When is Who Killed Billie-Jo on Channel 5?
WHEN schoolgirl Billie-Jo Jenkins went to live with a foster family in Hastings, she hoped it was the start of a better life.
But instead her life was cut tragically short, and now a new Channel 5 documentary called Who Killed Billie-Jo is exploring her story.
When does Who Killed Billie-Jo start on Channel 5?
This one-off documentary will air on February 10, 2022.
You can catch the action on Channel 5 from 9pm.
The documentary – which will look into what happened to tragic schoolgirl Billie-Jo – will last for two hours.
It will also be available to watch on My5.
Who was Billie-Jo Jenkins and what happened to her?
On that fateful afternoon on February 15 1997, 13-year-old foster child Billie-Jo was painting the patio doors at the back of the house when she struck at least five times on the head in a shocking attack.
She was found dying, in a pool of blood, when foster dad Sion Jenkins returned to the house following an aborted trip to a DIY store, with his two oldest daughters.
Sion – father to Annie, 12 at the time of the murder, Lottie, 10, Esther, nine and Maya, seven – has always maintained his innocence and claims a prowler could have been responsible for the murder.
Most read in TV
Was anyone convicted of Billie-Jo Jenkins’ murder?
Foster dad Sion Jenkins, now 63, spent six years in jail before his life sentence was quashed on appeal.
He was formally acquitted in 2006 following two inconclusive retrials — but later had a compensation claim rejected because his innocence could not be proved.
Police are now carrying out a forensic review of exhibits from the scene in Hastings, East Sussex. The initial case hinged on 148 “invisible” blood spots found on the clothing of ex-deputy head Jenkins.
Prosecutors claimed the spots were consistent with “impact spatter”. Jenkins’ defence team argued they came from a fine spray on Billie-Jo’s breath after he discovered her dying.
The spots — and whether they contained bone fragments — will form part of the review. Scientists are also conducting DNA tests from tapings in the hope of matching it with potential suspects.
Police stress there is no new information and detectives are not reinvestigating. But the force said: “We are carrying out a forensic review of material to establish whether or not scientific advances can provide new lines of inquiry.”