QC
0:24:30 > 0:24:34to lead the team that will present their case in court.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Brian Altman QC is one of the leading barristers in the country.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I used to brief him as a barrister many kind of years ago
0:24:41 > 0:24:45when I used to run the Old Bailey murder unit.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And he's just the type of barrister you would want for a case like this,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51as he's able to bring all the circumstantial evidence,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56tie it together and present a very compelling case for the prosecution.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59We're not talking about the type of killer,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02or man who attempts to kill,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06who plunges the knife in once, twice, and runs off.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Actually, it's frenzied.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11We've got, in Claire's case, front and back.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Charlotte, I think it was front and back as well.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17So, you know, there is a similarity there.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19It's an unusual, rare event.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Frenzied, quick, rapid,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24planned and ostensibly not sexually motivated,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28which is actually a fairly exceptional feature, I think.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31And of course within a few hundred yards of each other.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35And apart from all the other similarities. All right.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37It's not just the details of the knife attacks
0:25:37 > 0:25:40on Colin Ash-Smith's other victims that the prosecution
0:25:40 > 0:25:44want included in their bad character application.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48They also want the judge to allow the jury to hear about other similarities.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51We say that in four separate occasions when he attacked someone,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55he always gives a false alibi.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57The morning after Claire was murdered
0:25:57 > 0:25:58and the call for witnesses put out,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Colin Ash-Smith rang the police.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14So he's setting up his alibi.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17And he's doing that because sooner or later somebody might say
0:26:17 > 0:26:20"Oh, I saw Ash-Smith up near the newsagent."
0:26:20 > 0:26:22It's what he always does, he gets in early.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24But he makes a big mistake.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28He says 6:30, and that's just not the right time.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Six days later, the police visited Colin Ash-Smith
0:26:32 > 0:26:34to record his written witness statement.
0:26:34 > 0:26:366:30 is after the murder.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40It's no use talking about what happened after the murder, so he changes it.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Was it a man or was it a woman?
0:26:48 > 0:26:51"I don't really know and I can't really give a description."
0:26:51 > 0:26:52What's the point of that?
0:26:52 > 0:26:55And it's really important for the bad character perspective
0:26:55 > 0:26:57to understand the reason that it's so important
0:26:57 > 0:26:59is that he keeps doing that.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03And if it isn't him, then how extraordinarily coincidental
0:27:03 > 0:27:06is that that he keeps doing it? Why does he do it?
0:27:06 > 0:27:08And funnily enough, the description that he gives,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11if it's a description of anyone it's a description of Claire. Amazingly.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Because he just says,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15"Oh, it could have been a female. longish hair down to shoulder.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17He's really giving a description of a girl.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20It's quite difficult if you're asked to give a description which
0:27:20 > 0:27:23you know is going to be false to actually give a false description.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25What you would often do is just focus on somebody you know,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28not that I'm a master criminal who does that sort of thing, but I think
0:27:28 > 0:27:31you would probably focus on somebody you know and give that description.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Otherwise you could be caught out later on in a police interview,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37if you can't remember what description you've given.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40So I think what happens is that he gives a description of somebody
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and only person's whose description he's given if it's of anyone,
0:27:43 > 0:27:44is of Claire.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49The CPS' handling of non-recent sex abuse cases
0:27:49 > 0:27:52is often highly controversial.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55The month before Keith Cavendish-Coulson goes on trial,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Claire and Janet have come to London for a meeting with
0:27:58 > 0:28:00the Director of Public Prosecutions.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04I'm ultimately responsible for all cases that go through the CPS.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07But when we have case management panels
0:28:07 > 0:28:10we have criteria which will say, "Are they very serious cases?
0:28:10 > 0:28:12"Are the trials going to last a long time?
0:28:12 > 0:28:16"Are there particularly vulnerable, sensitive victims and witnesses?
0:28:16 > 0:28:20"Is there going to be lots of press interest in it?" For example.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And those are the cases that will come in for a case management panel.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27So it's really around making sure that these cases are dealt with properly.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Sorry, we're almost late.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30No, no, no. You ARE late.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- You're not almost. You are. - THEY LAUGH
0:28:33 > 0:28:36A problem with the trains, I gather. So...
0:28:36 > 0:28:37Do you want to just give us
0:28:37 > 0:28:41a very quick sort of run through of the brief facts?
0:28:41 > 0:28:45It is a number of complaints,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48non-recent complaints of indecent assault against the defendant,
0:28:48 > 0:28:54who was formerly a teacher at a private preparatory school in Cheshire.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57A boarding school for boys under the age of 13.
0:28:57 > 0:29:03- OK. So total number of complainants now is about 20...- 26.- 26.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Because they took place so long ago, quite often evidence that you
0:29:07 > 0:29:10would have had, had you been able to get to the
0:29:10 > 0:29:13scene of the offending earlier, of course that's no longer there.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18People's memories, if it's 20 years ago as opposed to two weeks ago,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21will be very different, but we will also go back and look
0:29:21 > 0:29:24at things like, are there other witnesses we can get who saw people
0:29:24 > 0:29:30at particular times that can support the victim and their allegations?
0:29:30 > 0:29:35- So the size of the case served evidence is quite substantial?- Yes.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38And I presume you've got some school records stuff because certainly
0:29:38 > 0:29:41some of the parents made complaints to the school, didn't they?
0:29:41 > 0:29:44- Yes, and we've got...- He was eventually dismissed or...?- He was.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Well, arrangements were made for him to be let go,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49if you like, yes, by the headmaster of the school.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52So we've got evidence from that headmaster,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54and we've got evidence from parents at the school.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Excellent. That's good.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58And I presume his defence case statement was no more than,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00"Never happened."
0:30:00 > 0:30:02No. Fairly standard, isn't it, really?
0:30:02 > 0:30:05And there's been nothing from them in relation to sort of medical
0:30:05 > 0:30:06or anything like that or
0:30:06 > 0:30:10bearing in mind as well his age, that sort of thing? No?
0:30:10 > 0:30:13- No, cos how old is he now? Is he 70?- 71.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18No, seems to be completely compos mentis, doesn't he?
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Age in itself isn't a bar to prosecution.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24It's more around do they have any mental issues,
0:30:24 > 0:30:26will they understand what's happening?
0:30:26 > 0:30:29And sometimes they may be so ill that we do have to make
0:30:29 > 0:30:32a judgment about whether it's in the public interest to prosecute.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34And whether they'll be able to stand trial,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36whether they'll understand the whole process.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Is there anything in relation to any of the individuals that might
0:30:39 > 0:30:41lead to a specific attack on them?
0:30:41 > 0:30:43The character of the victims?
0:30:43 > 0:30:46- No.- They're all professional people, living all over the country.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50None of them have any previous convictions or health issues
0:30:50 > 0:30:54that would give rise to a concern about vulnerability
0:30:54 > 0:30:56and an attack on that basis.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59And certainly the defence haven't raised any issue so far.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01Although I accept that that's
0:31:01 > 0:31:03very often something that waits until the trial.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09In the years following Claire Tiltman's murder,
0:31:09 > 0:31:11the case was never closed.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17After her mother died in 2008, her father kept campaigning.
0:31:17 > 0:31:18Never given up hope.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Never. Never have done, never will do.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24But she would have been 30 now, so.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Yeah it's... Yeah, she was a good kid, really was.
0:31:29 > 0:31:30I miss her to bits.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36He died in 2012 before Colin Ash-Smith was charged
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and the campaign to keep the case in the public eye
0:31:39 > 0:31:42was taken over by a group of Claire's school friends.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Tilt was just someone really, really fun,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49galvanised people together, had lots of different friends.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52I always remember afterwards that she was portrayed as this
0:31:52 > 0:31:55very goody-goody, two-shoes grammar school girl.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57She was so far away from that.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59She was nothing like that at all.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02She was real good fun and just someone that always,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04always made you laugh, that's what I always remember.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07- Had a really good laugh. - Superb sense of humour.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10She definitely got her sense of humour from Cliff
0:32:10 > 0:32:12and Cliff totally doted on her.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16As a 15, 16-year-old, your parents aren't always the people that
0:32:16 > 0:32:18you're closest to at that time, by far.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21- They were all just best friends.- Yeah.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Very, very close unit, had a lot of respect and thought
0:32:24 > 0:32:26so much of her parents.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Now, almost 22 years after Claire's death, the prosecution
0:32:30 > 0:32:34are going to try and prove Colin Ash-Smith is guilty of her murder.
0:32:34 > 0:32:35Some people look at this case
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and say, "I don't know what you're doing, Nigel.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41"You haven't got a case here." Because it's a circumstantial case.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43There's no direct evidence in the case to say that Colin Ash-Smith
0:32:43 > 0:32:47was responsible but yet the case is overwhelming, in our view.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50It doesn't quite take a leap of faith cos that's not
0:32:50 > 0:32:52part of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54But you have to take a view that, if we look at all the case
0:32:54 > 0:32:57together, do we have a case that could succeed?
0:32:57 > 0:33:00The problem with that is that many people would disagree.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02So you put 10 lawyers in a room and some agree with me
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and some would not.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08But at the end of the day, it's just about judgment.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12For two days, the judge considers
0:33:12 > 0:33:14whether to allow the prosecution to use details
0:33:14 > 0:33:18of Colin Ash-Smith's other offences as evidence of bad character.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24He decides in the prosecution's favour and the trial can now begin.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29It's taken an awful lot of hard work from a lot of people from all the
0:33:29 > 0:33:33organisations to get this to where it is, unrelenting over the years,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36try, try, try again, try something different, try something new.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Do you know I think it does mean a lot to the officers working on it.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45And the additional tragedies of her parents that are now both
0:33:45 > 0:33:48deceased, who aren't here hopefully to see justice.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51So that moment when you know the trial is just about to start,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53it's quite an emotional thing.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59The opening in my estimation is probably the most important
0:33:59 > 0:34:01thing that any prosecuting counsel can do.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04It's the old thing, isn't it?
0:34:04 > 0:34:06You tell them what you're going to tell them,
0:34:06 > 0:34:09you tell them it and then you tell them what you've told them.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11And you give them a sound bite,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15something that they're going to remember about the case -
0:34:15 > 0:34:19senseless slaughter, motiveless, remorseless, savage, brutal.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I'm afraid they're all adjectives and adverbs
0:34:21 > 0:34:25which we have used down the ages, but it grabs people.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26And I use my mannerisms
0:34:26 > 0:34:31and I use my gestures in such a way that they will understand this is an
0:34:31 > 0:34:35important, really important point. Perhaps that's not so important.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38And at times you'll see that I deliberately drop my voice.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41That's cos I want them to strain to listen to what I'm about to say.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43And other times, I'll really raise my voice.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46And all of that, I'm afraid, is entirely deliberate.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Not because I'm playing a game. Far from it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52And not because I'm trying to embark on an Oscar-winning performance,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I'm not.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56It's because I have a job to do.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58And my job as an advocate is to persuade.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02And if I can't persuade them on the basis of this opening,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04then I'm not doing my job.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35The position is that we're not being contradicted, nobody's objecting
0:35:35 > 0:35:38to anything we're saying so it's our best chance to put our case forward.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42But hereafter, our case will come under scrutiny, because the
0:35:42 > 0:35:46defence will be cross-examining our witnesses and putting their case.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48They haven't put anything of their case yet.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50All that's happened so far is that he's said he's not guilty.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Over seven days, 19 witnesses will be presented by the prosecution
0:35:56 > 0:35:58and then cross-examined.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02The evidence of a further 88 people, some now deceased,
0:36:02 > 0:36:03will also be read to the jury.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08One of the key witnesses is part of the prosecution's new evidence.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11He's a friend Colin Ash-Smith made in prison.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18Monday we have a man to whom we say Ash-Smith confessed
0:36:18 > 0:36:23aspects of what he had done in prison, 10 or so years ago,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25which will be interesting.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Of course Dubois assumed he was talking about the offence
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that Colin Ash-Smith was in prison for.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48But when you know the case and you know the detail of the case,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51there wasn't a zebra crossing in that case at all.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52It didn't feature.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55But when you know the Claire Tiltman murder case, it is
0:36:55 > 0:36:58really quite relevant because Colin Ash-Smith had phoned in
0:36:58 > 0:37:02on the day after, mentioned a zebra crossing, seeing somebody on there.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04The story, as we believe it, was that actually
0:37:04 > 0:37:09he has seen Claire Tiltman in that area, in that location where he was.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12So that piece of evidence is really, really powerful
0:37:12 > 0:37:14because it isn't a straight confession.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18It isn't "I did it", and you can make comment on that, that maybe
0:37:18 > 0:37:20that could be bravado about something.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22It's something that didn't mean an awful lot.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24It didn't mean anything to Dubois.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26And the other dynamic is that he's still friends with
0:37:26 > 0:37:30Colin Ash-Smith, and when the prosecution case is served,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32Colin Ash-Smith gets a copy of Dubois' statement.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36He then makes a phone call from prison into Dubois
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and then introduces this whole business of the zebra
0:37:39 > 0:37:41crossing in that phone call.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44I've seen the evidence they think they have
0:37:44 > 0:37:46and I'm wondering why I'm still here actually, to be honest.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- Right.- I even saw your statement actually. There's nothing in there.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51You knew me in prison. So what?
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Yeah. I knew you in prison. We talked about a couple of things.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I can't remember if they were related to any offence or not.
0:37:56 > 0:37:57Well, the thing is,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01they said you'd mentioned like a pedestrian crossing.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05That day when I was arrested, I went probably about through 50 of them.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08- A-ha!- You know what I mean?
0:38:08 > 0:38:11They're trying to link it to the one, this thing, you know.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Yeah, yeah, yeah. The 20-year-old case, yeah.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19You know, she said I got upset at a pedestrian crossing probably.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21I got upset at a lot of things back then.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23You know, it's quite comical when I look at it.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26It's not... It's a serious thing but I've sort looked through
0:38:26 > 0:38:30the statements and their evidence and stuff and think, "is that it?"
0:38:30 > 0:38:33- You know... - There's nothing there.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36There's nothing there that relates to this offence. There's nothing.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Well, why's he picking out that particular bit of information?
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Well, the reason is
0:38:41 > 0:38:45because it's extremely relevant to what happened on that day.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And we would say he was talking about Claire Tiltman on that day.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49That's exactly what happened.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52That fits into exactly what the whole case is
0:38:52 > 0:38:54and that's what makes it so powerful.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Keith Cavendish-Coulson is facing 42 counts of indecent
0:39:12 > 0:39:15assault on boys he taught during the 1970s and '80s.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Today he is expected to appear in Chester Crown Court
0:39:19 > 0:39:22for a plea and case management hearing.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25It's not an easy thing for people to come forward
0:39:25 > 0:39:27and make these complaints.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30And part of the reason that they make complaints to the police
0:39:30 > 0:39:32is they want to see justice done.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35But it won't be an easy process. They will have to give evidence.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38They will have to be cross-examined about the allegations.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42The defendant's version of events will be put to them
0:39:42 > 0:39:45quite robustly by those representing him.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47And it is a high burden of proof.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51And so, very often there are cases where they may think, well,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54some of that's right and some of what the defendant says is right
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle,
0:39:57 > 0:39:58so we can't be sure.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01So we've got to find the defendant not guilty.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05And it doesn't necessarily mean the complainant must have been lying
0:40:05 > 0:40:08and what the defendant says is completely true,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11which I think sometimes is the public perception.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Due to earlier cases in the day over-running, Cavendish-Coulson
0:40:15 > 0:40:18hasn't actually had the charges read to him in court.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19But there is a development.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22- PHONE RINGS - 'Hello?'
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Hi, Claire, it's Janet. The defendant's appeared.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29He's not actually been arraigned. Although...
0:40:29 > 0:40:31- 'Oh, no.'- I know.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35Although the defence have indicated that he's going to plead guilty.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37'Did he indicate that in open court?'
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Yes, he's indicated it in open court.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44His counsel has confirmed that he's got signed instructions
0:40:44 > 0:40:45to that effect,
0:40:45 > 0:40:51and that there is no dispute with any of the prosecution evidence
0:40:51 > 0:40:53and there is no basis of plea.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58Apparently he's having everything. No basis of plea.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02No issue with any complainant. So it's a full hands up.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Is that a likely custodial sentence?
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I think so. Coming his way.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07I know.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12- How old is he?- Erm, I think he's 70, 71.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18Finish his last days in prison maybe. Oh, dear.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20Yeah, probably.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22- That's a fantastic result for us. - I know. I'm really pleased.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Absolutely fantastic.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27It's been a year's work actually. So really good.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Keith Cavendish-Coulson finally does appear in court
0:41:32 > 0:41:35to enter his plea to the charges against him.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49Everyone's done so much work on the case, I thought I'd go in and
0:41:49 > 0:41:52listen to the words "guilty" 42 times,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55as it happened in this scenario.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59He, erm, queried one of them.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Said he didn't know the person and then seemed to change his mind,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05so a great feeling of relief, to be honest.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08And then two of the victims
0:42:08 > 0:42:11of course gave Victim Personal Statements,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14which means they are reading out to the court
0:42:14 > 0:42:17how the offences have affected them.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21And gosh! It was upsetting, to be honest.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57The one victim who read his statement out particularly
0:42:57 > 0:43:02seemed almost that this was a cathartic exercise for him, I think.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Because over... I know it was the '70s,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11but different authorities had let them down, sort of,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13teaching professionals and the like,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16and here was the criminal justice system
0:43:16 > 0:43:19actually listening to what he had to say.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23So, I think he felt that was quite cathartic, to be honest.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27The judge has retired to consider the sentence he will impose.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32At Inner London Crown Court,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35the prosecution has finished presenting their case.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39It's been all us so far.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Everybody in that court seemed convinced.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43But as I've said to you, you've only heard our side of the story.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Now you will hear the defence's side of the story
0:43:45 > 0:43:47and that might change the position.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53Part of the defence case is to pin their colours to two other
0:43:53 > 0:43:58individuals, one of whom, erm, is...
0:43:58 > 0:44:00is and was a serial killer.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23And another individual who killed his mother, a year or
0:44:23 > 0:44:25so after Claire was killed,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28in the local area,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31leaving behind, erm, a note.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Course the one difference between us
0:44:57 > 0:44:59is I have to prove it was his client.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01He doesn't have to prove it was either of the other two.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06He just has to put before the jury evidence, which if
0:45:06 > 0:45:10they are unsure about it, means that they wouldn't convict this one.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Peter Rivers, if you look at the picture of Peter Rivers,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15he's a middle aged man, quite large.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17No description of that person is given anywhere near this.
0:45:17 > 0:45:23He could have got to that place at 6:20 on the train.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26But you know, the fact that we can't alibi him out causes us a problem.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29But there's no DNA of him at the scene.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31So there's nothing to suggest him apart from that note.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34And myself and counsel have come to the view that we're quite
0:45:34 > 0:45:37sure that that isn't a line that's going to go anywhere.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40But it remains a highly unusual feature of the case that you
0:45:40 > 0:45:41seem to have someone admitting it.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Of course, he committed suicide and that was a year later.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47They're using it just to sow a little seed of doubt
0:45:47 > 0:45:49but, er, we'll see.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53Not the first time that defence counsel do that in cases like this.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58The trial is now entering day 15.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02It's been communicated to us today by the defence that they
0:46:02 > 0:46:04have chosen to call their client, which is
0:46:04 > 0:46:09the single biggest tactical decision they need to make.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11The danger to them is that as soon as their client
0:46:11 > 0:46:15goes into the witness box, they lose control.
0:46:15 > 0:46:16At the moment, if there's a break,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19they can have a discussion with their client.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21As soon as he goes into that witness box,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24he cannot say one word to his lawyers.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28So, for the first time in this case, Colin Ash-Smith will be alone.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31- Very much alone. - And at his most vulnerable.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33He'll be very, very alone.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37In interview when we asked him those questions all those years ago,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40he chose not to answer any questions.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42But now he's going to have to answer the questions
0:46:42 > 0:46:45because he's not in a position to refuse to answer.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49And I think we've got some very good questions to put to him.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52There is a possibility I will be cross-examining him
0:46:52 > 0:46:54for about two days.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58But the most exceptional feature from his point of view is because
0:46:58 > 0:47:02he pleaded guilty to both of those offences in 1996, he wasn't tried.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05So, for him, stepping into the witness box will be a completely
0:47:05 > 0:47:08novel experience. And sometimes, I think quite naively,
0:47:08 > 0:47:10they think all they have to do is give their account
0:47:10 > 0:47:13and everybody will believe them, that'll be the end of it.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14That's not how it works.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18So it will be a bit of a shock to him, I suspect, once I start on him.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22The cross-examination of Colin Ash-Smith
0:47:22 > 0:47:24begins on day 16 of the trial.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58His house was searched on his arrest
0:47:58 > 0:48:01and he wrote four plans.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04"Number three, at an old people's home,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07"total abysmal failure rather not talk about it."
0:48:09 > 0:48:12I'm just coming out of court, not long.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14I still don't actually know what to think.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18Cos it's a very, very strange set of circumstances, this.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22You've got somebody in the witness box, admitting
0:48:22 > 0:48:24and talking about the most horrific things.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Even for hardened police officers that are here at the moment,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37it's quite shocking the things that are coming out.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40The writings that he put about a care home in Swanscombe.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44It was complete disaster, as he wrote it, with no detail on it.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48And you could have heard almost like an audible gasp in the court
0:48:48 > 0:48:50when talking about breaking in, "Why were you doing it?"
0:48:50 > 0:48:54"Oh, just to go in because I hadn't done it before."
0:48:54 > 0:48:56"Did you have a knife with you?" "No, I didn't."
0:48:56 > 0:48:59And he said, "but I had a crossbow".
0:49:01 > 0:49:04And when he's talked about going out at night, undoubtedly
0:49:04 > 0:49:07looking for victims, armed with knives, walking the streets
0:49:07 > 0:49:11of that area, once, twice a week after his parents went to sleep.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13This is a very, very dangerous man.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16I think it's gone all right but it's for others to judge.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20I'm actually coming to the important stuff. First thing tomorrow, Nigel.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Claire's old school friends have been in court throughout
0:50:15 > 0:50:16the proceedings.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18There's a beautiful thread through the whole thing,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20it's all about that zebra crossing.
0:50:20 > 0:50:21All roads lead to it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24And if I didn't get that across, I didn't do a good job.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26We did want to give you a standing ovation actually.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28We resisted the urge to stand up and clap.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31We were expecting the jury to do it actually.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33Can I just mention something about this afternoon?
0:50:33 > 0:50:36You've all been very, very good but there will be a defence speech.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39No rolling the eyes.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41No tutting. Nothing like that.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43It's just undignified.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46The last thing I want is anybody excluded.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48And you've all been great.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50It's good to have the odd reminder because it's...
0:50:50 > 0:50:52It does get hard, doesn't it?
0:50:52 > 0:50:54It's automatic to do those things.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56It's quite hard sitting there and not having...
0:50:56 > 0:50:59You know, you have an emotional stake in the whole thing,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01understandably.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05But in so far as one can ever read a jury, I think it's gone all right.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07I hope history doesn't say I'm wrong.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11At Chester Crown Court,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14the judge is due to sentence Keith Cavendish-Coulson, after
0:51:14 > 0:51:17he pleaded guilty to 42 counts of indecent assault
0:51:17 > 0:51:19in the '70s and '80s.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24If you were sentencing today for offences today,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26it would be 14 years.
0:51:26 > 0:51:31But, although we're sentencing in modern times,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35we've to sentence in relation to the regime that was in place
0:51:35 > 0:51:42at the time, but not as a judge in that time would have sentenced.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46So you've to apply the maximum sentence here, which is 10 years,
0:51:46 > 0:51:51under the 1956 Act but then try and sentence it as best you can
0:51:51 > 0:51:55within that regime, as a modern judge would sentence.
0:51:55 > 0:52:00Not as a judge would have sentenced then. It's quite tricky actually.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Before sentencing, the judge describes the case as a shocking
0:52:05 > 0:52:10episode of criminal sexual behaviour and comments that the sheer scale
0:52:10 > 0:52:14of the offending with the number of offences and victims is truly awful.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Here he's just said, "I've read the pre-sentence report
0:52:17 > 0:52:20"and the defendant, beyond his guilty plea,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22"any other remorse is minimal.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25"He attempts to justify his behaviour,
0:52:25 > 0:52:27"saying it's what the boys wanted."
0:52:33 > 0:52:36And that it's just a media storm.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39That otherwise these victims would have forgotten
0:52:39 > 0:52:40what had happened to them.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43And the judge says, "For an intelligent man,
0:52:43 > 0:52:47"this is an extraordinary statement and a highly revealing statement."
0:52:47 > 0:52:49I think it is, actually.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52He didn't seem to think that it would have had
0:52:52 > 0:52:55an effect on his victims.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Maybe that just shows his psyche though, really, rather than
0:52:57 > 0:53:00a lack of remorse, it's a lack of understanding or something.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Yes, it's a complete lack of empathy, isn't it.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05He thought they should just have...
0:53:05 > 0:53:06Got on with it.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11..shut up and got on with it, which is quite remarkable really.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14But clearly shows a lack of understanding
0:53:14 > 0:53:17of why he's been prosecuted, even.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22And then he's said, "Stand up Keith Cavendish-Coulson.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28"I sentence you for a catalogue of shocking sexual abuse
0:53:28 > 0:53:31"on a large scale, involving boys who should have been able to look
0:53:31 > 0:53:37"to you to be treated with respect, rather than wholesale sexual abuse."
0:53:38 > 0:53:39And then he said,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43"All sentences will run concurrently making the total of six years
0:53:43 > 0:53:47"and nine months, which in my judgment is the correct custodial
0:53:47 > 0:53:51"sentence for the criminality revealed in this quite exceptional case."
0:53:53 > 0:53:55That's it. Six years and nine months.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00Sentences are a matter for the judge.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03It's not really for us to, erm,
0:54:03 > 0:54:05pass comment on it, erm...
0:54:05 > 0:54:08to the public.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Our role is to prosecute, it's not to sentence.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17At Inner London Crown Court on the 22nd day of the trial,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Colin Ash-Smith's defence team finish their closing speech.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50The jury has now retired to consider their verdict.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53You just don't know what word they're going to utter.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56There's only one defendant and there's one count of murder
0:54:56 > 0:55:00so it'll be over very, very quickly when the word is uttered.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06And that'll mark a turning point in 21-plus years,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09uttered in one word in a few seconds within a courtroom.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11And when you're waiting for that, that does get you a bit.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13Well, I hope it's one word, by the way.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16And not two words!
0:55:16 > 0:55:17HE LAUGHS
0:55:17 > 0:55:20It'll be one word. One word.
0:55:22 > 0:55:27It's very difficult because, you know, for us it's...it's a job.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29We take a professional approach, we hope.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33But we have invested time and to some extent emotion
0:55:33 > 0:55:35into a case like this and so
0:55:35 > 0:55:39inevitably you want it to go your way.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42But in the meantime, we have other work to do.
0:55:42 > 0:55:43That's what we do, as best we can.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Sometimes it's very difficult to focus
0:55:46 > 0:55:48but you just fill in the time and you wait.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00It takes the jury just over a day to come to a unanimous verdict.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05They find Colin Ash-Smith guilty of the murder of Claire Tiltman.
0:56:08 > 0:56:13The prosecution enjoys no victories and suffers no defeats, Mr Withers.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Justice has been done.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20Yes. But it was a nice win on this occasion.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24No, I'm absolutely delighted.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27We're all delighted, I mean just to see their faces,
0:56:27 > 0:56:29it makes it all worthwhile.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31The last bit, it was critical, when you turned round
0:56:31 > 0:56:34and they're all hugging each other and in tears.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36Yeah, absolutely makes it all worthwhile.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39It's incredibly emotional, especially in a case like this
0:56:39 > 0:56:43where, you know, it's 22 years, and so much time passed
0:56:43 > 0:56:46and so many people have invested so much time and effort in it.
0:56:46 > 0:56:47And the family and the friends.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51So, it's amazing when that happens and makes it all worth it.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57The judge describes it as a brutal pre-meditated murder
0:56:57 > 0:56:59of a much-loved child,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02carried out for a feeling of power, and sentences
0:57:02 > 0:57:07Colin Ash-Smith to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15It's nearly 22 years since Claire was cruelly taken from us.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Today we finally know who murdered her
0:57:18 > 0:57:21but we will never understand why.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24But we should not be out here speaking with you today.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26It should be Claire's parents,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30Lin and Cliff, who both tragically died too soon, after trying to deal
0:57:30 > 0:57:33with the devastating loss of their only child.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43We will never get our friend back and we'll never forget her.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49But now Claire and her beloved parents, Lin and Cliff,
0:57:49 > 0:57:52can rest in peace, knowing that her murderer
0:57:52 > 0:57:55has finally received his justice.
0:57:55 > 0:57:56Thank you.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Anyway, there it is. That's it. That's the end of the case.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09- Successful. - On to the next one.
0:58:09 > 0:58:10On to the next one.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18If you are interested in finding out more about the justice system
0:58:18 > 0:58:20you can join in a simulated court case
0:58:20 > 0:58:23from The Open University and reach your own verdict.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Go to bbc.co.uk/prosecutors
0:58:27 > 0:58:30and follow the links to The Open University.