Rawtenstall man features in documentary about his murderer father

29 September 2008 
Lancashire Telegraph
Helen Korn

THE son of a notorious murderer who killed a schoolgirl 30 years ago has taken part in a documentary with the victim’s family. Nick Tighe from Rawtenstall, publicly branded his father, Ronald Castree, “sick and evil” after he was found guilty last year of murdering Rochdale schoolgirl Lesley Molseed back in 1975.

The case, which is featured on ITV’s Real Crime programme tonight, gained notoriety after Stefan Kiszko was wrongly convicted of murdering Lesley and 16 years behind bars before being freed on appeal in 1992.
Real Crime shows the impact of the miscarriage of justice on Lesley’s family, Kiszko's relatives and Castree’s family, as well as how real murderer Castree coped with his guilt while another man was punished for his crime.

Mr Tighe said:

“The documentary was filmed quite a while ago in different locations. I was honoured to be asked to take part in it because it finally shows that justice has been done for Lesley. “I have met the Molseeds and am still in touch with them, which is really good because it helps both families.“The programme showed that we have all suffered in some way as a result of my father’s actions. “We had a horrific childhood and then he left us and 10 years later we hear about this like a bolt out of the blue. “It wasn’t just about my family - it hurt Stefan’s family and Lesley’s family as well.”

He added that he hopes Lesley’s family can now get some kind of closure on their ordeal.

Castree, a former taxi driver, was caught 15 years after Kiszko’s conviction was quashed as a result of DNA evidence from Lesley’s clothing. He was jailed for a minimum of 30 years in November 2007 and had his appeal against his conviction quashed in July.

Stefan Kiszko died, aged 41, in 1993, shortly after his release.