Home / Series / Wills True Crimes / Aired Order / Season 1 / Episode 5

Sarah Payne

On the evening of 1 July 2000, eight-year-old Sarah Payne vanished while playing in a field with her siblings, near her grandparents’ home in West Sussex. Her disappearance prompted a high profile, nationwide search which lasted 17 days. As fears grew for Sarah’s safety, Sussex Police started to investigate any known paedophiles living in the West Sussex area. Amongst other suspects, 41-year-old Roy Whiting was questioned after a previous sexual attack on an eight-year-old girl in a nearby village. On the 17 July, a body was found in a field near Pulborough, 15 miles from where Sarah disappeared. The body was confirmed as Sarah’s the following day, and soon after Roy Whiting was charged with her abduction and murder. DNA tests matched a strand of Sarah’s hair to a male’s T-shirt found in the back of Whiting’s car. Soon afterwards, her shoe was found in a country lane by a member of the public, and tests matched fibres on the shoe to the carpet of Whiting’s van. Whiting was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2001. In this heartbreaking film, Sara Payne, Sarah’s mum, relives the day her daughter went missing, and recounts the horror and agonising days that unfolded in its wake. In addition, Sara speaks about her fight to change the system in the UK to protect other children from the same outcome. Her campaign ‘Sarah’s Law’ has gone on to alter many important pieces of legislation. Sara received an MBE in December 2008 for her work.

English
  • Created February 18, 2015 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified February 18, 2015 by
    Administrator admin