A new TV documentary is examining the case of Colchester double murderer James Fairweather on Sunday, March 19.
The first episode of Teens Who Kill, airing on the CBS Reality channel, tells the story of the case from the killing of James Attfield on March 29, 2014, right through to Fairweather’s conviction on two counts of murder after a jury rejected his defence of diminished responsibility.
Criminologists and psychologists will explain the complex factors that led Fairweather – aged just 15 – to fatally stab Mr Attfield, and then University of Essex student Nahid Almnea almost three months later.
During his trial, Fairweather’s defence claimed the teenager had heard voices which had instructed him to kill, to “make a sacrifice” – otherwise bad things would happen to him.
The two-week trial also heard how Fairweather had nurtured an obsession with serial killers, violent films and pornography, and had become a loner.
Also appearing in the documentary are university staff, local councillors, Mr Attfield’s sister Jo Robinson, and Fairweather’s defence barrister Simon Spence QC, as well as East Anglian Daily Times Essex editor Will Lodge, who covered the case from the first murder to Fairweather’s conviction.
Mr Lodge said: “The murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea led to a period of fear in Colchester where residents were concerned to walk alone in case there was another attack.
“When James Fairweather was arrested, and then tried, the shocking details which emerged during the court case – such as how he had stabbed both victims in the eye, and how he had spent hours looking for other victims – gripped the town.
“Although almost a year has passed now since Fairweather was sentenced, the case is still one of huge interest to Colchester residents, and this documentary will certainly prove fascinating to watch.”
The hour-long show also includes clips from Fairweather’s videoed police interview, during which he details his attacks, as well as reconstructions of the events.
Broadcast just ten days before the third anniversary of Mr Attfield’s death, and 11 months after Fairweather, from Colchester, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years of a life sentence in prison.
Episode one of the ten-part Teens Who Kill series airs on CBS Reality (Sky 146 / Virgin 148 / Freesat 135 / Freeview 66) on Sunday, March 19 at 10pm. The show was produced by Peninsula Television.
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