"'In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups:" "the police who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecutors who prosecute the offenders." "These are their stories.'" "Don't you just push the button and then you're off?" "Josh's dad has one like this." "You need the bloody fob to start it." "Well, it's not in there." "I'll push it again." "Like that's going to work." "You got a better idea?" "Can we get a vehicle registration check please?" "Over." "Are you the owner of this vehicle?" "Yes." "No." "It's my father's." "Do you mind stepping out of the vehicle for me?" "You too." "Vehicle is registered to a Charlotte Leigh." "That's your dad's name, is it?" "No." "Didn't think so." "We didn't do anything wrong." "We were just looking after it for her." "She went to get some petrol." "Leaving her purse behind?" "Charlotte Leigh, 40." "DVLA gave an address in Richmond." "Spoke to the husband, bit frantic, says he's got no idea where she is." "Never gone missing before." "What about those two?" "They reckon they found it unlocked, and tried to start it." "It's a keyless ignition." "The fob's got to be in the car." "Yeah." "And all that time it was sitting in her purse, no more than two feet away." "Why don't we check the other end of the bridge, CCTV." "See if she went off for a walk with anyone." "Or..." "Or what?" "Well, mate, look." "It's a cold night, her coat is still in the car." "She dropped her purse there." "Maybe she went for a dip." "Someone must have seen her." "You got people looking for her?" "We have, but there's no sightings yet." "When did you last see your wife?" "This morning, before I went to work." "And you didn't see her at all this evening?" "No." "I went for a pint after I left site." "What do you do?" "I'm a painter and decorator." "What time did you get home from the pub?" "It'd be after midnight I'd say." "You didn't think it was strange that your wife wasn't here when you got home?" "She works late the odd time." "I figured she was still at the office." "Where's that?" "Over in Clapham." "Charlie's a property developer." "She throws work my way, doing the places up." "Sean, was everything all right at work?" "No money worries, any problems?" "Yeah, fine." "She wasn't anxious or depressed?" "You don't think..." "You don't think she killed herself?" "No." "She wouldn't." "Listen, mate." "Has anything like this ever happened before?" "Anything, anything abnormal?" "There was once, before my time." "When she was still with Holly's dad." "She took an overdose." "When was that?" "This was years ago, she's fine now." "I was um... at a concert at school." "And what time did you get home?" "I think it was about half nine." "And was your mum here?" "Where is Mum?" "Well, that's what we're trying to find out, Holly." "I could go out looking for her." "I think your mum would want you here when she got back home, don't you?" "Did your mum mention to you about going out, or maybe going to meet someone?" "No, nothing." "I don't know." "What's happened to her?" "!" "Mum is gonna come back, isn't she?" "OK, that's enough." "It's OK." "We've had patrols and Thames out all night looking for her, contacted the hospitals." "Nothing yet." "No note?" "Well, no." "Maybe she wasn't planning on leaving." "She's a property developer - plenty of money involved." "Don't tell me we're dealing with a kidnapping." "We've had no card activity since yesterday morning and no ransom note - That we know of." "Could be that the husband didn't want to tell us?" "Has she attempted suicide before?" "Yeah." "Now we find her car abandoned on Albert Bridge." "Any joy from the CCTV?" "Nope, there's no cameras on the bridge." "That's brilliant." "Why don't we ask around her close friends?" "See what we can find out about Charlotte Leigh." "I saw Charlotte last week." "She was planning a trip to France in the summer, she'd already booked the house." "She wasn't planning on killing herself." "A couple of years ago she took an overdose?" "Charlotte was on a course of painkillers, she was under a lot of stress." "She double dosed by accident." "Jess?" "Hello, darling." "Hi." "How was school?" "Fine." "Darling, these are the police." "Hello." "Hi." "Did you get my text, about Charlotte?" "Yeah, everyone was talking about it." "Have you spoken to her?" "No." "She wasn't in." "Can I go?" "I've got a ton of revision." "Yeah, of course." "Did Charlotte mention anything, any problems lately?" "You've spoken to her ex?" "No." "No, we haven't." "Richard McGrath." "To say he's a drunken, violent pig would be unfair to pigs." "He hit her?" "That's why she was on the painkillers - that bastard fractured her jaw." "It was only for Holly's sake that she finally had the courage to leave him." "Did she know that he was violent?" "Yeah, she knew." "And does Holly still see her father?" "She started seeing him without telling Charlotte." "I had to pick her up from there once." "Where was that?" "He's got a flat in Battersea." "You know, near the bridge?" "When was the last time you saw your ex-wife, Mr McGrath?" "Last weekend." "I'd been a good boy and she'd granted me permission to see my own daughter." "For an hour." "Supervised." "You don't exactly sound happy about that situation." "Do you have kids?" "Yes, I do." "How would you feel?" "Happy?" "And you haven't seen or spoken to your ex-wife since?" "We spoke last night." "Holly wasn't answering her phone, so she called me in a panic, as usual, accusing me, assuming she was here." "And was she?" "No." "She said she was at a school concert, and I believed her." "And what time did you receive that call?" "8.27." "And where were you the rest of the night?" "Gatwick Airport." "Cab picked me up at 9.00." "I've got a job on site in Edinburgh and I had to meet the contractor first thing." "And what is it you do for a living?" "You a painter and decorator as well?" "No." "I'm an architect." "That's how Charlotte and I met." "She bought the properties, I did the schemes." "Until we split up, and then she turfed me out." "He was pretty useless, even here, to be honest." "And since then?" "A complete and utter nightmare." "How so?" "Always barging in here unannounced." "Please." "I begged her to get a restraining order." "She was always too afraid of his reaction though." "Has he been here recently?" "Last week." "Charlotte had been trying to help him seek treatment, as a condition of access to Holly." "The cleaner he got, the more he could see her." "Look, I hope I'm wrong, but it really wouldn't surprise me if he had something to do with this, especially since the arrest." "The arrest?" "He was arrested for assault, like, just a few weeks ago." "Aren't you guys supposed to know stuff like that already?" "Yes." "We are." "'Please hurry." "Please.'" "'It's OK Charlotte, a unit will be with you in five minutes." "Just stay with me.'" "'Give me the phone!" "' 'Richard, no!" "'" "'Charlotte?" "'" "And that's where it ends." "Thankfully." "So, look, at least we've got it now though, eh?" "I'm sorry about that." "Human error." "Won't happen again." "Don't worry, Ange." "She refused to make a statement." "Yeah, frightened of making him worse, apparently." "Right, Ange, what were McGrath's movements the night Charlotte Leigh disappeared, please?" "She called him at 8.27pm." "Call lasted for eight minutes." "Then a car picked him up for the airport at 9.00, and we have him on a flight to Edinburgh that evening." "OK." "Well, that's enough time?" "For what?" "She called him, looking for their daughter." "When she gets there, he's drunk, they argue..." "He hits her too hard." "Dumps her body, makes it look like suicide, all within 25 minutes." "Just because he's got a drink problem does not make him a murderer." "I agree with that, but you heard what I heard." "It's worth checking." "Anyway, it doesn't matter." "We haven't got a body." "We have now." "I'm getting too old for this." "Come on." "It's better than being stuck indoors all the time." "Like the old days eh, Ronnie?" "Well, Ange was right about something - we've definitely got ourselves a body." "Cause of death - acute intracerebral haemorrhage." "Compound fracture of the occipital bone." "That's a whack to the back of the head to me and you." "Jumping off the bridge?" "Unlikely." "If she'd hit her head on the way down, given the speed of the impact" "I wouldn't expect there to be much skull left." "Nice." "I've examined the lungs - there's no distension and the airways are clear." "Meaning?" "She didn't drown." "She was dead before she hit the water." "I've told you." "She was screaming at me down the phone, accusing me of having Holly there without her 'permission'." "All her usual paranoid bullshit." "So is that why you assaulted her earlier this month?" "She virtually had me pissing in a cup before I could see my own daughter." "I snapped, OK?" "I lost my temper." "Did you lose your temper the other night, you know, when she came round?" "Very funny." "She never came round." "She wouldn't have been welcome if she did." "She hasn't ever set foot inside my place." "You know that already, don't you?" "Forensics have been all over it." "She's taken away your job, your home, your daughter." "Basically your whole life, so, Mr McGrath, you must be pretty bitter." "Yeah, of course I'm bitter." "So are plenty of divorced fathers." "You can see how this looks." "You have a drink problem that's completely out of control, a history of violence." "With your wife gone, you would have sole custody of your daughter." "Yeah, a daughter whose mother's dead." "How's that for a parenting strategy?" "We pulled the body out over there." "From the map that's Hammersmith Bridge." "And you think she went in at Albert Bridge?" "Well, that's where her car was found, yeah." "It would be unusual for a body to travel upstream at that time." "But not impossible?" "Well, no." "Most likely, she was dumped to the west." "Kew, Richmond maybe?" "And who do we know who lives in Richmond?" "Yeah." "Sean, Holly and Charlotte." "You know what Sam?" "Wes might not like it, but I think I'm right." "No way would McGrath have enough time to kill Charlotte Leigh at his place in Battersea, drive the body, in her car, over to Richmond, dump the car at the Albert Bridge, get back to his place in Battersea" "to pick up a cab for 9.00 to get him to the airport." "Not within half an hour, no." "And yet Charlotte Leigh went in to the river, two minutes from her own home." "So who helped her off that bridge?" "You say you were at a school concert, and did your mum drop you off there?" "No." "Kim drove me." "Kim?" "My nanny." "Right." "You have a nanny?" "Charlotte liked her to be here after school, so Holly wasn't alone." "So did Kim pick you up and bring you back?" "No." "I wasn't feeling well, so I left early." "I got the bus back." "So you didn't phone you mum to be picked up then?" "What about your dad?" "Did you speak to him?" "No." "Well, what about your stepfather, Sean?" "No, I didn't speak to anyone!" "Do we have to do this now?" "I know this is difficult, it's just that Sean told us that when he got home at around midnight, your mum wasn't here." "So you have to understand as far as we're concerned, you're probably the last person to see your mum alive." "Holly?" "I didn't actually see her." "I'm sorry, I don't follow you." "I didn't see her." "What, she wasn't here?" "I don't know." "The lights were on." "I thought she was." "So when you came in you didn't call out to her 'hello', or pop your head in the room to see if she was about?" "And why didn't you do that?" "Was that because of your dad?" "We'd had this massive fight before I went out." "I couldn't cope with part two when I got back." "She said she hated him." "So I..." "So..." "I said..." "I wished she was dead." "Why did I say that?" "How long have you been with the family, Kim?" "About three years." "It was just as Richard and Charlotte were breaking up." "It got pretty ugly at times." "And how about the new husband, Sean?" "Any ugly moments with him recently?" "Well, just like any other couple, you know?" "Nothing major, but they argued sometimes yeah." "What about?" "I'm not sure whether I should say this, it feels a bit wrong, but..." "Charlotte could be quite hard work." "She treated him a bit like an employee, you know what I mean?" "Yeah." "She even gave him an allowance." "I honestly don't know what he was doing with her." "He could have done so much better." "Well, Kim, the night Charlotte was killed, Holly said that you dropped her at the school concert, that's right?" "Yeah, that's right." "You didn't stay, no?" "No." "Holly was getting a lift back with her friend, Jess." "Charlotte said I could go home." "Well, Sean said that when he got back, Holly was on her own." "Considering how protective Charlotte is, seems a bit odd, don't you think?" "It's kinda weird, yeah." "Charlotte would never leave her at home alone." "But if Sean said that's what happened, then it must be." "Look I really have to go, I'm already late." "OK, well thanks for your help." "Looks like the pretty nanny's got a crush on the handsome husband." "Yeah." "The bloke's like catnip, isn't he?" "I wonder what his alibi's like." "What do you reckon?" "Well, before he went to the pub, he says he was working overtime with a..." "Eddie Markham." "I don't want no trouble like." "Me Uncle Sean's a good fella." "Let's me crash here, till I find me own place." "This is Sean's flat?" "It is, yeah." "He's letting me stay here for nothing as well." "That's decent of him." "Does Sean pop by often?" "He keeps his painting stuff here, out in the yard." "Does he er... does he keep anything else here?" "Or are these yours?" "Ah, man." "Sure that's nothing to do with me at all." "No?" "So what's the story, Eddie?" "Meet a lot of bored housewives in this trade, do you?" "Not me." "But Sean takes advantage?" "Come on, lads." "All right, he's my uncle, yeah?" "He's doing me a favour here." "We could continue this conversation down the station." "We'll even ring your boss, tell him you're gonna be late." "OK, all right." "It's nothing bad like." "But yeah, sometimes Sean gives me the nod and I have to make meself scarce, you get me?" "Who says romance is dead, eh?" "Who's the latest?" "I don't know her name, but last week I seen this lass heading in here when I was pulling up." "What's she look like?" "You know, dead cute." "Long brown hair." "Quite young." "Sean said you were working all evening Tuesday together." "Is that right?" "Yeah, we were meant to be, but after a bit Sean got a call, said he had to go." "Did he say where?" "No, just said it was personal." "Here you are, mate." "Lovely." "Cheers." "Sean Harte told us he went to the pub after work, right?" "Yeah." "Er..." "Quinn's." "Well, he lied about working late, so why don't we see if he lied to us about going to the pub an'all?" "Sean's a regular here." "So he was definitely in here that night?" "Came in just before the bell." "How did he seem?" "All right, I suppose." "Sat at the bar, had a couple of whiskeys." "Maybe he was hiding from the wife, you know?" "I didn't ask." "What time did he leave?" "About midnight I'd say." "I was locked up by then." "I let him out the back." "He was parked out there." "Said he had some stuff for the bins." "What stuff?" "From work I imagine." "Do you mind if we take a look?" "Help yourself." "Ta." "But the bins were emptied this morning." "Whatever it was, it is now long gone." "It's a landfill site in Essex." "Do you know what I wish, Ron?" "What?" "I wish I had the resources to go searching landfill, but..." "Don't tell me, your hands are tied?" "Yeah, welcome to my world." "I've already got the ex-husband making a complaint." "I don't need the current one doing the same thing." "We could have a lead here with this husband." "Sam, with respect, what you've got is some guy who may or may not have put something in a bin." "It's not enough." "Sorry." "Forensics are in from the Leigh house." "Someone had a real go at cleaning up here, but we found a faint patch of blood on the rug near the kitchen." "Again here, an attempted cleanup, but we found traces of blood protein all around the kitchen area." "On the grouting, on the base of the tap, and in the trap of the sink." "Recent?" "Difficult to say, exactly." "But we know who it belongs to." "Charlotte Leigh?" "Yes." "Right." "Well, let's see if her husband can explain what it's doing there." "I may have played around, but I didn't kill my wife." "That's pure madness and you know it, otherwise you'd have arrested me already." "What did you dump in the bins outside the pub?" "Just some old dust sheets." "I cleared it with Ged." "Are you getting me for fly tipping?" "We know you lied." "Your nephew said you left him to it, so where did you go?" "I was on another job, a bit of private work." "I didn't want the contractor taking his cut." "Look, I tried to pull a fast one there, I hold my hands up to that." "I didn't tell Eddie, god bless him, cos he'd only let it slip." "You've seen what he's like." "We have, he likes to talk." "He told us about the girl he saw going into your flat last week." "Yeah." "Was that a bit extra on the side, too?" "That was Holly." "There's something you need to know about that girl." "Really, what's that?" "She's made life very difficult." "Didn't want it to come to this." "She's obsessed with me." "The poor girl reckons she's in love." "You still haven't found who killed mum?" "!" "He's still out there!" "It's OK." "No-one's going to hurt you." "We're getting closer." "Is that why you're talking to Sean?" "Do you think he's got something to do with it?" "Sean lied to us." "Sean was lying to your mother." "He was... he was cheating on her." "Two faced bastard." "Dad, don't." "Please." "Holly, did Sean ever threaten you at all?" "What is it Holly?" "Are you scared of him?" "Holly?" "You said that you'd left the school concert early, and then went straight home." "Is that right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I went home to get changed, out of my uniform." "Then what happened?" "I...didn't want to stay at home." "I went round to yours." "But you weren't there." "I let myself in, sorry." "That's all right." "You know you're always welcome." "Why didn't you call me?" "Holly, did anyone else see you at your dad's house?" "I don't think so." "I just watched TV for a few hours." "And why didn't you want to go back to your own home?" "Mum was out, working late, and I..." "I thought..." "I thought Sean might come back." "OK." "And?" "I was..." "I was scared to be..." "I was scared to be on my own with him." "He's been trying..." "He's been coming on to me." "I didn't let him..." "Holly?" "!" "Please, he told me not to say anything, Dad." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" "So, she's accusing him of grooming her, and he's saying she was obsessed with him." "Either way, Mum ends up in the Thames." "Yeah." "Arrest them both on suspicion of murder and see whose story cracks first?" "You really think she's capable of killing her mother?" "Over a man?" "What we have suggests that Charlotte Leigh was killed in the kitchen." "But there's nothing hard to link them to the murder?" "I hate to say it, but the girl's alibi is not the strongest I've heard." "She matches the description of the girl going into Harte's flat." "That could be anyone." "He's admitted to being a ladies' man." "Have you been to her school?" "Spoken to her mates?" "Not yet." "Well, you should." "Girls talk." "Can you tell us anything about Holly, before this?" "She came through a difficult time when her parents divorced." "Holly's a bright young thing, though I've noticed her marks are not what they were, which is a cause for concern." "I can imagine." "But the night of the concert, Mr Crossley?" "The girls performed a recital." "Several pieces I'd written myself." "Can we keep these please?" "Of course." "It actually went rather well." "And Holly?" "Did she play a part in the concert herself?" "She plays the flute." "But she left early, yeah?" "Yes." "When I went to collect her for her solo," "Jess informed me the young girl had been taken unwell." "So I had to carry on without her, sadly." "You say Jess." "Was that Jess Hays?" "Yeah." "It wasn't a lie." "She was in the toilets, and she did leave early." "I don't want her to get in to trouble." "Darling, just tell the truth, it's OK." "Have you spoken to Holly about that night?" "No, but I tried to." "She wasn't answering her phone." "She never said where she was going?" "Not to me." "Home, I assumed." "Didn't mention to you anything about meeting anyone?" "Maybe a boyfriend?" "No, boyfriends were strictly off-limits, as far as her mum was concerned." "Why's that?" "Some boy liked one of Holly's profile pictures once." "Her mum went round to his parents' house and totally freaked." "That was pretty typical." "Jess!" "Well, it's the truth." "And how was Holly, Jess?" "Her reaction to her mum going round to the boy's house regarding the photographs?" "Was she angry?" "No." "She was scared of her." "I used to tell her she ought to stick up for herself." "You say used to?" "She got defensive, told me to mind my own business." "On the night, Holly left here wearing her school uniform." "Yeah, but forensics took it in already." "It's clean." "But maybe she had another one?" "Girls at school always have a spare uniform." "We need to sweep that house again, just in case we missed something the first time around." "Someone should have their knuckles rapped for missing this." "You reckon?" "That was found in a carrier bag, under her bed." "There's blood all over it." "Is it a match for the victim's?" "Yes." "Given what her mate said about how she felt about her own mother, she sounds like a ticking bomb." "No, look, that just doesn't feel right, Sam." "Why?" "They were competing for the same man." "She just couldn't have done it on her own." "It's OK, I'm dealing with it." "It's under control." "Listen, I'm gonna have to go." "I'll see you later." "I'm afraid you won't - unless that's a solicitor." "You're under arrest." "Holly Leigh." "What now?" "I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Charlotte Leigh." "What?" "!" "You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court." "Anything you do say may be given in evidence." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "OK." "Officers..." "It'll be fine." "Don't worry, don't worry." "Why don't you believe me?" "!" "She's pretty convincing." "Jury might think so, too." "And when they hear she was infatuated with her mother's husband?" "Yeah, on his say-so." "Defence will say that we should be sympathising with this girl - she's the victim in all this." "How?" "A terrified schoolgirl, groomed and abused by her stepfather." "With her mother's blood splattered across her school jumper." "So?" "So it suggests she was there." "Her jumper was there." "And she did say she got changed before she went to her dad's." "He's dressing up as a schoolgirl too now, is he?" "He must have helped her." "There isn't enough evidence to support that." "I won't enjoy putting away a 16-year-old girl, but if the jury decide she's guilty then we'll have done our job properly." "Ronnie's been in touch - Sean Harte is ready to talk." "He's admitting to assisting, but not murder." "Holly's very immature for her age." "Like I told you before, she has this insane schoolgirl crush." "He's selling her out." "I thought if I just ignored it, it would go away." "But she was getting out of control." "I tried to let her down gently." "But?" "She took the rejection hard, screaming at me, threatening to tell Charlotte I'd abused her." "She was so angry." "I had no choice but to tell Charlotte myself, after I left the site, while Holly was still out." "OK." "And how did Charlotte react?" "Well, she was devastated." "Then Holly came home early in the middle of it, and things really kicked off." "Screaming at each other." "All sorts being said, about the ex and that." "I thought it's best just to get out." "So you left?" "I had to." "I went back to work." "I couldn't face going home, so I went on to the pub after to drown my sorrows." "When I got back..." "Sorry." "It's OK." "Take your time." "So, you got back home?" "What happened?" "Holly was in the room, sobbing." "I don't think she meant to kill her." "You said, whilst this fight was happening at the house, you were moonlighting on another job at 88 Welford Road." "Yeah?" "That's right." "Any witnesses?" "There was someone there who can prove I'm telling you the truth." "I didn't want to drag her into it." "Her?" "Mr Harte?" "Jess." "I think he's hanging Holly out to dry." "But her best friend's providing an alibi for him." "Putting Jess on the stand will show it's not in Sean's character to do something like this." "Whereas Holly had a turbulent relationship with her mother, no alibi to speak of, and forensic evidence pointing directly to her." "I'm not saying I like it, Ronnie, but we proceed with charging him with assisting an offender, and Holly with murder." "Would you say that your friend had a good relationship with her mother?" "Yeah." "I guess." "I mean, they argued sometimes, like anyone does." "Do you know what these arguments were about?" "She'd get pretty angry with how controlling she was." "She was checking her phone and stuff." "She was obsessed with knowing if she had a boyfriend." "Did Holly have a boyfriend?" "Not that I know of, no." "What was the relationship between Holly and Mr Harte like?" "Good, as far as I knew." "Until all this happened." "On the night Charlotte Leigh died, what did you do after the concert at school?" "I...um..." "I went to see Sean." "Why was that?" "Ms Hays?" "Why did you meet with Mr Harte that evening?" "It was about my mum and dad." "In what way?" "Well... since they separated I just... missed having my dad around." "Was there a reason you didn't mention this to the police earlier?" "I didn't want my mum to know." "Would you say you were a father figure to Holly?" "I loved her like she was my own daughter, since her own father left her." "You say she became fixated." "How did this manifest itself?" "It started with love notes and that, you know?" "Left in my jacket pocket." "I laughed it off." "I thought it was a schoolgirl crush thing, it'd pass." "And did it pass?" "No, it got worse." "On the evening your wife was killed, you told her about Holly's behaviour?" "Yeah, I had to." "And how did she react?" "Well, she was upset, as you might imagine." "Then Holly arrived home." "It just exploded." "What happened then?" "Well, with the two of them screaming at each other," "I had to get out of there." "I thought telling Charlotte would help resolve it." "I never imagined it would end in such tragedy." "And when you arrived home later that evening, where was your wife?" "I found Charlotte lying on the kitchen floor." "You OK?" "And where was Holly?" "I found her in her room." "She was shaking." "What did you say to her?" "I asked what had happened." "She just kept saying 'I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to' over and over." "No!" "No!" "I'm sorry." "Direct your answers to the jury please, Mr Harte." "She said they fought." "She pushed her mother, she fell back, hit her head." "Why didn't you call 999?" "I tried to." "Holly started screaming at me." "She said if I didn't help her she'd say I did it." "Did you help dispose of the body in the River Thames and try to make it look like suicide?" "Yes, I did." "I panicked." "I thought all this was my fault." "If I hadn't said anything..." "That is all." "Thank you, Mr Harte." "It started with little things." "He'd sit too close to me on the sofa, or walk in when I was getting changed, accidentally." "Then he started giving what he called his daddy bear cuddles." "Even when I told him I felt uncomfortable, he... he'd always find a way to get me on my own." "And why didn't you tell anyone?" "I don't know." "I guess I just thought if I ignored it, he'd get bored, and leave me alone." "And did he?" "No." "He tried to give me money, he said I should go and buy some underwear that my mum wouldn't approve of, now that I was getting all grown up." "He kept making jokes about me turning 16." "It made me feel sick." "When you rejected Mr Harte, what was his response?" "Angry." "He said that if I didn't want to be his special girl, then he'd find someone who did." "On the night in question, you were performing in a school concert, while your mother was working late?" "Yeah." "I had to leave early." "Where did you go?" "I went home to get changed." "I didn't want to stay there, so I went over to my dad's." "I forgot he was away on business, so I just sat in his flat, until I could face going home." "And what happened when you arrived home?" "It was quiet." "The lights were on, so I assumed mum was back." "I didn't want to see anyone, so I just went straight upstairs." "When did you hear that your mother was missing?" "When the police arrived." "About 1.00 I think." "Sean woke me and told me." "I keep thinking that..." "I'm just going to wake up." "Mum will be there and she'll give me a hug, and tell me it's gonna be OK, and all this will be over." "Just like a nightmare." "Why is he doing this?" "I don't understand." "Everything all right?" "Signal's rubbish here, eh?" "Must be hard for you, Jess, seeing what this is doing to Holly, you being such good friends." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Harder for her of course." "Losing her mum, and now looking like she's going to prison for it." "Prison?" "Well, Young Offender's Institution for the first year." "Bit of solitary." "Not very nice, I have to admit." "Nasty." "But on her 18th birthday, she'll get to go to an adult prison, so..." "But... she's gonna get off, isn't she?" "Not unless you can help?" "See this is very serious, Jess." "You know that, don't you?" "The rest of your friend's life is at stake here." "So if there's anything else you can remember about that night, anything at all." "I don't know what you mean." "I think you do." "I saw your reaction in the court." "You know that Holly is telling the truth, don't you?" "Because you've heard those lines from Sean yourself before, haven't you?" "Jess, whatever he's promised you, you've now seen what he's really capable of." "You could be next." "It wasn't Holly's fault." "In your earlier evidence, you said that you phoned Sean Harte, and then went to meet him at his place of work." "You wanted to talk over your parents' recent divorce." "Is that correct?" "Partly." "Which part?" "Well, I did call Sean, but he told me to go to the house." "He said Charlotte was out and we could be alone." "Not to talk about your parents?" "No." "No, we'd..." "We'd been seeing each other." "Seeing?" "Sleeping together." "So you went to the Leigh home that evening, and had sex with Sean Harte?" "Yes." "But it wasn't how you make it sound." "How do I make it sound?" "Sort of... dirty." "It wasn't like that." "Sean was different." "He was kind and gentle." "He... he called me his special girl." "But it all went wrong." "Mrs Leigh came home and... and we were in the kitchen... you know." "She walked in on you having sex in the kitchen?" "She went mental." "Started screaming, calling him names." "She said she was going to call the police, and that Sean would go to prison." "How did he react to that?" "He tried to calm her down." "But she started hitting him, and she was just screaming so loud." "And then he punched her." "He just threw her." "She cracked her head, hard." "It made a horrible sound." "Then she was just lying there." "She wasn't moving." "What did Mr Harte do?" "Did he call an ambulance?" "No." "No, he told me to shut up because I was crying." "He er..." "He got this big sheet... from his van." "He wrapped her up in it." "He said he was gonna make it look like she did it herself." "That she'd tried it before, he said." "He even used one of Holly's school jumpers to clear up some of the blood." "Why didn't you call the police?" "He said if anyone found out, we'd both go to prison." "That we wouldn't be together." "He said if I told anyone I'd never see him again." "I couldn't bear that." "It wasn't meant to get this far." "It wasn't meant to be Holly." "No-one would believe she could do that." "Sean Harte's been taken into custody, charged with murder." "Along with Jess Hays." "Where's Holly?" "She's free to go." "Free?" "She's lost everything she ever cared about." "Her mother did everything she could to protect that child from danger, then let it into her own home."