VILE 'Babes in the Wood' killer Russell Bishop is dead – four years after he was finally caged for the child murders.
The monster, 55, died in hospital last night just hours after being rushed there from top security HMP Frankland, Co Durham.
His last moments were spent alone, watched over only by a pair of prison officers as his life ebbed away.
Bishop had escaped justice for 32 years after murdering nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in 1986.
He was prosecuted for the notorious attack, but walked free from court in 1987 thanks to a catalogue of blunders.
DNA evidence finally saw him caged in 2018, but last year we revealed how he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer.
The disease quickly spread despite surgery, and by October he was being given palliative care.
The families of Bishop's victims begged him to use his final weeks to tell them why he had committed the murders.
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Last night a source said: "Bishop spent his last weeks in relative peace – a world away from the torment he has caused the girls' families.
"There will be few tears shed for his passing."
Bishop was taken to hospital yesterday after his health deteriorated rapidly in prison.
And by the afternoon a local undertaker had been placed on standby.
Sources said that he was rushed to hospital after suffering from breathing difficulties and passed away shortly before 9pm last night.
A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “HMP Frankland prisoner Russell Bishop died in hospital on January 20.
"The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman routinely investigates all deaths in custody.
Bishop's own relatives were informed overnight of his death, which came just three weeks before his 56th birthday.
His death will now be referred to the coroner.
Bishop, of Brighton, East Sussex, lured best friends Nicola and Karen to a secluded den in the city's Wild Park where he sexually assaulted and strangled them.
Their bodies were found the next day.
He was prosecuted, but escaped justice in 1987 due to errors by police, forensic experts and prosecutors.
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Bishop went on to abduct and sexually assault a girl of seven in a near identical attack and was jailed for attempted murder in 1990.
He was finally convicted of the Babes in the Wood murders in December 2018 after DNA advances.
But his death brings to an end the chance to investigate him over any other linked attacks.
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