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Missing persons poster in Lancashire: Nicola Bulley is dead
Photo:
PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
The case moved people in Great Britain: On January 27, Nicola Bulley disappeared in Lancashire in the north-west of England.
The police searched for her for weeks and only found a body last Sunday.
It has been clear since Monday: It is Bulley's body.
Now there is fierce criticism of the media coverage of the case.
"We'll never know what Nikki went through in her final moments," Bulley's family explained.
The public speculation, including in the press, was "absolutely appalling."
The broadcasters ITV and Sky had made direct contact with the family, although "expressly" asked for privacy.
The British media regulator Ofcom then asked ITV and Sky, according to their own statements, to explain themselves.
Bulley's disappearance became a media spectacle: British media literally threw themselves on the case of the financial advisor.
But her partner also turned to the media and spoke publicly about the search for his wife.
"It's hell on earth," he said.
The »Guardian« describes
the most important developments of January 27th chronologically:
8:50 a.m.:
While walking, Bulley is last seen by another handler.
9.01 a.m .:
The financial advisor dials into an online conference of her work.
9:30 a.m.:
The conference ends.
However, Bulley remains logged in on her smartphone.
9.35 a.m .:
Another dog handler finds the smartphone and the dog on a park bench.
11 a.m.:
Bulley is reported missing to police.
Although the police announced on February 3 that there was no evidence of third-party involvement and that it was assumed
the 45-year-old fell into a river.
Nevertheless, a real hype also developed in the social networks.
The topic was particularly present on TikTok, where its infamous algorithm helped spread questionable content.
The short video app repeatedly has problems with misinformation and conspiracy theories that often appear unfiltered between everyday videos.
Rumors and idiosyncratic theories about the Nicola Bulley case were liked and commented on thousands of times, and individual users even drove to the alleged crime scene themselves.
One of the targets of many "hobby detectives," as the police called them, was Bulley's partner.
Influencers filmed on their own in the village called St Michael's on Wyre
and spoke to passers-by.
"It was absolutely horrifying to see the UK treating the Nicola Bulley case like a true crime documentary on Netflix," wrote a Twitter user.
TikTok itself said it would take "action" against people who violated policies in the context of the Bulley case.
The media had previously reported that an influencer had been arrested and fined.
The internet and real criminal cases
It's not the first time that amateurs have started playing detective together online.
After the attack on the Boston Marathon in 2013, for example, it was initially unclear who was behind the attack, but there was a lot of image and video material.
At the time, Reddit users felt called upon to clear up the crime.
The action ended with Reddit operators apologizing to the family of a student who was found dead a week after the attack and had been missing for a long time.
The student had nothing to do with the assassination, but Reddit said he was a prime suspect along with another bystander.
Questionable suspicions of real people were more frequent on Reddit in the years that followed, for example in subreddits on true crime documentaries such as »Making a Murderer«.
The case of Nicola Bulley is also discussed on Reddit, there is even a whole forum there.
Lancashire Police have described the Bulley speculation as "completely unacceptable".
However, the authorities themselves came under criticism for saying that Bulley used to have serious problems with alcohol.
It was said that the alcohol addiction was a big challenge for her partner and the family with two daughters.
Bulley also struggled with her menopause.
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns tweeted that she couldn't see how this would help investigators in their search.
"But I can see how it benefits those who want to blame or denigrate the victim," she wrote.
The police justify the statements by saying that they wanted to prevent further speculation.
According to the family, they were informed about the police statement.
However, after the sharp criticism, Lancashire Police announced that they would conduct an internal investigation.
After the body was found, Bulley's family hopes to finally be able to rest.
"Leave us alone now," says the statement released by the police.
“Finally you're not a missing person anymore, Nikki.
You were found, we can leave you alone now.« And: »We take over from here.«