Colchester is a town in the county of Essex. It is known for being a market town and holds one of the most popular markets in North Essex. In 2014, the small town was rocked by two extremely brutal murders and the investigation to catch the killer was one of the biggest carried out by Essex Police. The town was held on edge as the spectre of a serial killer loomed over. Sales of stab proof vests rocketed while people refused to go anywhere alone out of fear they would become the next target.
The community and media alike had conjured up the killer as a Yorkshire Ripper or Ted Bundy type, but nobody could have possibly predicted who the killer would turn out to be.
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Sources:
The Gazette, 29 March, 2014 – “Police Name Victim of Castle Park Murder”
The Gazette, 30 March, 2014 – “Tributes Paid to James Attfield by Family, Friends and Tutors”
Press Association Newswire, 30 March, 2014 – “Vulnerable Man Murdered in Park”
The Gazette, 31 March, 2014 – “Police Investigating James Atfield Murders Say He Suffered 102 Separate Wounds”
The Evening Standard, 5 April, 2014 – “New Police Appeal Over Murdered Man”
The Gazette, 7 April, 2014 – “James Attfield Murder”
The Gazette, 24 April, 2014 – “Suspects Bailed as James Attfield Murder Investigation Continues”
The Gazette, 17 June, 2014 – “One Arrested Following Murder of Woman in Greenstead”
The Evening Standard, 18 June, 2014 – “Police Investigate Whether Footpath Murder Victim was Killed Because of Her Muslim Dress”
Asian Image, 19 June, 2014 – “Tributes to Murdered Saudi Student”
The Daily Telegraph, 19 June, 2014 – “Essex PhH Student ‘Murdered for Being Muslim’ Police Fear”
The Daily Telegraph, 20 June, 2014 – “Police Question 19-Year-Old Man Over Muslim Student’s Murder”
The Daily Telegraph, 21 June, 2014 – “19-Year-Old Freed Over Killing of Muslim Student”
International Business Times, 21 June, 2014 – “Police Seek Man Seen Running Near Murder Scene”
The Sun, 21 June, 2014 – “Town in Terror”
The Gazette, 30 June, 2014 – “Nahid Al-Manea Scholarship Launched”
Essex Chronicle Series, 30 June, 2014 – “Worried Essex Residents Turn to Stab Proof Vests After Switch Off”
The Daily Mirror, 30 May, 2015 – “Schoolboy Double Killer Smiles at Parents in Court”
The Sun, 30 May, 2015 – “Star Pupil Held Over 2 Killings”
The Daily Mirror , 16 February, 2016 – “Schoolboy Double Killer to Face Murder Trial”
The Daily Mirror, 11 April, 2016 – “Murder Accused Schoolboy Had Picture of Yorkshire Ripper on Phone and Searched For Five Horrific Serial Killers Online”
The Daily Mirror, 12 April, 2012 – “Schoolboy Accused of Double Murder Visited Webpage Entitled ‘I Was a Hunter and They Were the Victims’”
Press Association Newswire, 12 April, 2016 – “Boy Who Admits Killing Two in Street Attacks ‘Was Looking for Third Victim’”
East Anglian Daily Times, 13 April, 2016 – “Court Hears of ‘Terrifying’ Injuries Inflicted”
The Evening Standard, 13 April, 2016 – “Jury Asked to Decide Whether Teenage Killer was Mentally Ill When He Stabbed Two to Death in Colchester”
East Anglian Daily Times, 14 April, 2016 – “Double Killer Quizzed but Released by Police”
Daily Star, 15 April, 2016 – “Killer Kid ‘Too Dim to be a Psycho’”
The Gazette, 16 April, 2016 – “Compulsive Child Became Adult Killer”
The Gazette, 16 April, 2016 – “From Kind Child to Brutal Killer”
The Daily Mirror, 18 April, 2016 – “Colchester Schoolboy Double Killer Returned to Crime Scene to relive the Attack”
East Anglian Daily Times, 20 April, 2016 – “Perfect Storm of Mental Illness Led to Kill Twice”
The Gazette, 20 April, 2016 – “Killer Claims he Could Have Killed 15 More People and Nahid Was an Easy Target”
The Daily Mirror, 22 April, 2016 – “How James Fairweather Turned From Mr Bean into the Teen Ripper”
The Daily Mirror, 22 April, 2016 – “I Could Have Been Teen Ripper’s Next Victim”
The Sun, 24 April, 2016 – “We Thought He’d Been Butchered by Another Ripper But My James’s Killer Was This Puny Schoolboy”
The Sun, 25 April, 2016 – “Dad Butchered Days Before Kids Reunion”The
Daily Mirror, 28 September, 2016 – “Colchester Ripper James Fairweather Loses Appeal Against 27-Year Sentence for Random Murders of Two Strangers”
Audio Sources:
“Custody Interview of Teenage Killer James Fairweather”
Nahid Almanea – Family Tribute”
