After the Independent Office for Police Conduct determined police lost “major chances” to bring her perpetrator to justice sooner, Wiltshire Police issued an apology to the family of Becky Godden, who was killed in Swindon in 2003 by taxi driver Christopher Halliwell.
Hallowell choked Becky. In January 2003 and buried her remains near a meadow in Eastleach, Gloucestershire.
However, her murder was finally discovered in 2011 when Halliwell was detained in connection with the disappearance of 22-year-old personal assistant Sian O’Callaghan. 2016 saw the conviction of taxi driver Halliwell for the murder of Becky.
According to the findings of an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation, which found the Force missed opportunities to result in the earlier conviction of Christopher Halliwell for Becky’s murder, we have officially apologised to the parents of Becky Godden-Edwards (also known as Rebecca Godden).
Halliwell was found guilty of killing Becky in 2016, but the IOPC review—which was prompted by a complaint from Becky’s mother—found flaws in both the leadership supervision and the way the investigation was handled. As a result, Halliwell was found guilty four years after the investigative team had access to most of the material in 2012, according to the IOPC.
“We genuinely and truly apologise for the effect these unwarranted delays in the inquiry had on Becky’s family and acknowledge that they have further exacerbated the excruciating sorrow and loss they have already experienced as a consequence of their much-loved daughter’s death.
The complaints were filed against three Wiltshire Police officers, including Chief Constable Kier Pritchard when he was a less senior officer and two former employees.
‘We completely accept the findings and recommendations of the IOPC controlled investigation, which was done by an external police agency.’