sion jenkins© Photo: Rex

Who Killed Billie Jo?: Where is Sion Jenkins now? 

Find out what happened to Billie Jo's foster father

TV and film writer
February 10, 2022

Channel 5's new documentary, Who Killed Billie-Jo?, tells the story of Billie-Jo Jenkins, a 13-year-old foster child who was murdered at her home in Hastings in 1997. 

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Billie-Jo's foster father, Sion Jenkins, was originally convicted for the crime but was formally acquitted after two retrials in which the jury was unable to reach a verdict. But where is he now? 

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Where is Sion Jenkins now? 

After spending six years in jail for the brutal murder of Billie-Jo, Sion Jenkins was acquitted on 9 February 2006. He was denied compensation on the grounds that there is no evidence to prove his innocence.

Following his acquittal, Sion's ex-wife Lois alleged he had been violent to her and their four daughters.

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Siôn, now 63, remarried in 2005 to millionaire divorcee and former Miss Southsea beauty queen Christina Ferneyhough after she wrote to him during his time in prison. 

© Photo: Channel 5

Billie-Jo's murder case is still unsolved

While the couple has managed to stay out of the press for a long time, we do know that the former deputy headteacher studied criminology at Portsmouth University in 2010 while his wife was working as a nurse at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in nearby Cosham. 

At the time, the couple were living in a £550,000 home in Southsea, Hampshire. 

Last year, the website Justice for Sion Jenkins said: "The story of Billie-Jo can't have a happy ending but it should have a truthful one. Someone knows the answer and it's time to tell the truth."

It called on Sussex Police to reopen the case and "admit that serious mistakes were made in 1997".

© Photo: Channel 5

Sion Jenkins spent six years in prison

Police will now re-examine the forensic evidence to see if advances in forensic science can provide new evidence or lines of enquiry.

Officers have said that no new information has been provided and that the review is part of the regular assessment process. The case is not being re-investigated. 

What happened to Billie-Jo?

Sussex schoolgirl Billie-Jo Jenkins was beaten to death with an iron tent peg at her home in Hastings 25 years ago. Her case has become one of the UK's most high-profile unsolved murders.

One of Billie-Jo's school friends, Laura Martin, features in the documentary

The 13-year-old had been painting patio doors when she was attacked and died within minutes of the assault.

Sion told the police that he had found Billie-Jo in a pool of blood on the patio when he returned from a shopping trip with two of his daughters, Annie and Charlotte. 

Sion was convicted of her murder before being acquitted following a second retrial. The key disputed evidence involved microscopic drops of Billie-Jo's blood found on his clothing.

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