Andy be able to tell us what Bridger had done to her? I didn’t know if I could cope with hearing how he’d made my little girl suffer and I was pretty
sure it would kill Coral.
Somehow I found the strength to get into the car and we made the short journey in virtual silence. Andy had already briefed Dave and Hayley about what the forensic teams had found, but
they’d agreed he would be the one to tell us, so we could only guess what this news was going to be. We were in the car for only a few minutes, but it seemed like hours.
Andy was already waiting in the sanctuary when we arrived. I instantly felt sorry for him. Every time we met with him, he had to break bad news to us. But he always did his best to be as
sensitive as he could towards us and tell us straight, which was what we wanted. For this reason, we didn’t hold any grudges. On that day, it felt like an eternity before he spoke.
‘OK,’ he began. ‘I’m afraid we’ve had some bleak forensic results. When the forensic teams were examining Mark Bridger’s house, they found a wood burner.
Amongst the ashes, they found some human remains.’
Neither Coral nor I said anything, but Hayley grabbed hold of Coral’s hand.
‘The remains are only small,’ Andy went on. ‘There are five pieces in total and they measure about 20mm in diameter. They are from a human skull. We believe them to be
April’s but we can’t prove this yet.’
I expected Coral to be hysterical, but she was remarkably calm as she met Andy’s eye.
‘So,’ she said. ‘He’s smashed her to bits then?’
Andy bowed his head.
‘What you’re saying is, he’s cut off her head and burned it?’ I asked, picking up where Coral had left off.
‘I’m afraid it’s looking that way,’ Andy replied.
‘What about the rest of her body?’ I said. I was hearing the words that were being said to me, but my mind had not yet caught up.
‘We don’t yet have any evidence of any other body parts,’ Andy said.
Andy stayed for a few more minutes, before leaving us alone with Dave and Hayley, who helped talk us through what we’d just been told. After he’d gone, the shock wore off and we both
became very emotional. Coral cried silently for the rest of the meeting. I had tears in my eyes, but I was trying my hardest to be strong for my wife. Even in our worst nightmares, neither of us
had predicted a scenario like this. Bridger had snatched our precious daughter, but he hadn’t just killed her – he’d completely destroyed her. Imagining the terror our little girl
would have felt in her final moments – not to mention what she would have suffered – had already begun to eat us both up inside. All we could hope was that it had been quick and that
she’d died before he did the worst of the damage.
‘Why haven’t they found her teeth?’ I said. ‘Surely the fire couldn’t be hot enough to burn enamel?’
‘Children’s milk teeth are different,’ Dave said. ‘They have small holes in them.’
Dave and Hayley told us once again how important it was that we didn’t share this news with anyone. Even the search teams were unaware of this development. Although the search for April
was still ongoing, Dave told us that if they found anything, it was likely to be just a torso, though even this may have been burned and hidden.
The worst thing of all was that if no more of April’s remains were found, we were unlikely to be allowed to have a funeral until after the trial. The bone fragments would form a key part
of the prosecution case and couldn’t be released until the court case was over. More than anything we wanted justice for April, so we understood how important this was, but it didn’t
make things any easier, especially as we couldn’t even say a proper goodbye.
That night, Coral and I lay in bed holding each other and silently crying. It was a few days before we could bear to have a conversation about what we’d been told. How do you begin to talk
sure it would kill Coral.
Somehow I found the strength to get into the car and we made the short journey in virtual silence. Andy had already briefed Dave and Hayley about what the forensic teams had found, but
they’d agreed he would be the one to tell us, so we could only guess what this news was going to be. We were in the car for only a few minutes, but it seemed like hours.
Andy was already waiting in the sanctuary when we arrived. I instantly felt sorry for him. Every time we met with him, he had to break bad news to us. But he always did his best to be as
sensitive as he could towards us and tell us straight, which was what we wanted. For this reason, we didn’t hold any grudges. On that day, it felt like an eternity before he spoke.
‘OK,’ he began. ‘I’m afraid we’ve had some bleak forensic results. When the forensic teams were examining Mark Bridger’s house, they found a wood burner.
Amongst the ashes, they found some human remains.’
Neither Coral nor I said anything, but Hayley grabbed hold of Coral’s hand.
‘The remains are only small,’ Andy went on. ‘There are five pieces in total and they measure about 20mm in diameter. They are from a human skull. We believe them to be
April’s but we can’t prove this yet.’
I expected Coral to be hysterical, but she was remarkably calm as she met Andy’s eye.
‘So,’ she said. ‘He’s smashed her to bits then?’
Andy bowed his head.
‘What you’re saying is, he’s cut off her head and burned it?’ I asked, picking up where Coral had left off.
‘I’m afraid it’s looking that way,’ Andy replied.
‘What about the rest of her body?’ I said. I was hearing the words that were being said to me, but my mind had not yet caught up.
‘We don’t yet have any evidence of any other body parts,’ Andy said.
Andy stayed for a few more minutes, before leaving us alone with Dave and Hayley, who helped talk us through what we’d just been told. After he’d gone, the shock wore off and we both
became very emotional. Coral cried silently for the rest of the meeting. I had tears in my eyes, but I was trying my hardest to be strong for my wife. Even in our worst nightmares, neither of us
had predicted a scenario like this. Bridger had snatched our precious daughter, but he hadn’t just killed her – he’d completely destroyed her. Imagining the terror our little girl
would have felt in her final moments – not to mention what she would have suffered – had already begun to eat us both up inside. All we could hope was that it had been quick and that
she’d died before he did the worst of the damage.
‘Why haven’t they found her teeth?’ I said. ‘Surely the fire couldn’t be hot enough to burn enamel?’
‘Children’s milk teeth are different,’ Dave said. ‘They have small holes in them.’
Dave and Hayley told us once again how important it was that we didn’t share this news with anyone. Even the search teams were unaware of this development. Although the search for April
was still ongoing, Dave told us that if they found anything, it was likely to be just a torso, though even this may have been burned and hidden.
The worst thing of all was that if no more of April’s remains were found, we were unlikely to be allowed to have a funeral until after the trial. The bone fragments would form a key part
of the prosecution case and couldn’t be released until the court case was over. More than anything we wanted justice for April, so we understood how important this was, but it didn’t
make things any easier, especially as we couldn’t even say a proper goodbye.
That night, Coral and I lay in bed holding each other and silently crying. It was a few days before we could bear to have a conversation about what we’d been told. How do you begin to talk
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