Claudia speculation under attack

Christopher Halliwell, 52, formerly of Swindon, Wiltshire, murdered Becky Godden, 20, in January 2003 and Sian O’Callaghan, 22, in March 2011.

He was handed a rare whole life order – meaning he will never be released – at Bristol Crown Court last month after being convicted of Miss Godden’s murder.

Wiltshire Police are now working with other forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to identify possible further victims of Halliwell.

Following his trial, reports linked Halliwell to other murders including missing chef Miss Lawrence, who failed to turn up for a shift at work at the University of York in 2009.

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Mike Veale said the force had not uncovered any links between Halliwell and other murders “at this time”.

“As a result of the obvious emotions and complexities of this case, the public criticism and unjustified challenge of Wiltshire Police was entirely predicted and expected, but the force made the ethical decision to maintain its position of not rising to the sensational and unsubstantiated claims and speculation,” he said.

“We did this because we believed these sorts of claims would create a media frenzy and in turn lead to the families of people who have gone missing or tragically been murdered being re-traumatised and put into impossible positions.

“Their expectations, their feelings and their distress would be unnecessarily dragged once again into the media spotlight. This is something which I believe is unforgivable, injudicious and insensitive.

“This was reinforced to me when I spoke to the mothers of some of those named during the coverage of this case, who told me they had been traumatised and distressed by this unfounded speculation involving their loved ones.”

Mr Veale paid tribute to the investigation team, led by Detective Superintendent Sean Memory, who brought Halliwell to justice for Miss Godden’s murder.

He said the team should be congratulated and commended for their meticulous work as they had “undoubtedly brought this investigation from the edge of a precipice to a safe conclusion”.

The charge of murdering Miss Godden was withdrawn in May 2012, after a High Court judge ruled confessions made by Halliwell could not be presented to a jury.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for North Yorkshire Police has spoken out over the unhelpful speculation regarding the Miss Lawrence case.

The spokesman said: “North Yorkshire Police’s Major Crime Unit has shared information with the investigation team from Wiltshire Police which established that Halliwell’s father was not a resident of York or the North Yorkshire area. He also passed away in 1992.

“It can be confirmed that on the information provided by Wiltshire Police, there are no known links between Halliwell and the Claudia Lawrence case.

“The Senior Investigating Officer in the Claudia Lawrence investigation has been in contact with both Joan and Peter Lawrence following last weekend’s speculation of these links, particularly that Halliwell’s father lived around the corner. This type of speculation does not help the family.”