Who is James Watson and where is he now?
RIKKI NEAVE was just six years old when he was found dead in the woods just minutes from his home.
Initially his mother Ruth Neave was wrongly accused of killing him but, decades later, police finally sentenced little Rikki's real killer, James Watson.
Who is James Watson?
James Watson is the killer who murdered six-year-old Rikki Neave on November 28, 1994.
Watson was just 13 himself when he committed the twisted crime.
Rikki's dead body was found naked and in a star-shaped pose with his arms outstretched and his legs wide.
A post-mortem found the cause of death was "ligature strangulation."
Rikki's case was only reopened after his mother called for Detective Paul Fullwood to look into her son's death.
Ruth was wrongly accused of killing her son and stood trial six months after her son's death charged with murder and child cruelty.
She admitted child cruelty and was imprisoned for seven years but was acquitted of murder.
Watson, meanwhile, got away with Rikki's murder for over 20 years.
He was caught out, however, when Detective Fullwood reopened the case and a wheelie bin with Rikki's clothes in it was found.
The bin, which was discovered in an underground car park at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough, had been lost and never forensically examined.
It was from there that Watson's DNA was discovered.
Watson had been seen playing with Rikki on the day of the killing but, at the time of his murder, claimed he did not know Rikki and made no mention of "physical contact".
Watson, when confronted with the DNA evidence, then admitted he was with Rikki that day and had lifted him up in the air to help him see over a fence.
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But the fence Watson was referring to had not been built at the time of Rikki's death.
Fullwood said: "We were able to prove that James Watson was an absolute liar and a fantasist."
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When arrested for Rikki's murder Watson already had a criminal record because of an arson attack in 2008 at a British Transport Police station.
He also abused a five-year-old child a year before he killed Rikki, and throttled a girlfriend during sex.
What did he do to Rikki Neave?
Watson strangled Rikki and displayed his body in the woods near where they both lived.
No reason was ever revealed as to why Watson murdered Rikki.
Detective Fullwood has said believes that there may have been a sexual motive for the killing, though there were no signs of sexual assault.
When was he jailed?
Watson was arrested in 2016 and released on police bail but he panicked and fled the country.
He visited Rotterdam, France and the Pyrenees before being flown home in August 2016 after being arrested in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Consulate building.
Watson had shared many images of he enjoying himself on his various visits.
Rikki's killer was charged in January 2020, and went on trial in January 2022.
Where is James Watson now?
Watson is serving his sentence in prison.
He was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years after being convicted of murder in June 2022.
The low minimum sentence was given due to his age at the time he killed Rikki.
The judge, Mrs Justice McGowan said at sentencing: "The current minimum term for an adult convicted of this crime would have a starting point of at least 30 years.
"All murders committed by persons under 18 have the same starting point of 12 years, but that must be adjusted to reflect a significant increase for all the circumstances in this case.
"The sentence I impose is detention for life at Her Majesty's Pleasure and I set the minimum term at 15 years."
In June 2023 it was reported that Watson was appealing his conviction.
The Court of Appeal heard there was a "wholesale loss and destruction" of evidence.
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On June 13, 2023, Watson appeared at the Court of Appeal in London via video link from HMP Wakefield.
Appeal judges said at the time that they would give their decision in writing at a later date.