Shoe fetish killer found experience of murdering and raping 51-year-old mother ‘tension releasing’, forensic psychologist suggests
Published: 17:03, 6 December 2023 | Updated: 17:38, 6 December 2023
A brutal shoe fetish killer who murdered a 51-year-old mother after tying her up with a pair of stockings and raping her may have – horrifically – found the experience ‘tension releasing’, a forensic psychiatrist has said.
Speaking on episode two of Incident Room on Channel 5[2] – airing tonight at 8pm – which looks at the tragic case of Wendy Speakes, Dr Richard Badcock explored what the sadistic acts committed by Christopher Farrow in 1994 could have been motivated by.
The discovery of Mrs Speakes’ body at her home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, on March 15 – 29 years ago – sparked a six-year manhunt.
He was finally caught after advances in fingerprint technology allowed a comparison to be made to the partial print found at the murder scene – after he was arrested for drunk driving years later.
He got a life sentence in November 2000 with a minimum term of 18-years and has had previous parole appeals rejected.
The discovery of Mrs Speakes’ body at her home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, on March 15 – 29 years ago – sparked a six-year manhunt.
Pictured in 1993
Dr Badcock told the programme that the murderer was evidently filled with anger when committing the crime[3].
‘There were multiple stabbings, there was a lot of rage involved,’ he explained.
‘The experience is tension releasing to him. The whole thing was very reminiscent of a displaced state of rage against, not a real life relationship with Wendy, but a displaced relationship from another relationship with a woman.
‘That was the primary motivating force behind the–the killing of Wendy.’
The case horrified the nation as it emerged Farrow, then 33, tied receptionist Wendy up with a pair of stockings, forced her to wear blue mule shoes before raping and then stabbing her to death.
The Channel 5 programme showed how this detail gave investigators an insight into the killer’s psyche at the time.
‘A pair of shoes appeared at the scene which were not Wendy’s,’ Dr Badcock explained.
‘The shoe cupboard had been ransacked, and that suggested quite strongly that the person was a shoe fetishist.
Christopher Farrow, pictured, was finally caught after advances in fingerprint technology allowed a comparison to be made to the partial print found at the murder scene
‘The whole point of a fetish is that it’s a physical object that you need to be with you when you have a sexual experience in order to achieve full sexual gratification.’
Bob Taylor – retired as Detective Chief Superintendent of West Yorkshire Police, who worked on the case – added: ‘Richard Badcock brought me into the word of the shoe fetish.
‘He was quite sure that everything in that scene was part of a fantasy killing.’
Dr Badcock also detailed how stalking likely played into the fetish element of the murder, as Bob expressed his view that Farrow was potentially ‘stalking numerous people’ before settling on Wendy as his victim.
‘Stalking in this case is interesting,’ the forensic psychiatrist added.
‘It has both a sort of practical aspect in that you’re identifying a victim, but there was also a degree of sexual gratification to be obtained from stalking.
‘You go through a process of following a person or picking a person out and imagining what you could do… if the opportunity presented itself.’
Dr Badcock (pictured) told the programme that the murderer was evidently filled with anger when committing the crime
Bob Taylor – retired as Detective Chief Superintendent of West Yorkshire Police, who worked on the case – also spoke to the programme
Paul Johnston – one of the first detectives from the incident room to visit the crime scene – also remarked on Farrow’s chillingly calm nature when interviewed
Mrs Speakes’ daughter, Tracey Millington-Jones – pictured – hopes Farrow ‘stays in prison and we throw away the key’
Farrow was jailed for life at Leeds Crown Court in November 2000 after pleading guilty to the murder and rape.
Paul Johnston – one of the first detectives from the incident room to visit the crime scene – also remarked on Farrow’s chillingly calm nature when interviewed.
‘Farrow’s never ever explained why he did what he did, why he chose Wendy Speakes, even why he was in Wakefield,’ he recounted.
‘And I remember thinking you come across as a very placid type of individual, but now that it’s undoubtedly you and it’s proven to be you, all you can do is say, quote, “Someone was gonna get it that day.”‘
‘He admitted the murder, but still insisted he didn’t have a shoe fetish,’ Bob continued.
‘He explains that his partner was about eight months pregnant and had turned him sex down, so he decided he’d go and he’d rape a woman.’
The case horrified the nation as it emerged Farrow, then 33, tied receptionist Wendy up with a pair of stockings, forced her to wear blue mule shoes before raping and then stabbing her to death. Pictured on the hen night of her daughter Tracey in 1993
Wendy Speakes (right) pictured on the hen night of her daughter Tracey in 1993 – eight months before she was killed
Dr Badcock also said that in Farrow’s eyes, the horrific murder was ‘something that he’d been forced to do because of the way he’d been treated by other women’.
In 2018, the killer became eligible to apply for parole – he has since had three applications rejected. In 2025, he will be eligible again.
Bob however branded Farrow an ‘animal’, stressing that he doesn’t believe the prisoner should be ‘released ever’.
‘As a person, I think Farrow is an animal,’ he said.
‘And this predatory killer takes her life needlessly, just to satisfy his own sexual urges.
And destroys a family.
Totally destroys a family.
‘He has not shown any remorse, I don’t think he’s fit to be released ever, I don’t think a woman is safe from this man.’
Mrs Speakes’ daughter, Tracey Millington-Jones, added: ‘My mum believed in eye for an eye.
I think a lot of people believe in an eye for an eye, especially when it’s your loved one that’s been murdered in such a horrific way.
‘And I was never given that option, so the only option I have is, he stays in prison and we throw away the key, and that’s what I’ll continue to fight for.’