Wednesday 24 Sep 2014
Tonight ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One's Inside Out for the North East and Cumbria begins with an interview with Suzanne Holdsworth – the woman who was acquitted of the murder of two-year-old Kyle Fisher last year.
Suzanne, formerly of Hartlepool but now living in Yorkshire, is still severely traumatised by her wrongful conviction and subsequent imprisonment.
In her first TV interview since her release she tells presenter Chris Jackson how devastating the whole experience has been for her and how she attempted suicide while in prison.
"... they make this thing up that you're supposed to have done and throw you in jail... break the jigsaw... then throw you out and say 'you pick up the pieces'," says Suzanne.
Suzanne's partner Lee Spencer says: "She's not the same person, she's a tearful, clingy person now."
Suzanne often stays inside the house all day – a sharp contrast to her former life where she had to be up and out of the house every day for work.
Though Suzanne left Hartlepool soon after her arrest, she has maintained contact with Jane Whitfield, Kyle Fisher's grandmother.
Inside Out brings the pair together for the first time since Suzanne was in the dock.
Jane tells Suzanne that, as she heard the evidence, she was convinced of her innocence.
Jane says: "... at the end of it I thought what a load of rubbish – it's pathetic."
She also wonders how Suzanne dealt with being in prison knowing that she was innocent.
Suzanne meets Angela Cannings, who was cleared of killing her baby sons in 2003, having spent 20 months in prison.
In their first face-to-face meeting, Angela reassures Suzanne that, although she is still struggling with a lot of emotions, as time goes on she will get better, stronger and more confident.
Lee thinks that the investigation led by The Independent Police Complaints Commission into Cleveland Police's handling of the case, which has yet to report, may give Suzanne some kind of closure.
As for compensation, Suzanne and Paul say that there is no amount of money in the world that could make up for what they have been through.
"Is it going to bring back the three-and-a-half years I lost with my kids?" says Suzanne.
Inside Out, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One North East & Cumbria, Monday 26 October 2009, 7.30-8.00pm
Suzanne Holdsworth spent three years in Low Newton prison in County Durham having been convicted of murder in 2005. She was released in December 2008.
RF
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