Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by Lucy Bowden, Netflix’s ‘The Murder of Rachel Nickell’ is a documentary film carefully chronicling the brutal July 1992 homicide of the titular young mother in broad daylight. The 23-year-old was walking her dog in the company of her toddler son, Alexander Louis Hanscombe, on Wimbledon Common in London, England, when she was attacked from behind. She was sexually assaulted and stabbed 49 times in front of her 2-year-old, with a passerby later finding him clinging to her bloody remains while repeating the words, “Wake up, Mummy.”
Alex Hanscombe Was the Only Witness to His Mother’s Murder
Alexander “Alex” Hanscombe was born in 1989 to young couple Rachel Nickell and André Hanscombe as their only child — he was reportedly a surprise, but he was joyously welcomed. The fact that his existence was the result of the deep love they shared was not lost on them, so they honed in on their commitment to ensure they could give him the best life imaginable. Therefore, she chose to transition from a local lifeguard and a full-time university student to a proud stay-at-home mother, whereas he served as a professional motor delivery dispatcher.
Alex thus came into this world in a loving, supportive environment, which remained consistent over the ensuing years as his parents knew how to adjust to each new chapter of their lives. According to André, he and his partner both adored their little boy, but the mother-son duo was definitely more of a unit as “he was the center of Rachel’s attention every day.” So, it was no surprise that while the father was leaving for work on the morning of July 15, 1992, the pair also stepped out together to walk the family dog in nearby Wimbledon Common.
Little did anybody know that things would never be the same for the young family as Rachel was attacked from behind while they were passing through a secluded area of the Common. As per records, the assailant brandished a knife, sexually assaulted the 23-year-old, and then stabbed her a total of 49 times across her neck and chest, all in front of 2-year-old Alex. It was shortly after that they were found by a passerby, with the toddler having stuck some paper to her forehead as a bandage and clinging to her while repeatedly asking her to wake up.
Alex Hanscombe Grappled With His Trauma for Years
Alex was rushed to a nearby hospital immediately upon being found, but he was physically unharmed as the assailant had reportedly only knocked him over before starting to attack Rachel. However, he was traumatized since he experienced a grave loss as well as witnessed his mother’s homicide, which his father believes impacted him to his core in more ways than one. What’s more is that since he was the sole witness to the incident, he was essentially asked to relive it all over and over again by authorities whenever they interviewed him.
It didn’t matter that officials were careful about directing the questions to Alex through a child psychologist and his father, because it was still distressing for him to remember the attack. The almost 3-year-old – his birthday was weeks away – even broke down in tears at one point when they returned to the crime scene to pay their respects and hopefully garner more details. Nevertheless, he was still able to provide investigators with key information regarding the overall attack, the assailant’s description, and the fact that he washed his hands in a creek before walking away. André ultimately decided it was time to remove his son from the situation, not only because of the police interviews but also because he began fearing for their lives after media circulation of their images.
It was roughly 7 months after Rachel’s murder that Alex found himself relocating to France, and later Spain, which is where he grew up in an environment his father built while keeping his mother in mind. According to their accounts, they ended up having some great years despite the case remaining unsolved, only for the survivor’s teenage years to bring many new challenges into their lives. Alex’s trauma was so deep that it reportedly came out in the form of anger, criminality, and resentment when he was a teenager, as per Andre in the aforementioned production. The father claims his son never did anything major, but “the police were on the doorstep on occasions,” that is, until the latter dropped out of school at 16 to avoid their internal conflict and begin his own life.
Although a Man of Many Hats, Alex Hanscombe’s Focus Today is to Keep His Mother’s Memories Alive
“I was not always protected,” Alex candidly said in an interview with The Times. “I was able to provide a picture-perfect description of the assailant, the weapon, his movements, so there was little more I could offer the police, but I was asked to constantly relive my worst day, and there was a cost… There was something demonic in taking a child back to it again and again. If my father hadn’t taken me away, there’s no telling what my life would have become.” However, he also admitted in the documentary that because of the distress and trauma he had already endured, he lost some trust as well as some respect for Andre as he grew up. He said, in part, “The fundamental point was that he was the protector of the family as the father and, you know, unfortunately, had allowed this to happen to us,” despite his best intentions, resulting in his anger and their internal conflict when he was a teenager.
From what we can tell, Alex’s decision to step away from everything at age 16 to focus on his own life helped him grow a lot, so he and Andre are now able to have a positive father-son relationship. According to records, he kick-started his career as a teenager as a car mechanic before later embracing his passion for music. He was so determined to establish a name for himself in the industry that he even returned to England at one point and trained to become a professional session musician. Yet since then, the artist has also expanded his wings to study graphology (the science of handwriting analysis), evolve into a certified hypnotherapist, and delve into the practice of yoga.
Nevertheless, it’s imperative to note that while Alex was doing his best to move forward in life, it was only in 2008 that he felt some relief as his mother’s assailant pleaded guilty to manslaughter. In 2010, the Metropolitan Police Service apologized for their mistakes in handling Rachel’s case, but they have always vehemently denied the accusation that they overlooked Alex’s or Andre’s concerns because of their race. Since then, Alex has been awarded £90,000 (roughly $120,000) by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for the way he was repeatedly asked to revisit the events of the 1992 homicide. Therefore, today, the author of ‘Letting Go: A True Story of Murder, Loss, and Survival by Rachel Nickell’s Son’ (2015) is focusing on his long-term goal of one day establishing a Foundation in his mother’s name. Until then, the Barcelona, Spain, resident is happy to keep her memories alive in his heart, travel to his heart’s desire, and work alongside his father to publish a collection of children’s books. We should mention that the father-son duo has even served as consultants on both ‘The Witness’ and ‘The Murder of Rachel Nickell.’
Read More: Where is Alex Cooper Now? Update on the Conversion Therapy Survivor
