Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins and what happened to her?
SCHOOLGIRL Billie-Jo Jenkins was hoping for a new life with her foster family in East Sussex, when he was brutally bludgeoned to death in 1997.
Her case is one of the UK's most high-profile unsolved murders, and the subject of a new Channel 5 documentary, Who Killed Billie-Jo?
Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins?
Billie-Jo Margaret Jenkins was a British girl who was beaten to death in her home in Hastings, East Sussex in February 1997.
Billie-Jo Jenkins was born on March 29, 1983 in East London.
When she was nine years old, her biological father was imprisoned, and Jenkins was placed in foster care with Siôn and Lois Jenkins, who already had four daughters of their own.
Billie-Jo spent five years with the family, in their home in Hastings, on the East Sussex coast, and was described as "fun-loving", with dreams to become an actor.
On February 15, 1997, 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins was found in the back garden of the family home, bludgeoned to death with an iron tent peg.
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What happened to her?
On that fateful afternoon on February 15 1997, 13-year-old foster child Billie-Jo was painting the patio doors at the back of the house when she struck at least five times on the head in a shocking attack.
She was reportedly alone at the time, with the rest of her family out of the property.
When foster dad Siôn Jenkins returned to the house following an aborted trip to a DIY store, with his two oldest daughters, he found Billie-Jo dying, in a pool of her blood.
Police initially asked Siôn to make a public appeal for any information, but shortly after he became the main suspect.
He was arrested nine days later on suspicion of murder, and was charged with murder on March 14.
Siôn – father to Annie, 12 at the time of the murder, Lottie, 10, Esther, nine and Maya, seven – has always maintained his innocence and claims a prowler could have been responsible for the murder.
During the investigation, police discovered 148 tiny spots of Billie-Jo's blood on Siôn Jenkins' trousers and fleece jacket.
The prosecution argued that their size and distribution were consistent with "impact spatter", sprayed during the frenzied attack on Billie-Jo.
However, the defence argued that a fine spray of blood was breathed out by Billie-Jo on her foster dad when he went to her aid as she lay dying.
Siôn spent six years in jail following his sentence.
In the two retrials following, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and Siôn was formally acquitted in 2006.
Sussex Police have since maintained that there are no plans to re-open the murder investigation.
But 25 years after the murder, police carried out a forensic review of exhibits from the scene.
The Sussex Police said: “We are carrying out a forensic review of material to establish whether or not scientific advances can provide new lines of inquiry.”
When is Who Killed Billie-Jo? on Channel 5?
The one-off documentary of the murder, called Who Killed Billie-Jo? will air on February 10, 2022.
You can catch the action on Channel 5 from 9pm.
The documentary – which will look into what happened on the day of the murder – will last for two hours.
It will also be available to watch on My5.
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