Alex Hanscombe and his father André Hanscombe have spoken publicly about their roles in Netflix’s dual release on June 4, 2026—a three-part drama called The Witness and a documentary titled The Murder of Rachel Nickell—marking the first time they have fully shared their story about the 1992 murder that left Alex as the only witness.
Quick Facts
- Rachel Nickell was stabbed 49 times in July 1992 on Wimbledon Common while walking with her two-year-old son Alex
- Alex, now 36, was the sole witness to his mother’s murder and provided police with a detailed description of the attacker
- The real killer, Robert Napper, was not identified for 12 years; innocent man Colin Stagg was wrongly accused
- Alex and André say the investigation had serious failings and opportunities were missed to stop Napper earlier
For Alex, participating in the documentary and drama meant “sharing his testimony” about how he felt regarding the initial investigation. André described some of the scenes between himself and young Alex as “brutal,” as he worked to extract details from his two-year-old son’s memory of the attack. Yet André insisted he would make the same choices again.
“I don’t think I would have done anything different,” André told the BBC. He explained that Alex was attacked as well and was the only person who knew what had happened. “The police told us from day one they were in a terrible position—they didn’t have anything. They were given no cards to play and Alex had the whole scene in his head.” Alex added they had “no regrets about that at all” because it meant police had an almost picture-perfect description of the attacker.
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The investigation into Rachel’s murder proved deeply flawed. Police wrongly accused local man Colin Stagg, who was later cleared, while the actual killer, Robert Napper, was not identified for another 12 years. Napper was already serving a sentence in prison for a double murder when he was finally linked to Rachel’s death. He is estimated to have attacked and sexually assaulted as many as 90 women before he was caught, despite repeated reports about his behavior.
Alex and André said someone from the Crown Prosecution Service had leaked a letter revealing a series of failings that meant opportunities were missed to stop Napper earlier. “The police have never acknowledged the extent of their failings and the harm that they’ve caused in repercussions, not only on us as a family, for all these 90 women,” Alex said. André described their involvement in the programs as “more than us supplying the answers, it’s about us provoking a conversation” about how the investigation was handled.
Following the attack, André and Alex were hounded by the press and subjected to racial abuse, eventually leaving the UK for France and then Spain in an attempt to escape the attention. Both have since turned to Catholicism, which they say has helped them come to terms with the loss of Rachel. Their motivation for being involved in this project, André explained, is “to help those who find themselves in an equally impossible position today.”
The three-part drama The Witness was released on Netflix on June 4 alongside The Murder of Rachel Nickell documentary. Alex told the BBC: “Our intention has always been the same. We’ve been sharing some of the difficulties that we’ve lived through, and if we can touch one person and make a difference just to one person, that makes it all worthwhile for us.”
Sources
- BBC — detailed interview with Alex Hanscombe and André Hanscombe about their involvement in the Netflix releases and their account of the 1992 murder investigation
- Netflix — release date and format of The Witness and The Murder of Rachel Nickell on June 4, 2026
- Time Magazine — confirmation that The Witness focuses on how the Hanscombes coped after Nickell’s death
