Sparing No Expense...

...for some families. Though not for others:

Their comments came as Robert Trigg was yesterday jailed for life for their daughter’s murder in 2011 and the manslaughter of Caroline Devlin in 2006.

Neither death was thought suspicious by police at the time, who were described as treating the killer like a bereaved lover rather than a suspect. He was not questioned by police until November after Ms Nicholson’s parents spent six years and thousands of pounds investigating the deaths themselves.

Compare this with the oceans of public funding spent on the Lawrences and the McCanns.

What a pity their daughter didn't mysteriously die in Portugal, it might have been holiday season...

Judge Simler praised Ms Nicholson’s family for fighting “doggedly and continuously” for justice. Mr Skelton, 83, of Goring, claimed he and his wife Elizabeth, 81, were not taken seriously by a string of public bodies.He called for a public inquiry, for investigations and conclusions on other deaths in similar circumstances to be reviewed, and said he was considering taking legal action against the force.

Mrs Skelton, who had a heart attack during their campaign, said: “The fight still goes on. We still seek answers to unexplained questions. Why is it the police were unable to bring this case to court when we, Susan’s parents in our eighties, managed to?”

Why indeed? It seems to have come down to resources:

Sussex Police apologised for the delay in getting justice for the families and referred how they handled the original investigations to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The court heard there was a row over money when the coroner told police a more thorough post-mortem on Ms Devlin should be carried out.

Probably cost a fraction of the police budget that went on kitting out their cars in rainbow colours to support 'Pride'...