´óÏó´«Ã½

There can be few worse nightmares for any parent than having a child murdered. Except, perhaps, then being accused of that murder, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment, all the time protesting your innocence.

This has been the terrifying experience of Roy Jenkins' guest on All Things Considered this week (Sunday 22 June at 8.30am and repeated Wednesday 25 June at 6.30pm).

Sion Jenkins was foster father to 13-year-old Billie Jo when she was brutally murdered at the family home in Hastings in February 1997. He'd found her after the attack, but microscopic spots of blood on his clothing were held to implicate him. Crucial evidence was not available at his trial, and the jury decided unanimously that he was a murderer, and even his wife Lois (now his former wife) was also convinced.

The police investigation was subsequently much criticised and the scientific evidence discredited, but it took two appeals and two re-trials before Sion Jenkins was finally acquitted. He had spent more than six years in prison, alongside some of the most notorious killers of our day.

Throughout his ordeal, he was supported by his parents David and Megan from their home in Aberystwyth, and also - among many others - by members of their local church.