Ex-girlfriend of Brighton schoolgirls' killer to be charged Published duration 24 March

image copyright PA Media image caption Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows were found strangled in Wild Park, Brighton

A former girlfriend of schoolgirls killer Russell Bishop is to be charged with perverting the course of justice.

Jennifer Johnson, 54, of Brighton, has been summonsed over the failed 1987 prosecution of Bishop who was cleared of killing Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. He was convicted in 2018.

The two nine-year-olds were found sexually assaulted and strangled in woodland in Brighton in October 1986.

Ms Johnson faces charges over her police statements and court evidence.

Bishop, who attacked another child in 1990, was found guilty in December 2018 of Karen and Nicola's murders.

The bodies of the girls were found in a dense wooded area of Wild Park, on the edge of Brighton, half a mile from their homes.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We have ensured that the families of Karen and Nicola, and the victim of Russell Bishop in 1990, are fully aware of this significant development in the case and we will continue to keep them informed."

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