THE MAN accused of murdering two schoolgirls has pointed the finger of blame at one of their parents.

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Russell Bishop is standing trial accused of strangling and killing Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Wild Park in Brighton in October 1986.

The jury at his retrial at The Old Bailey in London has been told by the prosecution that there is “compelling” evidence, including DNA and forensic evidence, that shows he is the killer.

But Joel Bennathan QC, defending, says there are facts which point to someone else being the killer, and said the police and prosecution have “spent 32 years building a case against the wrong man”.

He said: “Is there another suspect you need to keep an eye on in this case? Only one person is on trial here sitting in the dock, Russell Bishop.

“But the law allows a defendant like him to point out facts and ask questions to the jury that might suggest the possibility that another person exists who may have carried out these awful attacks.

“We will ask questions of witnesses to show that when the girls went missing there was someone very close to them who has no alibi.

“That someone has a guilty secret. That he has been complicit in the sexual abuse of Nicola Fellows, which shows an interest in paedophilic sex.

“In the end it might mean he could not let Nicola Fellows tell the world what has been happening. “That person is her father, Barrie Fellows.”

Previously, Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said there was compelling DNA and forensic evidence that links Bishop to the killings.

He also said Bishop was convicted in 1990 for the attempted murder, kidnap, and indecent assault of a seven-year-old girl from Whitehawk, in a case which has “similarities” to the murders of Nicola and Karen in 1986.

And there were strange comments made by Bishop about the position of the girls’ bodies and their injuries that “only the killer could have known”.

But Mr Bennathan said that while Bishop’s offences in 1990 were “awful”, he is not on trial for these, and said there were some “obvious differences” between the two incidents.

And while Bishop’s DNA has been found on a blue Pinto sweatshirt and on one of the dead girls, he said he will also question whether cross contamination has taken place.

He said scientists these days have to be sensitive not to leave any trace, and added: “In 1986, were the same precautions being taken?”

Mr Bennathan also questioned the police relying on some of the comments made about the girls at the crime scene.

He said that Barrie Fellows made comments which are “far more incriminating” than that of Bishop.

“These facts, when looked at coolly and calmly, should lead you to have to accept that the police and prosecution have spent 32 years building a case against the wrong man,” he said.

Russell Bishop, now 52, and formerly of Brighton, denies murder, and the trial continues.

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