UK UK - Billie-Jo Jenkins, 13, Hastings, Sussex, 15 Feb 1997

[Officer Dibble]

COLD case cops probing the murder of teenager Billie-Jo Jenkins are carrying out a fresh trawl of the evidence in hope of a break-through.

The 13-year-old was bludgeoned to death with a 18-inch metal tent peg in the garden of her new home on February 15, 1997.

[...]

Earlier this year, Sussex Police announced a forensic review to find out if scientific advances can provide new evidence, 25 years after the horror.

And tests are continuing almost six months on, the force told The Sun.

A spokesperson said Billie-Jo's murder will be revisited after every two years to see if the killer can ever be snared.

"Currently no new information has been provided in this case and it is not being re-investigated," he said.

"However, as part of the regular assessment process, we have been carrying out a forensic review of material held on the case in order to establish whether or not scientific advances can provide new evidence or lines of enquiry."

[...]

Verifying Device

Great news! Thanks for sharing

 

[dotr]

Jan 2022

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/crime/new-documentary-about-the-murder-of-billie-jo-jenkins-3560805

''Billie-Jo’s foster father Sion Jenkins was cleared of murdering the Helenswood School pupil after spending six years in jail. A post on the website, Justice for Sion Jenkins, last year said the “story of Billie-Jo can’t have a happy ending but it should have a truthful one.” It called for Sussex Police to reopen the case and “show the moral courage to own its past, and the honesty to admit that serious mistakes were made in 1997.”

It added: “Today, information travels faster than ever before and remembering past events becomes harder with the passing of time. Yet today, lots of people still remember the sad story of Billie-Jo and its unfinished ending. They ask why there’s been no justice for her. Who killed Billie-Jo? Someone knows the answer and it’s time to tell the truth.”

2021

From Jill Dando to a 'torso in the Thames' - 11 murders still unsolved

From the murder of a TV star to a banker gunned down at his front door while his children slept upstairs, some of Britain's most horrific murders have remained unsolved for decades.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Billie-Jo was battered over the head at least 10 times with an 18-inch iron tent peg as she painted patio doors.

Who Killed Billie-Jo (TV Special 2022) - IMDb

Who Killed Billie-Jo: Directed by David Andrew Ward. With Scott Brooksbank. Documentary examining the unsolved case of 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins, who was murdered on the patio of her seaside home in 1997. Sion Jenkins, Billie-Jo's foster dad, was initially convicted of the murder but was...

www.imdb.com

''Documentary examining the unsolved case of 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins, who was murdered on the patio of her seaside home in 1997. Sion Jenkins, Billie-Jo's foster dad, was initially convicted of the murder but was acquitted on appeal.''

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18082210/mediaviewer/rm266339073/?ref_=tt_ov_i

 

[MusicalMonkey]

I have to say that serving 6 years was not bad for murdering someone. Probably why Sion was not bitter at all.

 

[dotr]

• Maria Astardjieva Daniel Nuttman 13 Mar 2023
• Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins and what happened to her?
  
  ''Siôn - father to Annie, 12 at the time of the murder, Lottie, 10, Esther, nine, and Maya, seven - has always maintained his innocence and claims a prowler could have been responsible for the murder.
  
  During the investigation, police discovered 148 tiny spots of Billie-Jo's blood on Siôn's trousers and fleece jacket.
  
  The prosecution argued that their size and distribution were consistent with "impact spatter", sprayed during the frenzied attack on Billie-Jo.
  
  But the defence argued that a fine spray of blood was breathed out by Billie-Jo on her foster dad when he went to her aid as she lay dying.
  
  Siôn spent six years in jail following his sentence.
  
  In the two retrials following, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and Siôn was formally acquitted in 2006.
  
  Sussex Police have since maintained that there are no plans to reopen the murder investigation.
  It was reported that the police were continuing to appeal for information that could help the enquiry.''

Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins' mum Deborah Barnett?

DEBORAH Barnett was the biological mother of murdered schoolgirl, Billy-Jo Jenkins. Here’s what we know about Deborah, whose daughter’s killing in 1997 remains unsolved. Who was Deborah…

www.thescottishsun.co.uk

''A spokesperson said in 2022 that Billie-Jo's murder will be revisited after every two years to see if the killer can ever be snared.
The documentary Who Killed Billie-Jo? originally aired on February 10, 2022, on Channel 5, and is still available to watch on demand.''

 

[silflay_hraka]

I hope this poor girl gets justice some day.

 

[ekardh]

I hope this poor girl gets justice some day.

She did, but unfortunately it was overturned...

 

[Westchester76]

Sion Jenkins is a very lucky man. I think he did commit the murder, and somehow the evidence against him just wasn't thorough enough. From all accounts he had a difficlut relationship with Billie and his personality which is easy to glean from various interview is of a control freak, regimented man. She probably pushed his buttons, and he lost his temper. His ridicoulous trip to the DIY store (without his wallet), sitting in his car whilst waiting for the police after finding the body, and the story about the murderer posing as a plain clothes policeman consoling him. His wife didn't stand by him, which i think speaks volumes.
He probably cleaned up after the murder, perhaps got rid of blood covered clothing at some point too.

 

[Officer Dibble]

I suppose that depends on whether he is suspected of inserting the plastic in her nostril.

I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[Pinkizzy]

Were there other attacks in Hastings around the time of Billie Joe's murder?

 

[dotr]

Possible re-posts, fwiw..
rbbm

21 years for Broadmoor patient who killed two women

A "sadistic" Broadmoor patient was jailed for a minimum of 21 years today after pleading guilty to killing two women more than 12 years ago and attacking two others for sexual kicks.

www.independent.co.uk

''Graham Fisher, 37, admitted the manslaughter of reclusive Clare Letchford, 40, and 75-year-old widow Beryl O'Connor on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The two vulnerable women were discovered strangled and burned in their flats less than 100 yards apart in Hastings, East Sussex, in January 1998.
At Lewes Crown Court, Fisher was given the indeterminate prison sentence after he admitted attempting to murder and trying to rape a student on a train in the same month as the killings.
Fisher also pleaded guilty to two counts of rape of another vulnerable woman in her early 40s at her home in Bromley, south east London, in 1991.''

Plastic bag fetishist seen near Billie-Jo's house

A mentally ill man with a fetish for plastic bags was seen near the house in Hastings, East Sussex, where Billie-Jo Jenkins was bludgeoned to death with a tent peg, a court heard yesterday.

www.theguardian.com

15 Jun 2005
''A mentally ill man with a fetish for plastic bags was seen near the house in Hastings, East Sussex, where Billie-Jo Jenkins was bludgeoned to death with a tent peg, a court heard yesterday.
The 13-year-old was killed as she painted the patio doors at the back of the family home in February 1997. A neighbour who tended to her after the attack found part of a black plastic binbag stuffed deep inside one of her nostrils.
The trial of Billie-Jo's foster father, Siôn Jenkins, for her murder yesterday heard evidence from defence witnesses who said they saw the man, referred to in court as Mr B, in the area on the day she was killed. Mr Jenkins's defence alleges that the man, who is believed to have had paranoid schizophrenia could have murdered Billie-Jo when the former deputy headteacher left the house with his two elder daughters to buy white spirit.'

''Two officers described seeing him holding part of a blue plastic bag up to his nose as he lay on the bench in the police cell in a "foetal position". They later found two more pieces of plastic in his underpants during a strip search.''

 

[Pinkizzy]

I think a piece of plastic was found in Billie's nose

 

[ekardh]

15 Jun 2005
''A mentally ill man with a fetish for plastic bags was seen near the house in Hastings, East Sussex, where Billie-Jo Jenkins was bludgeoned to death with a tent peg, a court heard yesterday.

That's awfully specific. Not surprising the story came from Jenkins' defense team.

 

[Pinkizzy]

Mr B is probably in a mental hospital now, isn't he?

 

[ekardh]

Local weirdos are often a convenient scapegoat.

 

[dotr]

Local weirdos are often a convenient scapegoat.

This is true, for that matter the perp could be aware of the odd man's penchant for plastic bags and purposely copied him, speculation.

 

[heartandsoul]

Were there other attacks in Hastings around the time of Billie Joe's murder?

I lived in Hastings at the time. I was a very young child in 1997, but I don’t remember there being any other major crimes like that of Billie-Jo at the time.

 

[Pinkizzy]

This is true, for that matter the perp could be aware of the odd man's penchant for plastic bags and purposely copied him, speculation.

Hopefully, there will be prints on the plastic stuffed up her nostrils

 

[CrackerC119]

I have been reading some more on this case. One of the things that interests me is Sion's natural daughter claiming the gate was closed when they left for the DIY store and that it was open when they returned. It is said that she said this to the neighbour who was at the scene of Billie-Jo's death. I would be interested to know if the neighbour confirmed this and whether the daughter made this comment before having chance to speak with Sion.

I also wonder about the reports of a prowler and the numerous reports of the children feeling unsafe. A creep attacking Billy in a targeted attack after becoming fixated with her would be something I'd believe possible. Who was hanging around the park and who was making the family dog bark of an evening through the window?

The house next to the Jenkins' is of interest to me. I note from photographs that it had boarded windows and was used as a hostel for troubled people. Reports suggest that the Jenkins' garden was not entirely secure, being used by trespassers as a shortcut from the road behind. I am almost certain it would have been easily accessible from the adjacent hostel garden.

I would be interested to hear from neighbours, details of the supposed prowler and if the behaviour stopped after Billie-Jo's death. Was it just the Jenkins' house that was targeted? Or, were others the victim of the prowling?

The day of the attack seems very chaotic for the whole family. Lois forgot her check book at Sainsbury's and then an empty checkbook was brought. There was the forgetting of the clarinet lesson at Nicola Holt's house and then the white spirit shopping trip, where it's alleged that Sion went with no money.

A Word Press article claims that fragments of Billie-Jo's skull and brain tissue were exposed at the scene. It claims that the 999 call handler instructed Sion to move Billie-Jo's body in to a recovery position. The neighbour is said to have tried to stem the blood flow with a bin liner. Were her clothes examined for particles, just as Sion's were? They were at the scene before paramedics and when blood flow could have been at a different level.

What strikes me is that the weapon involved was a tent peg. I feel that it must have taken great force to do the level of damage done with such an instrument. It is fairly lightweight, compared to other weapons and there is potential for a struggle to take place. Would the attacker come away from the event with only microscopic traces of blood? I find it difficult to believe.

 

[silflay_hraka]

I have been reading some more on this case. One of the things that interests me is Sion's natural daughter claiming the gate was closed when they left for the DIY store and that it was open when they returned. It is said that she said this to the neighbour who was at the scene of Billie-Jo's death. I would be interested to know if the neighbour confirmed this and whether the daughter made this comment before having chance to speak with Sion.

I also wonder about the reports of a prowler and the numerous reports of the children feeling unsafe. A creep attacking Billy in a targeted attack after becoming fixated with her would be something I'd believe possible. Who was hanging around the park and who was making the family dog bark of an evening through the window?

The house next to the Jenkins' is of interest to me. I note from photographs that it had boarded windows and was used as a hostel for troubled people. Reports suggest that the Jenkins' garden was not entirely secure, being used by trespassers as a shortcut from the road behind. I am almost certain it would have been easily accessible from the adjacent hostel garden.

I would be interested to hear from neighbours, details of the supposed prowler and if the behaviour stopped after Billie-Jo's death. Was it just the Jenkins' house that was targeted? Or, were others the victim of the prowling?

The day of the attack seems very chaotic for the whole family. Lois forgot her check book at Sainsbury's and then an empty checkbook was brought. There was the forgetting of the clarinet lesson at Nicola Holt's house and then the white spirit shopping trip, where it's alleged that Sion went with no money.

A Word Press article claims that fragments of Billie-Jo's skull and brain tissue were exposed at the scene. It claims that the 999 call handler instructed Sion to move Billie-Jo's body in to a recovery position. The neighbour is said to have tried to stem the blood flow with a bin liner. Were her clothes examined for particles, just as Sion's were? They were at the scene before paramedics and when blood flow could have been at a different level.

What strikes me is that the weapon involved was a tent peg. I feel that it must have taken great force to do the level of damage done with such an instrument. It is fairly lightweight, compared to other weapons and there is potential for a struggle to take place. Would the attacker come away from the event with only microscopic traces of blood? I find it difficult to believe.

The tent peg used for the attack was pretty sizeable

 

[tes1984]

It's very telling for me that Sion Jenkins goes and sits in his car. That looks like he's trying to create plausible deniability for potential forensic evidence in the vehicle.
It's such a small window of opportunity.
Katerina Koneva is perhaps the most similar murder. Her dad arrived home as she was being attacked and then chased the killer, who turned out to be suspected serial killer Andrzej Kunowski.
The difference between the Jenkins and Koneva crime scenes is that in the Koneva case, the real killer left hair and fingerprint evidence behind.
It's difficult to believe that an opportunist killer wouldn't leave a fingerprint or any DNA when killing Billie Jo. He also doesn't seem to have ever struck again.