Man wrongly accused of Rachel Nickell murder has ‘spent all of £706,000 payout’
Original suspect Colin Stagg was freed by a judge in September 1994 and another man later admitted manslaughter.
A man put on trial for the Wimbledon Common murder of young mother Rachel Nickell has spent all of the compensation awarded after being wrongly accused, it was reported.
Original suspect Colin Stagg was freed by an Old Bailey judge in September 1994 who criticised police for using a “honey-trap” undercover policewoman to try to make him confess to the murder, 25 years ago this week.
Mr Stagg spent 13 months in custody and endured more than a decade of speculation that he was the killer of Miss Nickell.
In 2008, he was awarded £706,000 compensation from the Home Office for the bungled investigation – a sum he described as “like winning the lottery”.
But it has emerged that the cash has been spent. Mr Stagg told The Sun: “I spent like there was no tomorrow. I bought vehicles for me and my girlfriend. I treated myself to clothes, jewellery and expensive guitars.
“After decades without a holiday, we took three or four a year. I was making up for lost time, doing the things I should’ve done in my youth if it hadn’t been blighted by Rachel’s murder.”
Robert Napper pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility in 2008. He had already been convicted of a 1993 double killing.
