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[narrator] Every 90 seconds
someone is reported missing.
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Many return to their families,
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but for others, something
has gone seriously wrong.
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A young boy cycles to his local shop
to buy some sweets,
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but doesn't return.
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Went down the stairs full of smiles,
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got his bike, and off he went to the shop.
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[narrator] It's a high risk
missing person's case.
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[Heather] So as time went on,
it become more distressing,
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because he's
an 11-year-old little boy.
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{\an8}[narrator] What happens
in the police investigation that follows?
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We were treating it as an abduction.
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I was given information that Wesley
had been given to this pedophile ring.
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[narrator] What happens
to the family at its heart?
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Mustafa, when he comes in I went,
"Have you found Wesley?"
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And he got on his knees,
and he held both me hands.
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He went, "We've found Wesley."
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[narrator reading]
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[Liz] Everybody liked Wesley
because he was straightforward.
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Like, he was a fun-loving child,
always happy,
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always willing to help people.
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[Harry] He was just
an ordinary little lad.
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He didn't see any harm in anybody.
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{\an8}He had a sense of humor,
we used to have a good laugh.
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[narrator] Mum Liz, Wesley,
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and his four-year-old brother Robert
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live on the same street as Grandad Harry.
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[Liz] Me dad and Wesley
were very, very close.
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{\an8}He was his apple of his eye.
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{\an8}Everywhere Grandad went,
Wesley went an' all.
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He was just a great kid.
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He was always pulling pranks,
but good pranks.
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He's just like to play
and he had a funny sense of humor.
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And you could never tell him off,
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could never tell him off.
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[Harry] The day it happened, he was going
to school, passing my house.
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I says, "I'll see ya' after school."
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[narrator] Later that day,
Wesley's feeling unwell at school.
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He's recently been
diagnosed with epilepsy.
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[Liz] I went over to collect him,
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and I went, "You're all right,"
I says, "Mummy's here."
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He says, "I've got that horrible,
horrible feeling" and I went "What?"
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He says,
"Like a burning sensation."
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He says, "Me chest was getting tight."
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And I brought him home.
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Lay him on the couch.
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I said "Just get yourself away
to sleep," I says,
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"and hopefully
you'll be all right shortly."
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And he went to sleep for about
an hour, an hour and a half.
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And then when he woke up,
he was right as rain.
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And he went,
"Mam, can I have 50 pence?"
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And I went "What do you
want 50 pence for?"
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"Get some sweets for me and Robert,
when he comes from school."
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And I went, "Right you are,"
says, "hold on."
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And he was going berserk 'cause I didn't
give him a 50 pence piece.
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I gave him two 20s and a 10.
I went, "It still makes 50 pence."
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He went, "Right, Mum."
Went down the stairs full of smiles.
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Got on his bike,
and off he went to the shop.
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About 10 minutes later, I'm looking
out the bedroom windows.
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Well, where is he?
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'Cause by three o'clock we were having to
pick Robert up from nursery.
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And I thought, "Oh. Well, maybe he's went
straight from the shop up to the school."
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So I went into the school yard,
and there was like
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a few of the mothers hanging around.
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"Have you seen Wesley on his bike?"
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"Ee, no, Liz."
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And I went, "You haven't?" "No."
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So goes down to the shop.
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Went, "Yasmin."
Asked, "Have you seen Wesley?"
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"Oh, yeah, he was in
about 20 minutes ago," she says.
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"And he was complaining
'cause he didn't have a 50 pence piece."
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"By the way," she says
"I give him a 50 pence piece."
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She says, "And I gave him
the sweets for nothing."
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She says because he give us a hand.
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And I went, "What do you mean?"
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She says, "To haul the empty boxes,
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and put them around
the back for us, in the yard."
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[narrator] Mum Liz and brother Robert
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go back home to check if Wesley's there.
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And I'm watching the clock,
no sign of him.
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And starting to get anxious,
because obviously he knew
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what time his medication was.
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And I thought, "Well, maybe he has bumped
into some of his pals."
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So by six o'clock come,
I was starting to panic.
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If he didn't have his
medication for his epilepsy,
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he could have took a fit any time.
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And I was petrified
in case he had took a fit
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and he was lying somewhere on the road.
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[narrator] Liz can't
sit at home doing nothing.
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[Liz] It was getting 6 o'clock
and I went out looking
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with me friend Sharon.
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And I was just walking around
and all over the place,
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up and down the streets.
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Went around everybody's house
that Wesley knew.
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I got a horrible, horrible feeling.
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And I must keep saying
to me friend Sharon,
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"There something not right,
there's something not right."
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It's not like Wesley doing this.
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He's always on time for his meds,
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I says, "and it's really,
really hurting us."
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I wonder if somebody's
knocked him off his bike?
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And then your mind starts running wild.
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You're looking into every
building everywhere, alleyway,
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you're looking everywhere.
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You simply believe he's there somewhere,
we've just gotta find him.
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Me son, he had a pink and white bike.
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Obviously when
people went out looking,
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they were also looking for
the pink and white bike.
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[Harry] I went after,
you couldn't help thinking
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something happened,
'cause it wasn't like him.
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[Liz] With him not coming home,
I knew there was something wrong.
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The time was getting on,
'cause it was still quite bright,
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and I phoned the police.
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[siren wailing]
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[Heather]
When a missing person report comes in,
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it goes to the uniform teams immediately.
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{\an8}And a uniformed officer will go out,
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{\an8}and take a report from
the member of the family
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that's reported that person missing,
or a friend or whoever.
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And a young police officer come down.
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And he went, "What's the problem?"
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I says, "Well, me son's missing."
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He went, "He'll just be playing
around with his pals."
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I went, "He's not.
I've been to everywhere."
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You would have expected
someone to have seen him
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if he'd been around.
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But nobody had seen him.
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I says, "What about if he's lying
in a ditch or somewhere?"
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I says, "Somebody's
knocked him off his bike.
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I'm telling you,
there's something not right."
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And I got out of this young policeman,
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"Well, I think you're being over-anxious."
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But by this time, I was frantic.
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{\an8}Kids go missing all the time,
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{\an8}but usually they're found very quickly.
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Police officers were in and out the house,
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checking to see if he was
in the loft and under me bath,
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under his bed.
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And I just used to look
at the police officers,
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and just say, "Really?"
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I went, "Do you not think I would know
if me son was around?"
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I says, "The first thing me son would say
is, 'Mum, I want something to eat.'"
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I knew there was something wrong.
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I think they just thought, "Oh, he's just
a naughty boy. He's just ran away."
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I couldn't get that over to the police.
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He wouldn't put me through it,
he wouldn't put his grandad through it.
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We were very, very close.
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[Trevor] Psychologically,
one of the biggest issues
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is when someone goes missing,
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particularly
a vulnerable person like a child,
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it's incumbent on the police to ensure
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that the home address
is searched properly,
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so you can be confident
that person is not in that address.
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Now that does cause some trauma sometimes,
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'cause the family immediately think,
"Ah, the police suspect us."
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But that's not the case.
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[Harry] A lot of the neighbors
would come and they were searching.
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And all the family was out.
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All me nephews, nieces and everybody.
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Everybody was searching
and everybody was looking.
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We searched parks and fields,
you name it, everywhere.
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It takes over your mind,
your body and everything.
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[narrator] Heather Carroll
is the Family Liaison Officer
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assigned to this case.
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[Heather] When I asked Liz
where Wesley had gone,
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she had said, "Well, he had gone
to get some sweets."
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This was just something that happened
all the time, it was nothing strange.
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But we have to look at
the family and friends first,
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because we don't know
what's gone on behind closed doors.
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We don't know what's gone on
in those few hours beforehand,
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so although I was there
to support the family,
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I'm also there to
investigate, to find out.
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So I spent hours with them.
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Hours and hours and I got to
know them very, very well.
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[Trevor] He could have been
found unconscious.
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He could have been in a building,
requiring his medication.
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It was important
the police put sufficient resources
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into it to find him.
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Search teams were brought in immediately.
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Sent to parks, sent to back lanes.
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[Trevor] Quite a number of officers
involved, helicopter involved,
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dog handlers, horses.
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So as time went on,
it become more distressing,
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because he's an 11-year-old little boy.
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[Harry] It was hitting the papers
by then the bairn was missing.
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And then they're making stories up
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if he was some kind of
urban guerrilla, you know.
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[Heather] At the time that it was reported
in the press that he played out,
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and there were no rules and boundaries.
And there were rules and boundaries.
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This was a family
who cared about a little boy.
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But unfortunately things like
that in the press don't help.
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People had the idea that he was just a kid
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from the west end of Newcastle
that was running wild.
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You couldn't be farther from the truth.
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[Heather] It wasn't fair
to judge this little boy
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from the area he came from.
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So he played out perhaps to a later time
than another child might in another area.
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It's not the way he is.
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He would have come home,
he wouldn't have done this.
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And yet they were convincing everybody
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that he was just a runaway.
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I was annoyed that they could even think
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that Wesley was being
portrayed as a runaway.
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The Artful Dodger.
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Because I'm thinking,
"They're not talking about my son.
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Talking about somebody else,
but not talking about Wesley."
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But he wouldn't have stayed away.
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If he had been all right,
he would have been home.
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He would never have stayed
out that way, never.
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[Heather] The more the time went on,
the more you don't feel like
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this is gonna have a good ending.
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My feelings were
this just wasn't a little boy
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who would have gone missing.
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That there was something had happened
which was very, very sinister.
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I am not happy that this is
still a missing from home.
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[narrator] It's the morning
of the 6th of June, 1998.
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{\an8}Eleven-year-old Wesley,
who needs epilepsy medication,
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{\an8}has been missing all night.
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His family are frantic with worry,
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and doing everything they can to find him.
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[Liz] We decided to go out with
the flyers with Wesley's picture on.
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{\an8}So what we were doing was
like three or four doors, knocking,
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{\an8}"Please, can you put this in?"
Or "Have you seen this child?"
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{\an8}And we got nowhere, really.
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{\an8}All we could do is pin posters out,
trying to jog somebody's memory,
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{\an8}has somebody's seen this,
that and the other.
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It was just asking questions
to anybody, anywhere.
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You just cannot get that one bit o' luck,
you cannot get that one little clue,
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you cannot move forward.
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You're just stuck in this same place.
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Oh, because I was frantic.
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There was no sleep,
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'cause he was just
running on fumes, I think.
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00:11:16,283 --> 00:11:19,243
If you were sat in the house,
and you were tired, you felt guilty,
235
00:11:19,323 --> 00:11:21,603
'cause you were sitting
and weren't doing anything.
236
00:11:21,723 --> 00:11:25,003
I was told to stay beside the phone,
'cause Wesley knew the phone number.
237
00:11:25,163 --> 00:11:27,323
If there was any news that
anybody had found him,
238
00:11:27,403 --> 00:11:28,923
I had to stay at the house.
239
00:11:30,643 --> 00:11:33,163
[narrator] Day Two of
the missing person's investigation,
240
00:11:33,723 --> 00:11:35,043
and there's a discovery.
241
00:11:35,603 --> 00:11:37,723
[Liz] It was me partner,
he answered the door.
242
00:11:37,803 --> 00:11:39,003
And he shouted, "Liz!"
243
00:11:39,603 --> 00:11:42,163
He went, "Somebody here,
they've got the bairn's bike."
244
00:11:42,763 --> 00:11:45,683
I don't know, I didn't walk
down the stairs. I must have jumped.
245
00:11:45,763 --> 00:11:48,523
And I got outside and it was a lad.
246
00:11:48,723 --> 00:11:50,483
And I went, "Where did you get that bike?"
247
00:11:50,563 --> 00:11:52,563
He says, "I've took it
off two little girls."
248
00:11:52,683 --> 00:11:55,243
And by this time,
I was screaming in the street.
249
00:11:55,323 --> 00:11:57,243
"They've got the bike,
they've got the bike.
250
00:11:57,323 --> 00:11:59,203
So where did you get me son's bike?"
251
00:11:59,523 --> 00:12:01,763
"The girls just said they
found it in Wingrove."
252
00:12:01,843 --> 00:12:04,683
He says, "So I've took it off them
and brought it back to you."
253
00:12:06,003 --> 00:12:09,003
[narrator] Wingrove Road
is a short 15-minute walk
254
00:12:09,123 --> 00:12:10,363
from Wesley's home.
255
00:12:12,003 --> 00:12:13,923
Once I found the bike and I thought,
256
00:12:15,003 --> 00:12:17,923
"Well, he's not gonna leave it,
he wouldn't leave his bike.
257
00:12:18,003 --> 00:12:19,523
Something's happened somewhere.
258
00:12:21,803 --> 00:12:25,683
[narrator] The police make an appeal
for anyone who might have spotted Wesley.
259
00:12:26,203 --> 00:12:29,643
Scores of people come forward
claiming they've seen him.
260
00:12:29,883 --> 00:12:32,643
[Trevor] The family were coming across
as being very anxious.
261
00:12:33,083 --> 00:12:36,363
They were going on the television
appealing to the public,
262
00:12:36,643 --> 00:12:38,563
{\an8}which generated more sightings.
263
00:12:38,883 --> 00:12:41,203
{\an8}The police were making
appeals to the public.
264
00:12:42,003 --> 00:12:45,643
Those sightings were
coming in from strangers
265
00:12:45,883 --> 00:12:47,603
who thought they'd recognized him.
266
00:12:47,803 --> 00:12:51,163
They were coming in from
fellow school pupils.
267
00:12:51,363 --> 00:12:53,883
So there was upwards
of a hundred sightings of him.
268
00:12:54,083 --> 00:12:58,323
So it seemed that he was in
the west end of Newcastle somewhere.
269
00:12:58,563 --> 00:13:03,843
They were getting phone calls, inundated,
that he was down in the park,
270
00:13:04,323 --> 00:13:05,803
and he was seen everywhere.
271
00:13:06,003 --> 00:13:09,043
{\an8}So immediately we say to
the search team or uniformed officers,
272
00:13:09,123 --> 00:13:10,683
{\an8}"Right, get down to the park,
273
00:13:10,803 --> 00:13:13,323
get down to this area,
get down to the back lane."
274
00:13:13,683 --> 00:13:16,123
And the police officers
responded immediately.
275
00:13:16,443 --> 00:13:19,483
When I was thinking at home,
"Well, Wesley wouldn't do this to us.
276
00:13:19,643 --> 00:13:21,563
He wouldn't stay away for days."
277
00:13:22,243 --> 00:13:25,403
To me, the police wasn't
listening to the family.
278
00:13:25,763 --> 00:13:29,363
[Heather] Every piece of information,
the police officers cling to it for hope.
279
00:13:29,563 --> 00:13:31,603
But it is like
an emotional roller coaster.
280
00:13:31,683 --> 00:13:33,523
We wanted to find that little boy.
281
00:13:33,803 --> 00:13:35,363
We wanted a happy ending.
282
00:13:35,523 --> 00:13:38,163
I didn't want to tell the family bad news.
283
00:13:40,803 --> 00:13:43,883
[narrator] The investigation
has been running for three weeks,
284
00:13:44,043 --> 00:13:45,483
but still no Wesley.
285
00:13:47,203 --> 00:13:48,843
The search teams kept searching,
286
00:13:48,923 --> 00:13:51,963
the sightings kept coming in,
but something had to change.
287
00:13:52,603 --> 00:13:55,963
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
picks up the investigation.
288
00:13:56,923 --> 00:14:00,563
[Trevor] One of the first duties I did
when I took over the investigation
289
00:14:00,923 --> 00:14:02,683
was to look at these sightings,
290
00:14:03,003 --> 00:14:07,843
and to establish if these witnesses
were positive in their sightings.
291
00:14:08,363 --> 00:14:11,603
The witnesses maintained
they'd seen Wesley, they knew Wesley,
292
00:14:11,923 --> 00:14:15,723
so they're what we refer to
as confirmed sightings in those days.
293
00:14:16,043 --> 00:14:18,243
As long as that was maintained,
294
00:14:19,083 --> 00:14:20,923
the inquiry was going nowhere.
295
00:14:21,563 --> 00:14:24,083
It has to be accepted
there was a lot of hours,
296
00:14:24,283 --> 00:14:26,443
and police resources wasted
297
00:14:26,603 --> 00:14:29,763
trying to follow up all these
sightings of Wesley Neailey.
298
00:14:30,243 --> 00:14:34,043
And that threw the inquiry
from day one, basically.
299
00:14:35,403 --> 00:14:39,883
From the outset, the bike was
the most significant thing
300
00:14:39,963 --> 00:14:41,523
as far as I was concerned,
301
00:14:42,683 --> 00:14:44,803
because of Wesley's
attachment to the bike.
302
00:14:44,883 --> 00:14:47,363
Because, from what I understood
from the family,
303
00:14:47,603 --> 00:14:50,123
he would have never, ever left that bike.
304
00:14:50,443 --> 00:14:53,163
Finally we've got somebody
that's got experience
305
00:14:53,363 --> 00:14:54,763
at these kinda things.
306
00:14:55,163 --> 00:14:57,643
It wasn't 'til Mr. Fordy come in.
307
00:14:57,883 --> 00:15:00,283
He got a hold of me hand
and he went, "Liz,"
308
00:15:00,483 --> 00:15:02,243
he says,
"I've had a look at it," he says,
309
00:15:02,363 --> 00:15:06,003
"and I do honestly believe
your son has been abducted."
310
00:15:06,923 --> 00:15:09,643
And I just looked at Mr. Fordy
and I burst into tears.
311
00:15:10,163 --> 00:15:12,363
I went, "So where do we go from here?"
312
00:15:12,763 --> 00:15:14,643
And it was a matter of,
313
00:15:16,083 --> 00:15:20,483
I'd say two days and everything
was pum, straight round.
314
00:15:26,003 --> 00:15:29,643
[narrator] A number of sightings have been
reported by Wesley's school friends.
315
00:15:30,403 --> 00:15:31,803
They all need verifying.
316
00:15:32,243 --> 00:15:36,363
And one by one we were able
to eliminate those sightings.
317
00:15:36,563 --> 00:15:38,723
These children started withdrawing,
318
00:15:38,803 --> 00:15:41,243
or that people starting
withdrawing their sightings,
319
00:15:41,323 --> 00:15:42,963
said they may have been mistaken.
320
00:15:43,163 --> 00:15:47,923
So one by one,
the sightings were starting to crumble.
321
00:15:48,363 --> 00:15:50,363
We were treating it as an abduction.
322
00:15:51,203 --> 00:15:54,843
And therefore it was incumbent
on us to try and find him
323
00:15:54,923 --> 00:15:56,123
as soon as possible.
324
00:15:56,523 --> 00:15:58,283
He gave a little bit of a glimmer of hope.
325
00:15:58,443 --> 00:16:01,203
Well, is it true he's been abducted?
326
00:16:01,643 --> 00:16:05,123
I knew he was not in Newcastle,
'cause he would've made his way home.
327
00:16:05,563 --> 00:16:07,163
He would have put a fight up.
328
00:16:08,243 --> 00:16:11,123
[narrator] With Wesley's disappearance
all over the media,
329
00:16:11,203 --> 00:16:14,763
and the high-profile police investigation
into his presumed abduction,
330
00:16:15,403 --> 00:16:16,923
a name is put forward.
331
00:16:17,883 --> 00:16:21,723
{\an8}[Trevor] The Incident Room was
contacted by a social worker
332
00:16:22,003 --> 00:16:27,123
{\an8}who was aware of an individual that lived
in the Wingrove Road area of Newcastle,
333
00:16:27,763 --> 00:16:31,923
who was forming a friendship
with young boys in his area.
334
00:16:34,723 --> 00:16:40,123
Within a few days, I had
occasion to drive down Wingrove Road,
335
00:16:40,203 --> 00:16:43,203
and was aware
that the individual concerned
336
00:16:43,283 --> 00:16:44,963
had a Range Rover motor car.
337
00:16:45,283 --> 00:16:49,083
I saw a Range Rover motor car
parked in the immediate vicinity,
338
00:16:49,323 --> 00:16:52,483
and a young lad, quite a distinctive
young lad, washing the car.
339
00:16:53,083 --> 00:16:55,483
{\an8}We dug out the house to house
questionnaires,
340
00:16:55,883 --> 00:16:59,523
{\an8}and found the one relative
to that young guy.
341
00:16:59,883 --> 00:17:01,603
He was called Dominic McKilligan.
342
00:17:01,843 --> 00:17:05,882
And not only had his name
been put in to the system,
343
00:17:06,203 --> 00:17:08,963
but he'd actually put
a sighting in of Wesley.
344
00:17:09,603 --> 00:17:11,443
Now that did have an effect on me,
345
00:17:11,523 --> 00:17:13,443
and I wasn't comfortable with that.
346
00:17:15,923 --> 00:17:17,603
[narrator] Further investigation
347
00:17:17,683 --> 00:17:23,203
reveals extremely disturbing information
about 18-year-old Dominic McKilligan.
348
00:17:23,563 --> 00:17:26,843
We were aware from contact
with Dorset Police
349
00:17:27,043 --> 00:17:29,243
that he'd been involved
350
00:17:29,363 --> 00:17:32,963
in abusing somewhere
upwards of 40 children
351
00:17:33,043 --> 00:17:34,363
in the Bournemouth area.
352
00:17:38,203 --> 00:17:39,523
[narrator] Four years earlier,
353
00:17:39,843 --> 00:17:44,003
Dominic McKilligan had been convicted
of gross indecency against minors.
354
00:17:45,203 --> 00:17:48,723
Authorities described him
as seriously disturbed.
355
00:17:49,483 --> 00:17:52,403
And he was also deemed capable
of carrying out fantasies
356
00:17:53,123 --> 00:17:54,443
of killing a child.
357
00:17:55,243 --> 00:17:58,683
And decided to bring
that guy in for questioning,
358
00:17:59,563 --> 00:18:02,363
and, if possible,
eliminate him from the inquiry.
359
00:18:03,283 --> 00:18:06,603
[narrator] Dominic McKilligan is
interviewed with his solicitor present.
360
00:18:07,043 --> 00:18:08,963
McKilligan was relaxed.
361
00:18:09,243 --> 00:18:10,843
He answered all the questions.
362
00:18:11,243 --> 00:18:14,643
He said that he knew Wesley from the TV,
363
00:18:14,883 --> 00:18:16,643
but he hadn't actually met him.
364
00:18:17,243 --> 00:18:23,043
And again, for whatever reason,
I just wasn't happy with his account.
365
00:18:23,403 --> 00:18:26,443
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
simultaneously orders a search
366
00:18:26,563 --> 00:18:29,603
of McKilligan's house,
but nothing is found.
367
00:18:30,123 --> 00:18:33,323
We therefore had no option
but to release him,
368
00:18:33,403 --> 00:18:34,843
but to release him on bail.
369
00:18:36,283 --> 00:18:38,483
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy isn't satisfied
370
00:18:38,563 --> 00:18:40,163
with Dominic McKilligan's account.
371
00:18:40,403 --> 00:18:43,163
[Trevor] And I decided to put what's
called a Police PolSA Team,
372
00:18:43,283 --> 00:18:44,883
or a Police Search Team,
373
00:18:45,083 --> 00:18:49,763
uniform officers to go through that house
with a small toothcomb.
374
00:18:50,083 --> 00:18:52,763
And then I remember distinctly
375
00:18:53,003 --> 00:18:56,243
Inspector Dawson come to me and said
an officer had found
376
00:18:56,363 --> 00:19:00,923
a torn-up bank cheque
stuck to the bottom of a bin,
377
00:19:01,443 --> 00:19:03,523
and it was addressed to Wesley Neailey,
378
00:19:03,603 --> 00:19:05,283
and signed by McKilligan.
379
00:19:06,443 --> 00:19:09,123
[narrator] Could this be
the breakthrough in the case?
380
00:19:09,643 --> 00:19:11,363
[Trevor] It was necessary to prove
381
00:19:11,683 --> 00:19:14,483
that he'd written the name
Wesley Neailey on the cheque.
382
00:19:14,923 --> 00:19:17,443
So initially we got
the cheque fingerprinted,
383
00:19:18,043 --> 00:19:20,003
but there was nothing positive on that.
384
00:19:20,403 --> 00:19:23,003
The next thing was to look at the inks
385
00:19:23,203 --> 00:19:25,483
that he'd signed the name McKilligan,
386
00:19:25,723 --> 00:19:29,563
and compare it with the name
Wesley Neailey as the payee.
387
00:19:30,003 --> 00:19:34,883
And we quickly got the result
back that the inks matched,
388
00:19:35,243 --> 00:19:37,443
which meant that McKilligan
389
00:19:38,323 --> 00:19:41,243
had to have written the name
Wesley Neailey on the cheque.
390
00:19:44,483 --> 00:19:47,003
We decided to put him under surveillance.
391
00:19:47,123 --> 00:19:52,283
The reason being, if Wesley was alive,
and he was locked away somewhere,
392
00:19:52,483 --> 00:19:57,643
or even if he wasn't alive,
we might get taken to a body.
393
00:19:57,803 --> 00:19:59,683
And during the course of that surveillance
394
00:19:59,763 --> 00:20:02,163
he was observed getting
some number plates,
395
00:20:02,243 --> 00:20:04,043
registration plates made up.
396
00:20:04,403 --> 00:20:06,203
He then went to a pharmacist,
397
00:20:06,443 --> 00:20:08,683
he bought razor blades and aspirin.
398
00:20:09,243 --> 00:20:10,843
And we had to consider
399
00:20:11,203 --> 00:20:13,443
was he looking to abduct another child?
400
00:20:13,723 --> 00:20:17,763
Was he looking to cause Wesley some harm
if he was still alive,
401
00:20:17,843 --> 00:20:20,123
or was he looking to take his own life?
402
00:20:20,643 --> 00:20:23,443
And we couldn't let
the surveillance carry on.
403
00:20:23,723 --> 00:20:26,003
We had additional evidence, the cheque,
404
00:20:26,563 --> 00:20:29,603
so I made the decision
that he was to be arrested again,
405
00:20:29,803 --> 00:20:31,323
and brought back to Newcastle.
406
00:20:32,083 --> 00:20:34,163
[Heather] I was given information
that McKilligan
407
00:20:34,283 --> 00:20:36,203
may be involved in a pedophile ring,
408
00:20:36,483 --> 00:20:39,443
and that Wesley had been
given to this pedophile ring.
409
00:20:39,883 --> 00:20:43,123
When we brought McKilligan in again
for re-interview,
410
00:20:43,523 --> 00:20:46,883
it was put to him that the inks matched,
411
00:20:47,203 --> 00:20:49,443
and that he had to be the person
412
00:20:49,523 --> 00:20:51,283
that had written that cheque out.
413
00:20:51,643 --> 00:20:53,083
That got to him,
414
00:20:53,563 --> 00:20:55,843
and we thought there was
going to be a breakthrough.
415
00:20:55,923 --> 00:20:58,763
And indeed there was a breakthrough,
but what he said was,
416
00:20:59,563 --> 00:21:04,483
"I am responsible for his abduction,
but I haven't harmed him.
417
00:21:05,003 --> 00:21:09,363
I actually gave him to a pedophile group."
418
00:21:09,963 --> 00:21:11,203
I was actually shocked.
419
00:21:11,803 --> 00:21:13,243
I remember seeing him, thinking,
420
00:21:13,723 --> 00:21:17,083
"He's just a slight young man."
421
00:21:17,403 --> 00:21:21,083
No big signs above his head,
not dressed inappropriately.
422
00:21:21,323 --> 00:21:23,203
[Trevor] He was a Harry Potter lookalike,
423
00:21:23,283 --> 00:21:28,163
and yet he was so confident,
so relaxed, so uncaring.
424
00:21:28,403 --> 00:21:31,883
And when he told me that,
I couldn't believe it.
425
00:21:32,363 --> 00:21:34,763
'Cause here, three,
four weeks down the road,
426
00:21:35,363 --> 00:21:38,043
the indications are Wesley's still alive.
427
00:21:41,203 --> 00:21:42,523
[narrator] Dominic McKilligan
428
00:21:42,763 --> 00:21:46,363
has told police that he's abducted
11-year-old Wesley Neailey,
429
00:21:46,563 --> 00:21:48,643
and given him to a pedophile ring.
430
00:21:49,003 --> 00:21:52,243
McKilligan has given the name
of someone he says is involved
431
00:21:52,323 --> 00:21:54,563
to the police, who follow up on this lead.
432
00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:59,163
{\an8}We undertook quite a lot of surveillance
on this suspect's house
433
00:21:59,403 --> 00:22:01,483
{\an8}in the belief that there was possibly
434
00:22:01,963 --> 00:22:05,243
a pedophile group that had Wesley.
435
00:22:05,443 --> 00:22:07,723
And the priority was
obviously, to find him.
436
00:22:07,883 --> 00:22:10,563
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
also interviews the suspect
437
00:22:10,643 --> 00:22:13,323
to implicate, or eliminate
from the inquiry.
438
00:22:14,643 --> 00:22:16,843
[Trevor] He admitted that
he'd met McKilligan
439
00:22:17,283 --> 00:22:21,163
as through a newspaper advert,
and he'd had a gay relationship with him.
440
00:22:21,803 --> 00:22:26,243
But McKilligan had just thrown him
into the mix to complicate things.
441
00:22:26,763 --> 00:22:29,403
And you could say he was playing with us.
442
00:22:29,603 --> 00:22:31,483
It was like a psychological thriller.
443
00:22:31,883 --> 00:22:33,203
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
444
00:22:33,283 --> 00:22:36,843
now knows that Dominic McKilligan
is playing games with the police.
445
00:22:37,203 --> 00:22:39,843
His next move steps things up a level.
446
00:22:40,723 --> 00:22:42,563
[Trevor] His next ploy was to say
447
00:22:42,923 --> 00:22:47,443
"Okay, I am responsible
for his death, but it's not murder,
448
00:22:48,203 --> 00:22:49,243
it was an accident."
449
00:22:52,923 --> 00:22:55,483
McKilligan told us that
he'd been in the house,
450
00:22:55,803 --> 00:22:58,443
he'd known Wesley,
he'd given him a cheque,
451
00:22:58,603 --> 00:23:00,323
which attracted him back to the house.
452
00:23:00,403 --> 00:23:04,403
And one day he had a mini
in a garage behind his house,
453
00:23:04,763 --> 00:23:06,723
and he'd heard a noise and gone out,
454
00:23:06,963 --> 00:23:11,163
and Wesley was climbing all over his car,
was sitting on the car roof.
455
00:23:11,443 --> 00:23:13,923
Fell off when he was
shouted at by McKilligan,
456
00:23:14,163 --> 00:23:17,003
and hit his head on a wrench
that was lying on the floor.
457
00:23:17,723 --> 00:23:20,523
{\an8}All they could do was interrogate him.
458
00:23:21,003 --> 00:23:22,283
{\an8}And they wanted a confession,
459
00:23:22,363 --> 00:23:24,523
{\an8}and they wanted to find out
where the bairn was.
460
00:23:24,803 --> 00:23:27,283
'Cause by this time,
they had found the blood
461
00:23:27,363 --> 00:23:29,603
on the concrete in the garage
and different things,
462
00:23:29,683 --> 00:23:31,083
they had been building things up.
463
00:23:31,163 --> 00:23:34,323
[Trevor] It was clear to me that he'd
probably hit him with the wrench,
464
00:23:34,403 --> 00:23:36,163
but then he went into some detail
465
00:23:36,803 --> 00:23:39,363
that because of his history,
because of his past,
466
00:23:39,963 --> 00:23:41,603
nobody would believe him.
467
00:23:42,203 --> 00:23:45,083
So he decided to put
a bin liner over his head,
468
00:23:46,003 --> 00:23:47,203
and strangle him.
469
00:23:47,403 --> 00:23:49,323
[dramatic music]
470
00:23:49,883 --> 00:23:52,083
He'd told that many lies before.
471
00:23:52,363 --> 00:23:55,003
We had to prove that
what he was saying was correct.
472
00:23:55,523 --> 00:23:58,443
And the ideal way of that
was to try to persuade him
473
00:23:58,683 --> 00:24:00,483
to take us to where Wesley was.
474
00:24:01,603 --> 00:24:06,243
He finally admitted,
and he took him to where the bairn was.
475
00:24:07,083 --> 00:24:08,603
[narrator] McKilligan takes the police
476
00:24:08,683 --> 00:24:12,003
to a remote forested
area west of Newcastle.
477
00:24:12,323 --> 00:24:14,923
[Trevor] Dominic McKilligan had
admitted being responsible
478
00:24:15,003 --> 00:24:17,443
for the death of Wesley Neailey.
479
00:24:18,083 --> 00:24:20,763
And on his direction, we came here.
480
00:24:21,443 --> 00:24:24,523
And he said to me,
"If you walk down there to the left,
481
00:24:25,043 --> 00:24:27,803
you'll see a bin liner
in the undergrowth."
482
00:24:28,283 --> 00:24:31,803
And I looked down and I was familiar
with what Wesley had been wearing.
483
00:24:32,723 --> 00:24:35,683
I could see his legs
sticking out of the bin liner,
484
00:24:36,003 --> 00:24:39,603
and his little shoes,
and I knew he was in there.
485
00:24:40,843 --> 00:24:43,683
And it was now a confirmed murder inquiry.
486
00:24:49,723 --> 00:24:51,603
I remember it was a Saturday morning,
487
00:24:51,923 --> 00:24:53,363
and it was the 4th of July.
488
00:24:53,843 --> 00:24:55,483
Knock, knock, knock on the door.
489
00:24:56,323 --> 00:24:57,923
Mr. Fordy comes in.
490
00:24:59,763 --> 00:25:02,363
I went, "Have you found Wesley?"
491
00:25:04,483 --> 00:25:07,163
He says, "That's what I've
come to talk to you about."
492
00:25:07,483 --> 00:25:08,803
And I just looked at him.
493
00:25:09,763 --> 00:25:11,923
And I went, "What?"
and he got on his knees,
494
00:25:12,003 --> 00:25:13,563
and he held both me hands.
495
00:25:14,643 --> 00:25:16,723
He went, "We've found Wesley."
496
00:25:18,043 --> 00:25:20,283
And I just looked at him, I went, "And?"
497
00:25:22,203 --> 00:25:24,203
He said "But I'm sorry, he's not alive."
498
00:25:24,483 --> 00:25:27,803
My world just ended there.
499
00:25:28,203 --> 00:25:31,123
It's the most horrible feeling
500
00:25:31,203 --> 00:25:34,163
then it just flashes up to you,
you're never gonna see him again.
501
00:25:34,883 --> 00:25:36,163
Oh, it was horrible.
502
00:25:38,163 --> 00:25:40,763
But at least we didn't
have to search no more.
503
00:25:41,043 --> 00:25:45,083
All we wanted to find out now
is what happened and why.
504
00:25:46,283 --> 00:25:48,883
{\an8}Harry absolutely… His world had ended.
505
00:25:50,043 --> 00:25:52,323
{\an8}Angry, hurt, upset,
506
00:25:53,963 --> 00:25:56,003
and just couldn't believe it.
507
00:25:59,683 --> 00:26:02,923
Me dad come out, he went,
"Take us to Wesley."
508
00:26:03,763 --> 00:26:05,923
And Mr. Fordy says, "I'm sorry, I can't."
509
00:26:06,363 --> 00:26:08,003
He went, "What do you mean you can't?"
510
00:26:08,243 --> 00:26:13,083
And both me and me dad were just stood,
and we were just grief-stricken.
511
00:26:13,163 --> 00:26:15,083
"What do you mean
you can't take me to him?"
512
00:26:15,283 --> 00:26:17,483
He said "We know
it's definitely Wesley", he says,
513
00:26:17,563 --> 00:26:18,923
"'cause he's got his clothes on.
514
00:26:19,963 --> 00:26:23,803
Everything you tell me Wesley had on,"
he says, "this child's got on."
515
00:26:24,363 --> 00:26:26,763
He says, "So we do definitely
believe it's Wesley."
516
00:26:27,163 --> 00:26:29,043
By this time I wanted to vomit.
517
00:26:30,803 --> 00:26:32,483
The whole of me body was shaking.
518
00:26:33,803 --> 00:26:37,483
And all I kept saying is,
"No, I need to go and see him.
519
00:26:38,243 --> 00:26:39,643
And I need to go and see him,
520
00:26:39,803 --> 00:26:42,083
I need to go and give him
cuddles and kisses.
521
00:26:42,163 --> 00:26:44,603
I mean, you're telling me
me son's not alive."
522
00:26:46,283 --> 00:26:48,363
And he's going "Liz, no please."
523
00:26:49,683 --> 00:26:52,723
He's, "I don't want you to
go through what we've seen."
524
00:26:53,443 --> 00:26:57,723
[Trevor] He'd been there since day one,
so it was about a month.
525
00:26:58,483 --> 00:27:02,043
That image will live with me
forever, basically.
526
00:27:02,603 --> 00:27:06,403
Harry and Liz were desperate to see him,
and I absolutely understand that.
527
00:27:08,203 --> 00:27:10,123
And I'll always remember Harry saying,
528
00:27:10,963 --> 00:27:14,283
"I just wanna look in his eyes,
I just wanna see his eyes."
529
00:27:14,643 --> 00:27:16,603
And I know that haunts him to this day.
530
00:27:18,083 --> 00:27:21,283
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
has more news for Liz and Harry.
531
00:27:22,603 --> 00:27:26,243
He says, "We've got the person
that killed your son."
532
00:27:27,203 --> 00:27:30,843
And I just looked at him, I went,
"You've got him? Who is he?"
533
00:27:31,763 --> 00:27:33,123
"Dominic McKilligan."
534
00:27:33,443 --> 00:27:36,083
McKilligan actually took them
to me son's body,
535
00:27:36,963 --> 00:27:39,163
and that he was wrapped up in a black bag,
536
00:27:40,763 --> 00:27:42,523
and put inside a box,
537
00:27:42,843 --> 00:27:44,363
and just hoyed in the ditch.
538
00:27:45,283 --> 00:27:47,563
[Trevor] After finding Wesley's body,
539
00:27:47,843 --> 00:27:51,003
we had then to then look
at why he had to die.
540
00:27:51,523 --> 00:27:52,563
The next morning,
541
00:27:54,323 --> 00:27:57,443
when I got up, it was Robert's birthday,
542
00:27:58,603 --> 00:28:00,923
and he had hundreds of cards.
543
00:28:01,763 --> 00:28:03,683
All the police officers and everybody.
544
00:28:04,443 --> 00:28:06,883
And Robert just looked
at us and he went, "Mum."
545
00:28:07,323 --> 00:28:10,763
And I went, "What?"
He went, "Where's my Wesley's card?"
546
00:28:11,923 --> 00:28:13,403
Well, the lump in me throat.
547
00:28:15,203 --> 00:28:19,403
And I had to think quick, and I went,
"Eh, well maybe he forgot to post it."
548
00:28:19,763 --> 00:28:21,403
I went, "It is the weekend, you know,"
549
00:28:21,483 --> 00:28:24,123
I says, "so maybe you might
get one tomorrow."
550
00:28:24,323 --> 00:28:26,243
I just didn't know what to say to him.
551
00:28:26,763 --> 00:28:29,643
Try and celebrate your son's birthday
552
00:28:30,323 --> 00:28:32,643
knowing that your other son
isn't coming home,
553
00:28:32,723 --> 00:28:33,803
it's not very nice.
554
00:28:34,603 --> 00:28:35,683
It's very hard.
555
00:28:35,763 --> 00:28:37,723
{\an8}[narrator] Police are determined
to make sure
556
00:28:37,803 --> 00:28:41,843
{\an8}the case against Dominic McKilligan
is absolutely watertight.
557
00:28:43,363 --> 00:28:45,323
[Trevor] Because of this confession,
558
00:28:45,523 --> 00:28:48,483
we then got scientists up from Yorkshire,
559
00:28:48,563 --> 00:28:51,483
and recovered quite a lot of forensics
560
00:28:51,643 --> 00:28:53,523
putting Wesley at the house.
561
00:28:53,963 --> 00:28:56,603
There was no evidence that
he'd been on top of the car.
562
00:28:56,723 --> 00:29:02,083
We believe he just raped him
and then decided to kill him,
563
00:29:02,803 --> 00:29:04,283
so that he couldn't complain.
564
00:29:04,723 --> 00:29:07,403
Well, Mr. Fordy told us
obviously where he lived.
565
00:29:07,563 --> 00:29:09,803
Roughly 20 minutes' walk, if that.
566
00:29:10,443 --> 00:29:13,083
[Trevor] During the course
of the inquiry, a social worker
567
00:29:13,163 --> 00:29:17,203
arrived unexpectedly
at the police station in Newcastle
568
00:29:17,283 --> 00:29:18,643
with this file.
569
00:29:18,843 --> 00:29:20,563
Having examined the file, we knew well
570
00:29:20,643 --> 00:29:23,843
the extent of his
offending in Bournemouth.
571
00:29:24,443 --> 00:29:27,323
As a consequence of that
contact with Bournemouth police,
572
00:29:27,403 --> 00:29:28,923
and got even more information.
573
00:29:30,003 --> 00:29:33,003
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy
then makes a tragic discovery
574
00:29:33,083 --> 00:29:35,243
about McKilligan's previous conviction.
575
00:29:35,723 --> 00:29:38,923
[Trevor] Now it transpired
when he was convicted in Bournemouth,
576
00:29:39,163 --> 00:29:42,763
he'd missed going on
the Sex Offenders' Register by one day.
577
00:29:43,403 --> 00:29:45,763
Had he been on
the Sex Offenders' Register,
578
00:29:45,923 --> 00:29:47,483
the police would have known.
579
00:29:47,883 --> 00:29:51,523
Neither Dorset Social Services
or Durham Social Services
580
00:29:51,643 --> 00:29:54,083
had informed Newcastle Social Services
581
00:29:54,363 --> 00:29:57,003
that this guy was in their area.
582
00:29:57,363 --> 00:29:58,963
[narrator] DC Trevor Fordy believes
583
00:29:59,123 --> 00:30:01,963
McKilligan should face charges
for both the murder,
584
00:30:02,163 --> 00:30:03,723
and rape of Wesley Neailey.
585
00:30:04,483 --> 00:30:08,523
At that time, the legislation
was such that
586
00:30:08,843 --> 00:30:11,363
to get on the Sex Offenders' Register,
587
00:30:11,803 --> 00:30:16,043
a person had to be convicted
of a sexual offense.
588
00:30:16,563 --> 00:30:20,083
Normally, with a murder inquiry
you would charge murder,
589
00:30:20,203 --> 00:30:22,163
and murder on its own.
590
00:30:22,963 --> 00:30:26,123
There was a rape involved
during the course of that murder,
591
00:30:26,283 --> 00:30:27,723
that wouldn't be charged.
592
00:30:27,963 --> 00:30:31,363
However the rationale was to charge rape,
593
00:30:31,523 --> 00:30:33,483
which is clearly a sexual offense,
594
00:30:34,003 --> 00:30:38,243
so that McKilligan would be
on the Sex Offenders' Register.
595
00:30:38,443 --> 00:30:40,403
If he was only charged with murder,
596
00:30:40,803 --> 00:30:42,643
he wouldn't be on the register.
597
00:30:43,763 --> 00:30:45,643
But there was sufficient evidence
598
00:30:45,803 --> 00:30:48,403
after liaising with
the Crown Prosecution Service
599
00:30:48,723 --> 00:30:51,523
to charge both murder and rape.
600
00:30:58,763 --> 00:31:01,643
[Liz] The day I buried him
was the 28th of August.
601
00:31:02,923 --> 00:31:05,043
That was the hardest day of my life, that.
602
00:31:06,203 --> 00:31:10,163
Looked at me son's coffin,
and I went, "We'll never say goodbye."
603
00:31:11,483 --> 00:31:14,403
And that was the hardest thing
I had to ever do.
604
00:31:15,563 --> 00:31:19,123
[Harry] We didn't view him, we couldn't
see him, it was a sealed coffin.
605
00:31:19,403 --> 00:31:23,323
And then this Norman Oliver
said to Elizabeth, he says,
606
00:31:23,403 --> 00:31:25,003
"I know you couldn't view the bairn,"
607
00:31:25,403 --> 00:31:27,123
but he says, "Look I have picked him up,
608
00:31:27,803 --> 00:31:30,603
I carried him to the van
when we found him."
609
00:31:31,083 --> 00:31:33,003
And he says, "I had this suit on,"
610
00:31:33,403 --> 00:31:35,443
and he says, "I've never had it cleaned.
611
00:31:35,723 --> 00:31:37,963
And I just kept it
and you give it a cuddle."
612
00:31:38,283 --> 00:31:41,083
He says, "I'm sorry that's the closest
you're gonna get to him."
613
00:31:41,523 --> 00:31:42,723
Oh, it was things like that.
614
00:31:43,083 --> 00:31:45,603
And it was the fact that
you couldn't say ta-ta to him.
615
00:31:45,723 --> 00:31:47,123
That was heart-breaking.
616
00:31:47,243 --> 00:31:51,843
The mother couldn't say, "Ta-ta, son."
Or view him, or whatever.
617
00:31:52,523 --> 00:31:56,363
There was a lot of people think that
the police are this, that and the other.
618
00:31:56,443 --> 00:31:59,203
They're only human.
They're just like ourselves.
619
00:32:00,443 --> 00:32:02,003
I thanked him for that.
620
00:32:02,963 --> 00:32:08,083
That's the only closest thing I got
to being next to me son again,
621
00:32:08,923 --> 00:32:10,283
was to have his smell.
622
00:32:12,603 --> 00:32:15,363
[Heather] To see that little coffin
was just heart-breaking.
623
00:32:15,443 --> 00:32:16,563
It's not what you want,
624
00:32:16,683 --> 00:32:19,603
this isn't the end result
that any police officer wants.
625
00:32:19,883 --> 00:32:21,723
And it's absolutely heart-breaking.
626
00:32:21,923 --> 00:32:23,843
And it's something I'll never forget.
627
00:32:27,483 --> 00:32:29,403
[narrator] It's one year since Liz Neailey
628
00:32:29,483 --> 00:32:34,203
was told that Dominic McKilligan
killed her 11-year-old son Wesley.
629
00:32:34,763 --> 00:32:37,363
{\an8}Today, she comes face to face with him.
630
00:32:38,443 --> 00:32:41,003
{\an8}[Liz] The first day
that I went in to Magistrates,
631
00:32:41,723 --> 00:32:44,083
{\an8}was the first time
I actually seen McKilligan.
632
00:32:45,123 --> 00:32:46,843
{\an8}And I stopped breathing.
633
00:32:47,963 --> 00:32:50,123
{\an8}All her family and that went to the court.
634
00:32:50,323 --> 00:32:52,243
{\an8}When I come out me sister says to me,
635
00:32:52,363 --> 00:32:57,643
{\an8}she says, "Harry, I never ever thought
I'd meet the Devil in this world."
636
00:32:58,283 --> 00:33:00,643
And she says,
"But I have, I've just seen him.
637
00:33:01,123 --> 00:33:02,363
And it's McKilligan."
638
00:33:03,283 --> 00:33:05,203
{\an8}It was quite emotional for everyone.
639
00:33:05,923 --> 00:33:07,963
{\an8}There was so much media interest,
640
00:33:08,803 --> 00:33:11,003
a court called the Moat Hall in Newcastle,
641
00:33:11,203 --> 00:33:14,403
which hadn't been used
for years, was re-opened,
642
00:33:14,883 --> 00:33:16,563
specially for this case.
643
00:33:16,723 --> 00:33:20,683
{\an8}I went to court every day
as a Family Liaison Officer
644
00:33:20,843 --> 00:33:22,203
with the family,
645
00:33:22,323 --> 00:33:24,883
and they wanted to see the person
646
00:33:25,843 --> 00:33:29,043
that was responsible for taking
their young son away from them.
647
00:33:29,163 --> 00:33:31,843
And I'm sure they were as astounded
as everybody else
648
00:33:31,963 --> 00:33:34,243
to see this slight, young man
649
00:33:34,683 --> 00:33:37,963
who was standing there
with no emotions showing.
650
00:33:38,803 --> 00:33:40,123
He looked harmless.
651
00:33:40,243 --> 00:33:43,083
He just looked like an overgrown
school kid sort of thing
652
00:33:43,403 --> 00:33:46,363
and there was nothing big, or brawny,
or anything about him.
653
00:33:46,923 --> 00:33:50,643
Just a little weasel,
and yet he'd played the game.
654
00:33:51,443 --> 00:33:53,003
He pleaded not guilty.
655
00:33:53,323 --> 00:33:54,723
He said it was an accident.
656
00:33:55,203 --> 00:33:58,363
Well, he said he had fell
off the car or something,
657
00:33:58,443 --> 00:34:00,563
and banged his head and different things.
658
00:34:00,963 --> 00:34:03,443
But they found a wrench
with the blood on it.
659
00:34:04,523 --> 00:34:07,323
[Trevor] Obviously the cases
sometimes are abbreviated,
660
00:34:07,563 --> 00:34:10,843
but the full thrust of
how McKilligan had behaved,
661
00:34:11,083 --> 00:34:14,123
how he'd told lies,
how he'd diverted the inquiry,
662
00:34:14,202 --> 00:34:16,083
how he'd manipulated the police…
663
00:34:16,682 --> 00:34:18,323
all those things came out.
664
00:34:19,363 --> 00:34:21,003
You were hearing all this thing.
665
00:34:21,123 --> 00:34:23,603
And it was something that was
turning your stomach
666
00:34:23,682 --> 00:34:27,043
when you were there. And then you were
listening to the last minutes
667
00:34:27,123 --> 00:34:30,722
of the bairn's life
and then you were looking,
668
00:34:30,843 --> 00:34:33,242
and he just had this smirk
on his face sort of thing.
669
00:34:33,323 --> 00:34:35,003
And he always gave the impression
670
00:34:35,083 --> 00:34:37,803
that he just felt he was smarter
than everybody else.
671
00:34:38,363 --> 00:34:41,643
McKilligan gave evidence
in his own defense,
672
00:34:41,803 --> 00:34:44,603
and admitted that he'd taken Wesley,
673
00:34:45,043 --> 00:34:50,242
and put a bin liner over his head
and squeezed his neck.
674
00:34:51,282 --> 00:34:53,163
Clearly that was enough to convict.
675
00:34:58,403 --> 00:35:02,363
McKilligan showed no remorse whatsoever.
676
00:35:02,683 --> 00:35:05,043
I've never seen anything like that before.
677
00:35:05,243 --> 00:35:09,123
He just got the impression he didn't
even think he would go to prison.
678
00:35:10,163 --> 00:35:12,003
[narrator] After a three week trial,
679
00:35:12,083 --> 00:35:15,843
it takes a jury less than three hours
to return its verdict.
680
00:35:16,923 --> 00:35:19,003
So I can remember sitting beside me dad.
681
00:35:21,443 --> 00:35:26,483
And the Judge turned round and asked
the jurors about the rape charge,
682
00:35:28,043 --> 00:35:29,603
and that come back guilty.
683
00:35:30,523 --> 00:35:33,763
About the murder, life.
684
00:35:35,083 --> 00:35:36,403
I went, "Right."
685
00:35:36,523 --> 00:35:39,243
And just looked at me dad
and I says, "We've got him."
686
00:35:39,803 --> 00:35:43,003
I was standing behind them,
but they had their hands backwards,
687
00:35:43,083 --> 00:35:45,123
and were holding on to my hands,
688
00:35:45,203 --> 00:35:48,563
because they needed to hear
that this man was guilty.
689
00:35:48,883 --> 00:35:53,883
McKilligan was eventually
found guilty of murder and rape.
690
00:35:54,523 --> 00:35:57,563
[Heather] I remember Harry
crying and shouting out
691
00:35:57,763 --> 00:36:00,683
that was the result he wanted.
It didn't bring their little boy back,
692
00:36:00,803 --> 00:36:02,123
but that was the result.
693
00:36:02,323 --> 00:36:07,163
[Trevor] Following McKilligan's
conviction at court for murder and rape,
694
00:36:07,283 --> 00:36:09,683
he appealed the conviction against rape.
695
00:36:10,043 --> 00:36:12,963
And for reasons that might be obvious,
696
00:36:13,403 --> 00:36:16,803
i.e., how long Wesley had
lain there in the countryside,
697
00:36:17,603 --> 00:36:21,683
the evidence in relation to the rape
was very weak.
698
00:36:22,523 --> 00:36:26,763
And the Court of Appeal decided
to quash that conviction.
699
00:36:26,963 --> 00:36:29,763
Missed it by one day,
Sex Offenders' Register.
700
00:36:30,243 --> 00:36:32,723
And then for him to overturn
me son's rape charge,
701
00:36:32,843 --> 00:36:35,563
and he's not gonna be on
the Sex Offenders' Register again,
702
00:36:36,363 --> 00:36:37,523
that's a no-go area.
703
00:36:38,803 --> 00:36:41,483
'Cause he's dangerous,
a very dangerous person.
704
00:36:43,163 --> 00:36:47,883
[Trevor] A local newspaper approached me,
and approached Wesley's family,
705
00:36:48,203 --> 00:36:51,523
and asked if we were interested
in getting involved with them
706
00:36:51,683 --> 00:36:54,203
{\an8}with a campaign called Never Again.
707
00:36:54,683 --> 00:36:58,563
{\an8}It was a campaign to tighten
the loopholes in the law.
708
00:36:59,243 --> 00:37:02,643
And that was designed
to change legislation,
709
00:37:02,883 --> 00:37:05,683
whereby if someone was
convicted of a murder
710
00:37:05,963 --> 00:37:07,683
that was sexually motivated,
711
00:37:08,123 --> 00:37:11,483
then they could go on
the Sex Offenders' Register.
712
00:37:12,003 --> 00:37:14,043
To think he missed it
713
00:37:14,203 --> 00:37:16,883
being on the Sex Offenders list
by one day.
714
00:37:17,763 --> 00:37:19,723
And here he was just in the community,
715
00:37:19,803 --> 00:37:21,963
picking his way through
looking for a victim,
716
00:37:22,483 --> 00:37:23,643
and he found Wesley.
717
00:37:24,363 --> 00:37:28,723
All I can think of is, me son would
want us to fight for other children.
718
00:37:29,323 --> 00:37:31,403
I wouldn't be a mother
if I didn't think that.
719
00:37:31,483 --> 00:37:34,203
That Wesley's standing behind us,
and he's pushing me all the way.
720
00:37:34,643 --> 00:37:36,923
I know for a fact it's not
gonna bring Wesley back.
721
00:37:37,163 --> 00:37:40,083
But if I can save one child…
722
00:37:41,803 --> 00:37:43,923
I think me son would want us to do that.
723
00:37:44,403 --> 00:37:46,163
[Trevor] The local community got involved,
724
00:37:46,243 --> 00:37:49,203
and the greater community
of Northumberland,
725
00:37:49,283 --> 00:37:50,443
and Durham got involved.
726
00:37:51,003 --> 00:37:54,643
{\an8}And there was so many signatures,
Parliament couldn't ignore it.
727
00:37:55,603 --> 00:37:58,403
And the legislation was
subsequently changed.
728
00:38:00,883 --> 00:38:02,843
[narrator] Dominic McKilligan
was sentenced
729
00:38:02,923 --> 00:38:06,763
to life imprisonment with
a minimum term of 20 years.
730
00:38:07,203 --> 00:38:09,723
Twenty years have now passed,
731
00:38:10,123 --> 00:38:12,643
and Wesley's family
don't want him to get out.
732
00:38:13,163 --> 00:38:15,123
If they let him out of prison,
733
00:38:17,483 --> 00:38:20,723
who's gonna put their hands up to say
"We've got it wrong again"?
734
00:38:21,283 --> 00:38:24,483
And when you look back
at this fella's criminal history,
735
00:38:24,563 --> 00:38:27,403
from a kid, he was a right lunatic.
736
00:38:28,363 --> 00:38:29,723
They knew what he was,
737
00:38:30,523 --> 00:38:33,883
and I don't want this man out,
not to do it again.
738
00:38:33,963 --> 00:38:36,563
Not to put a family through
what we've went through.
739
00:38:37,043 --> 00:38:39,163
We don't live, we just exist.
740
00:38:39,563 --> 00:38:45,123
And it's not just the fact that
he committed a crime on Wesley,
741
00:38:45,243 --> 00:38:46,683
and then he's paying for it,
742
00:38:47,483 --> 00:38:49,843
he's committed a crime
with the whole family.
743
00:38:50,443 --> 00:38:51,923
It isn't just the victim,
744
00:38:54,163 --> 00:38:55,523
it's everybody around him.
745
00:38:57,043 --> 00:39:01,083
It's hard, because
there's still a lot of people
746
00:39:01,163 --> 00:39:05,043
who was around when this
all happened to Wesley.
747
00:39:05,483 --> 00:39:06,563
I keep seeing Wesley,
748
00:39:06,643 --> 00:39:08,963
I wonder how he would be as a grown man,
749
00:39:09,963 --> 00:39:12,243
and if he would have had
children or anything.
750
00:39:12,683 --> 00:39:14,323
I says, well, that was taken away.
751
00:39:15,163 --> 00:39:17,283
I'll never, ever come to terms with that.
752
00:39:17,883 --> 00:39:22,203
He trusted everybody,
and I think that's why he lost his life,
753
00:39:22,523 --> 00:39:24,083
because he trusted this person.
754
00:39:25,883 --> 00:39:28,603
There's not a day goes by
that I don't think about him.
755
00:39:29,643 --> 00:39:32,403
I just wish he had
a chance to live his life
756
00:39:32,923 --> 00:39:35,803
instead of being cut down the way he had.
757
00:39:37,803 --> 00:39:40,883
[narrator] Wesley's death hasn't just
prompted a change in the law.
758
00:39:41,643 --> 00:39:44,043
[Trevor] Wesley's case had
such an effect on me,
759
00:39:44,123 --> 00:39:46,443
and particularly the sightings,
760
00:39:47,003 --> 00:39:53,083
all the sightings intrigued me why people
in the circumstances that were presented
761
00:39:53,203 --> 00:39:58,123
would come forward, and give
all this false evidence, basically.
762
00:39:58,683 --> 00:40:00,963
But having made some inquiries,
I discovered
763
00:40:01,043 --> 00:40:04,243
that a similar case,
very similar case in Aberdeen.
764
00:40:04,643 --> 00:40:08,243
I then discovered another one
in Manchester, Greater Manchester,
765
00:40:08,963 --> 00:40:12,323
and I liaised with
the Senior Investigating Officer on that,
766
00:40:12,603 --> 00:40:14,723
and he'd had similar experiences.
767
00:40:15,163 --> 00:40:17,603
Sightings, sightings,
sightings all the time.
768
00:40:18,203 --> 00:40:22,963
I was then co-opted onto
the missing person's working group
769
00:40:23,043 --> 00:40:24,483
and national working group,
770
00:40:25,083 --> 00:40:29,523
and we debated this subject at length.
771
00:40:30,683 --> 00:40:34,003
And decided to call them
Empathetic Sightings.
772
00:40:34,123 --> 00:40:36,443
So they're now known
as Empathetic Sightings.
773
00:40:36,963 --> 00:40:41,483
So I think the general
thrust of an inquiry
774
00:40:41,563 --> 00:40:44,643
changed as a result of this
and these two other cases,
775
00:40:45,043 --> 00:40:48,203
and that you can't always
be convinced by sightings.
776
00:40:49,123 --> 00:40:51,603
[Heather] Another part
that the police can learn from this
777
00:40:51,683 --> 00:40:55,203
is about the different
agencies talking to each other.
778
00:40:55,323 --> 00:40:56,643
Perhaps if we'd had knowledge
779
00:40:56,723 --> 00:41:00,323
that he'd been re-released
sooner from social workers,
780
00:41:00,403 --> 00:41:01,803
from youth offenders.
781
00:41:01,923 --> 00:41:04,683
That he was put in this area
and that his background was,
782
00:41:04,763 --> 00:41:08,283
I don't know, who knows, it's hindsight,
but it wouldn't have harmed.
783
00:41:09,523 --> 00:41:10,883
Oh, it's torture.
784
00:41:11,283 --> 00:41:14,523
I mean 20 year later,
and I'm still looking for answers.
785
00:41:14,723 --> 00:41:16,363
I'm still wanting to find out why.
786
00:41:16,643 --> 00:41:19,323
He was just an ordinary kid that went out,
787
00:41:19,763 --> 00:41:22,883
went out on his bike, met a monster,
788
00:41:23,683 --> 00:41:24,763
and lost his life.
789
00:41:30,043 --> 00:41:31,883
[somber music playing]