The former girlfriend of Babes in the Wood murderer Russell Bishop has been jailed for six years for perjury and perverting justice at Lewes Crown Court today (Wednesday 19 May).
But Jennie Johnson, 55, of Saunders Park View, Brighton, failed to turn up to hear the trial judge pass sentence, staying instead in her prison cell.
Sir Peter Fraser, known as Mr Justice Fraser, jailed Johnson for six years for perjury and six years for perverting justice, to run concurrently.
The High Court judge said that her lies were told in “exceptionally serious circumstances” adding: “They concern dreadful events that took place 35 years ago.”
At Bishop’s double murder trial in 1987, the judge said, “you lied and lied again,” notably about a blue Pinto sweatshirt.
But the Pinto top was “crucial evidence” that “provided a clear link between the girls, the murders and Bishop”.
Mr Justice Fraser added: “There was another dreadful consequence of his acquittal. He was free to offend again and he did.”
He also spoke of the Hadaways and Fellows families’ long wait for justice after they had campaigned successfully for a change in the law of double jeopardy.
The effect of the wrongful acquittals on the families of the two girls, the judge said, “was most profound.”
He added: “I consider that your offences are of the most serious type … this was a double sex murder trial of two children.
“The effect of your dishonesty endured over three decades … It is difficult to believe anything that you say and you are an accomplished liar.
“The significance of your perjury at the 1987 trial cannot be overstated.”
The judge passed sentence after hearing a victim statement from Michelle Johnson, the mother of nine-year-old Michelle Hadaway.
Michelle Johnson said that she felt “numb to the core” when she heard Jennifer Johnson lie about a crucial piece of evidence at Bishop’s first murder trial in 1987.
The lies devastated her and her family and, Michelle Johnson said, “I’ve never doubted she was responsible for Bishop being acquitted.”
Bishop murdered Michelle Johnson’s daughter Karen and Karen’s best friend Nicola Fellows in Wild Park, Brighton, in October 1986.
Jennifer Johnson, also known as Jennifer Robinson, admitted swearing a false statement and lying under oath when Bishop stood trial at Lewes Crown Court in 1987 for the Babes in the Woods murders.
After her evidence, notably about a blue Pinto sweatshirt worn by Bishop, he was acquitted of murdering the two nine-year-olds.
He went on to snatch a seven-year-old girl from the street in Whitehawk in February 1990, shoved her in the boot of his car and drove her to the Devil’s Dyke.
At the Dyke, he sexually assaulted her, strangled her and left her for dead in bushes. Miraculously she survived and her evidence helped to put Bishop behind bars.
After advances in forensic science and a change in the double jeopardy law, Bishop was retried and convicted of the Babes in the Wood murders in 2018 and jailed for life.
Johnson admitted having lied in her statement and in the witness box but pleaded not guilty, citing duress, saying that she was in fear and had no choice.
Mr Justice Fraser gave the jury legal directions about the defence of duress. He said that it could apply when someone threatened a defendant or a person close to them with immediate or almost immediate violence and the threat involved death or serious injury.
For duress to apply, there would have to be no opportunity to escape or take steps to deal with the threat such as seeking police protection.
Chris Henley, defending, said that Johnson was a vulnerable young mother who had been in a violent, controlling and coercive relationship with Bishop – a vile and abusive man.
Johnson said in evidence that he was violent, she was afraid of his family – the Bishop and the Dawes families – and that she had no choice but to act in the way that she did.
In mitigation, Mr Henley said that his client’s anguish was not intended to detract from the suffering of the families of Karen Hadaway and Nicky Fellows.
But she had tried to rebuild her life and put the past behind her. Mr Henley had earlier told jurors that she went on to work for many years as a carer, losing her job as a result of publicity about her trial for perjury.
Alison Morgan, prosecuting, said that Jennifer Johnson was a fully paid up member of Team Bishop who gave an alibi to the father of three of her four children.
Johnson’s youngest daughter Jess, by her late husband Ken Robinson, supported her mother in court throughout the month-long trial for perjury and perverting justice. She wiped away tears as the judge delivered his sentence.
Miss Morgan said that Jennifer Johnson helped Team Bishop to benefit from a £15,000 deal for their story with the now-defunct News of the World newspaper when Bishop was acquitted.
Johnson denied seeing a penny of the money. But, after Bishop’s acquittal, the jury was told that she and the Bishops enjoyed slap up meals and stayed at the Gatwick Hilton hotel at the expense of the newspaper.
After 12 hours and 1 minute of deliberation, the jury of seven men and five women returned just before lunchtime on Monday.
They convicted Johnson of perjury by a majority of 10 to 2 and of perverting justice by a majority of 11 to 1.
The judge remanded Johnson in custody on Monday to be sentenced today in the same Lewes courtroom where she committed perjury in 1987.
The courtroom was as full as permitted by the social distancing rules operating in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The families of the two Babes in the Wood sat in dignified silence to see and hear justice done even though the dock was empty as Johnson stayed in her cell.
Good reporting, includes the so relevant “not unanimous ” element of the decision .. this story will run…
One thing that should have had to be carefully considered is whether Johnson ‘believed’ that Bishop had carried out the murders, at the time. If she did not ‘believe’ he did, then her actions can be understood, as the police have been proven to fit people up for things they haven’t done – take the Jill Dando murder and the fitting up of Barry George for example.
Surely, if she thought he had carried out those horrendous murders, and as a mother of 3 young children, she couldn’t possibly have wanted to protect him by lieing in court.
Jennifer Johnson said in court that she knew that the Pinto sweatshirt belonged to Russell Bishop but had previously lied about this.
She said that Bishop told her to change her statement to the police in which she identified the sweatshirt as his.
She said that Bishop had told her that forensic evidence linked the sweatshirt to the murderer and to the two girls.
We know now that this is true.
In the witness box, she accepted that she knew that Bishop’s words meant that he was the killer.
She didn’t want to believe it and she said that she didn’t believe that he had acted alone because he had a bad shoulder.
The police who investigated this case did not fit anyone up.
Well whoever you are Peter Reuben, take it from me she knew bishop had committed these terrible crimes, maybe not at once but in a relatively short space of time. I am the mother of karen hadaway one of the children who this murdering psychopathic peadopile killed. You can believe this wicked women went out of her way to lie for him for well over 7yrs after he killed my daughter karen and her friend nicola and attacked another 7 yr old girl 3 years after he was acquitted of the double murder of 2 little 9yr old girls. jennifer johnson has lied for 34 yrs. Are you for real saying ‘her actions can be understood’? Are you a part of ‘team bishop’ with your lack of knowledge about this case? no fit up by the police, just johnson identifying the vital piece of evidence then denying and lying on oath that it was not his ‘pinto’ sweatshirt. In terms of the degree of planning, she was very much a part of the concerted attempt by team bishop to to secure his acquittal. You try fighting for 32 years for justice when proved in 2018 beyond any doubt that the pinto sweatshirt was worn by the evil monster bishop and that he wore it when he murdered my beautiful little girl karen and her friend nicola. His dna was also on my daughters arm and johnsons dna was on the sweatshirt. So theres a bit of education for you, a little bit of fact and certainly the truth. Now is there anything else you would like to ask before you open your mouth before you get your brain in gear.
Peter Reuben.
Before you go commenting on something you clearly have no knowledge of, may I suggest you actually take the time to find out the facts.
That woman WAS and STILL is a compulsive liar.
She stood in that witness box in 1987 at Bishops trial and lied through her teeth, to help free that sick, twisted, evil man.
Please, ask yourself this:
If she was so scared of him why was she still defending him in 1990 when he committed his next attack this time of a 7 year old child ?
When the police went to arrest him for this crime jenny johnson attacked one of the officers and told them they was trying to fit Bishop up. She was still writing to him in prison, telling him how much she loved him and still carried on visiting him aswell.
Bishop was locked up that was her chance to escape but did she ? No she didn’t.
She stayed in Brighton with those poor children of hers and because everybody knew who their dad was they lived a life of hell.
Why didn’t she get out of Brighton ?
In 1993 Bishop attempted to sue Sussex police for wrongful arrest and force imprisonment. At this time he had been in prison for 3 years and guess what ? She was still defending him saying he was an innocent man.
She knew what she was doing when she walked into that witness box she would of done anything to keep her man as she was obsessed with him.
Lyndsey and Michelle
I’m sorry, I don’t want to offend you or anybody else, and can assure you I’m not part of ‘team Bishop’
I only know what’s been reported in the media about this terrible case. I realise people like Bishop are extremely rare and if you were involved in a relationship with someone like that, I think you wouldn’t want to believe they were capable of carrying out such horrrendous crimes.
I also recall that another witness said that Barry Fellows had made a pornographic film with his own daughter and wonder why this person was also not prosecuted for perjury, as I know that Barry Fellows was badly affected by that allegation. I don’t know any of these people personally but do feel the police are partly responsible for not getting Bishop convicted in the first trial.