meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Walkers: The real Salt Path | Tortoise Investigates

Introducing: Three doors down

The Walkers: The real Salt Path | Tortoise Investigates

The Observer

Society & Culture, True Crime, Documentary

4.6 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Introducing Three doors down: a murder, a mother and a thirty year investigation


In May in a packed room at Newcastle Crown Court, David Boyd, was found guilty of the brutal murder in 1992 of seven year-old Nikki Allan. Sharon Henderson, Nikki’s mother, called for a public inquiry into why it had taken the police so long to find and convict her daughter’s murderer. 


When Nikki was murdered, Sharon was a single mother of four living in Wear Garth, a rundown housing estate in Sunderland. David Boyd lived a few floors above Sharon in the same block. He was known to the police. He was the kind of offender who should have been caught. 


Three doors down tells the astonishing story of Sharon Henderson’s thirty year campaign to get justice for her daughter’s killing. It shines a light on police behaviour and their treatment of working class women. It’s a personal tale of trauma and resilience in the face of systemic police failure, that couldn’t be more timely. 


Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.


If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This story begins with what feels like the end.

0:04.0

David Boyd, stand up.

0:06.0

For the murder of Nicky Allen, on the 7th of October of 1992, the sentence of the court is one of life imprisonment.

0:17.0

You will serve a term of 29 years.

0:20.0

David Boyd was sentenced in May this year for the brutal killing of a seven-year-old girl.

0:26.6

He was a convicted child sex offender who lived three doors down from the place where she went missing.

0:32.6

As an investigative team, we have worked tirelessly, tirelessly on what has been a complex and challenging

0:40.8

investigation. Our commitment has always been to establish who was responsible and to bring them to

0:47.3

justice. It looks like a victory for Lisa Thika, the chief investigating officer, and for policing in general.

0:56.0

But how did it take three decades to find the killer?

1:00.6

I needed to do myself because nobody's gone to go out there Sharon now

1:05.9

and get justice for your band. You have to go out there yourself and do it.

1:10.8

George Heron was he looked weak, he looked feeble, he looked pale, greasy hair, big

1:16.1

glasses. He was kind of your stereotypical child murder if you like.

1:22.1

Do you think that police might make a judgment on someone based on their appearance or on their

1:26.7

background? No, no.

1:28.9

No, I don't think so.

1:30.8

This is a story of class prejudice, police corruption, and a shocking miscarriage of justice.

1:38.4

It wasn't your fault.

1:39.6

None of it was your fault.

1:41.5

I didn't give a shit about rumours, but I believe more people would have come forward

1:46.1

if the police had worked properly on the case

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Observer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Observer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.