Casefile True Crime - Case 117: Hannah Foster

Episode Date: July 13, 2019

At 11:00 PM on March 14 2003, an emergency services operator in the United Kingdom answered a phone call on the nation’s 999 helpline. The person on the other line was silent. As was protocol, the operator transferred the call through to the ‘Silent Solutions’ department, where the call was ultimately disconnected. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Episode written by Elsha McGill Episode researched by Erin Munro For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-117-hannah-foster

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And it's honestly the perfect way to have the freedom and flexibility to travel or just go wherever you want while giving you that second stream of income and covering your cost while you're away. And you don't need a mansion or an entire floor of your home. It could honestly be as simple as just renting out a spare room or just occasionally doing it if you are traveling for a little bit. You could honestly be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it. So whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little

more fun, your home or spare room might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca forward slash host. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. At 11pm on Friday, March 14, 2003, a call was placed to the United Kingdom's emergency services telephone number 999.

As per standard procedure, the operator answered by requesting which emergency service department the caller required, fire, police or ambulance, but they received no reply. The operator repeated the question multiple times, but the line remained silent. She then asked, if you are unable to speak but need an emergency service, tap the handset. There was no tapping, and after a minute of failed attempts to elicit a response from the caller, the operator transferred the call to silent solutions. This automated service was introduced by the London Metropolitan Police in 2002, after the widespread use of mobile phones led to an overwhelming amount of accidental calls

being placed to 999. Silent solutions aimed to keep the emergency line free from congestion by filtering out the unintentional pocket dials from the legitimate crisis calls from those who needed help, but weren't in a position to speak out loud. When a call is transferred to silent solutions, an automated response instructs the caller to dial 55 if they require emergency assistance. If they comply, the call is then transferred to the relevant police response unit. If no action is taken by the caller, the line is terminated.

As per protocol, the unresponsive phone call to 999 at 11pm on March 14 was transferred to silent solutions, and the system requested the caller to dial 55 if they needed help. Still, there was no response. An automated message advised, nothing has been heard from the caller, exchange please disconnect line. Almost two minutes after the call was initially placed, the phone line was disconnected. 17-year-old Hannah Foster was in good spirits on the evening of Friday, March 14, 2003, as she prepared for a night out with her best friend, Helen.

The teens had returned from an exciting day at college, where Hannah received the good news that she was on track to receive straight A's in her upcoming A levels. A fastidious and dedicated student, Hannah had recently been accepted to study medicine at two prestigious universities, and her top grades meant she was well on her way to fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Going to head downtown that night to celebrate, Hannah and Helen met at the Foster's family home in Southampton, a port city in Hampshire on the south coast of England. Hannah lived on a tree-lined residential street with her mother Hillary, father Trevor, and

14-year-old sister Sarah. The Foster's were a close-knit family and gave Hannah their full support. Beyond her academic pursuits, she had many other interests, including reading, drawing, and music, with a particular love for Californian rock band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Passionate about the environment and community, she helped out with a local Girl Guides organization in her spare time, relishing the opportunity to help teach the young members valuable new skills. She studied ballet as a child and was regarded as a graceful dancer, but was forced to give

up this hobby after developing knee problems in her adolescence. During high school, she participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, an international youth program that aims to help young people further develop their skills, fitness levels, and community involvement, achieving a bronze and silver award for her efforts. Without having a full schedule in the lead-up to her A-levels, Hannah didn't take life too seriously, always taking the time to socialize with her many friends. As she prepared for her night out on March 14, 2003, Hannah, who was 5'7", with short-cut brown hair and blue eyes, dressed in a light brown, long-sleeved polo jumper, a tweedy

brown skirt, knee-high boots, and an overcoat. She put the prepaid mobile phone her parents had previously given her as a reward for her good grades into her khaki-colored satchel. Prior to departing for their night out, Hannah and her best friend Helen put music on and danced around the Fosters kitchen, joined by Hannah's mother and sister. Hannah remarked that she couldn't wait until 14-year-old Sarah was old enough to join them on their nights out, telling her she would be a lot of fun to have around. Hannah and Helen left the house shortly after, with Hillary Foster waving her oldest daughter

off at the front door, making sure to leave a light on for when she returned home later in the night. Hannah and Helen made the one-mile journey to Southampton's inner-city area of Beavis Valley, a lively nightlife hotspot popular with students. Their first stop was to a pub called The Bent Brief, where Helen met her mother to collect some money for the night ahead. The pair then walked around to the corner to the Hobbit, a quaint fantasy-themed pub named after the Tolkien novel of the same name, where they each ordered a double vodka

lime and lemonade and watched the live band that was playing. The drink at the Hobbit would turn out to be their only alcoholic beverage for the night. By 10.30pm, they switched venues to a pub across the street called Soba, only to leave soon after. During their walk to their fourth destination, a bar called Lennons, the pair lost their motivation and decided to call it a night. Hannah escorted Helen to the bus stop on Portswood Road's commercial strip, where the pair waited for Helen's bus home.

The stop was only a five-minute walk from the foster home, and Hannah planned to walk the short trip alone after seeing off her friend. The bus arrived at 10.50pm, and Helen climbed aboard and took a seat. As the vehicle drove off, she made eye contact with Hannah, who was walking towards the Highfield Lane intersection, and the friends shared a final goodbye wave. At 5am the next morning, Hilary Foster arose to get ready for an early shift at Southampton General Hospital, where she worked as a cardiac nurse. As she made her way through the house, she noticed the door to Hannah's bedroom was

open, and the lights that had been left on in preparation for her return home were still on. This was odd, as Hannah always turned the lights off upon arriving home, and slept with her bedroom door closed. Upon realizing Hannah wasn't home, Hilary was hit with a wave of panic, as she hadn't received a text message or phone call to indicate she was spending the night at a friend's place. Hilary sent Hannah a text message asking where she was and whether she was okay, but by the

time she arrived for her shift at Southampton General, there had been no reply. By 6.30am she had tried calling Hannah on her mobile phone several times, but each of the calls rang out. Hannah's sister Sarah had gone away for the weekend, undertaking activities to complete her own Duke of Edinburgh Award, when she received a concerned phone call from her mother, asking if she knew Hannah's whereabouts. Sarah hadn't heard from her older sister either, and contacted Helen to check if the two friends were still together.

Helen advised she hadn't seen or heard from Hannah since they parted ways that the ports would road a bus stop at 10.30 the night before. Hilary rushed home from work and began making phone calls to Hannah's friendship circle, but was unable to locate her. Her husband, Trevor, arrived home from work at 10.30am and immediately reported his daughters out of character disappearance to the police, who swiftly arrived to the Fosters home with sniffer dogs in tow. A thorough search of the residence was conducted, while Hannah's family and neighbours were

questioned, but there had been no sightings of the 17-year-old since her night out on the town. Hannah's mobile phone was still on, which was good news for police, as it meant the device was capable of emitting a signal to any telecommunications towers within its vicinity, enabling its location to be traced. After instructing the Fosters to stop calling the device to preserve its battery life, investigators used telecommunications data to trace the location of Hannah's phone whenever it received a text message or phone call.

Records showed that while Hilary Foster was attempting to contact Hannah earlier that morning, her phone emitted a moving signal travelling down the M275 motorway from South Ampton to the nearby city of Portsmouth, where it had since become stationary, indicating it was somewhere within the area. Phone records also revealed a 999 call had been made from Hannah's phone at 11pm the night before. Investigators obtained a recording of this call, which captured the emergency service operator making multiple unsuccessful attempts to elicit a response from the silent person

on the other end of the line. The operator therefore transferred the call to the silent services division, but as the caller did not dial the necessary 5-5 to alert the service that they required assistance, the call was terminated. Audio technicians were able to enhance the 58 second long audio file of the call, revealing a muffled conversation occurring between two people in the background. A fearful female voice identified as Hannah Foster's was heard conversing with an older male with a South Asian accent who spoke in broken English.

Traffic and mechanical noises indicated they were travelling in a large vehicle, possibly a van. Some parts of the call were inaudible, but technicians were able to construct a partial transcript of the conversation, during which Hannah lied to the man, telling him she was 15 years old and her name was Sarah. She was then heard saying, that's my road, that's where I live. In response, the man ominously instructed her to, quote, hold your head down please. It was at this point that the call was transferred to silent services, with Hannah ignoring the

system's request to dial 5-5. This failure to act, along with the fake identity she had given the man and their muffled, foreboding conversation, made it apparent to investigators that Hannah had made the 999 call inconspicuously, hoping to raise the alarm that she was in danger without alerting the man she was doing so. At approximately 2pm the following day of Sunday, March 16, 2003, a woman and her 14-year-old son were driving through West End, a village on the north-eastern outskirts of Southampton. As they travelled along Allington Lane, a rural road just off the M27 motorway, the

teenager spotted something in a ditch 15 feet from the edge of the road. His mother pulled the car over to have a closer look, and tucked beneath the thick undergrowth and brambles that bordered one of the neighbouring pastures, the pair discovered the fully clothed body of a young female. Police were called to the scene, where they identified the deceased as Hannah Foster. A subsequent autopsy concluded that she had been beaten and sexually assaulted before being strangled to death, with toxicology tests revealing she had no traces of alcohol or other drugs in her system.

Although she was wearing shoes, her feet were caked in dirt and her clothing was in disarray, suggesting she had been stripped and then redressed by her killer. Scratch marks on her neck were believed to be defensive wounds sustained while attempting to loosen her attacker's grip. Investigators of Seaman found on Hannah's coat presented the most promising lead, however, when the sample was run through the police database, no match was found, as the perpetrator had no prior criminal record. Meanwhile, detectives broke the devastating news to the Foster family, who were overcome

with grief. Hannah's parents, Hilary and Trevor, were required to formally identify their daughter, with Hilary later stating, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There must be some mistake. The cold, bruised, embedded body certainly looked like Hannah, but where was the sparkle in her eyes, the radiant smile, the warmth and tenderness of her touch? Hannah was vibrant, graceful, gentle and so alive.

I felt numb, paralyzed by grief and pain. Why Hannah? She had so much to live for, so much unfulfilled promise, so many talents, so much humanity and compassion to share. Police appealed for any witnesses who were in the Beavis Valley area late on Friday, March 14 to come forward, with a widespread media campaign ensuing. A police spokesperson warned. There have been no significant incidents reported in the area to date that can be directly linked

to Hannah's disappearance, but we would advise the public to exercise caution. We would advise lone females walking in this area not to go out alone at night and to stick to brightly lit public roads until we have determined exactly what happened to Hannah. CCTV footage obtained from the area captured the two friends walking along the streets during their night out, but little else of interest. Speculation arose over the possibility Hannah may have been picked up by a taxi driver after waving Helen off at the bus stop, but this seemed unlikely, given the stop was a mere five minute walk from her home.

Regardless, police appealed for any taxi drivers who may have picked up a teenager matching Hannah's description to make contact. They obtained Hannah's home computer and began analysing her online history and mobile phone records to determine whether she may have arranged a secret rendezvous with someone after leaving her friend, but there was no evidence to support this theory. Just 24 hours after Hannah's body was found, an employee at a recycling plant in Portsmouth, the coastal city where her mobile phone last pinged off nearby telecommunications towers was looking inside a bottle recycling bin when he spotted a khaki coloured satchel with

a mobile phone inside. Both items were confirmed to belong to Hannah. This discovery added a third key location to the crime, in addition to Southampton where Hannah disappeared and the West End outskirts where her body was found. Two days after the discovery of her body, a candle lit vigil was held for Hannah at Southampton's Highfield Church, with hundreds of mourners gathering to pray, lay bouquets of flowers and sign a condolence book with loving messages and fond memories of the teen. The site where her body was found was marked with flowers and notes from grieving members

of the community with one hand written note reading. You are all in our thoughts at this very sad time. What a cruel world we live in. By the following day, Wednesday, March 19, investigators had received over 200 phone calls from the public. The case made national news headlines, with Southampton's shops, bus stops and street signs plastered with posters of Hannah and a description of the outfit she was last seen wearing, requesting witnesses to make contact with police.

Hillary and Trevor Foster held their first public press conference to make an emotional plea for information regarding their daughter's murder, with Trevor saying, We as a family are devastated by the loss of Hannah. Hannah was a warm, kind-hearted girl who could always see the good in others. She was a gentle and graceful girl. What is important now is to catch the person responsible for this cruel and brutal act, so that no other family will have to suffer the trauma we are going through and the number of people coming empty-ness that has entered our lives, and destroyed our family.

Investigators collected CCTV footage from the various locations Hannah's mobile phone was pinged on the night of March 14. As the audio recording of her 999 call had indicated she was being driven in a van, they were on the lookout for any matching vehicles travelling in those areas at the exact time Hannah's mobile phone was positioned to there. A total of seven different vans were sighted in the CCTV footage, prompting investigators to begin the task of identifying each of the vehicle's owners. Given the suspected killer had what sounded like a South Asian accent, they were confident

the man they were looking for was not originally from the United Kingdom. On March 26, 10 days after Hannah's body had been found, BBC television show Crime Watch aired a segment about the case, reenacting the teenage's last known movements and appealing for assistance to identify her killer. Hillary and Trevor Foster made an appearance on the show to voice their torment, with Hillary explaining, quote, It's the not knowing what she's been through, and to just knowing how frightened she must have been at some stage, and we can't get beyond that.

After the episode of Crime Watch aired, close to 90 members of the public phoned the police, including Southampton resident James Dennis, who worked as a supervisor for ready-made meal producer Hazelwood Foods. James had noticed that one of his employees, 35-year-old delivery driver, Maninda Powell Singh Coley, had been acting suspiciously around the time of Hannah's murder. Furthermore, on the night of March 14, Coley had been in possession of one of Hazelwood Foods' distribution vans, and his delivery route passed through the key locations of the crime.

Police noted the registration number of Coley's van was already on their list of seven vehicles of interest, having been captured on traffic cameras travelling from Southampton along both the M27 and M275 motorways. At the exact time Hannah's phone was tracked moving on the same course. In the early hours of March 15, a petrol station security camera captured Coley's van travelling three times in different directions around the area where Hannah's body was eventually found. At 3.15 that same morning, he entered the petrol station and initiated his scheduled deliveries

before travelling to Portsmouth, where Hannah's phone and bag were later recovered. This sighting was particularly significant, as Portsmouth was not part of Coley's delivery route, and he therefore had no legitimate reason to be in the area. After completing just half of his deliveries, he returned to the Hazelwood Foods depot, telling his boss he had a sore back and needed to go home to rest. Within one hour of receiving James Dennis' phone call, police arrived to Hazelwood Foods to seize the delivery vehicle in question, a white van with a distinctive refrigeration unit on top and the word Rockfield written across the bonnet.

Forensic analysts found traces of semen on the seats and a chrome pole covered in blood spatter and several strands of hair. As forensic testing of this evidence commenced, detectives made their way to Coley's home on Broadlands Road in Southampton, which was less than one mile away from the Fosters residence. Upon their arrival, they discovered there were no curtains in the windows or furniture inside, indicating the house had been completely abandoned. A check of Coley's background revealed he had relocated from India to the United Kingdom in 1993 as part of an arranged marriage to a UK-based Indian woman named Shalinda.

The couple had two sons, a six-year-old and a four-year-old. It didn't appear to be a happy marriage, with neighbors overhearing the couple fired often, describing Coley as a drunk and self-confessed gambling addict. Police were able to locate Coley's wife Shalinda and their two children, who were staying at her parents' house nearby. She explained her husband had travelled back to India to look after his mother, who was in a coma after being hit by a bus. While she refused to believe her husband could be responsible for such a heinous crime, Shalinda

allowed police to extract DNA samples from one of her sons to test against the forensic evidence uncovered from the delivery van. Police examined CCTV footage from London's Heathrow Airport and spotted Coley in transit on March 18, two days after Hannah's murder. Dressed in a lightweight suit and carrying only a small backpack, Coley was filmed as he checked into a direct flight to India's capital territory, Delhi. With a population of over 18 million people, Delhi is the fifth most densely populated city in the world.

In a country that boasts an overall population of 1.2 billion, finding Coley was compared to looking for a needle in a haystack. As India shares borders with Nepal, China, Bhutan, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh, investigators also couldn't rule out the possibility that Coley had already fled to one of these neighbouring countries. Despite the challenges, British police and Hannah's family refused to give up on the search for her killer, with Hillary Foster later explaining, As parents, we had this absolute drive that nobody could ever get away with doing this

to our daughter. From England, Shalinda contacted her husband's family in Chandigarh, a city in the Punjab region, approximately 150 miles north of Delhi. Coley's family confirmed he had recently been staying in town, although admitted his arrival was completely unexpected, as his mother had already been in a coma for three months and he hadn't mentioned any previous plans of visiting her. There was a collective sense of denial running through the family, with Coley's police officer brother Ishpreet refusing to consider he was a murderer.

The morning after Shalinda's phone call, Friday, March 28, Coley shaved his head and thick beard and fled his hometown, allegedly leaving his family with no indication of where he was going next. The abject denial of Coley's possible guilt was also voiced by his wife in England. Shalinda told police that someone was attempting to frame her husband, revealing that on the day after Hannah's disappearance, he returned home noticeably upset with a visible scratch on his face. When she asked him what was wrong, he explained that the night before he had been drinking

at a pub and when he returned to his van, someone had gained access to the vehicle and stashed the body of a teenage girl inside. He panicked and drove straight home, unsure what to do. After telling Shalinda this story, Coley slept for a couple of hours before getting into the van and driving off. Bullwinder Chahal, the general secretary of Southampton's Gurdwara Sikh Temple, told police that two days prior to his overseas escape, Coley called him several times in tears requesting a meeting.

Bullwinder was reluctant as he had lent money to Coley in the past and was nervous he was going to ask for more, but he visited the distraught man regardless. As anticipated, Coley wanted to borrow money, this time to travel to India to see his sick mother before she passed away. He was acting erratically, all his belongings were piled into garbage bags and there was a distinct scratch under his eye. Bullwinder asked what was wrong and Coley explained his parents in law had arranged to have someone beat him up.

Bullwinder refused to hand over the cash and to the next day he received a call from Coley telling him not to worry as he had borrowed the money from his father in law instead. He asked for a lift to the airport, but Bullwinder refused. As the evidence mounted against Coley, the results of forensic testing came back, revealing the semen found in his delivery van was a match to the DNA profile found on Hannah's code. The blood, spatter and hairs found in the van were also confirmed to have come from the teenager.

Certain they had identified the man responsible for Hannah's murder. On Thursday, April 3, an international warrant was issued for Coley's arrest, charging the fugitive with murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, false imprisonment, rape and perverting the course of justice. In England, a person can be charged simultaneously with both murder and manslaughter, with a jury later deciding which of the two the defendant is guilty of. Whilst Britain had extradition agreements in place with India, bureaucratic red tape coupled with the fact that Coley was hiding in one of the most densely populated countries

in the world meant carrying out the arrest would be no easy task. On the morning of Friday, April 11, a statement was released by the Foster family ahead of Hannah's funeral service which was scheduled to take place later that day. The statement read, Today, family and friends are joining together to give thanks for the life of Hannah. Nothing can bring our beautiful daughter back to us, and today will not be easy for any of us, but we will find strength in each other and strength in the continued support given to us by members of the community in Southampton and beyond.

Feats inside Highfield Church were reserved for hundreds of Hannah's friends, relatives, schoolmates, teachers and the detectives working around the clock to solve her case, while the service was also broadcast via video link to an adjacent church centre for the many others who were unable to fit inside. Loudspeakers outside the building transmitted the service to the crowds of media and community members who had gathered to pay their respects. The service was overseen by Reverend Graham Archer who told the congregation, quote, Publicity surrounding Hannah's death has elevated her to almost celebrity status, but

those of you who knew her as a friend or a family member should not let anyone rob you of your memories of how you remember her. Your memories cannot be taken away. They are part of her legacy to you. Today, the memories will have a painful edge, but they didn't when they happened, so don't be afraid to talk about her and those precious memories. A killer has already taken one life. In your handling of your responses, make sure he takes no more.

Anna Zeco-friendly woven bamboo coffin was carried out of the church by members of her family, adorned with a wreath of pink flowers specially provided by a local florist where she had once conducted work experience. She was cremated in a private service, as students at her former high school gathered on faculty grounds to release 200 white balloons into the sky. On Wednesday, April 30, a trio of Hampshire investigators flew to India to liaise in person with Indian law enforcement, the British High Commission, and international police organisation Interpol.

Their efforts to locate Kohli were hindered when the Ministry of External Affairs refused to grant the British law enforcement team entry into the Punjab region, rendering them unable to speak to Kohli's family and gather information. Although Indian police understood the urgency of the investigation, they had their own overwhelming caseloads to take care of and were unable to prioritise the murder of a foreign national that occurred 4,000 miles away. This restrictive bureaucracy, coupled with the lack of resources available to the British investigators, cast serious doubts over whether their suspect would ever be found.

By early May, with investigators in India struggling to make headway, Kohli's wife Shalinda released a public statement pleading for her husband to return to the United Kingdom and surrender to police for questioning. It read, For my sake and to the good of your children and your family, I urge you to hand yourself in to police and come back home so this can be sorted out. Wherever you are, please just go to the nearest police station and give yourself up. If you are innocent, this is the only way you can clear your name.

So please, just come home. Following this, the Hampshire detectives were finally granted permission to enter the Punjab region and headed straight to Kohli's hometown of Chandigarh to interview his family. They maintained they were not hiding him and insisted they had no idea where he had fled to, with his father, Jagadjeet, telling the press. I say if he is committed this crime, hang him. I will be the last person to protect him. If he is done this grave crime, he should be punished and he should face the music.

He should face the consequences, but I will not protect him. And if he is innocent, God will protect him. After two weeks in India, the Hampshire law enforcement team returned to the United Kingdom with greater support from both Chandigarh detectives and the Punjab authorities, who were now actively searching for the suspected killer. However, the case moved slowly, with Chandigarh police criticised for what the public perceived as a lack of action. Detective Inspector Dinka Gupta, who was initially leading the Indian inquiry, explained,

By the time all the paperwork was completed, the suspect had a big head start. He had a lot of time to plan his moves. I feel confident we should be able to find him, but it's difficult to say how soon. Hampshire detectives continued to travel to India over the following months, at one point teaming up with the premier investigating agency in the country, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation. Rumours circulated that Kohli had been spotted across the border in the Nepalese city of Kathmandu, but there was no evidence to support this theory.

Months continued to pass by with no major progress in the investigation, and by early 2004, Hampshire police announced a reward of £70,000 for anyone with information that led to Kohli's arrest. This amounted to roughly 5 million rupees, a potentially life-changing payment, but insufficient attention from India's national media limited the population's awareness of the case, which prevented tips from coming in. In February, Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett paid a visit to the Punjab Police Academy, where he appealed to the Punjabi people to assist police in capturing Kohli.

Quote, Not only in the interests of justice, but because he is wanted for questioning for the most heinous of crimes. The tragic murder of young Hannah Foster shows why it is so important we continue to forge even closer policing links. Only through continued and even closer cooperation and joint working can we catch those who believe they can flee UK justice by crossing an international border. The investigation languished for close to a year, with Kohli remaining a free man whose

whereabouts were unknown. If Hannah had still been alive, she would have since celebrated her 18th birthday and completed her A-level exams, moving on to pursue medical studies at university. On Friday, March 12, 2004, two days prior to the one-year anniversary of her murder, Hillary and Trevor Foster released a statement via the media which read, This continues to be the worst time in our lives. We miss Hannah terribly. The injustice of her death is intensified by the knowledge that her killer is still

at large. We remain optimistic that the combined efforts of the Hampshire and Punjab police forces to secure an arrest will prove successful. On Sunday, March 14, to mark the one-year anniversary, a candlelit morning prayer service was held in honor of her and her family at Highfield Church. And Reverend Paul Harris told the 100 Strong Congregation to send a special prayer to the Foster family during what he called a time of continuing pain and suffering and desire for justice.

Three months later, in June 2004, Hillary and Trevor Foster fronted a press conference announcing they would be traveling to India for the first time, in an effort to generate media attention and raise local awareness of the search for their daughter's killer. Regarding the purpose of their visit, Trevor explained, I think there was, at the start, an issue of vengeance, but I think now that feeling is reducing. If it wasn't, that would bring us down to the same level as him. What we want now is justice.

That will mean a lot to us, and a lot to Hannah. We are increasingly frustrated that the prime suspect has not been located. We are, however, beginning to understand the difficulties of finding a fugitive who does not want to be found in a country as large and populous as India. The couple embarked on an 11-day visit to India on Saturday, July 10, joined by Detective Superintendent Alan Betts, who had been leading the British investigation into Hannah's murder. His employer, British multinational oil and gas company BG Group, funded a bilingual 24-hour phone line for witnesses to provide any information about Coley's whereabouts.

Posters were circulated around the Punjab region promoting the hotline phone number and the 5 million rupees award, along with images of Coley in different disguises. Hillary and Trevor spent the first few days of their trip attending various meetings with Indian politicians, Punjab police, and officials from the British High Commission. They held two press conferences where they shared Hannah's story, promoted the hotline number, and pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. Trevor said, This has been the first time we have felt strong enough.

For us, the grieving process goes on and on, but we now feel we can cope with all this. Hillary added, We just want people to hear our story, see us and hear what we have to say. I hope and pray that they will use the hotline. The Fosters ordeal struck a chord with the Indian people, giving Hannah's murder investigation a desperately needed boost. In the first 24 hours of the hotline launch alone, 134 calls came through. And by July 15, police had amassed close to a dozen tips they believed could be valuable

in the hunt for Coley. One of the calls was placed by a taxi driver named Jason Lepcher, who lived in the city of Darjeeling, 1,700 kilometers northeast of Chandigarh. He had seen the news reports about Hannah's killer and noticed the suspect bore a resemblance to one of his customers, a man he knew only as Mike. Mike had told Jason he was a delivery driver on vacation from London and that his family remained in the United Kingdom. Each morning without fail, Mike purchased the daily newspapers as soon as they went on

sale and quickly scanned through the headlines before discarding the paper within minutes. In addition to Jason Lepcher's witness account, a Darjeeling hotel owner called the tipline to report a previous guest who looked like Coley but went by the name Mike Dennis. A barber and a news agent in Darjeeling also recognized Coley as one of their customers and a police officer from a neighboring state reported Coley bore a resemblance to one of his friend's new husbands. According to the officer, his 32-year-old friend Baharati Das was carrying out humanitarian work at a vaccination clinic in the town of Kalampong, 50 kilometers outside of Darjeeling.

There, she met a doctor for the United Nations World Health Organization named Mike Dennis and the two were married just three months later. The officer handed investigators all the information he had on Dennis, including his mobile number and the residential addresses of his wife's family members. When local police descended on these addresses, they found no sign of Coley. At one property, a resident informed police that Mike Dennis had departed on a bus to Nepal with his wife the day prior. This was bad news for investigators, as the United Kingdom had no extradition treaty

with Nepal. If Coley managed to cross the border from India into Nepal, there was every chance he would be out of their grasp for good. Police informed authorities near the border to be on the lookout for a man fitting Coley's description, who would likely be accompanied by a woman. Hillary and Trevor Foster were still in the midst of their media repealing India, when they received a word that Manindar Pal Singh Coley had been arrested after being cited by an off-duty police officer in the vicinity of the Nepalese border.

The couple appeared at a press conference immediately following news of the arrest, where the crowds of journalists cheered upon hearing confirmation that Coley was finally in custody after 16 months on the run. The Fosters thanked all those involved for their tireless work in bringing Hannah's killer to justice, with Trevor saying, Never in our wildest dreams did we expect an arrest to be made while we were in the middle of this short visit. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Indian people.

Not only have they come forward to facilitate the arrest, but they have taken Hillary and die to their hearts in the short time we have been here. The full story of Coley's evasion was soon revealed. Upon fleeing England on March 18, 2003, he holed up in his hometown of Chandigarh, fleeing once he discovered the British police were onto him. He headed south to the city of Bangalore, where he operated under three aliases, Mike Dennis, Mike Davis, and Dennis Tracy. After seven months of maintaining a low profile, he moved to Darjeeling, where he claimed to

be a doctor for the World Health Organization, and earned a job at a Red Cross camp near Kalimpong, where he administered hepatitis vaccinations to children. It was here that he met Bahariti Das, the daughter of the camp's director, and the two soon began dating. Coley, who was living as Mike Dennis, made no mention of his wife and children back in the UK. After three months, the couple were married, celebrating the occasion with a modest reception at a hotel near Bahariti's family home.

Photos taken at the event portrayed a happy and relaxed Coley as he danced in a circle surrounded by guests. Just three weeks later, he received an anonymous phone call, after which he was noticeably on edge. He told his new wife to pack her bag and to get ready to leave town, but refused to explain why. As the media coverage of Hillary and Trevor Foster's trip to India began to spread, Coley and Bahariti fled to the home of a relative in a village just half an hour from the border

of Nepal, where they were apprehended shortly after. The arrest came as a profound shock to Bahariti, who had no idea she was married to an international fugitive wanted for murder. In an interview following his arrest, she told journalists, I loved him so much. I know what the police are saying about him, but I still cannot believe it is true. What am I to do? I have been married, but now I have no husband.

In our society, no one will ever want to marry me now. I'm finished. I am old goods. It was suspected that Coley's brothers, Ishpreet and Amrit, had been in contact with him throughout his time on the run, harboring him during his time in Chandigarh and supplying him with money and a fake passport to facilitate his new life. Police also believed that Ishpreet, who was a constable in Chandigarh, sent Coley emails about the international efforts that were underway to find him, enabling him to get

a head start and evade capture. One month after the arrest, Coley made an appearance on Indian television channel New Delhi TV, saying he wanted to unburden himself by revealing the truth about what happened to Hannah Foster. He appeared calm as he made a full confession, sparing no details as he described the night of March 14, 2003, which started with a heavy drinking session at a local pub. As he left the venue, Coley saw Hannah crossing the road alone, and he climbed into his van, conducted a U-turn, and grabbed her from behind, threatening her to stay quiet.

He forced her into his company van, driving her to an isolated place and sexually assaulting her. Afterwards, she threatened to tell her parents and police about the attack, which provoked Coley to strangle her to death. I was out of my mind, it was only later that I realised I had destroyed my life. Coley claimed he never told his wife in England, Shalinda, about the attack, instead explaining he was home late that night because he had gotten into a fight at the pub. This contradicted Shalinda's previous statements to police, in which she claimed Coley had

informed her there was a teenager's body in his van. Coley claimed he fled to India because he needed his brother's support and wanted to change his life. Tired of running and ready to face the consequences, Coley remarked, I am unburdening myself now because one day I have to face God. I want to open my heart. I feel light, unburdened. When asked if he wanted to say anything to Hannah's family, Coley remained silent.

Up until this point, his wife in India, Baharati, had been convinced of his innocence, praying he would be released for the crime she believed he was wrongfully accused of committing. After seeing the televised confession, she told the Times of India newspaper she felt cheated, but also relieved that Coley had not harmed her during their short relationship. Quote, Now I have to learn to live with the fact that I lived with a criminal. Why did God have to make me live with a criminal? Days after the confession was aired, Coley retracted his statement, claiming the Punjab police had forced him to provide the false confession.

Due to the retraction, media outlets in Britain were prohibited from publishing anything about the confession, and the extradition process became even more challenging. Efforts to deport Coley to face trial in England began in October 2004. Seemingly determined to make the process as difficult as possible, he accused the Hampshire police of being racist and argued he wouldn't receive a fair trial in England due to prejudice against Asians. He claimed to be unwell and failed to show up for court appointments, leading to force the Germans.

As he had done so from the beginning, Coley's brother Ishpreet publicly spoke out in support of his brother, telling the media he had been framed on account of his race. His first wife, Shalinda, travelled to India from the UK to attend the extradition hearing and testify on her husband's behalf, despite him having since married another woman. She claimed the statement she supplied to police during her husband's time on the run, in which he came home the day after Hannah's abduction, nervous with a scratch on his face and talking about the body of a teenage girl being in his van, was a complete fabrication coerced by Hampshire police.

She also filed an affidavit alleging British officials had held her hostage, refusing to let her travel to India until they came under international pressure to do so. Coley's second wife, Baharati, had another change of heart and once again became convinced of his innocence, speaking out in his defence. In a 2005 interview with Times of India, she said she hoped her husband would be cleared of the crimes and returned to live with her. The extradition process continued for several years, with Trevor and Hillary Foster returning to India on numerous occasions in an attempt to speed up the legal proceedings and ensure

the case remained in the news. They spoke publicly about how emotionally exhausting and frustrating it was that the process was taking so long, but acknowledged there was little that could be done in the Indian system to help bring them justice sooner. In February 2007, as the four-year anniversary of Hannah's murder approached, Hillary Foster told the Southern Daily Echo newspaper, After more than 100 court proceedings and 35 appeals, Delhi's High Court judge finally determined there was sufficient evidence for Coley to face trial in the UK for Hannah's

murder. On Saturday, July 28, 2007, exactly three years after his arrest, Coley was extradited to England, where he was formally charged with the murder, manslaughter, rape and false imprisonment of Hannah Foster, as well as perverting the course of justice. He was the first person successfully extradited from India to the UK. Coley's trial began on Monday, October 13, 2008, at the Winchester Crown Court. The now 41-year-old had pled not guilty to all charges, with the redacted confession he made on Indian television deemed inadmissible in court.

The prosecution had to rely on the physical and circumstantial evidence available, including the DNA and CCTV footage, Hannah's mobile phone records and the recording of her 999 call. An enhanced version of the call was played to the jury, with Hillary and Trevor Foster telling the court the fear in their daughter's voice was palpable. Coley's defence team attempted to pin the crime on their client's former Hazelwood food supervisor, James Dennis, who had tipped police off about Coley in the early days of the investigation.

In the years before Hannah's murder, James had lent Coley £16,000 to help him sort his life out, but instead, Coley had gambled the money away. When James demanded he repay the money, Coley ordered the debt be cleared, threatening to go public with a fictitious rumour that he had an affair with James's wife. In response to this attempt at blackmailing, Coley claimed that James and his brother orchestrated an elaborate revenge plot against him, wherein he was abducted, bound and blindfolded and then forced to rape Hannah Foster, justifying why his semen had been found in his van and on her clothing.

James Dennis took the stand to vehemently deny these allegations, with his wife also testifying she barely knew Coley and had never been romantically involved with him. Prosecution lawyer Nicholas Haggin accused Coley of being a self-confessed liar, saying he had five and a half years to concoct this wild and elaborate story. You have told the jury what you did to Hannah, but you substituted yourself instead of her. On Tuesday, November 25, 2008, after six weeks of trial and five hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict, finding Meninda Powell, sing Coley guilty of Hannah Foster's murder. He showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered, slightly shaking his head, while Hannah's

family openly wept. Prior to sentencing, a victim impact statement prepared by Hilary Foster was read to the court by Hannah's aunt, moving several members of the jury to tears. Hilary spoke of the pain her family had endured upon not only losing Hannah under the most violent of circumstances, but from the prolonged suffering Coley had caused by purposefully evading police detection, fighting extradition proceedings, and arguing that his human rights be respected when he had so callously disregarded her daughter's right to life. She said had it not been for her other daughter Sarah, she would have lost the will to live.

Every statement read, When a mother gives birth, she has an immediate, instinctive need to nurture and protect her child. I would give anything to change places with Hannah, to take away the terror and pain she suffered that night. For the rest of my life, I will feel the guilt that I wasn't there when she needed me most. She died terrified and alone with an evil stranger. I feel as though Coley has ripped out my heart and stamped on it.

Hannah was a gentle, peace loving girl who was never able to cope with the raised voices and certainly not any threat of violence. She would have been frozen with fear, unable to run or fight. The proverbial lamb to the slaughter. We cherish every moment we spent with Hannah. We have so many happy memories. I can see her now running along the beach with Sarah, stopping to practice her ballet exercises.

So slight and graceful, hardly leaving a footprint in the sand. I miss her quiet ways, snuggled up with a book in the garden or cuddling up with her father on the setty to sneak some warmth. I miss those intimate chats. I miss her so much. The sense of loss is unbearable. We are heartbroken and will always remain so. Hannah, your short life enriched the lives of so many people.

You'll never be forgotten. Loved forever. My darling little girl. May you now rest in peace. Presiding judge Justice Keith addressed Coley directly as he said, It took a long time for you to be brought to justice, but the law caught up with you in the end. The jury saw through your lies, and you stand there exposed as a heartless and contemptible

man who abducted and raped a 17 year old girl with everything to live for, and then callously and quite premeditatedly took her life so she would not be able to point the finger of guilt at you. For Hannah's murder, Coley was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 24 years to run concurrently with an additional 12 years for rape and six years for false imprisonment and kidnapping. Taking into account time served awaiting extradition to the UK. The sentence means Coley will be eligible for parole in 2030 at the age of 63.

Outside court, the Foster family voiced their disappointment in the sentence, saying they believed Coley should spend the rest of his life in prison. Trevor Foster said, This sentence gives him the right to a second chance at life, a second chance he never gave Hannah. To see Coley's life valued in this way when he showed such utter disregard for Hannah's is hurtful beyond measure. The punishment should fit the crime, in this case it certainly did not.

The desperate and discreet 999 Corps placed by Hannah Foster on the night of her abduction was discussed during her murder trial with prosecution lawyer Nicholas Haggan telling the court. Hannah probably thought that the operator would listen to the conversation and work out that she was being held against her will and that the operator would contact the police. Unfortunately Hannah would not have known that there was a system in place to prevent accidentally dialed emergency calls from blocking up the system. This call was disconnected after only a very short time and so there was no response to

her attempt to get help. To avoid similar situations from happening again, the UK police watchdog launched a campaign to raise awareness of 999's silent solutions feature. An instruction guide released by the independent office for police conduct advised callers to tap buttons or cough into the phone if they find themselves unable to speak directly to the emergency services operator. The silent solutions feature that required callers to dial 5-5 to receive assistance was also heavily publicised, a requisite that may have impacted Hannah's fate had she been

aware. Following Coley's arrest, the reward money was distributed between a dozen Indian citizens who provided police with pivotal information that led to his capture. Taxi driver Jason Latcha was one recipient, receiving 5,000 pounds for alerting police to Coley's presence in Darjeeling. Jason had come from a poor family but had benefited from a quality education and had always been his dream to open a school that provided free education for underprivileged children.

Using his portion of the reward money, he purchased a plot of land in a small village in a remote, poor area in North East India, and in 2005 opened a free school named the Hannah Memorial Academy. Jason Stated More than the money, it is the feeling of having helped the police nab such a dangerous criminal that made me happy. A year later, Jason picked up two British tourists who were visiting Darjeeling and told them about the school. The couple, Christine Browning and Roger McLevity visited the facility and were inspired to

help. Upon returning to the UK, they tracked down the Foster family to tell them about the great efforts Jason was making in honour of their daughter. They began collecting charitable donations and books to send to India, with the Hannah Memorial Academy soon growing to accommodate 125 students. A new road has since been constructed to gain better access to the school, with the mayor of Darjeeling naming it the Hannah Memorial Road. A local doctor visits the school regularly to provide free checkups and treatments to

the pupils, with the school now serving as a polio vaccination centre, making it a fitting tribute to Hannah, who dreamed of one day becoming a doctor. A statement from Hillary and Trevor Foster on the school's website reads, Losing Hannah in such circumstances has made us overly cynical and distrustful. Finding out that this school project is a genuine philanthropic gesture from Jason has gone a long way to restoring our faith in human nature. We thank him for naming the school after Hannah, which has made us both very grateful and very proud.

She had a huge appetite for learning, we're sure that will rub off on all those bright-eyed eager children who will benefit from this school. In Southampton at the rear of Highfield Church, an 18-inch bronze statue of a dancing girl titled The Spirit of Youth has been erected in Hannah's honour, accompanied by a plaque which reads, Hannah was a much admired and respected student, bright, friendly, intelligent and caring, not only towards her fellow students, but also her love and respect for the world we live in.

As a talented dancer herself, this figure brimming with energy and grace is designed to be an inspiration to other young people. It's the same church where years earlier Hannah was solemnly farewelled by her family, friends and the greater Southampton community. During the poignant service, her friend Haley had delivered a poem which read, Hannah, Hannah, softly dream of a golden sun in a valley of green. I feel your magic everywhere, in the breeze on my face and the sun in my hair. Dance through the mountains and skip down the stream.

Hannah be free and a softly dream.