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Hashtag Homicide - Season 1 Episode 6 - The Murder of Ellen
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00:11Ellen was known by everyone as being very bubbly, very smiley, an ideal teenager.
00:17Ellen, like most teenagers, very active on her phone, on social media.
00:22She had taken an afternoon away from her college and had gone to a local beauty spot.
00:27She used Snapchat to send a message to her friends.
00:32That was the last message that she sent.
00:35Ellen had never been missing before, so when she didn't return home, it was very concerning.
00:42Utilisation of social media was really, really key to gaining information about what had happened to her.
00:49And that local area is such a close-knit community.
00:52It's not unusual that someone would have heard of Ellen, even if they weren't friends with her.
00:57All of our digital interactions, social media posts, for example, we leave behind breadcrumbs, digital breadcrumbs.
01:05That information can be very useful for investigators.
01:10People will know Ellen. She goes to the local college.
01:12She's got lots of friends. Her family are known in the area.
01:15And so even just that was sending ripples through this small community.
01:20They spotted something which looked suspicious.
01:24What looked like a human running away from the scene.
01:28Was that person Ellen? Was she injured? Was she lost?
01:47When Ellen Higginbottom didn't arrive home from college on Friday, alarm bells rang for her family.
01:53They contacted the police and hours later, their worst fears were realised.
02:09Wigan is a town just out of Manchester, which is in the northwest of England.
02:14Wigan itself as a town is relatively small.
02:16And then Oral, where Ellen Higginbottom lived, is kind of a suburb of Wigan.
02:22So Oral is within the borough of Wigan.
02:24It's a nice village-type area.
02:27Most people traditionally will know each other.
02:30It also has a really beautiful water park, which is a great attraction for local people.
02:37Oral is known for being very leafy, very green, lots of big open space and expanse, and quite a small
02:43community feel.
02:45Oral is home to 18-year-old student Ellen Higginbottom.
02:50Ellen was known by everyone as being very bubbly, very smiley.
02:54She loved animals, loved horse riding.
02:56Yes, Ellen had a nice circle of friends, including a boyfriend who she got along really well with.
03:02Her ambition was to study to become a veterinary surgeon, ultimately.
03:08The sixth form college, where Ellen was doing at A-levels, Winstanley College, is very close to Oral Water Park.
03:15It's just behind it, which means you can walk to Oral Water Park quite easily from the college.
03:21Oral Water Park, which is a nice sort of country park, is popular for students to visit during lunch breaks
03:28and things like that.
03:31On June 16th, 2017, Ellen decides to visit Oral Water Park in between her exams.
03:40Ellen Higginbottom left college at around 12.30, 12.45, went to Oral Water Park, which is just behind the
03:47college.
03:47Ellen specifically said to her friends,
03:54Ellen, like most teenagers, very active on her phone, on social media.
03:59So even though she's out on this walk, she's still in kind of constant communication with her friends.
04:04At 1.43pm in the afternoon, she used Snapchat to send a message to her friends.
04:11It's a jokey message about how she'd only been there for 20 minutes and she was already lost.
04:16That was the last message that she sent and the last known communication with anybody that she knows.
04:25After Ellen didn't arrive to meet her friends as she'd agreed, they were understandably a bit concerned, a bit worried
04:30about her.
04:31But it was very unusual for her to not stick to her words.
04:34She wasn't replying to them on her phone.
04:36And so they went to look for her.
04:38They went to the park, which is where they thought she would be, but they couldn't find any trace of
04:42her.
04:43Ellen had never been missing before.
04:45So when she didn't return home and she hadn't met friends as arranged, it was very concerning.
04:52The sort of unique feature of Snapchat is that the message or the photo doesn't last very long.
04:57It disappears pretty quickly after it's been received.
05:00Although it can be retrieved by police in serious criminal investigations.
05:04And the people who use Snapchat often refer to the messages that they send as snaps.
05:10So Ellen was due to meet some friends after they'd finished their exams, which she didn't show.
05:15Now that was really out of character for Ellen.
05:17Her Snapchat location pinpointed her as being at Oral Water Park.
05:22So police and family were aware that she had at least been in the park.
05:25So that's why Snapchat was actually employed to see whether she was still in the water park and where she
05:30actually was.
05:34Friends and family became really worried.
05:37By about seven o'clock, her dad had actually phoned Greater Manchester Police to report that she was missing.
05:43I was the senior investigating officer covering the whole of the force area.
05:47So you're on for either the whole weekend or you're on for that particular day that's during the week.
05:54Mark Higginbottom calls the police and explains that Ellen is missing.
05:58This is extremely out of character.
06:00He's concerned for her welfare.
06:01And after a little while, she's listed as a level two missing person.
06:05That means that she is high risk.
06:07She is young.
06:08This is out of character for her.
06:10And so she is listed as a high priority.
06:13However, at this same time, this same evening, there are a number of other incidents ongoing.
06:17There's a couple of burglaries locally.
06:19A lot of police resources have been put over to a different case that's unfolding.
06:24There are not enough units to immediately assign to go and interview Mike Higginbottom to find out what's going on.
06:31And it leads to Mike coming to call the police three times.
06:35But ultimately, it ends up that he's waiting for four plus hours to even be able to speak to a
06:40police officer in person about the fact that Ellen's missing.
06:43It's been incredibly frustrating and incredibly upsetting for the family that they had to go through this wait because of
06:49lack of resource.
06:50After delays from police, the search for Ellen Higginbottom finally begins on the night of June 16th.
06:57Meanwhile, her friends turn to social media, hoping it will help locate her.
07:02At about the time that Ellen's father called the police, her friends launched an online appeal to try to find
07:09her.
07:09They were really worried because they'd had arrangements to meet up with her that day.
07:14All of our digital interactions, social media posts, for example, we leave behind breadcrumbs, digital breadcrumbs, some of which can
07:23be quite invisible, maybe.
07:24We often call this metadata.
07:25When we post something online using a social media platform, very often there is metadata included in that post, things
07:33like a timestamp and a location.
07:36That information can be very useful for investigators in building a picture of where a person was at any given
07:46moment.
07:48Her friends and family tried to utilize social media to determine what had happened to her.
07:54So even before the police were called, people were putting on different social media platforms information about Ellen.
08:01Where was she last seen? Has anybody heard from her? This was incredibly out of character.
08:05So her family really tried to utilize social media as a way of determining what had happened to Ellen.
08:13Despite extensive efforts from both her loved ones and law enforcement, Ellen's whereabouts remain a mystery.
08:21They would be deployed to the area because we knew that an image had been taken and uploaded onto social
08:27media by Ellen,
08:29basically saying she was lost, but they knew that it was a little jokey way that she had with her
08:34to say something like that.
08:35That was geo-located and the fact that they recognized the area, they knew that that was in Oral Water
08:42Park area.
08:43And for that reason, when the police became involved, they also went to search that area.
08:49You have to remember as well, in small little suburbs like this, there's a very village-y feel.
08:54Everyone knows everyone.
08:55And so when Ellen Higginbottom was at first reported as missing, people will know Ellen.
09:00She goes to the local college, she's got lots of friends, her family are known in the area.
09:04And so even just that was sending ripples through this small community.
09:09As the search party carries on into the early hours of June 17th, police turn to the skies, deploying a
09:16helicopter in the hope of spotting Ellen from above.
09:21Heat tracking or thermal imaging cameras, as they're better known, work by detecting infrared radiation or body heat from objects
09:30and living people.
09:31Now, particularly when attached to helicopters or drones, they can be incredibly useful in surveying a large area very, very
09:41quickly.
09:42Later that evening, a police helicopter armed with a thermal imaging camera was scouring the area, trying to find signs
09:49of Ellen.
09:50And then they spotted something which looked suspicious, and it was what looked like a human running away from the
09:58scene, actually in an adjacent field, not in the water park itself.
10:03Was that person Ellen?
10:05Was she injured?
10:06Was she lost?
10:08When the police finally arrived at the scene, their worst fears were realised.
10:14A body had been discovered.
10:16I was actually contacted at 2.45am on the 17th of June 2017.
10:22I was informed that the body of a young female had been found in circumstances which suggested this could be
10:30the missing person that had been reported.
10:35Sadly, they did find Ellen murdered.
10:38She'd been dead for some time, but somebody else obviously had been there.
10:44What was the connection between the person that they saw running away from the scene of the crime and Ellen?
10:50From the injuries that were initially seen, from the initial scene assessment by the officers attending, and how they'd been
10:57relayed to the night detective inspector, there was a good reason to believe that it could be a homicide.
11:03The body is identified as Ellen Higginbottom, and the person seen fleeing the scene could very well be her killer.
11:27On June 17th, 2017, Ellen Higginbottom is found dead in a field in Oral, a suburb of Wigan, in Greater
11:36Manchester.
11:37The day before, she had been reported missing after going for a walk in Oral Waterpark.
11:43Ellen Higginbottom's body was found at around 2.30am on Saturday, the 17th of June 2017.
11:51So in Oral, this crime, this murder of Ellen Higginbottom, stood out as shocking to the local community.
11:59It was so violent, it was so extreme, and it was targeting such a young member of the community that
12:05this really rocked that local area to their core.
12:08It did receive national coverage as well.
12:11This was a huge crime.
12:13The brutality of it, the violence of it, the vulnerability and innocence of the victim, this sent shockwaves, not just
12:20through the local community, but throughout the country.
12:23I subsequently attended the scene, informed the forced duty officer and the NIDI that I'd be assuming responsibility in command
12:30and control as a senior investigating officer.
12:33Ensured that some initial fast-track actions had been implemented, one of which is to ensure that the scene was
12:40fully preserved and that it was large enough to cover all access and egress routes into, to and from the
12:47area where the discovery had been made.
12:49And also that a common approach path was used, and that there was an RV point for officers to meet
12:56at, and the scene was covered by officers with scene logs also.
13:00Yes, so a key stage of the process in this case is to implement the overall investigative strategy, you know,
13:09that every opportunity to secure evidence had been made, any witnesses, details had been obtained, and that any information that
13:18was readily available was captured.
13:20From the state of the injury and the state of unrest, it was clear that it was clear that this
13:27was a case of homicide.
13:30If it wasn't for that message that she sent at 1.43 that afternoon, I think that the investigation of
13:38the case of her murder would have been very different.
13:41The police wouldn't have had the ability to target their investigation, target their search for her on the water park.
13:49As it happened, the time at which they were searching, using the helicopter with the temperature sensing technology, they were
13:57able to identify somebody running away from the spot, and that was so key in identifying where the body was,
14:05and also who may have been involved in it.
14:09Most people who are murdered are murdered by somebody who's known to them, and oftentimes either is or has been
14:15in an intimate relationship with them.
14:17When it became apparent through alibi inquiries and things of that nature, it was nobody close to Ellen who was
14:24involved in this.
14:25It became clear that it was the unthinkable, that this was a stranger.
14:30With Ellen's boyfriend and close circle cleared from the investigation, police widened their search to the public.
14:36With the help of social media, the story spreads throughout the community.
14:40The news did spread very quickly. There was significant community concerns around this.
14:46Murders are quite rare compared to other crime types anyway, and murders by a complete stranger are extremely rare, and
14:54this was no exception to a significant community concern.
14:58One of the things that would have been out of the ordinary for police upon finding Ellen's body was that
15:03she was actually half-clothed.
15:05There was also a spade found next to her body.
15:07She also had ligatures around her feet, and it looked like she'd been dragged using that ligature.
15:12That would have immediately indicated to officers that that was not a natural cause of death.
15:17Once officers discovered Ellen's body, they would have tried to preserve the scene as quickly and as effectively as they
15:23could have done,
15:23and that's where we have something called the golden hour. So there are golden hour tasks to try and preserve
15:28the scene
15:28and gain as much evidence as possible before it's lost to the elements or people coming across the scene.
15:34And it's called the golden hour because it's very self-explanatory in that that has to be done and secured
15:40as quickly as possible.
15:42Now a key part of the forensic strategy that I agreed with the crime scene manager was to take trace
15:50evidence samples from the deceased.
15:53These included swabs for DNA using sensitive sampling, DNA sampling techniques from a gent's belt, which was wrapped around Ellen's
16:02ankles.
16:03I deployed a forensic scientist, a biologist, and from blood pattern analysis, we know that's where she was killed before
16:09she was dragged through a hole in the hedge.
16:12From speaking with family, it was clear that a rucksack, laptop, phone, and house keys, among other things, were missing.
16:20They were not found at the scene. They were key aspects of evidence in this case.
16:25The data on devices is incredibly important digital evidence, and finding the files on there, maybe the deleted files as
16:35well, is one of the things that they'll want to do first of all.
16:37Social media posts can absolutely play a really important part in investigations in building a picture of the whereabouts and
16:45the timings of, whether it's victims, missing persons, or persons of interest.
16:49But there can be challenges in authenticating that and using it in proceedings.
16:55There are tools that are available to law enforcement that can help to create that chain of custody, that paper
17:03trail, if you like, audit trail,
17:04that proves that while the digital evidence was being collected, it hasn't been tampered in any way.
17:13When they discovered Ellen's body, police actually recovered a belt from the scene.
17:17It was obvious at this point that this was a belt that didn't belong to Ellen.
17:22Again, she was very slightly built, and it was actually a man's belt.
17:26So that was taken in to determine what DNA was on that piece of evidence.
17:31It was realised at that point that Ellen was probably moved to that location where she was found, rather than
17:36that being the location where she was ultimately killed.
17:40The scene would have given away various indicators that that was the case.
17:44So, for example, there may not have been the expected level of blood loss at that scene that there would
17:50have been given Ellen's injuries.
17:52The ground was disturbed in a way that looked like Ellen's body had been dragged to that particular location as
17:58well.
17:59Post-mortem examination that was carried out on Ellen showed that she had died because of serious wounds to her
18:06neck, most likely inflicted by a sizable knife.
18:11She also suffered injuries to her arm, and there were marks of strangulation as well.
18:16The pathologist thought that Ellen had put up a fight, that she'd tried to resist the attack.
18:23So although the helicopter picked up the heat source, when police actually arrived at that particular area, there wasn't anybody
18:30there.
18:31It was shown on the camera that that heat source was moving away from that area.
18:35That is when they ultimately discovered Ellen's body, and police put together that the person who was there was likely
18:41trying to cover their tracks by burying Ellen's body.
18:45That's what they determined from the fact that there was a spade there as well, and this was happening in
18:49the middle of the night.
18:51Ellen Higginbottom's social media engagement was crucial in the investigation, putting together the timeline of what had happened here.
18:59Her regular communication with her friends through things like Snapchat meant that there were geotags.
19:04It meant there were time stamps for exactly where she was at exactly what time, which helped the police to
19:09really be able to pinpoint exactly her movements and the time frames within which this attack had occurred.
19:16And that can be massively helpful in an investigation, because then the police are able to look at other bits
19:22of technology, things like CCTV.
19:24If they've now got a time frame to look within, that can be massively helpful to find other evidence.
19:30Aurel and that local area is such a close-knit community.
19:34It's not unusual that someone would have heard of Ellen, even if they weren't friends with her.
19:39So that utilisation of social media was really, really key to gaining information about what had happened to her.
19:48With the killer still at large, police appealed to the public in the hope of uncovering new leads.
19:54Together with the press office, I put together a comprehensive media strategy, including a media appeal that I conducted live
20:02at Wigan Police Station, which was an appeal for information.
20:05Anybody with any information that could lead to the identity of who had committed this horrific crime.
20:11But also a public reassurance message that we would have extra police patrols in the area to help people feel
20:17safe, because there was significant community impact from this crime in that area.
20:23Following the discovery of Ellen's body, the police made a media appeal asking for information from members of the public.
20:30A member of the public did come forward saying that they had seen a man acting suspiciously with a fire.
20:37We did receive useful information, which led to the identity and location of a male who was found in some
20:46woods with a campfire.
20:47And a key piece of evidence was there was in that fire Ellen's laptop, which was a Lenovo.
20:55Yeah, this individual, I made the policy decision to confer on him suspect status for the murder of Ellen for
21:01this reason and because of intelligence logs received about him suggesting he was involved and he was taken into custody
21:09for an interview.
21:11Investigators now have a suspect in custody for Ellen's murder, but he reveals he isn't the only one in possession
21:18of the murdered teenager's belongings.
21:34The body of 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom was discovered in a field in Oral, a suburb of Wigan in
21:40Greater Manchester, on June 17, 2017.
21:44The student had been stabbed and her clothes were in disarray, suggesting the attack was sexually motivated.
21:50Police have just arrested a 47-year-old man who was caught burning Ellen's belongings in a fire.
21:57He claims he did not act alone.
22:01So was subsequently interviewed in relation to the murder of Ellen Higginbottom.
22:05He denied being involved and we now know that he wasn't actually involved in the murder itself, but he did
22:10give us some significant information.
22:14Police made an initial arrest because of what they found burning in the field.
22:18So they'd found her laptop and the people who had tried to destroy that evidence gave the name of Mark
22:23Buckley to police.
22:24That's who they'd bought the laptop off.
22:28Police finally have a potential suspect, Mark Buckley.
22:33Mark Buckley first approaches a man called Ellen Higginbottom's items.
22:38He doesn't buy them.
22:39However, he is later charged with perverting the cause of justice, handling stolen goods after his part in this exchange.
22:47Buckley then approaches a couple where he again tries to sell Ellen Higginbottom's items.
22:55They do now purchase the phone and the laptop from him for a nominal amount of cash.
23:00And it's then later when online they start to hear about Ellen Higginbottom being missing and start to become aware
23:06of potentially what has happened to her and the fact they've got her items.
23:10That instead of calling the police to alert them to the fact they have potentially crucial evidence as to Ellen
23:17Higginbottom's whereabouts, they instead decide to try and destroy the evidence.
23:22They were friends from the local area.
23:25It was clear that the campfire and the burning of the laptop was a way to dispose of evidence that
23:31could link the offenders to the murder of Ellen.
23:35And for that reason, was subsequently charged with perverting the cause of justice and handling stolen goods and were also
23:45subsequently arrested and interviewed.
23:49During the interview, he did make admissions and stated that he believed Mark was responsible for the crime, the murder
23:57of Ellen.
23:57And it was Mark Buckley who had brought the items around that belonged to Ellen to his home address, along
24:04with the bloodstained clothing that Mark Buckley had been wearing when he committed the crime.
24:10He might have destroyed the evidence because he was in a self-protection mode.
24:16So this was very much about how do I avoid getting into trouble with the police.
24:21So when they initially handled the stolen goods, such as the phone and the laptop, they may not have been
24:25aware of where they come from.
24:26But as the investigation progressed, they did piece that together.
24:30And that's why they tried to destroy evidence to preserve their own freedom.
24:34The forensic strategy that I implemented with the crime scene manager included the fast-track submission of the trace evidence
24:43recovery DNA sampling that was taken from the Gents belt and a ligature that was found at the scene, among
24:50other things, for a fast-track analysis.
24:52This came back with the result that both the victim in this case, DNA, was on those items in the
24:59samples, but significantly there was a major male profile also that was uploaded to the National DNA Database, which came
25:08back with the result that it was the DNA belonging to Mark Buckley.
25:14On June 18, 2017, just one day after Ellen's body is discovered, police gather enough evidence to arrest their prime
25:24suspect, Mark Buckley.
25:34You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense.
25:37If you do not mention one question, something you'll let to a lining in cause, anything you do say may
25:43be given in evidence.
25:44Do you like to make any response to that?
25:48Err...
25:48Err...
25:49I don't know what I was...
25:49I don't know what I was going to...
25:53Err...
25:54I don't know what I was going to say.
25:55Yeah, I've got anything to say.
25:56Err...
25:57Anything to say to that?
25:59Err...
25:59Can you let me...
26:00Err...
26:01Yes, have you got keys on ya?
26:03Are there keys?
26:04Oh, the keys are there.
26:05Are there right?
26:05OK, well, we'll secure your property for you.
26:08Don't worry about that.
26:09We've got a warrant to service the property, which is here.
26:13Erm...
26:13So we'll do that at some stage.
26:24It's interesting to watch the footage of Buckley when he's arrested
26:27There is absolutely no evidence of emotion or surprise when he's arrested
26:32And the only thing that he requests is that the officers lock his house up
26:36If someone enters your house in the middle of the night
26:38And you wake up to find police and they're arresting you for murder
26:41It's a really unusual response
26:44You would imagine that someone who was innocent would respond to that
26:47In a very, you know, surprised and outraged manner
26:50But Buckley is extremely quiet
26:53He doesn't say anything
26:55He's sort of very wide-eyed
26:57When Buckley was arrested for the murder of Helen
27:00He didn't appear shot
27:02Part of the media strategy
27:04I released the body-worn footage to the media of the arrest
27:08And he was taken into custody
27:10You know, and I think it's clear that he knew then that the game was up
27:14And it would come on top for him
27:17So once Buckley had been taken to the station
27:19He would have been assessed about whether there was a risk of harm to himself
27:24Or to others
27:24He would have been offered the services of a solicitor at that point as well
27:30Mark Buckley had a criminal record
27:32They were mostly for things like arson, for criminal damage
27:36Both in the 90s and the 2010s
27:38So there was a history of crime
27:40He'd been to prison for a couple of years
27:42But there wasn't anything of this sexual and extreme violence against the person nature
27:49Mark Buckley was known in the area as being a bit odd
27:52Is the way that local people had described him at that point
27:56A bit of a loner
27:57A little bit unpredictable
27:58Had done some things in the local area
28:01Where that did not fit into the type of area that that was
28:04So he'd set someone's car on fire and burnt the car out
28:08He was actually moved out of the area
28:10As part of his parole conditions because of his behaviour
28:13But he'd actually spent some time at his mum's
28:15Who still lived in that area as well
28:17So that's why he was frequently back
28:18And he shouldn't have been staying over in that area
28:21He actually lived in Preston
28:23Once he was arrested
28:24Police followed up his movements
28:26Around the time of Ellen's disappearance
28:28And they noticed that he was walking his dog that day
28:31Tressed in an outfit
28:34Which did not fit the weather conditions for that day
28:36It was extremely hot
28:37And Buckley was walking his dog
28:39In a thick coat and long pants
28:42Carrying what looked like quite an empty carrier bag at that point
28:45A green bag
28:45On his way back
28:47The same camera caught him
28:49Suddenly wearing a vest and shorts
28:51So police supposed that at that point
28:53That the carrier bag contained bloodstained clothes
28:56And Mark had removed them
28:57As a sort of forensic countermeasure
29:00Mark Buckley had already approached a number of women
29:03Over the course of that day
29:05Starting at 5.30am
29:06So he'd been in this park for a long time
29:09Obviously trying to target specific victim profiles
29:13He was approaching lone women
29:15He was trying to strike up conversation
29:17He was following them
29:19People were feeling very uncomfortable by his presence
29:21So I think it's entirely likely that he was there
29:24Essentially lying in wait
29:26For a vulnerable
29:28And easy to attack victim
29:30And that's unfortunately what he found in Ellen
29:34As the evidence mounts
29:36A witness comes forward
29:37Claiming she may have heard the murder taking place
29:41A witness came forward to say that around 2.15pm
29:45She had heard what she'd thought at the time
29:47Was a couple engaging in sexual activity
29:49In the bushes
29:51That was near where Ellen Higginbottom's last known location was
29:55Ellen sends her last Snapchat message just before 2pm
30:00And shortly after this is when it's believed that Buckley encounters Ellen
30:04First on a path before he then drags her off into a more secluded area
30:08To commit at first his assault and then his murder
30:12The use of technology as well could massively help to corroborate witness statements
30:18So for instance in this case you have a witness who has said that they've heard
30:22What sounded like sexual activity noises at around 2.15pm
30:26And now the police also have this evidence from Ellen's phone
30:30Of her sort of whereabouts
30:32And the timings of exactly where she was
30:34Exactly what time
30:35And that allows them to corroborate those two bits of information
30:40To at least approximate the sort of timeline of the attack
30:46With the evidence against him mounting
30:48Mark Buckley confesses to the murder of Ellen Higginbottom
30:52Mark Buckley admitted in police interviews that he'd murdered Ellen
30:57With any major crime such as this
31:01The suspect interview is a key part of the overall investigative strategy
31:05And I deployed what we call a tier 5 specialist investigative interview advisor
31:11Ensuring that all the points to prove for the offence were covered in the interview
31:16Along with any evidence that had been collected
31:18The waste of that evidence I believe is what led to his admissions
31:24What we do know about his time within custody
31:28Is that he confessed to Ellen's murder reasonably quickly
31:31But he didn't give a motive
31:32He couldn't explain why he'd done it
31:34What he did maintain
31:36And that was throughout his trial as well
31:37Is that there was no sexual motive for Ellen's murder
31:41He really did downplay that sexual element of the crime
31:44And that could have been as a response of not wanting to be known as a sex offender
31:51Not wanting to be seen as a sexual deviant
31:53After Mark Buckley's arrest, police searched his property
31:58And they found what was described as a rape kit
32:02A carrier bag containing a packet of condoms, lubricant and ligatures
32:08The contents of Mark Buckley's bag makes it very clear
32:12That when he left the house that morning
32:14His entire intention of that day was to go out, subdue, sexually assault and murder a woman
32:22Buckley's denial that he'd sexually assaulted Ellen
32:26Told you everything about this individual
32:30About how selfish he was
32:32He was thinking only of himself
32:34And about how he'd be labelled or treated in prison
32:39It's early afternoon on June 16th 2017
32:42That Mark Buckley murders Ellen Higginbottom
32:45This is a bright summer's afternoon
32:48In a peaceful, tranquil location
32:52This is someone who single-mindedly left the house that day
32:55With the specific intention of subduing, sexually assaulting and murdering a woman
33:01And he didn't care where he was
33:03There were people out bird watching
33:05And he did not care the strength of his intention to commit this crime
33:11Prosecutors now face the task of preparing for trial
33:14While Mark Buckley has confessed to the murder
33:17The question is
33:18Do they have enough evidence to establish a sexual motive
33:22Which could lead to a longer sentence?
33:38The body of 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom was found in a field in Wigan, Greater Manchester
33:44On June 17th 2017
33:47A day after she was reported missing while walking in Oral Waterpark
33:5152-year-old Mark Buckley is arrested and charged with her murder
33:55Although he initially denies the crime
33:58He changes his plea to guilty when confronted with the evidence against him
34:04Buckley pleaded guilty to the murder of Ellen Higginbottom
34:07So a full trial wasn't required
34:09Yes, there were victim impact statements from Ellen's family
34:13Just setting out the awful impacts of this horrific crime
34:18There can never be anything even remotely approaching justice for what was done to Ellen
34:23But what can be done has been done
34:25We were tremendously lucky to have shared 18 years with her
34:29And everyone else who knew her will identify with that feeling
34:34She made the world a better place with pretty much everything she said and everything she did
34:39Thankfully this type of offence is extremely rare
34:42But I'd also assure them that Greater Manchester Police have the expertise and the resources
34:48To ensure that anybody who engages in this type of offence will be brought to justice
34:55There was a huge amount of evidence against Mark Buckley
34:58There was CCTV images of his movements on the day
35:02Going towards the park and then leaving the park
35:05There was forensic evidence that connected him to the crime
35:09And there was also, above all else, his confession
35:12Mark Buckley admitted that he had murdered Ellen Higginbottom
35:18After a brief trial, Mark Buckley is found guilty of the murder of Ellen Higginbottom
35:24Buckley is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years
35:29In the UK, the standard life imprisonment is 25 years
35:33And this can either be added to or taken away from
35:36Depending on aggravating or mitigating circumstances
35:39That's going to be things like the sexual motivation, the premeditation
35:43Specific targeting of a young vulnerable victim
35:46All of these things are going to add up to add additional minimum required jail time
35:52Whilst I think it's good that Buckley received a significant jail term for this crime
35:58I don't think there's any way that justice can feel that it's been served in an attack of this nature
36:03Ellen was 18 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her
36:07That was taken away, you know, in just a moment
36:11And a pre-planned moment at that
36:13So I think regardless of what sentence Buckley received
36:17There's no making up for that
36:19There is no way to get back the lost life and potential of this young woman
36:25This was a horrendous murder, horrendous case
36:28And it's deeply affected a lot of people
36:32You have an 18-year-old woman with her life ahead of her
36:36Whose life is cut short by an evil man
36:41And it's that collision between good and evil that I think really strikes me about this case
36:49Throughout the investigation on the court proceedings, Buckley never showed any remorse whatsoever
36:56And he really did downplay there was clearly a sexual motive to this crime
37:00It is unusual that Buckley is so ready to admit the fact that he's murdered this young woman
37:06But he's not willing to explain the motivation behind the attack as being a sexual one
37:12Now this might be from an element of shame
37:15But I actually think that this is all part of Buckley's intention to control
37:20Now remember he specifically targeted Ellen because she is physically able to be dominated by him
37:26So this is someone who wants to dominate, wants to control
37:29And I just think this is him controlling the narrative
37:32And in holding back this information, he is controlling this narrative still
37:39Buckley didn't just take Ellen's life but he also stole the innocence from her friends
37:44Who were studying for A-levels with her at Winstanley College
37:47And their lives will never be quite the same either
37:53There is no doubt about it that Mark Buckley is a violent offender
37:56And that he is a sexual deviant as well
37:59He displayed certain characteristics of that throughout his offending behaviours
38:05But nothing that would have flagged to police or probation or criminal justice services
38:09The severity of what would happen
38:11He was probably somebody who acted very confidently
38:14But really didn't fit in to his community or to society
38:18He felt he had a right to do whatever he wanted
38:20And he was going to treat Ellen in that way
38:22Regardless of what the consequences were
38:26Understandably, the local community was shook to its core by Ellen's murder
38:30This was a young and vibrant member of their community
38:34Taken in such horrific circumstances just on their doorstep
38:39It is undoubtedly going to have shaken the local feelings of safety
38:43And, you know, really disrupted an entire community
38:47And all of her friends and her partner, you know, going through this loss
38:51Is going to have been so significant
38:53The community in Oral was deeply affected by Ellen's murder
38:58This was a horrendous crime on someone who had her life ahead of her
39:02A much-loved student, friend and, of course, daughter
39:07Though Ellen Higginbottom's death deeply affected the community
39:11They came together to honour her memory
39:14The community came together and there's a lovely memorial to Ellen
39:20There's a bench next to Oral Water Park
39:23And, you know, that shows the strength of feeling that people had locally for Ellen
39:29And what tragically happened there
39:30And it's a beautiful memorial for a lovely young lady
39:34And a really fitting tribute to what a marvellous human being she was
39:39The college also opened a garden on their grounds in memory of Ellen
39:43And this was a place that students could go and sit and reflect on their loss
39:47But also just a beautiful representation of the vibrancy and the life that she brought to the community
39:54So Ellen's boyfriend left a Facebook post after she died
39:58Expressing his love for her and saying how much she had meant to him over the past two years
40:04And how he would always cherish her memory
40:07It was a very touching, moving message
40:10I think it's difficult for any sort of crime not to have an impact on a local community
40:16I think it's something which shakes a community to its core
40:19But also brings a community together
40:22And I think we see that from the memory garden that is in place for Ellen
40:27That speaks to her love of animals and her love of nature as well
40:34Over the last decade or more social media has become much more of a part of our daily lives
40:41And of course that provides great resource for law enforcement
40:45Everything that we post publicly can potentially provide useful evidence
40:50When investigators are trying to build up a picture of people's whereabouts
40:53But also it could be useful for unintentional witnesses
40:58People who didn't even realise that they were in the area where a crime was happening
41:04Historically an appeal for witnesses might have relied upon TV news or radio or the local newspaper
41:11To encourage people to come forward with information that they have
41:14But there's a natural time delay with that
41:16Social media enables police forces immediately
41:20And to a specific audience
41:23It enables them to reach out and get much faster feedback than would historically have been the case
41:31Although social media was useful in this case
41:34Because it enabled police to determine where Ellen was at the point that she lost contact with her friends and
41:40family
41:41It can also be incredibly detrimental to police investigations
41:44So it can be a positive but it can also really be a negative as well when it's used in
41:50the wrong way
41:51Or by people who aren't part of that investigation
41:55Despite all of the bad news stories around technology that I cover
41:59Personally I prefer to err on the side of optimism
42:02Change is always difficult
42:04But I do believe in the positives that technology can also bring
42:08Whether that's in healthcare, entertainment, education, social mobility, so many positives
42:13In serious criminal investigations, particularly in murder investigations
42:17Police are able to retrieve the data
42:20And they did that in this inquiry
42:22And it was absolutely crucial in helping solve the case
42:26The thing that sticks with me from a case such as this
42:29Is cases of homicide from complete strangers such as this
42:33Are thankfully extremely rare
42:36But the fact that they do occur
42:38It just shows the depth of depravity that sadly exists in some individuals within our society
42:45Social media is an extremely important part of the overall investigative strategy
42:51And it's clear in this case what an important strand it was
42:55Because the fact that it was through social media
42:58And uploading an image that Ellen had taken
43:01That was then identified by close friends as being in the Oral Water Park
43:06That's actually led the police search and informed the area that would be searched
43:13Many murders take place where the attacker knows their victim
43:19Police investigations in Ellen Hittingbottom's case
43:22Found no digital evidence, no forensic evidence of there ever having been any communication
43:29Between Mark Buckley and Ellen before
43:32This was a premeditated but totally random attack
43:37Ellen was in the wrong place unfortunately, at the wrong time
43:43Over eight years after Ellen was so brutally murdered and taken from us
43:48We're still talking about this case and
43:52Remembering her and the horror that she must have gone through before she died
43:57Whilst Ellen Hittingbottom was incredibly young
44:00There's no doubt that in that short period of life
44:03Before it was truly taken away from her
44:05She had such a huge impact on her local community
44:08On the people around her, her friends, her family
44:11I know that her memory will be living on locally
44:14And amongst those whose lives she touched
44:16musically
44:19Being focused
44:20Of sired
44:23Where the person around her
44:23Of sired
44:26On the person around her
44:27Who's being a person?
44:38On the person around her
44:54Transcription by CastingWords
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