All language subtitles for the.witness.2026.s01e03.final.multi.1080p.web.x264-higgsboson

- [tape hisses]
- [birds singing]

[quiet, tense music building]

[music fades]

[man] The suspect's name is Robert Napper.

He's been detained
at Broadmoor Secure Hospital since 1995.

Convicted of double murder
and several rapes,

though he's suspected of many more.

Napper killed Rachel, André.

And this team is gonna prove it.

And am I supposed to just believe you?

Why would I?

Well, the DNA match is highly likely--

If that was proof, you'd be telling me
you've charged this man,

but you're not, are you?

The sample isn't yet
up to evidential standard.

And what if it never is?

We're already assuming
that we'll need to rely on other evidence.

But now we have a prime suspect,
that search becomes more focused.

So he hasn't admitted it?

We're yet to interview him.

But we know from Napper's other crimes

that he only takes responsibility
when he's got no alternative.

The Stagg team focused on
securing a confession.

I know what they did.

Our focus is on finding the hard evidence
to prove beyond doubt

that Robert Napper is guilty.

Look,

I understand you want certainty.

I want the truth.

About that day and the days that followed
when nobody's been held to account.

When you have that,

then I'll listen.

Okay.

[birds singing]

[soft, emotional music playing]

[man] An unsolved case
now dating back 14 years.

This is an investigation that,
over a decade and a half,

has been scaled back, then reviewed,
and has now been looking at new evidence.

But so far,
there have been no fresh charges.

[woman speaks indistinctly in Catalan]

[music continues]

- [laughing]
- [man speaks in Catalan]

[woman laughing]

[music continues]

[in Catalan]
What's your Dad doing tonight?

I don't care.

[phone ringing]

[answering machine bleeps]

[man, in Catalan] André? Are you there?

It's Francisco.

I haven't seen you in months.
Where are you?

We're worried about you.

- [machine bleeps]
- [André sighs]

[man] So how do we put Robert Napper
on Wimbledon Common

on the morning of 15th July, 1992?

Okay, we start by proving
he wasn't where he says he was.

[man] Good. Which is?

At work. Serco in Greenwich.
Says he was there all day.

[chuckles]

Any former colleagues still around?

The foreman.
Uh, he was interviewed at the time.

He kept year planners, showing
employee working hours, apparently.

But 1992 was never found.

Right. Do you reckon
it's worth having another chat with him?

- No, I very much doubt it.
- Yeah, me too.

However, we need to look at everything…

[multiple voices] "Everything and everyone
like it's never been seen before."

- Right, have you got the shoe print?
- Yeah, there you go.

Tone, there's, um, this shoe print.

One of the only pieces
of physical evidence

from the original crime scene. Right?

Now, Benno's been through the logs
to try and match it to Napper's shoes,

but…

[quiet, suspenseful music playing]

…there's no footwear
found in Napper's room

the day he got nicked.

- Nothing at all.
- So…?

So we're wondering

what was he wearing on his feet
when he got taken into custody?

Well, he was never out
of custody again, was he?

No.

So… They couldn't still be
in his property, could they?

In the stores at Broadmoor
for the past ten years?

[Ivan inhales sharply]

- It's worth a look.
- Mm.

- [man 2] Yeah.
- Belt and braces, after last time.

Oh, and not a word to anyone
before we get a warrant.

- Yeah.
- What?

Ever tried getting a warrant
to search a prison?

[music ends]

[Alex sighs]

[indistinct speech on radio]

[Alex sighs]

[André] Alex?

- You okay?
- Yeah.

How's your week been?

[Alex] Fine.

Yeah? How about work?

Yeah, fine.

How about you?

[softly] Yeah.

Do you wanna eat now or later?

Um…

I'm eating at Anna's tonight.

Just came to grab a few things.

[clicks tongue] Right.

Why didn't you let me know?

- I thought I had.
- When, Alex?

You're never here.

[Alex sighs]

[sighs] Well, I'm here now
if you want to talk.

[André] There's not much to talk about.

Not sure you're interested to hear
if the police have been in touch, but

they haven't.

They've clearly not got anywhere
with this new suspect.

[poignant music playing]

I should shower.

- [André sighs]
- [door closes]

[man] It was over ten years ago
I was working there.

[Ivan] And, uh, you can't say for sure

whether or not Napper was at work
on that particular day?

[chuckles softly]
I have a bloody good memory, but…

Is there anyone you think might remember?

Well, like I said,
Napper wasn't there long.

And the only person
I saw him talk to was himself.

The girls gave him a wide berth,
I remember that.

You know I've said all this before?

Yeah. Yeah.

Um… And I believe you kept
some year planners? Is that right?

Ah, in the garage, yeah.
I don't even know why I kept them.

They had all the employee working hours
on them.

I gave '91 and '93 to the other lot.
And the rest went in the bin.

There's still no sign of '92?

No.

Mind if we had one last look?

[scoffs] You don't wanna go in there.

[Ivan] No.

No, you're quite right. I don't.

- [man] They're massive things.
- [Ivan] Right.

- You know, for the wall.
- Yeah.

[quietly] Fucking hell.

Over here, guv.

[quiet, tense music playing]

- Merry Christmas.
- Yeah.

Right. Here he is.

Robert Napper.

Wednesday 15th July.

He was off work the whole day.

100%?

George is a scrupulous man. He's adamant.

This means
Robert Napper was off work all day.

Right, then.
So now we can prove where he wasn't.

Let's see if he'll tell us where he was.

[tense music continues]

[Ivan] Thanks again.

[door closes]

You're his solicitor?

That's right.

And if my client's medical team
discern any distress during the interview,

I will stop it immediately.

Bob's… [sighs] …fragile. Mentally.

Bob is also a convicted prisoner.

And a murder suspect.

Actually, he's not a prisoner.

He's a patient.

You're in a hospital, not a prison.

Bob. Got you a seat just through here.

- There we go.
- Hello, Robert.

There we go. That's it.

There we go.

Okay. [clears throat]

[Tony] We're here to talk to you
about Rachel Nickell.

You know that name, don't you, Robert?

You've been asked about Rachel before,
haven't you?

Rachel was sexually assaulted
and murdered in 1992.

As a result of scientific advances,

we've now identified
previously unknown male DNA

which was found on Rachel's body.

And it's yours, Robert.

You understand what DNA is?

It's, uh… It's unique to you,
like a… like a fingerprint.

Yeah. Also means we know you had
physical contact with Rachel that day.

Didn't you?

Well, if you can explain it to us, Robert,
this is your chance to do so.

Why don't you tell all of us
what happened?

Are you listening?

We didn't do that.

I believe you used to work at Serco
in Greenwich, Robert.

You know, they have a year planner.

The year planner proves
you weren't at work that day, Robert.

It also proves that you lied to police
when you were asked about Rachel in 1995.

So why did you lie, Robert?

Where were you really on 15th July?

Robert.

No comment. Thank you.

What else did you lie about?

You were on Wimbledon Common
that day, weren't you?

You did kill Rachel Nickell, didn't you?

- [woman] Detective Nash.
- Why'd you let the little boy live?

[Tony] Run out of time
after you murdered Rachel?

[woman] Per the statement I read to you,

my client doesn't intend to answer
any more questions.

What is it about mothers? Your own mum
threw you out when you turned 18--

- [woman] Detective Nash.
- That's enough.

[Robert mutters indistinctly]

- [Tony exhales]
- Thank you.

Thanks.

[Ivan] You okay?

Yeah.

"You're in a hospital… not a prison."

Which we will get a warrant for.

All right.

Police are questioning a 40-year-old man
over the murder of Rachel Nickell.

A breakthrough in DNA
has identified this particular suspect.

[man] It's thought
the man is currently being held

at Broadmoor Secure Hospital
for a different crime.

Scotland Yard won't confirm a name,

saying simply that
they are speaking to a 40-year-old

and that the interview is part
of ongoing inquiries

into Rachel Nickell's murder.

[quiet, emotional music playing]

[sighs heavily]

[music fades]

[Alex] You kept your promise.

- You got me to 18, all in one piece.
- [softly] Hmm.

And are you?

- Am I what?
- Well, uh…

are you, um… in one piece?

- [chuckles softly] Yeah, I think so.
- Yeah?

Okay. So you think you've…
you've put it all behind you now?

[Alex sighs]

We really doing this now?

The first thing they said to me was,
"He needs honesty."

And I've really tried to stick to that.
I have.

And honestly, Alex,

adult to adult…

I don't think you have.

At all.

- I just wanna get on with my life.
- I know you do.

Yeah, so stop living in the past.

What does that mean, Alex?

Do I just pretend…
that it never happened, like you do?

I know exactly what happened. I was there.

I know, but you don't know who did it.

Or why he's still free.

We don't have the truth, Alex,

and I think until we do,
there can be no peace of mind.

- Peace of mind?
- For both of us.

You might not get that.

You're wasting your time.

You need to come to terms with that.

And just… get on with my life?

Is that what you think you've been doing?
Searching for answers in religion?

It's not religion. It's faith.

- And about finding your own path.
- Hmm.

Or maybe…

maybe you're just distracting yourself.

Whatever it is I'm doing,
it… it's not your problem anymore.

[quietly] Okay.

[Ivan sighs]

[rustling]

- Sir?
- What's that?

Brown.

As described by the witness. Okay.

Okay. Uh, yeah,
let's get them to the experts.

Bloody hell.

Right, yeah, grab that.

[Tony] Well,
you're definitely onto something.

When Alex was examined on the day,
they combed his hair

and found several small shards
of metallic paint.

Red paint.

How the fuck could that have transferred?

We don't know if it did yet, but this was
Napper's murder box, wasn't it?

Even better,
the samples from Alex's hair still exist.

Right, so what's the bad news?
There's always bad news.

The more challenging news is
that running the test on these shards

will simultaneously destroy them.
Basically, we get one shot.

And if the test doesn't work,
that evidence is lost forever.

And we need a match on that and the shoes
to be able to charge Napper.

[Tony] Yeah. Oh, about the shoes.

They haven't had a proper look yet,
but they reckon the size is wrong.

Fuck's sake.

[Tony] However, they are taking them
to the common

to be tested under identical conditions.

So… fingers crossed.

Yeah, very fucking scientific.

[suspenseful music playing]

[music intensifies]

[Ivan] Guv?

Phone for you.

- Forensics?
- Says she'll only talk to you.

[music fades]

[woman] It's a court summons, Robert.

The police are charging you
with the murder of Rachel Nickell.

We didn't do that.

Okay.

[sighs heavily]

Who was on the phone?

Dad?

Um…

It was the police.

They charged him?

[quietly] Mm-hmm.

They, um…

they want to know
if we'll come to the trial.

You're not seriously thinking of going
after last time, right?

I don't wanna trust
someone else's word again.

I need to see it for myself.

- We both do.
- The trial's got nothing to do with us.

They're saying the likelihood
of this DNA profile

belonging to anyone other than this man
is one in 12 million.

I'm not going, Dad.

That's final, and nor should you.

[tense music playing]

A 41-year-old man
charged with the murder of Rachel Nickell

has been remanded in custody.

Robert Napper appeared by video link
from Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital.

He was bailed
until a hearing later this month.

[tense music continues]

[vehicle approaches, stops]

[muffled voices]

Dad? Dad?

- Dad.
- I know. I know.

They've known where we were all along.
They've been waiting for an excuse.

I've tried to fight them,
and it doesn't work. Stop.

[man] André, I guarantee, talk to me
and the rest will leave you alone.

We've said all we're going to say.

- You're wasting your time.
- [man] Let's talk money.

- Fuck you!
- [man] Is that you, Alex?

Look, the police have been called.
You're trespassing. Just leave. Just go!

They've been speaking to the neighbors.
The whole town's gonna know.

- So?
- Alex, what about Anna?

- What about her?
- You haven't told her, have you?

Okay, so shouldn't she hear it from you?

[André breathes shakily]

- [press shouting]
- [man 1] Alex! Alex!

[man 2] Alex, how you doing?
It's Pete Collier at The Sun.

I just need two minutes of your time.

[shouting continues]

[motorcycle revs]

[poignant music playing]

[music continues]

[in Catalan] Your mum sounds amazing.

[Alex] I do remember her face, but,

most of all, I remember the feeling…

of being completely loved by her

and loving her completely.

And I can still smell her.

I kept a bottle of her perfume.

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

It's a different lifetime.

And I'm not used to talking about it.

My father has always been so…

[exhales heavily]

That bag by the front door…

Always ready to run if…

And now they've found you.

So what happens next?

[Alex sighs]

This time, I won't run.

I know lots of people
have been asking questions.

You understand why, don't you?

They know he's a millionaire.

That's why they keep coming back.
They know about his family.

And what about your family, Bob?

I'd like to know more about them.

They're all in the Who's Who book.

I know that your father
was very special to you.

You looked up to him.

Well, they don't believe that…

that I… that he…
won the Nobel Peace Prize.

That's because
he didn't tell them everything.

He left you, your father, didn't he?

Some of the numbers, they doubled.

So those years would have felt
twice as long as they should have.

I've noticed you've been
very preoccupied lately

with the numbers and other thoughts.

But why do you think that is?

What are you so scared of, Bob?

All the money's in the bank. In Sidcup.

All the money from Star Wars.

[sighs softly]
I'd like to talk about Rachel.

I think it might help.

I'm not gonna ask you if you killed her.
That's not my job as your psychiatrist.

My job is to help you face the truth.

You might think
that means you… staying here for longer.

Maybe even forever.

But in a different way,

it could free you.

I think… this could be a real chance, Bob.

For you to start really progressing.

What about Rachel's family?

I'm sure it'll mean a great deal
for them to know the truth.

What about that little boy?

Doesn't he deserve to know
what happened to his mother?

And what about
the little boy inside you, Bob?

[quiet, poignant music playing]

He's still there, isn't he?

What does he deserve?

[music continues]

[Alex sighs softly]

[indistinct, overlapping shouting]

[cameras clicking]

Where's Alex? Has he gone back to London?
Has he gone back to the trial?

[woman] Do you think
you'll get justice this time?

- Where's Alex? Where is he?
- [man] We just wanna talk! André!

[woman 2] André,
we just wanna clear this up.

[poignant music playing]

[André sighs quietly]

[sighs]

Mr. Hanscombe.

André. Commander Campbell.
Sorry to have kept you waiting so long.

We agreed to meet hours ago.

Something came up.

Please, take a seat.

- I remember you.
- Really?

Perhaps. Although I was only ever
on the periphery of the original inquiry.

I wanted to see you because… [sighs]

…I feel you should hear certain facts

before we tell the media.

Facts?

About Mr. Napper.

It appears he had some contact
with various authorities as a child

and later,
prior to his most serious crimes.

I want to assure you

that he only came to police attention
for relatively minor offenses.

However… [sighs]

…I'm afraid we can only expect
our friends in the media,

I know you have a history with them,

to make much
of what is in reality very little.

So are you saying that…
you knew of him before the murders?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, André.

But the truth is,

nobody could have foreseen
the true extent of Napper's offenses.

Now, I urge you

not to engage with the media
around this for your own sake.

You know what they're like.
The most important thing now

is for you and your son
to get the justice you deserve.

That should be the sole focus.

For all of us.

Thank you for coming.

- [emotional music playing]
- [door closes]

- [tense music playing]
- [hushed chattering]

Hi.

[indistinct speech]

[music intensifies]

[man] Silence in court.

Please stand.

[woman] Please be seated.

Will the accused please stand?

Robert Clive Napper,

you are charged that on 15th July, 1992,

at Wimbledon Common, London,

you did murder Rachel Nickell.

How do you plead?

Not guilty

to murder.

But…

guilty to

diminished responsibility.

Sorry. Guilty to

manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

[shocked muttering in courtroom]

Mr. Napper has suffered from
Asperger's syndrome since childhood

and then latterly paranoid schizophrenia.

But his psychosis has been evident
as early as 1989,

when he was admitted to the hospital
following an attempt to take his own life.

[woman 2] He believes
he has telepathic powers.

He also talks about
being kneecapped by the IRA

and that his fingers were blown off
while defusing a bomb.

The fingers, he says, have regrown
because he inhaled sparkle fumes.

[judge] Mr. Napper, please stand.

You stabbed Rachel a total of 49 times.

All the while, Alex was there.

The marks on his face prove that,
in my judgment,

you dragged him away from his mother.

That he was not killed,
as you were to later kill Jazmine Bisset,

is almost certainly
explained by your anxiety not to be caught

by staying too long.

Now in early adulthood,

Alex knows the man who killed his mother

has been brought,
albeit belatedly, to justice.

It may be that he can now close
a long-drawn-out chapter in his life.

You are, in my view, a very dangerous man.

You must be returned immediately
to Broadmoor,

and you will never be released

unless you are no longer
a danger to the public.

That is unlikely ever to happen.

Do you have anything to say?

My client would like to apologize to
the friends and family of Rachel Nickell

for the dreadful thing that he did,

and also to Colin Stagg,
who was wrongfully accused of the murder.

[judge] Take him down.

[murmuring in courtroom]

Will someone… say sorry to the little boy?

[soft, emotional music playing]

[whispers indistinctly]

[Campbell] Ah, André.

Trust you're happy with the verdict?

You can finally
put it all behind you now, eh?

Assistant Commissioner Yates
is going to say a few words to the media.

Wanted to make sure
there was nothing you'd like to add.

After all these years,
this is all you have to say?

I'm sorry?

Why has this taken so long, Commander?

You could have stopped him
before he killed anyone. Couldn't you?

- I think--
- Couldn't you?

So, no, I've got nothing to say.

Not to them and certainly not to you.

And a man has admitted
the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell.

In a shocking admission, police say
that Napper could have been stopped.

They missed several chances to arrest him.

At last, we can finally say

that we have achieved justice
for Rachel and her family.

Turning now to Mr. Colin Stagg.

In August, 1993,
he was wrongly accused of Rachel's murder,

and I today apologize to him,

and we also recognize
the huge and lasting impact

that this has had on his life.

It's also now proper to recognize

the dedicated and professional work
of the current investigation team

that has brought us to this point.

They have been unstinting
in their attention to detail

and their determination
over a number of years

to find the evidence that has
finally brought Robert Napper to justice.

[man] What has emerged today
is how Napper evaded capture,

due more to the institutional incompetence
of the Metropolitan Police

than the killer's guile.

Why would the killer apologize
if it made no difference to his sentence?

That man's not very well, Alex.

We've known that for a long time.

I'm not sure he even knows why he said it.

[Alex exhales softly]

[Anna, in Catalan] You're still
looking for something, aren't you?

I really don't need more advice.

Has the trial…

[scoffs] The trial means nothing to me.

What about Robert Napper?

If it was me,
I think what I'd be asking is, why?

"Why" what?

Why did he do what he did?

Because he's ill?

He still made a choice.

But why?

You deserve an explanation.

[emotional music building]

[knocking at door]

[music continues]

- [in Catalan] Hello
- Mr. Hanscombe.

Thank you. Have a good day.

- [siren wails]
- [music continues]

[car horn beeps nearby]

- [music fades]
- [distant siren wails]

Dr. Monroe.

- Could I talk to you?
- [Monroe] I'm running late, I'm afraid.

You used to treat Robert Napper,
didn't you? You were one of his doctors.

I've said everything
I'm gonna say to the press.

[Alex] No, I'm not the press. I'm…

I'm… I'm Alex Hanscombe.
Rachel Nickell's son.

I just need 15 minutes
of your time, please.

I can't tell you anything
that's not already in the public domain.

Well, you could tell me who he is
and what he's like.

There's very little to tell.

I heard he was badly bullied at school.
His mum and dad fought a lot.

Well, that's an understatement.

Robert was the eldest, and

he and his mother bore the brunt
of his father's drunken violence.

Robert's Asperger's was undiagnosed
for most of his childhood,

adding to his isolation.

And around the age of 12,
he was seriously assaulted.

It's a matter of record.

The man was charged.

Robert was raped in woodland
by a family friend.

Why did he attack women?

Why did he target mothers with children?
I can't tell you because I don't know.

I know you don't have the answers.

What I mean is,
Robert's never talked about his crimes.

Not to anyone, as far as I know.

I think it's possible

that he was violently angry
with his mother for his father leaving.

And he was punishing her again and again

in the shape of women
who were being maternal

in a way that he never really experienced.

So what you're saying is…

my mother was his mother?

Possibly.

It may also be why he allowed you to live.

Because you were him.

Does he remember?

Remember what happened to him?

I believe so.

Though he has few childhood memories.

Traumatized and neglected children
often have poor autobiographical memory,

and events that others can recall,

like birthdays,

Christmas,

mostly never happened.

So there's a void.

I have plenty of memories

from before and after that day.

Then

you were probably made to feel
safe and loved.

[soft, emotional music playing]

[Alex sighs]

[André] Alex.

Hey.

- What's that?
- Um…

I wasn't sure whether to show you,
to be honest, um,

but it was addressed to both of us.

It's been sent anonymously
from inside the Crown Prosecution Service.

It seems
the police didn't tell us everything.

All of this makes up a detailed account
of every chance they missed…

Sit down. Um…

Every chance they missed
to stop the killer

before he attacked you and your mother
and up to a hundred other women.

There's so much more
than the press has covered.

Like, for example, in 1989,
his own mother phoned the police

and told them that he'd confessed to rape,
and it just wasn't followed up.

And then a year after
he killed your mother,

the police caught him in the garden
of a woman's home,

and they gave him a lift back to his flat.

And then three months later,
he murdered Jazmine and Samantha Bisset.

It just goes on and on,
mistake after mistake.

Missed opportunity
after missed opportunity--

So is this what you've been hoping for?
Does this finally bring you peace of mind?

No, Alex, it's just…

They failed all of us, and this proves it.

There's blood on their hands
as well as the killer's.

Well, maybe he was failed too.

Sorry?

I didn't tell you why I went to London.

- I met with a doctor… who treated him.
- A doctor?

You met with his psychiatrist. Why? Alex…

It seems terrible things
did happen to the killer too.

- That doesn't condone this.
- Maybe worse than what we--

Don't dare compare yourself to him.
You are nothing like this man.

That's the point! [sighs heavily]

It's hard to make good choices

when you don't have someone
who cares for you. I've always had that.

I had my mother, and whatever happened,
I've always had you.

I once told you that I don't respect you,
Dad, and I meant it.

I don't feel that way anymore.

I've got nothing but respect
for what you've done for me.

You kept me alive.

No, Alex, you…

you kept me alive.

We have to focus now on what we've gained.

It's the only way forward now.

- [André sighs softly]
- [soft, emotional music playing]

Your mother would be so proud of you.

[André sighs heavily]

Well, maybe…

maybe this is how we do it.

Do what?

Maybe this is how we turn
a negative into a positive.

How?

Well, I don't know yet, Alex, but…

whatever it is,
I know I can't do it without you.

[Alex] All my life, people have said
that my mother's killer spared me,

gave me a second chance.

But I don't believe he let me live.

I believe love did that.

Quite interesting to see, isn't it?

Can you do some more riding
of your fire engine for me?

What's that?

- [André] What have you got?
- [Rachel] What's in the back?

- [Alex] Hammer.
- [Rachel] Hammer?

[André] Should I… Alex?

[Alex] Yes.

[Alex babbles]

[Rachel] Come on, Sam, let's go down
to the bandstand at the double.

Off we go. Bye!

[André] I'm behind you.

- [Rachel] I don't think you are there.
- [Alex] I love you.

[soft, poignant music playing]

[music fades]

[solemn instrumental music playing]