Billie-Jo murder case still unsolved

Jenkins was attacked outside the Old Bailey by relatives of the 13-year-old who screamed at him: "You f****** got away with it."

The Argus can today reveal potentially crucial evidence that none of the juries in his three murder trials was allowed to hear.

It includes:

A High Court testimony from Jenkins' ex-wife Lois that he was prone to violent outbursts against the children, hitting them with a stick or slipper.

Her claims that she hid in the loft after he hit her in the face, perforating her eardrum.

The police statements of two of Billie-Jo's classmates who said she told them Jenkins had assaulted her.

Two Old Bailey juries in less than a year have now failed to reach verdicts after two retrials.

Jenkins, 48, will not face another trial for the murder at the family home in Lower Park Road, Hastings. The investigation and trials have cost £10 million.

In evidence not heard by the jury at his retrial, Lois Jenkins revealed he would turn on her if she questioned the severe way he disciplined their children.

Lois claimed at the appeal hearing which led to his re-trial that she suffered years of domestic violence from Jenkins but the evidence could not be reported at the time. The allegations were never put to Jenkins and were not accepted by his defence team.

Desperate The former deputy head attacked Sussex Police yesterday for their "dreadful errors and a single-minded and desperate determination to convict me at all costs".

He complained of the force's "wilfully blind and incompetent" handling of the investigation which has seen him stand trial for the murder three times.

He called for the inquiry to be reopened to catch Billie-Jo's killer and said outside the court: "It has taken more than nine years of struggle and pain for me to be standing here today. It's been a terrible ordeal and I find it difficult to actually take it in."

He said his thoughts were with his daughters Annie, Charlotte, Esther and Maya, adding: "I want to assure them of my total love for them. Although they are on the other side of the world, not a day has passed when I'm not thinking of them all."

Jenkins was jailed for life in 1998 following his first trial, but a retrial was ordered by the Court of Appeal in 2004.

He has spent nine years - six of them in prison - trying to prove he did not batter Billie-Jo over the head at least ten times with an 18in metal tent peg.

Billie-Jo's natural family was enraged by the result of the latest trial and as he left the courtroom, two women, believed to be Billie-Jo's relatives, hurled themselves at him, punching and kicking him. Jenkins was left shaken and had blood on his chin.

The attack came after the jury foreman revealed at 12.27pm that they had reached stalemate following almost 40 hours of deliberation over eight days despite having been told by trial judge Mr Justice David Clarke that he would accept a ten-to-two majority decision.

Prosecuting counsel Nicholas Hilliard said: "Now is the time to offer no further evidence."

Mr Justice David Clarke said: "The length of time you took just underlines the amount of issues you have been considering over the many, many weeks throughout which you have devoted close attention and care.

"You have failed to reach a verdict but you must not think of this as a failure as it is part of the essence of the jury system that it does sometimes end in this way."

Blood Jenkins told police he found Billie-Jo in a pool of blood on the patio where she had been painting doors on February 15, 1997. But he became the prime suspect after police discovered his life was a lie, with his school job obtained using fake qualifications.

One of the fiercest battles in British justice followed.

Jenkins' first appeal was turned down in 1999.

But in 2004 his defence team managed to force the first retrial by raising doubts about the forensic evidence used to convict him.

Jenkins faced his first retrial last summer which ended with the jury failing to reach a verdict.

A second retrial was ordered, starting on October 31, during which Jenkins' ex-wife Lois flew from her Tasmanian home to act as a prosecution witness.

During the retrial the Crown alleged that Jenkins, former headteacher designate at all-boys William Parker School, in Parkstone Road, Hastings, snapped and killed Billie-Jo in a fit of rage.

They said he was under extreme pressure over a bogus teaching application he had submitted to gain promotion. Delays in the take-up of his references led Jenkins to believe his lies were about to be exposed, it was claimed.

The prosecution claimed that a fine mist of blood found on Jenkins' clothes, with some blood spots containing Billie-Jo's flesh, proved he killed her.

But the defence said the blood got on his clothes as he tended to Billie-Jo in her dying moments, possibly by the expulsion of a blockage in her lungs.

Christopher Sallon QC said Jenkins had neither the time nor the motive to murder Billie-Jo. He asked the jury to examine the history of prowlers in the area of the family home. In particular, he asked them to look closely at a mentally ill man named as Mr B who was seen nearby on the day of the killing.

In his closing speech, Mr Sallon told the jury if they had any doubts they should not convict.

Yesterday, after the jury foreman announced there would be no verdict, the judge told the court he would retire for a few minutes before he discussed with lawyers in the case what would happen next.

Shouted As he left the court Billie-Jo's natural father Bill Jenkins, who has been in court for the duration of the retrial, glared down at the defendant from the public gallery. A female member of his family shouted: "It's not over yet you slag."

Jenkins had been looking at his new wife Christina, 55, as he stood in the dock. She had vowed to stand by him and said she had had always believed him to be innocent. On Tuesday night, they had celebrated their first wedding anniversary not knowing if it would be their last night together for a long time.

Jenkins left the courtroom as shouting continued in the public gallery. It was then that Jenkins received several blows.

The two women involved, who said they were Billie-Jo's aunts Maggie Costener and Beverley Williams, then left the court building chanting "Justice for Billie-Jo".

But as they stood on the pavement outside surrounded by Press photographers, police officers asked if they would like to return to the building. The women agreed.

Following the attack on Jenkins, the court reconvened with six members of the jury present.

Prosecutor Nicholas Hilliard said no further retrial would be sought.

He said: "In the course of two lengthy trials, neither jury has been able to reach a verdict and we can't say they would be more likely than not to do so in a future trial. Having given very careful consideration to the case, now is the time to offer no further evidence."

Mr Justice David Clarke recorded a formal not guilty verdict.

Mr Sallon QC asked the judge for Jenkins' costs to be refunded and was told they would be assessed. He said a cost order would be made refunding them.

Sussex Police said last night the case was now "unresolved" and would be subject to review. Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Williams said the force would do everything it could to bring Billie-Jo's killer to justice.

He said: "I think we need to take time now to reflect on today's outcome, but I would say this - a case such as this is never closed. We should perhaps pause and remember what this case is about. It's about Billie-Jo - a bright, lively 13-year-old girl with everything to live for who was brutally murdered on the patio of her foster parents' home, a place where she ought to have been safe.

Unresolved "In these circumstances I think the public would expect the police to do all they reasonably can to bring her killer to justice. This therefore remains an unresolved murder case. It will, as a matter of course, be subject to review, which we will conduct with an open mind.

"If any person has any information which can shed new light on the death of Billie-Jo, I urge them, even at this stage, to talk to the police."

Sarah Jane Gallagher, of the Sussex Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This is the third time Sion Jenkins has faced trial for murder and after hearing all the evidence the jury has not been able to reach a decision.

"The role of the CPS is to apply the code for crown prosecutors. That is to examine the evidence and determine whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether it is in the public interest to bring criminal proceedings.

"I'm satisfied the CPS fulfilled its duty under the code for crown prosecutors and the decision to take Mr Jenkins to a second retrial was correct.

"The CPS has considered the case again as a whole and decided Sion Jenkins should not face a third retrial. He has therefore been formally acquitted. I would like to commend the witnesses for their courage in being prepared to come to court once again to give evidence. Our thoughts today are of course with Billie-Jo's family."

Last night the Justice For Sion Jenkins web site - which was forced to close as part of Mr Jenkins' bail conditions - was online again.

A statement reads: "There have been sad and shocking events. Personal resources have been tested to their limits. It has been a bruising time, when deep reserves of trust, hope and faith have been needed.

"Today, finally, there is justice for Sion Jenkins, who can start to live the rest of his life.

"At the same time we do not forget the life lost. We remember Billie-Jo Jenkins, brutally murdered on February 15, 1997.

"Her killer still walks free."