Rikki Neave: Mother acquitted of killing son, 6, ‘feels dead inside’ as real murderer jailed 27 years later

The mother of murdered schoolboy Rikki Neave has said she feels “dead inside” after his killer was finally jailed 27 years on.

Police originally suspected Ruth Neave of being responsible for the killing of her six-year-old son, who was strangled to death in woods near their Peterborough home in November 1994.

A jury acquitted her of murder in 1996 – but she was jailed for seven years after admitting child cruelty offences.

Now, as 41-year-old James Watson begins a life sentence for her son’s murder, Ms Neave is reportedly considering challenging her conviction, claiming she was advised by her lawyers to plead guilty to all offences.

Describing her anguish at being accused of her son’s murder, Ms Neave said in a victim impact statement: “I had my children snatched out of my arms in the middle of the night because the police were so adamant that I had killed Rikki and would then kill my daughters.

“I feel dead inside, he was the only son I had.”

She added: “Like stones dropping in a pond, it has rippled out far and wide.

“Rikki’s murder left a massive hole in our lives and in our hearts.

“I miss him so much that it feels like I have had my heart ripped out.”

Watson was convicted of murder in April after jurors heard he strangled Rikki in woodland before posing his naked body in a star shape for sexual gratification.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 15 years at the Old Bailey on Friday – a sentence that reflected the fact he was just 13 years old at the time he committed the crime.

Ms Neave, a mother-of-four, said she had not seen her other children since Rikki’s death, and had been wrongly suspected of being a murderer.

She added: “I know I smacked him when he was naughty, but I hated it. I could not tell him off without. “Yes I used to shout at him and swear, but that never killed him, did it?”

Ms Neave described her son as “very cheeky” and said he “could not stop making people laugh”.

The boy’s mother said: “He had plenty of chitter-chatter. Rikki was my only son, my beautiful son with deep blue eyes. I fell in love with him the moment he was born.

“He was my little hero looking out for others.

“Rikki was a quiet little boy and very clever.

“I bloody well was besotted with the way he was growing up.”

Rikki’s murder was among the most high-profile cold cases on police files until Watson’s DNA was identified on the victim’s clothes following a re-examination of the case two decades later.

He was originally interviewed by police in the days after the murder, but gave a false alibi.

Rebecca Maria Harvey, Rikki’s eldest sister, broke down as she addressed the court.

She said: “Although I was the eldest, it wasn’t like that as he would look after me.

“Losing Rikki was like losing the other half of me.”

Addressing Watson, but not using his name, she said: “After all these years of living your life ... you finally get your comeuppance and Rikki Lee Harvey finally gets justice.”

Rochelle Orr, one of Rikki’s younger sisters, said: “I was only three when Rikki was murdered and I was removed from my family. After I entered the care system I suffered severe mental health issues.

“I remember Rikki feeding me, washing me and help me with my clothes.

“He has missed so much of our lives, happy times that we have had. I also wonder what he would be like if he was still here but, sadly, I will never know because he was taken from me.”

Additional reporting by Press Association