The mother of the man accused of murdering schoolboy Rikki Neave has been accused in court of “covering up” for him.
James Watson was 13 when he allegedly strangled six-year-old Rikki and left his naked body in woods near the Welland estate in Peterborough on November 28 1994.
After the boy’s death, Watson told police he visited his mother that day at the home she shared with her new partner in the town.
At the time, Shirley Watson – now Shirley Cliffe – denied it and also told police of a radio report he claimed to have heard about the death of a two-year-old child three days before the murder.
In her statement in 1995, Ms Cliffe said: “I have been asked to explain a comment I made to my partner’s daughter Melanie Giddings on November 27 1994.
“Two days prior to this, I had a conversation by phone with my son James Watson…
“James told me that a baby had been found over the dyke near Welland.
“He wanted me to say if what he had heard was true.
“I told him that I had not heard this before and knew nothing of what was said.”
Giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Monday, Ms Cliffe was asked to confirm her statement.
She repeatedly told jurors that it was not true.
Prosecutor John Price QC said: “Have you ever discussed the case with your son?”
Ms Cliffe said she had.
The prosecutor said: “Have you discussed the phone conversation about the two-year-old baby that was found near the dyke?”
Ms Watson replied: “Not that I can think of.”
Mr Price asked: “Have you, Ms Cliffe, come to realise the significance of the fact of this conversation taking place as it did before Rikki Neave died?
“Has it been explained to you by your son? Are you lying to protect your son?”
Ms Cliffe said: “No, I am not.”
Mr Price pressed: “Have you been asked to lie for your son?”
Ms Cliffe raised her voice as she replied: “No, I have not, 100%.”
She also denied telling police Watson did not visit her house on the day Rikki went missing, contrary to what he had told police.
Mr Price asserted: “You are covering up for your son, are you not?”
Ms Cliffe said: “No, I am not.”
Cross-examining, Jennifer Dempster QC suggested that Ms Cliffe had got “confused” in her original statement.
Ms Cliffe, who worked was working as a cleaner in 1994, tearfully agreed.
Jurors have been told Watson was sighted with Rikki by residents on the Welland estate on the morning of November 28 1994, when both children should have been at school.
Following a cold case review, Watson’s DNA was found on Rikki’s clothes which were dumped in a bin near the woods, jurors have heard.
Last week, a former teacher recalled finding Watson with multiple copies of the front page of the local paper, which he said were to display in the children’s home in March, Cambridgeshire where he was living.
Watson, now 40, has denied murder. The trial continues.
