'I was Britain’s most hated person': Colin Stagg’s 'lonely' life after Rachel Nickell 'honeytrap' scandal and his huge 'squandered' payout
'All I've ever wanted is a quiet life'
Colin Stagg was once believed to be responsible for Rachel Nickell’s death. Almost 35 years later, he appears in a new Netflix documentary about the case – and it’s clear he’s still “affected” by it.
Nickell, a 23-year-old mother of one, died in July 1992. She’d been out with her son, Alex, in Wimbledon Common when she was attacked. More specifically, she was stabbed 49 times, sexually assaulted, and left to die. Her child, who survived, was the only eyewitness.
Keith Pedder, the case’s lead detective with the Metropolitan Police, honed in on a suspect: Stagg, a man who roughly met a description of someone seen near the scene, and someone who was known to walk his dog in the area.
However, despite the police’s best efforts to pin it on him, he was innocent.
Who is Colin Stagg?
Colin Stagg was held in custody for over a year in relation to Rachel Nickell’s death, only to be later acquitted of all charges.
With no forensic, hard evidence to link Stagg to Nickell, the police tasked Paul Britton, a criminal psychologist who interviewed Dennis Nilsen and the Wests in prison, with creating an offender profile of the killer.
“What they got from me is a point-by-point psychological analysis,” he explains in the doc.
From Britton’s perspective, the killer had to be under 30, live locally, have few friends and solitary hobbies, and be interested in martial arts and pornography.
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The police then went to Stagg, who admitted to being around the Common when Nickell was killed. His flat was also described as a “strange set-up”, with zodiac, gothic, and pagan imagery and paraphernalia scattered around the apartment.
However, while he was the only suspect, they still didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. So, they come up with another idea.
How Colin Stagg was ‘honeytrapped’
Police received a call from a woman who’d conversed with Stagg via a lonely hearts column. According to the police, he’d made her feel quite uncomfortable – which led to an audacious, controversial undercover operation.
‘Lizzie James’ (whose real identity has never been revealed), an undercover office, posed as a friend of this woman. She struck up a fake, affectionate relationship with Stagg, in an attempt to get information from him – and, ideally, a confession.
Stagg opened up to James about his own “violent” fantasies, but he never admitted to any role in Nickell’s death. Nevertheless, police used the findings from the operation to charge him.
He was held in jail for 13 months. When his case finally reached the Old Bailey in September 1994, the judge (Mr Justice Ognall) was appalled. He scolded the police for “deceptive conduct of the grossest kinds”, and Stagg was entirely acquitted.
Police apologise for ‘huge impact’ on Colin Stagg’s life
Fourteen years later, in 2008, Scotland Yard offered a full apology to Stagg in the wake of Robert Napper’s conviction for Nickell’s death.
“In August 1993, he was wrongly accused of Miss Nickell’s murder. It is clear he is completely innocent of any involvement in this case and I today apologise to him for the mistakes that were made in the early 1990s,” Assistant Commissioner John Yates said.
“We also recognise the huge and lasting impact this had on his life and, on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I have today sent him a full written apology.”
When Napper was convicted for Nickell’s death (manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility), he also asked his lawyer to apologise on his behalf to Stagg.
“He realises how dreadful that period of time in Mr Stagg’s life must have been,” David Fisher QC said (via The Guardian).
In 2001, Pedder (who took early retirement) told ITV that the system didn’t “serve anybody that particular day”.
“Colin Stagg has been through a version of justice, albeit truncated, and he has been found not guilty. But I wonder whether he can actually say hand on heart that he believes people will meet him in the street and believe that,” he said.
Where is Colin Stagg now?
Stagg, believed to be 62 years old, was last reported to be living in Farnborough with his dog, Taz.
“I was Britain’s most hated person for about 15 years. So many stories were made up about me – like I was the worst person who ever lived. I know I had to go through it by myself. There was no counselling or support – no one wanted to know,” he said (via the Express).
“It still affects me now and the mind wanders and you start thinking about it all. Speaking about it to a crowd helps in some way – to get it off my chest.
“Lots of people didn’t know about the truth and what police were saying was all lies – that only came to light years later. Speaking about it now is some sort of cathartic experience. I am still a lonely person, I live alone with my dog but talking like this does help.”
Despite being acquitted, his connection to the Nickell case made him “almost unemployable”.
Speaking in 2025, he revealed he was “going back on tour” with Jon Ronson, a journalist, author, and podcaster.
“He introduces me as a special guest and I discuss the case. While many have forgotten, the older generation all recognises me. I talk about how the honeytrap occurred – how they entrapped me and the phycological impact it had on me,” he explained.
“It has been like therapy for me. The first show I did not know what I was getting into in front of a live audience with thousands of people.”
How Colin Stagg lost his £706k payout
Stagg received £706,000 from the Home Office as compensation for the police’s failings, but it’s all gone.
“I helped a lot of people out – my ex-partner, family and friends. I bought them cars each. But some people I thought were friends turned their back on me when the money dried up,” he told The Sun in 2023.
“I was not living the high life, I didn’t go on exotic holidays or anything like that. I bought a decent car and just lived the way I did. My bills were always paid – but I was let down by people I trusted.”
Stagg also said he gave almost half a million pounds to charity, as well as decorating his council house.
“I was left homeless”
In 2023, Stagg revealed he was homeless and living in temporary accommodation, where he wasn’t always allowed to see his dog. “With Taz not with me I do feel a little trapped,” he said.
“It’s a terrible shock being homeless at my age. All I’ve ever wanted is a quiet life.
“I never had big ambitions but I certainly didn’t see myself spending my 60th birthday in a homeless hostel.”
Thankfully, it didn’t last long. In his 2025 interview, he explained that the council found a “very quiet” home for him, where he’s “happy”.
Read more: New documentaries and true crime on TV and streaming this month
