BILLIE-JO Jenkins brutal murder on the patio of her seaside home in 1997 remains one of Britain’s most infamous unsolved cases.
Here we look at who she was and what happened to her.
Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins?
Billie-Jo Margaret Jenkins was a schoolgirl who was beaten to death at her home in Hastings, East Sussex, in February 1997.
She was born on March 29, 1983, in East London.
When she was nine years old, her biological father was imprisoned, and she was placed in foster care.
Foster family
Billie-Jo moved in with Siôn and Lois Jenkins — who coincidentally had the same last name.
Siôn and Lois 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 of becoming an actor.
On February 15, 1997, 13-year-old Billie-Jo was found in the back garden of the family home, bludgeoned to death with an iron tent peg.
Fateful afternoon
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 was 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 returned to the house following a trip to a DIY store with his two oldest daughters, he found Billie-Jo dying, in a pool of blood.
Prime suspect
Police initially asked Siôn to make a public appeal for any information, but shortly after he became the prime suspect.
He was arrested nine days later on suspicion of murder, and was charged with murder on March 14, 1997.
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.
Blood spatter
During the investigation, police discovered 148 tiny spots of Billie-Jo’s blood on Siôn’s 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.
But 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.
Acquittal
In the two retrials following, the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Siôn was formally acquitted in 2006.
Sussex Police have since maintained that there are no plans to reopen the murder investigation.
Murder on the Patio: Who Killed Billie-Jo?
A documentary examining the unsolved case called Murder on the Patio: Who Killed Billie-Jo? will be broadcast on Channel 5.
It airs at 10pm on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, and will be repeated an hour later on Channel 5+1.
It delves into how and why Billie-Jo’s foster father Siôn was initially convicted of the murder, only to be acquitted following a high-profile appeal and two retrials at the Old Bailey.
