Kriti Mehrotra
When André Hanscombe lost the love of his life, Rachel Nickell, in a frenzied attack on Wimbledon Common in London, England, on the morning of July 15, 1992, his heart was completely shattered. However, as explored in Netflix’s ‘The Murder of Rachel Nickell,’ his grief almost took a backseat in the days, weeks, months, and years to follow as his toddler son became his sole priority. The 2-year-old witnessed his mother’s fatal stabbing since he had tagged alongside her to walk the family dog, so the father’s subsequent choice was to just help him navigate the trauma.
André Hanscombe Was Wholly Committed to His Young Family
It was reportedly in 1988 that motor courier and semi-pro tennis athlete André Hanscombe encountered local swimming pool lifeguard Rachel Nickell by pure chance at her workplace. They developed such an immediate connection that he soon realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, a sentiment that only grew stronger as he got to know her. “She wasn’t at all drawn to the sparkly things,” he candidly said in the documentary. “She just really enjoyed the simple things of life. Enjoying the company of the people she really cared about.”
André believed his new girlfriend was someone who could squeeze fun out of the littlest things, which he witnessed firsthand when she unexpectedly fell pregnant with their son. Since she was merely 19 at the time and on track to earn a Bachelor’s degree, land a job, and kickstart a career, she was a little scared about this change until she realized she had support. The moment she learned her 25-year-old partner was fully committed to her and their unborn baby, she dove headfirst into motherhood by leaving university and moving in with him.
Neither André nor Rachel ever doubted their relationship again, enabling them to build a good life in a cozy apartment in Balham, South London, where they welcomed their son in 1989. Alexander “Alex” Louis Hancome quickly became his parents’ pride and joy, so it’s no surprise they did everything in their power to ensure he had only happy, stable experiences. “Rachel and I lived in overlapping circles with Alex at the center,” the father revealed to The Times in an exclusive interview, indicating his partner thrived as a stay-at-home mom while he proudly served as the breadwinner. “I felt privileged to be the provider, working as a courier, knowing our child was with Rachel 24/7. The love they had for each other was incredible.” But everything changed in July 1992.
Even After Three Decades, André Hanscombe is Determined to Keep His Girlfriend’s Case in the Limelight
André was leaving for work on the morning of July 15, 1992, when he last saw Rachel alive as she and their almost 3-year-old son had also decided to step out of the house to walk their dog. He was thinking the mother-son duo was likely having a gala time on Wimbledon Common while he was doing his deliveries, only to learn the reality was much different when he called home at roughly 11 am. Instead of his girlfriend, an officer with the Metropolitan Police picked up the phone, so the 28-year-old father immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong. He learned that Rachel was attacked from behind in a secluded area before being sexually assaulted and stabbed a total of 49 times, all in front of Alex. André’s focus thus instantaneously became the safety and well-being of his son, all the while he dealt with his own grief and worked with investigators to ensure justice could be served.
He didn’t particularly like the fact that authorities questioned Alex again and again to learn the details of the homicide, since he could see it caused the toddler distress. Even if it was always in the presence of a child psychologist, he could see his son was uncomfortable repeatedly reliving his loss, but he held out as long as he could. However, once his and Alex’s pictures began circulating in the media without any prior permission, he decided it was time for them to remove themselves from the situation. According to records, he and his son moved to France for a while before ultimately settling down in Barcelona, Spain, for good. André has since revealed that although Alex’s teenage years were quite challenging, they managed to build a home in “an environment Rachel would have loved — nature, big skies, sunsets, chickens roaming.”
This enabled them to heal a large part of their loss, pain and trauma, even though it wasn’t until 2008 that they finally got justice with the conviction of her killer. Robert Napper pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, which also brought to light the authorities’ mistakes in their initial handling of the case. In fact, even André criticized the original investigation before filing formal complaints, leading the Metropolitan Police to formally apologize to him and his son in 2010. Since then, the author of ‘The Last Thursday in July: Memoir of Rachel Nickell’ (1996) has found it in himself to forgive Robert and the police, but he doesn’t want anyone to forget there were some lessons to be learned. Therefore, today, the Barcelona resident continues to publicly speak about Rachel’s case as often as possible, even serving as a consultant on both ‘The Witness’ and ‘The Murder of Rachel Nickell.’
Read More: Alex Hanscombe: Where is Rachel Nickell’s Son Now?
