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Britain's Most Evil Killers S09E03 (Oct 22 2024)
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00:00The following program contains descriptions of real-life violence that some viewers may find distressing.
00:13In August 1994, in the town of Castledurg, Northern Ireland,
00:1915-year-old Arlene Arkinson went out to a disco and never came home.
00:25I just wished. I said, no, Arlene, don't go. Please don't go. But I don't know.
00:32The last person to see Arlene was 50-year-old Robert Howard.
00:36He was in a relationship with Arlene's friend's mother and a convicted sex offender.
00:42This is part of his pattern of going to a place, kind of infiltrating himself with people,
00:47often people that had young daughters.
00:50He would attract children to his flat.
00:52One neighbour called him the Pied Piper.
00:55Arlene's disappearance went unsolved.
00:59Seven years later, another teenager went missing in south-east London.
01:04It's still in my mind the last word she said to me.
01:08Mum, I love you and I'll never leave you.
01:12When Hannah Williams' body was found a year later, all roads led to Robert Howard.
01:18We put his name into the police national computer and were staggered to find what we would describe as a career sexual offender.
01:29Though it took decades to bring him to justice, Robert Howard was finally proven to be one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:37Robert Howard was a serial sex offender who preyed on vulnerable women and girls.
02:07Howard Howard was a prolific predatory sex offender and had been a sex offender from a very, very young age.
02:22He was someone who, everywhere he went, would have an interest in young girls.
02:28And then eventually that would become difficult for him, so he would move on and he would just do it somewhere else.
02:34Though there was plenty of suspicion along the way, it would take years for the true horror of Howard's crimes to be uncovered.
02:41There's no doubt now that Howard, mother darling, why did our UC let him get away with it?
02:53He was in bail for assaulting another child.
02:56A public inquiry should examine all of us.
02:59This killer story begins on the 20th of April, 1944.
03:10Robert Howard was born into a large family in the tiny rural community of Wolf Hill in the Republic of Ireland.
03:21Howard would come to be known as Wolfman and later gave himself a middle name, Lazarian.
03:27So his name was Robert Lazarian Howard, and Lazarian is the name of a mythical child killer.
03:34From early childhood, Howard rarely attended school and soon turned his attention to making money any way he could.
03:43His first acknowledged burglary came when he was 13 and he was sent away.
03:48Remember, we're talking about Ireland in the 1950s, and he was put into Catholic institutions.
03:55And in recent years, we've come to know that those were sometimes difficult and dangerous places to be.
04:02Robert Howard came out of the institution at the age of 16, but wasn't welcomed back into the bosom of his family.
04:08Howard was forced to live as a vagrant, staying in local barns, sheds and other derelict buildings in the countryside around Wolf Hill.
04:19That is an incredibly young and vulnerable age to suddenly find yourself having to look after yourself completely.
04:29He had a nomadic, difficult background, no question of that.
04:36And I think he was someone who was continually in difficulties with the law.
04:47At one point, he was actually effectively forced to leave Ireland and go to the UK.
04:53By the age of 21, Howard was living in London, where in 1965, he committed his first known sexual offence.
05:14He broke into a house and tried to rape a six-year-old girl.
05:18He got away at that point, but returned a week later and was caught.
05:25He got nine days borstal for that.
05:28This slap on the wrist did nothing to deter Howard.
05:31He was deported back to the Republic of Ireland, but quickly returned.
05:36He returns to the UK, and in 1969, at the age of 24,
05:41he breaks into the home of a young married woman in Durham, in the north of England,
05:47and tries to rape her.
05:50She clearly fought with him, ran into the street, seeking help.
05:58He attacks her and grabs her around the throat in the street,
06:02in front of people who were coming to her aid.
06:05Now, that's a really serious escalation.
06:09Howard was sentenced to six years in HMP Franklin, but served only three.
06:15On his release, he moved to the Republic of Ireland and began re-offending.
06:24From that point on, Howard went on a litany of sexual offending.
06:29He was someone who was continually prosecuted for quite a number of serious offences.
06:37The point here being that he's not somebody who was below the radar.
06:41In May 1973, Howard attacks a 58-year-old woman.
06:47He breaks into her house, rapes her, sodomizes her,
06:51leaves her tied to the bed, and drives off in her car.
06:55He is arrested for that offence, and he's arrested in an airport,
07:00so he's probably trying to leave the country again to escape.
07:04This time, he's actually exposed to a psychiatrist.
07:08And the psychiatrist says,
07:10he's softly spoken, he's courteous.
07:13You could never imagine that he would do anything violent.
07:18But the psychiatrist knew full well that Howard had an interest in teenage girls
07:26and described Howard as an explosive psychopath.
07:32Howard was sentenced to ten years in jail.
07:36Upon his release, eight years later,
07:38the 38-year-old showed himself once again to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
07:44He had a propensity to befriend people
07:48and to befriend vulnerable people
07:50that find his way into their home.
07:52Not long after his release,
07:54Howard marries a young woman,
07:56and they have a relationship for three years.
08:01That marriage was never going to be anything but abusive.
08:04Probably that was simply to trap her
08:08as this ever-present victim.
08:11After the marriage broke down,
08:15Howard settled in Castle Derg,
08:17a small town in County Tyrone,
08:20near the Irish border.
08:23They did have a period of time
08:25where he was living in a caravan.
08:27There's an allegation of a case
08:30whereby he kept a lady captive.
08:34She was a vulnerable woman
08:35he'd befriended in Dublin
08:37and invited to stay with him.
08:39He was 47 years old,
08:41she was 22.
08:43He keeps a prisoner there for three weeks,
08:47raping her repeatedly.
08:49She was actually rescued by her family,
08:51not by the police.
08:53There was a huge reluctance in Northern Ireland
08:55for people to go to the police.
08:57You didn't think you'd be believed,
08:58thought that you might end up under suspicion yourself.
09:01Eventually, the police were told many years after this event,
09:04but they didn't press charges.
09:06They believed she was too vulnerable to give evidence.
09:14Howard moved to a flat in the centre of Castle Derg
09:18and started a friendship with a woman
09:21who had a teenage daughter.
09:23It's very common in cases like this
09:26where a man has an interest in younger people
09:29that he will often become a very trusted friend of the family,
09:32which gives them access to abuse young girls.
09:36And this girlfriend seemed to suspect his true intentions.
09:41She actually commented that she was aware
09:44he was more interested in younger girls than in women.
09:47Howard began to befriend his girlfriend's daughter
09:50and her friends, one of whom was a 16-year-old girl.
09:56Robert Howard had lured this young girl to his flat
09:59in Main Street Castle Derg
10:02on the pretense of meeting a taxi driver
10:04who the young girl wanted to meet and perhaps go out with.
10:09When she got into his flat,
10:11she complained of a headache
10:13and he gave her tablets.
10:16The next thing she knew,
10:18she woke up naked in his bed
10:20with a ligature around her neck.
10:23He effectively drugged her
10:25and kept her captive
10:27and he rapes her repeatedly,
10:31very much as he'd done
10:32the vulnerable young woman from Dublin.
10:34On the third day of this nightmare,
10:37when Howard had fallen asleep,
10:39the girl jumped out of a second-floor window.
10:42She reported everything to the police.
10:47They did arrest Howard.
10:50And what did Howard say?
10:52Yeah, all of that happened,
10:54but it was with consent.
10:57Howard was charged but let out on bail.
11:00He was free to continue preying on teenage girls
11:04and his next attack could leave no victim to testify.
11:12In 1994, Robert Howard was on bail accused of rape
11:19and unlawful imprisonment
11:21and living in Castle Derg,
11:23a small northern Irish town
11:25close to the border with the Republic of Ireland.
11:28At this point, there was still a militarized border in parts,
11:36so you did see a lot of soldiers around.
11:38These are interesting places.
11:39They can be quite lawless,
11:40particularly in the 90s when the Troubles were still going on,
11:44but it was surprisingly easy still
11:45to just get across the border.
11:46A short drive from where Howard lived,
11:5015-year-old Arlene Arkinson was staying with her brother
11:53near her older sister, Kathleen.
11:56Arlene was a beautiful child.
11:58Arlene was bubbly.
12:01Everything she wanted, she got it.
12:04She just was the baby of the house
12:06and she, like, she was spoiled.
12:10Mammy passed and that had a wild hole in Arlene,
12:13so Arlene was only 11.
12:16Her mother had died a few years before
12:18and she had been living with her father for a little while,
12:20but he was a bit unstable,
12:22so hadn't been able to take care of her
12:24and she'd kind of moved around
12:25living with her different siblings and their families.
12:29So she was a somewhat vulnerable girl,
12:30but very loved and cared for.
12:32On Saturday, the 13th of August, 1994,
12:37Arlene was helping out her sister.
12:40I asked her to babysit.
12:42It was a lovely August, summertime, lovely day.
12:46When Kathleen got home around 10.30pm,
12:50she found out one of Arlene's friends
12:52had invited her out.
12:54She says, but I don't want you to go down on me.
12:57Don't bother us.
12:59But then Kathleen heard a knock at the door.
13:02It was Arlene's friend.
13:04I says, what's going to have been doing?
13:07I want Arlene to go along with us.
13:09I says, Arlene's got no money.
13:11And she says, Arlene, come on here, I have a tenner.
13:15Kathleen was led to believe Arlene's friend's mother
13:18was going to be looking after them.
13:21But it was the mother's boyfriend
13:23who chaperoned them that night.
13:26Arlene goes out with her friend to a local disco.
13:29They're being driven there by Robert Howard.
13:32When Arlene didn't arrive back home at Kathleen's house,
13:36I think Kathleen at that time reasonably assumed
13:38that Arlene had been left off at her brother's house.
13:41But of course, when they realized the next day
13:43that Arlene wasn't with either of them,
13:45when the alarm bells started to ring.
13:52Kathleen's first port of call
13:54was to visit the mother of Arlene's friend,
13:56who she believed was taking care of the girls
13:59the night before.
14:02Kathleen, of her own volition,
14:03went to the family to try to find out
14:07exactly what had happened.
14:08They all denied any knowledge of anything,
14:11of any harm coming to Arlene.
14:13And there was even allegations
14:14that Arlene wasn't even present,
14:18that you didn't go to Bundorn.
14:20The following day,
14:22Mary, Kathleen and Arlene's sister
14:24knocked at the door of Arlene's friend
14:27and her mother.
14:29Robert Howard answered.
14:31Mary says,
14:32where's our Arlene?
14:33And he says,
14:34I effing don't know
14:35any close to doer on her face.
14:38Mary came down here crying
14:39and I said,
14:40what's wrong?
14:41She said,
14:41don't you forget the last time
14:42you seen Arlene?
14:43She said,
14:43I think it's the last.
14:45And of course,
14:46during the time,
14:47they went to the authorities,
14:48including the social services
14:49and to the police,
14:51but the family just lied
14:53to Kathleen's face
14:55and so did Howard.
14:57The last time Arlene was seen
15:00was in Howard's car.
15:02When questioned,
15:03Howard,
15:03who at the time
15:04was on bail
15:05for the rape and imprisonment
15:07of another teenager,
15:08denied all knowledge
15:09of her whereabouts.
15:11At one stage,
15:12he was saying
15:13that he had left her off
15:14at a local pub,
15:16but that doesn't make any sense
15:17leaving a young girl
15:18at Castlederg at that time.
15:21The thing to do
15:22for a man of that age
15:23with a child in the car
15:25is to make sure
15:26that she was left at the door
15:27was an appropriate adult
15:29and he didn't do that
15:31because what he said,
15:32of course,
15:33was a complete pack of lies.
15:35What is difficult
15:36to come to terms with
15:37is that in view
15:38of his background
15:39and the charges
15:40that he was actually
15:41out on bail upon,
15:43he had to be
15:43suspect number one.
15:4946 days after
15:51Arlene's disappearance,
15:53Robert Howard
15:53was arrested.
15:56We know
15:57that when the police
15:59did arrest Howard
16:00that the boot lining
16:01from his vehicle
16:02was missing
16:03and that the clothing
16:04that he'd worn
16:05on the night
16:06he went to Bundoran
16:07had disappeared.
16:09So anything
16:11that might have indicated
16:12some harm
16:12had come to Arlene
16:13was now gone.
16:16Howard's alibi
16:17that he returned home
16:18to his girlfriend's house
16:19at around 2.30 a.m.
16:21was corroborated
16:23by his girlfriend
16:23and her daughter.
16:25They sort of went along
16:27with what Howard
16:28was telling them to say
16:29and I got really,
16:30really complicated
16:31to work out
16:32what the truth was.
16:34So I think men
16:35like Robert Howard,
16:36they know how to target
16:37vulnerable girls as well.
16:42Robert Howard
16:43was released without charge.
16:44The case went cold.
16:47Arlene did not return
16:48to Castle Derg.
16:51In 1995,
16:52Howard agreed
16:53a plea bargain
16:54in the case
16:55of the 16-year-old girl
16:56he'd been accused
16:57of holding captive
16:58two years earlier.
17:00In return
17:01for pleading guilty
17:02to unlawful carnal knowledge,
17:04the rape
17:05and unlawful
17:06imprisonment charges
17:07were dropped.
17:09Now,
17:09unlawful carnal knowledge
17:11at that point
17:12was having sex
17:13with consent
17:14of a girl
17:15under the age of 17.
17:17while the victim
17:19was 16.
17:20She attended court
17:21ready to give evidence
17:23but her evidence
17:24was never given
17:25because
17:26the prosecuting authorities
17:27made that deal
17:29and Howard
17:30was given
17:31a suspended sentence.
17:34Despite his victim's bravery,
17:37Robert Howard
17:38escaped proper punishment
17:40for a heinous sexual crime.
17:43Local feeling
17:44turned against Howard
17:45and he received
17:47a visit
17:47from certain individuals
17:49who threatened his life
17:51and gave him
17:52a period of time
17:53to leave the province
17:54and Howard did.
17:57In 1995,
17:59Howard fled
18:00to Glasgow.
18:02Howard moving away
18:03and with the police
18:04not actively pursuing him,
18:06they pursue
18:06another line of inquiry.
18:08Their suspicions
18:09seemed to fall
18:09on Arlene's family
18:10and they actually
18:11went round
18:12to her sister's house
18:13that she was living with.
18:14The police claimed
18:17that they had information
18:18from a reliable source
18:20that Arlene
18:22had been murdered
18:23in her sister's home
18:24and that Arlene
18:26was pushed down the stairs
18:27and then
18:28that she was buried
18:29at the home.
18:31In April 1996,
18:34police and soldiers
18:35turned up
18:36to Kathleen's home
18:37accompanied
18:38by the press.
18:39They brought in
18:40diggers even
18:41to dig up the garden.
18:43They just said
18:43they battered
18:44the door down
18:44as well.
18:46The search continued
18:47for a number of days.
18:49There was frantics
18:51everywhere.
18:53It was just like
18:54something like
18:55a horror movie.
18:57They actually took
18:57out my coal
18:58out of my fire
19:00to analyse my coal.
19:01And of course
19:07that resulted
19:08in nothing
19:09being found
19:09at all.
19:10But that event
19:12in 1996
19:13completely soured
19:14the relationship
19:16between the
19:18Arkinson family
19:19and the police
19:20investigation
19:21and the only
19:22person who
19:23benefited
19:23from that
19:24of course
19:24was Howard.
19:27Undeterred,
19:28Kathleen found
19:29out through
19:29a friend
19:30who lived
19:30in Scotland
19:31exactly where
19:33Howard had
19:34moved to.
19:35It's my phone
19:36going to the
19:36papers
19:37and I said
19:39Howard's
19:39in Scotland.
19:40I think it was
19:41Drum Chapel.
19:43Leave that
19:43with me.
19:44It says
19:44He's outed
19:48by the Sunday
19:49Mail
19:49called
19:50The Face
19:50of Evil
19:50and pointing
19:51to his
19:52crimes
19:52in the past.
19:53Howard is
19:53literally
19:54hounded
19:54out of
19:55Glasgow.
19:56He travels
19:57south
19:57to the
19:58outskirts
19:58of London.
20:02Howard moved
20:03to London
20:04in 1998.
20:11In 2001
20:13Hannah Williams
20:14was a 14-year-old
20:16girl living
20:17in Detford,
20:18southeast London.
20:19Hannah was
20:20my daughter,
20:21my youngest
20:21daughter.
20:23My relationship
20:24with Hannah
20:25was just
20:27fantastic.
20:28She was
20:29very happy.
20:31She enjoyed
20:32being at home,
20:34loved going out
20:36to the higher
20:36street,
20:37loved going to
20:39the adventure
20:39playground.
20:40She was a bit
20:40like a Tom
20:41girl.
20:41She loved
20:42climbing things
20:43and jumping
20:44and that.
20:45Very energetic.
20:48I bought all
20:49three of them
20:49up myself
20:50and I'd done
20:51everything for them.
20:53It's hard
20:54bringing up
20:54three children
20:55by yourself
20:55but yeah,
20:57I'd done it
20:59and I loved it.
21:01But Bernadette's
21:02world was about
21:03to be torn apart.
21:05On April 21st,
21:082001,
21:09Hannah goes
21:10shopping
21:10in Deptford
21:11Market.
21:13It was about
21:1411 o'clock
21:15so she got up
21:16and she
21:18said,
21:19Mum,
21:20I'm going
21:20to the market
21:21so I said,
21:22well,
21:22if you hang on
21:23and I'll come
21:23with you.
21:24She said,
21:24Mum,
21:25I'm only going
21:25around the corner
21:26just to look at
21:26the stalls
21:27and whatever.
21:27It was
21:31a decision
21:32that would
21:33change
21:33both of their
21:34lives forever,
21:35an innocent
21:36shopping trip
21:37that would
21:37take a
21:38disastrous turn
21:39for the
21:4014-year-old.
21:49As darkness
21:51approached
21:51in Deptford,
21:52South East London,
21:54Hannah Williams
21:55still hadn't
21:57returned.
21:57She didn't
22:00come home.
22:01Her mum
22:02is absolutely
22:03frantic.
22:08I just
22:09walked
22:09and cried
22:10and walked
22:11to try
22:11and see
22:12if I could
22:12find her
22:13or see her
22:14anywhere in
22:14Deptford.
22:15I just
22:16didn't
22:16understand
22:17why
22:18she didn't
22:19answer her
22:20phone
22:20because she
22:21always answered
22:22her phone
22:23to me.
22:24But when
22:25she goes
22:25to the police,
22:26the police
22:27do not
22:28suspect
22:29that anything
22:30has happened
22:31to Hannah.
22:32They're
22:32convinced
22:33that she's
22:33run away
22:34or she's
22:35gone off
22:35with friends
22:36and of course
22:37this was a
22:38catastrophic
22:38decision by
22:39the police.
22:40The Metropolitan
22:43police told me
22:44to wait for
22:4524 hours
22:46before they
22:47could do
22:48anything
22:48and I
22:49didn't hear
22:50nothing.
22:51I didn't
22:52hear nothing
22:52from them.
22:54Peter Harrison
22:56was a reporter
22:57working at a
22:58local newspaper.
22:59I was
23:00sitting in
23:01the offices
23:02of the
23:03Mercury
23:04in Deptford
23:04High Street.
23:06The doorbell
23:06went and
23:07there's this
23:08woman standing
23:08in front of
23:09me,
23:10Bernadette,
23:10and she
23:12said to me,
23:12can you
23:13help me?
23:14My daughter's
23:15been missing
23:15for the last
23:16two weeks
23:17and no one
23:18seems to care.
23:19I didn't
23:26think she
23:26was dead
23:27but something
23:29was really
23:30bad that's
23:31happened to
23:31her and
23:32she can't
23:32get home.
23:38I remember
23:39contacting the
23:40missing people's
23:42section of
23:43Lewisham
23:43police.
23:44The officer
23:45in question
23:46was absolutely
23:46convinced that
23:48this was a
23:49down-and-out
23:50family,
23:51you know,
23:51runaway
23:52daughter,
23:52troublesome
23:53child.
23:55Getting
23:55police attention,
23:57especially in a
23:58missing person
23:59case,
23:59comes back to
24:00this thing,
24:01are you the
24:02ideal victim?
24:03The less
24:04ideal you
24:05are,
24:07the less
24:08attention and
24:09sympathy you're
24:10going to get.
24:13The Metropolitan
24:15Police have
24:16since improved
24:17missing persons
24:18investigations.
24:19How we
24:21investigate
24:22missing people
24:23has evolved
24:24in the 23
24:25years since
24:26Hannah went
24:27missing.
24:28We take the
24:29investigation of
24:30missing people
24:31incredibly seriously
24:32and have teams in
24:34every local
24:35policing area
24:36dedicated to
24:38this work.
24:41In 2001,
24:43a number of
24:44high-profile
24:45missing children's
24:46cases meant
24:47that Hannah's
24:47story also
24:48struggled to
24:49capture the
24:50attention of
24:51the media.
24:52It seemed at
24:53the time there
24:54was quite a few
24:54missing children.
24:56Hannah was one
24:57of many,
24:57but you had
24:58Danielle Jones,
24:59Millie Dowler.
25:00I feel like
25:02because they were
25:04living in more
25:07suitable places
25:09and me,
25:11I was in
25:11Deptford
25:12and single
25:14mum,
25:14so I felt
25:16that they got
25:16more coverage.
25:19But Bernadette
25:19made sure that
25:21her daughter
25:22had a good,
25:24warm,
25:25clean home,
25:25so it
25:27seemed preposterous
25:28that Hannah
25:29was written
25:31off just
25:32because of
25:33her background.
25:34I just
25:35didn't hear
25:36anything for
25:37a whole year,
25:38not knowing,
25:39or hoping that
25:40she'd walk
25:41through the door
25:41and say,
25:41hi, mum,
25:42I'm home.
25:44Not once
25:44was Bernadette
25:45told,
25:46look,
25:47there's a very
25:47good chance
25:48that your
25:48daughter's not
25:49going to be
25:50found alive.
25:51And so she
25:51was constantly
25:52filled with
25:53this hope.
25:54still in my
25:56mind,
25:56the last
25:57word she
25:57said to
25:58me,
25:59mum,
25:59I love
25:59you,
26:00and I'll
26:02never leave
26:02you.
26:07In March
26:082002,
26:10nearly 11
26:11months after
26:11Hannah's
26:12disappearance,
26:13Bernadette's
26:14worst fears
26:14came true.
26:16At the time
26:17that Hannah
26:17Williams went
26:18missing,
26:18I was a
26:19senior
26:19investigating
26:20officer in
26:21major crime
26:22at Kent
26:22Police.
26:23On Friday
26:25the 15th
26:25of March
26:262002,
26:27a digger
26:27driver was
26:28carrying out
26:29excavation
26:30work in
26:31a very
26:31woody area
26:32in preparation
26:33for the
26:34International
26:34Rail Link
26:35at Ebbsfeet
26:36Rail Terminal.
26:38He saw a
26:39blue tarpaulin
26:40wrapped in
26:41rope and
26:42he looked
26:42inside and
26:43could see
26:43what was
26:44clearly the
26:45skeletal
26:45remains of
26:46a body.
26:46The call
26:49came straight
26:49in to
26:50DCI
26:51Murray
26:51and he
26:52attended
26:52the scene
26:53immediately.
26:54It was
26:55torrential rain
26:56at the time.
26:57The excavation
26:58work meant
26:59it was thick
26:59with mud,
27:00so straight
27:01away I'm
27:01beginning to
27:02doubt whether
27:03we could get
27:03much forensic
27:04evidence.
27:05The body
27:06was found
27:07with a
27:07ligature
27:08around the
27:08neck.
27:09It was
27:09clear this
27:10was no
27:11accidental
27:11death.
27:13Kent
27:13Police
27:14immediately
27:14launched a
27:15murder
27:15investigation.
27:18We went
27:18public with
27:19details of
27:20her clothing
27:21and immediately
27:22I had a
27:22phone call
27:23from a
27:23local reporter
27:24to say I
27:25know who
27:25this girl
27:26is and he
27:27said it's
27:28Hannah
27:28Williams.
27:30Kent
27:30Police
27:30took DNA
27:31and she
27:33was my
27:33daughter and
27:35the guy I
27:36sent him a
27:37thank you
27:38letter for
27:38finding it out
27:39he must have
27:39been so
27:40shocked to
27:42come across
27:42a body and
27:43I was so
27:44happy that
27:44he found
27:47her because
27:49if he
27:49didn't then
27:51I still
27:52wouldn't know
27:53what's
27:54happened to
27:54her and
27:56I went
27:57actually up
27:57to that
27:58site and
27:59I can't
28:00even tell
28:00you how
28:00I felt
28:01to be
28:01honest.
28:02I mean
28:03to see
28:04where your
28:05daughter's been
28:07lying for a
28:07year.
28:08DCI
28:13Murray's
28:13first line
28:14of inquiry
28:15was to
28:16look into
28:16every detail
28:17of Hannah's
28:18final movements.
28:20On the day
28:21she went
28:21missing just
28:22after 11am
28:23she had a
28:2414 second
28:25phone call
28:26from a
28:27mobile phone
28:27that was
28:29listed as
28:30belonging
28:31to a
28:33woman who
28:33lived very
28:34close to the
28:35deposition
28:35site.
28:38Detectives
28:38went to
28:39her home
28:39she told
28:40them she
28:41hadn't made
28:42the phone
28:42call and
28:43it must
28:43have been
28:43her partner
28:44Robert
28:47Howard.
28:48When Robert
28:49Howard's name
28:50was given
28:50to us and
28:51we looked at
28:52his record
28:53and his
28:54photographs
28:54it was
28:56just
28:57mind-blowing
28:58because
28:58this man
29:00became
29:02our
29:02instant
29:02suspect
29:03for that
29:04murder.
29:05Police
29:06quickly
29:07discovered
29:07the link
29:08between
29:08Howard and
29:09Hannah.
29:10Howard's
29:11girlfriend
29:11was previously
29:12in a relationship
29:13with Hannah's
29:14father.
29:16DCI
29:17Murray
29:17also found
29:18out that
29:19Howard had
29:20previously
29:20been arrested
29:21in relation
29:22to Arlene
29:22Arkinson's
29:23disappearance
29:24and about
29:25the 16-year-old
29:26he'd held
29:27captive
29:27in Castle
29:28Derg.
29:29We had
29:29Robert Howard
29:30as our
29:30number one
29:31suspect
29:31but we had
29:32no evidence
29:33at all
29:34apart from
29:35a possible
29:3614-second
29:37phone call
29:37that he
29:38made
29:38which in
29:39reality
29:39proved
29:40little
29:41if anything
29:42and the
29:43biggest fear
29:44that I had
29:45at that
29:45time
29:45was this
29:46man may
29:47go on
29:47a spree
29:48of killing.
29:51Kent
29:51police
29:51knew
29:52they
29:52didn't
29:52have
29:53enough
29:53evidence
29:53to
29:54charge
29:54Howard
29:54but they
29:55wanted
29:55him
29:56off
29:56the
29:56streets
29:57immediately.
29:59So
29:59we took
30:00the decision
30:00to arrest
30:01him
30:01because
30:03in my
30:04view
30:04to do
30:04nothing
30:05was not
30:05an option.
30:07DCI
30:08Murray
30:08and his
30:09team
30:09searched
30:10Howard's
30:10girlfriend's
30:11home
30:11and also
30:12his allotment
30:13which housed
30:14a derelict
30:14caravan
30:15but they
30:16found
30:17no
30:17forensic
30:18evidence.
30:19In the
30:20meantime
30:20Howard
30:21was taken
30:21in for
30:22questioning
30:22but only
30:23responded
30:24no comment.
30:26We certainly
30:27never had
30:28any evidence
30:29to charge
30:30Howard
30:30with Hannah's
30:31murder
30:32and he was
30:33released from
30:33custody.
30:35Detectives
30:36needed to
30:37find out
30:37more about
30:38Robert Howard's
30:39pattern of
30:40offending.
30:41We've got a
30:42man ostensibly
30:43who's moved
30:43from Scotland
30:44down to
30:46London
30:46and during
30:47that period
30:48of time
30:48he's not
30:49come to
30:49the notice
30:49of the
30:50police.
30:52Had
30:52Howard
30:53been
30:53targeting
30:54other
30:54children
30:55and the
30:56answer
30:56was almost
30:57undoubtedly
30:58yes.
30:59Kent
30:59police
31:00worked
31:00with
31:00social
31:01services
31:01to
31:02identify
31:03and
31:03interview
31:04any
31:04at-risk
31:05children
31:05living
31:06close to
31:07Howard's
31:07home.
31:08And we
31:08identified
31:09one
31:09particular
31:10young
31:10girl
31:10who
31:11would
31:11absolutely
31:12prove
31:12to be
31:13vital
31:13to our
31:14investigation.
31:16She was
31:16just
31:17six years
31:18old.
31:19Robert Howard
31:20had invited
31:21her into
31:21his flat.
31:23He
31:23indecently
31:23assorted
31:24her and
31:25she
31:25called him
31:26a pervert
31:27and ran
31:28out of
31:28the flat.
31:30DCI
31:31Murray
31:31liaised
31:32with the
31:32Metropolitan
31:32Police
31:33who agreed
31:34to arrest
31:35Howard on
31:35suspicion
31:36of indecent
31:37assault.
31:38The six-year-old
31:39girl then
31:40told the
31:40police
31:40that
31:41Howard
31:41had
31:42also
31:42taken
31:42her
31:43on a
31:43swimming
31:44trip
31:44to the
31:45lake
31:45right next
31:46to where
31:46Hannah's
31:47body
31:47was
31:48found.
31:49Now
31:49we've
31:50got
31:50obviously
31:51the
31:51background
31:52of
31:52Arlene
31:53the
31:54young
31:54girl
31:55who'd
31:55had
31:55a
31:55ligature
31:56tied
31:56around
31:56her
31:57neck
31:57whilst
31:57Howard
31:58raped
31:58her
31:59and
32:00now
32:01we
32:01had
32:01this
32:01young
32:01girl
32:02similar
32:03profile
32:04taken
32:04down
32:05to
32:05very
32:05close
32:06to
32:06where
32:06Hannah
32:07lay.
32:07With
32:08strong
32:08circumstantial
32:09evidence
32:10showing a
32:11clear pattern
32:11of behaviour
32:12Kent
32:13police
32:13were able
32:14to arrest
32:14Robert Howard
32:15but did
32:16they have
32:16enough
32:17to convict
32:18him for
32:19murder?
32:27In
32:27May
32:282002
32:29Kent
32:30police
32:30charged
32:3157-year-old
32:32Robert Howard
32:33with the
32:34murder of
32:3414-year-old
32:35Hannah
32:36Williams.
32:37While in
32:37custody
32:38Northern
32:39Irish
32:39police
32:40arrested
32:40him
32:40for
32:41the
32:411994
32:42murder
32:42of
32:4315-year-old
32:44Arlene
32:44Arkinson.
32:46But then
32:47an anonymous
32:48tip-off
32:48accusing
32:49Arlene's
32:50sister
32:50Kathleen
32:51put both
32:52investigations
32:52into
32:53jeopardy.
32:56We're
32:57going ahead
32:58with the
32:59trial
32:59of Robert
33:00Howard.
33:01The week
33:01before
33:02I get
33:03a phone
33:04call
33:04from
33:05an
33:06SIO
33:06in
33:07Northern
33:07Ireland
33:07to say
33:08that
33:09they've
33:09had
33:10recent
33:10intelligence
33:11to say
33:12that
33:12Arlene's
33:13body
33:14was buried
33:15under a
33:16floor
33:17in
33:17Kathleen's
33:18house.
33:20DCI
33:21Murray was
33:21told if
33:22the case
33:23against
33:23Howard in
33:24Northern
33:24Ireland
33:25collapsed,
33:26it could
33:26throw serious
33:27doubts on
33:28the prosecution
33:28case against
33:30him for
33:30Hannah
33:31Williams'
33:31murder.
33:33But no
33:34body was
33:35found at
33:36Kathleen's
33:36home and
33:37she willingly
33:38came forward
33:39to help
33:39Kent police
33:40prove their
33:41case.
33:42In our
33:43dealings with
33:44the Arkinsons,
33:45they wanted
33:45to do
33:46everything they
33:46could to
33:47help us
33:47in the
33:49prosecution
33:49of Robert
33:51Howard and
33:52were happy to
33:52come to
33:53England and
33:53give evidence
33:54at his
33:55trial.
33:55I'd done
33:59everything by
34:00myself and
34:01to have
34:03the Arkinsons
34:03actually come
34:04over and
34:05come to the
34:05courtroom to
34:06support me,
34:08even though
34:09they're going
34:09through the
34:10grief of
34:10their sister.
34:13I mean, I
34:13thought that
34:14was so nice
34:14of them.
34:16Kent police
34:17successfully
34:17persuaded the
34:18judge to
34:19allow Howard's
34:20previous arrests
34:21and convictions
34:22to be presented
34:23to the jury.
34:25The court in
34:26England were
34:27able to
34:27introduce
34:28similar fact
34:28evidence of
34:29what happened
34:30in Arlene's
34:30case.
34:32Robert Howard's
34:34trial for the
34:35murder of
34:35Hannah Williams
34:36began at
34:37Maidstone Crown
34:38Court in
34:38October 2003.
34:41The prosecution
34:41called upon
34:42evidence from
34:43Kathleen Arkinson,
34:45the 16-year-old
34:46Howard abducted
34:47in 1993,
34:49and also the
34:506-year-old girl
34:50from South
34:51London.
34:53Details of
34:54how Hannah's
34:55body was
34:55found were
34:56also presented
34:57to the jury.
34:59Bernadette sat
35:00through the
35:01entire trial.
35:02She felt it
35:03was the least
35:04she could do
35:05to honour
35:05her daughter.
35:07To hear how
35:09he put blue
35:10rope round
35:12her neck,
35:13she must have
35:14struggled to
35:15try and get
35:15away, but she
35:17wasn't obviously
35:17strong enough,
35:18and probably the
35:19more she struggled,
35:20the rope was
35:21tightening, so he
35:23strangled her.
35:25But then
35:26after he raped
35:26her as well.
35:28She sat
35:30through the
35:31court hearing
35:31about how the
35:32gusset of her
35:33teenage daughter's
35:35underwear had
35:36been cut out,
35:37probably to hide
35:37DNA evidence.
35:40Howard continued
35:41to proclaim
35:42his innocence.
35:43He stood on
35:45the stand and
35:46was telling
35:47lies after
35:48lies.
35:49He never
35:50looked up at
35:50me.
35:52I think
35:52Robert Howard
35:53phoned Hannah
35:55Williams on the
35:56day she went
35:56missing, used
35:58some pretext to
36:00meet her, and
36:01the cause of
36:02death was the
36:04ligature around
36:04her neck.
36:05And I think
36:07at that point
36:08he then took
36:10Hannah by
36:11vehicle over
36:12to the
36:13Blue Lake.
36:17And but for
36:18the construction
36:19of the Ebb's
36:20Fleet Rail
36:20Terminal, she
36:22would have
36:22laid there for
36:23years, bless
36:24her.
36:26The only time
36:27he looked up
36:28is when the
36:28jury left the
36:29courtroom to
36:30make their
36:31decision.
36:32It took the
36:33jury just three
36:34hours to
36:35convict him.
36:38In October
36:392003, Howard
36:42was found
36:42guilty of
36:43murder and
36:44was sentenced
36:44to life
36:45imprisonment.
36:47Kathleen
36:47approached the
36:48police van as
36:49he was being
36:50driven away.
36:52I ordered
36:52the van.
36:54I said,
36:55Rabbi, I
36:56said, you're
36:56going to
36:56jail.
36:58You're not
36:58getting out
36:59this time.
37:01He kicked
37:02and he banged
37:03and he kicked
37:04and he banged
37:05at that
37:05deer.
37:07I mean, it
37:08was like
37:09thunder.
37:10He was so
37:12angry.
37:13He knew he was
37:14going to
37:14Franklin.
37:18I felt big
37:20relief, such as
37:22I'd done the best I
37:24could and I did
37:25get justice, that's
37:26why I'm happy.
37:27in 2005, Robert
37:37Howard, now
37:38incarcerated for
37:39life, is
37:41brought to
37:41trial for
37:42Arlene
37:43Arkinson.
37:44The jury
37:46The jury weren't
37:47allowed to be
37:47told that he
37:48had murdered
37:49another teenage
37:49girl and
37:50that in fact he
37:50was in prison
37:51for that
37:52murder and
37:53had been
37:53brought from
37:53prison to
37:54be on
37:54trial.
37:56And they
37:56don't convict
37:57him of
37:58Arlene's
37:58killing.
37:59never, ever, I
38:01ever blamed the
38:02jury.
38:02It wasn't
38:02your fault.
38:04They didn't
38:04know nothing.
38:05I remember my
38:06father just
38:06sitting looking at
38:07him in the
38:07box.
38:09Imagine looking
38:09at the person
38:10that murdered
38:10your child.
38:13Despite
38:13Howard's
38:14acquittal,
38:15Kathleen
38:15continued her
38:16tireless fight
38:17to find
38:18justice for
38:19Arlene.
38:19So the
38:23next legal
38:24possibility,
38:25now that the
38:26trial has
38:26collapsed, is
38:28an inquest.
38:29Howard was
38:30going to be
38:31called once
38:31again to give
38:32evidence in
38:33the inquest
38:34hearing.
38:35But then in
38:36October 2015,
38:38Howard dies.
38:39Howard never
38:41once admitted
38:42killing Arlene.
38:43Like many
38:44murderers, he
38:46wanted to keep
38:46those secrets to
38:47himself.
38:48His last bit
38:49of control over
38:51the family and
38:52over the world.
38:54He took
38:54Arlene's
38:55location to
38:56his grave, and
38:57it's so, so
38:58sad that
39:00Arlene's never
39:01been recovered.
39:12After a number
39:14of legal
39:14challenges, the
39:16inquest was due
39:17to start in
39:182016.
39:19And then on the
39:21eve of the
39:21inquest starting,
39:23the Secretary of
39:23State issues
39:24what is known
39:25as a PAI
39:26certificate, a
39:27public interest
39:28immunity
39:29certificate.
39:30So it's
39:31effectively the
39:32government saying
39:33on the grounds of
39:34the national
39:34security of our
39:35country, we
39:36cannot reveal
39:37this information.
39:40What on earth
39:41are they trying to
39:42keep from the
39:43inquest involving
39:44and the death
39:44of a 15-year-old
39:46child?
39:47There had been a lot
39:48of rumors that
39:49Robert Howard had
39:50been a police
39:51informer.
39:54When asked if
39:55Howard was an
39:56informer, the police
39:57have said they will
39:58neither confirm nor
39:59deny, and that no
40:01inference should be
40:02drawn from this.
40:04The PII certificate
40:06limited what evidence
40:07could be shared, but
40:09the inquest went
40:10ahead as planned
40:11at Belfast
40:11Coroner's Court.
40:14Arlene's friend
40:15and her mother,
40:16Howard's girlfriend
40:17at the time of
40:18Arlene's disappearance,
40:19were called to
40:20give evidence.
40:22Their stories
40:22kept changing.
40:26His partner
40:27initially was saying
40:28that he did come
40:29back in the early
40:30hours of the morning,
40:31but then that
40:31changed to him
40:33coming back later
40:34in the morning,
40:35and that he was
40:36still wearing the
40:37same clothes that
40:38he wore.
40:39The evening
40:39before, so there's
40:41no doubt he had
40:42more than adequate
40:42time to murder
40:44Arlene and dispose
40:45of her body.
40:47Detectives dropped
40:48a bombshell that
40:49they had some
40:50inside information,
40:52a confession Robert
40:53Howard had made
40:54to a cellmate.
40:56The chief
40:57investigating officer
40:58was able to relay
40:59to the court what
41:00Howard had said
41:01about how Howard
41:03had held Arlene
41:04over a sink,
41:05how there was a
41:06lot of blood,
41:07and how she had
41:08put up a good
41:09fight, and so
41:10that was very
41:12upsetting for
41:12Kathleen to hear.
41:17Due to huge
41:18delays in the
41:19court system,
41:20it wasn't until
41:21July 2021
41:23that the conclusions
41:24of the inquest
41:25were shared
41:26at Omar Courthouse,
41:2827 years after
41:30Arlene disappeared.
41:31The inquest into
41:33Arlene's death did
41:34conclude that Robert
41:35Howard had killed
41:36her.
41:37They ruled that
41:37they were confident
41:38her remains were
41:39still near the town
41:40where she disappeared.
41:42I think this case is
41:43just so shocking,
41:45really.
41:46We have this man
41:46with a long history
41:47of violence and
41:48convictions who's
41:49literally on bail for
41:50assaulting another
41:51teenage girl, and
41:52he's the last person
41:53to see a teenage girl
41:54alive, and yet he
41:55still completely gets
41:56away with it and is
41:57able a few years
41:58later to kill
41:59another girl.
42:00I've always
42:01maintained that if
42:03Howard had been
42:04properly sentenced
42:05for rape, unlawful
42:07imprisonment, Arlene
42:09Arkinson and Hannah
42:10Williams would be
42:11alive today.
42:14She never got to
42:14her prom.
42:15She never got to
42:16her 16th birthday,
42:1821st, 30, 40.
42:21All I was taken
42:22away from her.
42:24This is my new
42:25home.
42:27Arlene's body has
42:28never been found.
42:30What exactly happened
42:31on the night of her
42:32disappearance remains
42:34a mystery.
42:36I just wished I had
42:40said, no, I need to
42:41go, please to go.
42:43But I don't know.
42:45I saw her mask, my
42:46sister.
42:49I just hope she
42:50doesn't suffer.
42:53But I know she
42:54doesn't suffer.
42:54But they know I'm
42:59never going to give
43:00up.
43:00I'm never going to
43:01ever, ever.
43:03The last breath I
43:03take, I'm going to
43:05find her.
43:07Give her a decent
43:08burial.
43:12I hate him.
43:14I'm just taking my
43:1514-year-old daughter
43:16and killing her and
43:17raping her.
43:18I hate it.
43:19I always think about
43:21what she would be
43:22doing now.
43:24And I just wish
43:26Hannah was still
43:27here.
43:29But that evil
43:30person just killed
43:31her.
43:33She's always in my
43:34heart.
43:35I know she's saying,
43:36Mum, be strong.
43:37She's looking down on
43:38me.
43:39Right this minute.
43:41Bless her.
43:42Robert Howard was
43:46a violent sex
43:47offender known to
43:48the authorities.
43:50He managed to
43:50brutally attack women
43:52and children for
43:52over 30 years.
43:54We may never truly
43:55know the extent of
43:56this master
43:57manipulator's crimes,
43:59but after the
44:00deaths of Arlene
44:01and Hannah are
44:02finally proven,
44:03there is no doubt
44:04that he is one of
44:05Britain's most
44:06evil killers.
44:12I love you.
44:42Transcription by CastingWords