Who Killed Rikki Neave?

James Watson killed Rikki Neave.

His attacker had strangled him and placed his naked body in the shape of a star.

Jurors at the Old Bailey in London convicted James Watson, now 41 but 13 at the time of Rikki’s death, guilty.

After Rikki’s mother, Ruth Neave was acquitted by a jury in 1996, he was the second person to stand trial for the boy’s death.

Man, 38, charged with 1994 murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave
James Watson

Watson was found guilty after Judge Mrs. Justice McGowan instructed jurors to reach a unanimous decision. Following the 11-week trial, they deliberated for 36 hours and 31 minutes.

Ms. Neave called her son’s killer a “monster,” slammed the first inquiry, and claimed that police and social services “completely wrecked my and my daughters’ life.”

She added in a statement: “All that remains is for me to conclude this chapter of my life and begin a new one.

“I’m curious about Rikki now that she’s married and has children. What are the chances?

“However, this monster has robbed me and my girls of everything.”

In 2015, Rikki’s murder became the subject of a cold case investigation.

His clothes were tested for adhesive tapes, and a DNA match to Watson was discovered.

Watson claimed he lifted Rikki to assist him to see over a fence, but investigators discovered no fence at the moment on archive TV footage.

Rikki Neave's 'teen killer told cops he watched Crimewatch doc on 1994 murder' - Tribune Times
James Watson

Watson strangled his victim with a ligature or anorak collar, according to the jury, to fulfill a “morbid dream” he had told his mother three days before.

According to the court, he stripped Rikki and posed naked in the shape of a star for sexual enjoyment.

After an elderly resident reported seeing Watson with Rikki, authorities interviewed him as a witness in 1994.

Rikki’s last breakfast of Weetabix placed his death at about lunchtime, implying that he was murdered soon after seeing Watson.

Watson had already been questioned by police in 1993 when he was accused of sexually assaulting a five-year-old.

He put his hands around her throat during sex, according to a previous lover.

Watson departed the UK in a motorhome with another bail hostel tenant after being released on bail following his arrest in 2016.

Watson called his sister in France and told her he was “in a lot of trouble” and “had made a terrible mistake,” according to her testimony at the trial.

Watson was apprehended once more near the British Embassy in Lisbon and returned to the United Kingdom.

Who Is James Watson?

James Watson is the culprit in the murder of Rikki Neave in 1994. He strangled Rikki Neave to death. He was 13 years old when he did such an inhumane act.