Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop a ‘coward’ as families tell him to confess before he dies of cancer in jail

THE heartbroken families of the Babes in the Wood victims have urged “coward” Russell Bishop to come clean before he dies in jail.

The monster strangled nine-year-old pals Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Wild Park near Brighton in 1986.

Russell Bishop is dying in prison

Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows were killed in Brighton in 1986

Bishop was finally jailed for the double murder in 2018 – 32 years after controversially being acquitted.

But the fiend, who is dying of cancer in jail, has always maintained his innocence – with the girls’ families now urging him to confess before he dies.

In a joint statement, they told The Mirror: “Russell Bishop has a chance to come clean before he dies unless he is a bigger coward than he has always seemed.

“And if he doesn’t have the guts to confess his crimes and admit his guilt, he will be the loser, so our message to him is simple.

“We don’t need your admission of what you did to our beautiful girls. Your refusal doesn’t matter to us.

“We are satisfied with the correct verdicts of the Old Bailey jury in December 2018. You are guilty on both counts of their murders and you are the creation of your own guilt-ridden demise. But your admission would show you have finally had the courage to take responsibility for your despicable crimes.”

Karen and Nicola had gone to buy chips before making their way to Wild Park – just half a mile from their homes – where they played until dusk.

They were discovered dead the next day in a woodland den with a post mortem revealing they had been strangled and sexually abused.

Bishop later told a neighbour the vision of them lying across each other was a sight he would never forget.

And he gave harrowing details of the murder scene only the killer could have known – including how one of the girls had foam around her mouth.

The fiend went on trial for murder a year later but was acquitted.

He later lapped up publicity and vowed to “keep fighting” in sickening TV interviews until the killer was caught.

Bishop went on to kidnap and attempt to strangle a seven-year-old girl – leaving her for dead at Devil’s Dyke.

While he was serving a life prison for the brutal attack, the monster went on trial for a second time for the girls’ killing in 2018 after the double-jeopardy law changed.

He was finally convicted of murdering Nicola and Karen in just two hours by jurors and caged until at least 2054 when he turns 88.

Bishop has now been told he is dying from brain cancer in jail and could have just weeks to live.

AlamyNicola Fellows was killed by Russell Bishop[/caption]

AlamyBishop is also serving a sentence for the murder of Karen Hadaway[/caption]