The Murder of Rachel Nickell

Lucy Bowden's documentary deals with a murder committed on Wimbledon Common in London in 1992 and the long investigation that followed. Rachel Nickell, twenty-three, was killed in broad daylight while walking with her two-year-old son, the only direct witness. The film concentrates less on the killing than on how the investigation was run: police fixed early on one name, built a trap operation around that man and pursued a wrongful prosecution. The actual perpetrator was identified more than a decade later. Using archive footage, the family's testimony and forensic expertise, the documentary explains how the case dragged on so long. How many people are damaged by an investigation locked onto the wrong target is its central subject. Who it's for: viewers who follow documentaries about miscarriages of justice and investigative method. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach the detail of a real murder and a child's witness.