Where Is Rachel Nickell's BF, Andre Hanscombe? Is Haunted By The Brutal Incident Even After 34 Years

Netflix has been bringing some of the most disturbing cases to life with its latest collection of true-crime documentaries. So, when the OTT giant announced The Murder of Rachel Nickell and The Witness, it was obvious that fans were intrigued to see the documentary about a case that made headlines back in the day. The true crime documentary followed the murder of Rachel Nickell in front of her 2-year-old son, Alex. 

However, as fans continued to watch the documentary, they became increasingly intrigued by who Andre Hanscombe was. For the unversed, he was Rachel Nickell's boyfriend at the time and the father of Alex Hanscombe. So, as the film once again draws attention to one of the most infamous murder cases, let's take a look at where Andre is now.

Inside the chilling murder of Rachel Nickell

Rachel Nickell was attacked and murdered on July 15, 1992. The horrifying incident took place while she was walking on Wimbledon Common with her son, Alex, and their dog. What drew everyone's attention was the fact that the crime happened in broad daylight, and yet the killer was nowhere to be found. The case shocked the United Kingdom and immediately drew attention. The investigation quickly became one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Britain.

Police initially arrested a man named Colin Stagg. However, years later, advances in DNA technology helped to identify Robert Napper, the actual murderer, who admitted that he killed Rachel in 2008. While Napper's arrest put an end to the cold case, the agony it left Andre and Alex in remained unchanged.

How did Andre Hanscombe and Rachel Nickell meet?

Andre Hanscombe had not expected that his life would take such a drastic turn, but as fate would have it, things took a turn when his partner, Rachel Nickell, was brutally murdered in front of their 2-year-old son, Alex. The couple had just started their life together a few years prior to the incident. Andre and Nickell had fallen in love, and she became pregnant with their child, Alex, when she was 19 years old. They went on to raise their son in southwest London while Andre worked as a motorcycle courier. 

Who is Rachel Nickell's boyfriend, Andre Hanscombe?

At the time of her death, Rachel Nickell was in a relationship with Andre Hanscombe. The couple lived together near Wimbledon Common, with their son, Alex. The family was living their life and building a happy place for their little world. However, after Rachel's murder, Andre was faced with several challenges in raising his traumatised child. The unexpected events in life weakened and broke him. He later wrote about his experiences and has spoken publicly about the emotional turmoil that he and his family faced after the incident. Nonetheless, the hole that was left by Rachel's murderer still seems to exist in his heart.

How did The Witness tell Andre Hanscombe's story?

While The Murder of Rachel Nickell focuses on the crime and investigation, Netflix's drama series, The Witness, shifts attention to Andre Hanscombe and Alex. Rather than focusing on investigations and courtroom developments, the three-part series explores grief, trauma and survival from the perspective of the family left behind. The role of Andre is played by Jordan Bolger in the series, and it focuses on how he aims to protect and support Alex as they navigate a new phase after a personal loss.

Where is Andre Hanscombe now?

It has been over three decades since Andre Hanscombe lost the mother of his child, Rachel Nickell, to the cruelty of a man who had no apparent reason to murder her. For the unversed, reports have revealed that Robert Napper suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and Asperger's syndrome, which made him have extreme anger toward women, and it was in that fit of anger that he killed Rachel. After her death, Andre and Alex continued residing in a small French town.

After a few years, they moved to Spain, where they put down roots, as they told The Guardian in 2017. There, Andre began coaching tennis, while Alex studied music and yoga across the world. Although they had physically removed themselves from the traumatic ordeal, both of them continued to suffer with feelings of guilt and grief. In the Netflix documentary, he was quoted as saying:

"I had a huge sense of guilt that I hadn't protected my family. And you do feel stupid, you feel like a fool, because we're told to put our security in the hands of other agencies and once upon a time, it was the wild west, and you took the law into your own hands, and you protected your loved ones with whatever it took, and that's what hit me at the time — I didn't do that and I wish I had."

A question that still haunts Andre Hanscombe

While Andre and Alex initially struggled to maintain a strong relationship, they bonded over their grief and remain close. However, a question has haunted Andre even decades after Rachel's death. In the Netflix documentary, he expresses his confusion over why Robert took Rachel's life and said:

"My greatest confusion was why, you know? You know, the anger with God that these kinds of things can happen to good people with absolutely no explanation, and so I had a mission, and that was to bring Rachel's child through this in the best way possible."

image credit: Netflix/YT

What are your thoughts on Andre Hanscombe's whereabouts decades after Rachel Nickell's death?

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