When Rachel Nickell was murdered on Wimbledon Common in South West London in 1992, she left behind a two-year-old son and a devastated partner who spent the next three decades trying to rebuild their lives.
Andre Hanscombe was at work when Rachel was killed and recalls calling home to check in, only for a police officer to answer the phone. “I was in a state bordering on the edge of insanity,” he says in the Netflix documentary.
Police found little Alex beside his mother's body. Detective Sergeant Keith Penrose recalled the toddler was “caked in mud and blood,” while Andre says Alex had been “clinging to his mother's body,” per Cosmopolitan.
Ahead of the documentary's release, Andre told The Times: “Rachel and I lived in overlapping circles with Alex at the centre. 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.”
Today, Alex has built a life far removed from the tragedy that defined his childhood. He has worked as a mechanic, trained as a session musician, studied hypnotherapy and handwriting analysis and travelled extensively, including spending time in India practicing yoga.
Andre eventually reached a point of forgiveness toward Robert Napper, who ultimately turned out to be the killer, after learning about his background and severe mental illness.
Andre and Alex Hanscombe remained based in Barcelona, Spain, after Robert Napper was arrested and sentenced in 2008. They returned briefly to London in the summer of 2024 to work as consultants on the Netflix series.
