In 1980, a man who should have been under supervision walked out of a Scottish psychiatric hospital. Hours later, an alarm sounded inside another hospital building in Glasgow. What followed raised questions that went far beyond one crime scene…
Read moreThe Pingle Bridge Murders / Janice & Connie Sheridan / Kevin Cotterell
In January 1999, 79-year-old Constance “Connie” Sheridan and her 56-year-old daughter Janice were found murdered inside their secluded home near Upwell, Norfolk. Surrounded by the dogs they loved, the mother and daughter had lived quietly, until a brutal double murder led the police into the world of dog shows, fingerprints, forensic evidence, and a pale car seen near Pingle Bridge…
Read moreLuton Triple Murder & Planned School Shooting / Nicholas Prosper
Clarice Reyes groggily checked the time—it was just after 5 am. She lived on the seventh floor of the Leabank building in Marsh Farm, an area of Luton in Bedfordshire. It was the heavy thudding coming from the flat above that roused Clarice from sleep. The noise, like the sound of a scuffle, came from the eighth floor. Exasperated, she dragged herself out of bed and followed the commotion upstairs, stopping outside flat number 82…
Read moreNottingham Flat Fire Deaths
People had perished in the fire, and officers needed to gather as much information as possible. They visited the flat next door to routinely question the man who lived there. He said he needed to tell them something about the blaze. He held his hands out in front of him and put his head down before saying, “Can you get me out of here without being killed?”...
Read moreDouble Murder In Lockdown
The house finally fell silent. A few minutes later, Maria hesitantly opened her bedroom door and looked out onto the landing. Daniel, who also shared the property, was standing outside holding a mobile phone in a white-gloved hand. He locked eyes with Maria and told her: "Go back into your room and lock the door. I'm calling the police"...
Read moreThe Makeshift Mausoleum / Virginia McCullough
John McCullough had missed yet another doctor's appointment, which raised concerns for the receptionist at the GP practice in Chelmsford. Thinking back, she couldn’t recall the last time she had seen John or his wife Lois…
Read moreOver The Edge / Miles Giffard
The sergeant followed the single tyre track past the chrysanthemums that had tipped from their pot onto the ground. Dark red stains intermittently coloured the route from the garage, through the garden gate, to between the beech and oak trees on the rough cliffside terrain. A brown trilby hat lay in the dew-soaked grass. Close by was a bloodstained wallet. The narrow pathway led to the cliff’s edge, and as the sergeant peered down to the rocks 120 ft below, he saw who he’d been looking for….
Read moreVictorian Murder Case / The Death of Harriet Staunton - Part 1
A telegram arrived unexpectedly. Mrs Butterfield hoped it was a sign that her daughter was finally ready to speak to her again. She hadn’t seen Harriet in over a year, although she had tried unsuccessfully several times since then. The short message in the telegram dashed all hope of reuniting with her daughter. It bluntly read: “Harriet Staunton died yesterday at 34 Forbes Road… Will be buried today, Sunday”… (Part 1 of 2).
Read moreMissing and Murdered / Where Are Renee & Andrew MacRae?
Emergency responders were relieved to find there were no casualties. The car had been abandoned. Puzzlingly, the vehicle was traced back to a mother who had left Inverness with her three-year-old son hours earlier. What initially seemed to be a burnt-out vehicle left after a joyride turned out to be so much more. It remained a mystery for over four decades…
Read moreFentanyl Poisoner / Luke D'Wit
Ellie and her partner Marcus walked around to the large conservatory at the back of the house. Through the glass doors, they could see the silhouettes of two familiar figures sitting in their favourite armchairs, although something did not seem right with Carol and Stephen Baxter…
Read moreDeath In The Family
There is a timeless saying that bad things happen in threes. Some believe the superstition originates from the wartime phrase ‘Three on a match’ — which refers to three soldiers using the same match to light a cigarette. It was said that the light of the match would be seen by an enemy marksman, and by the time the third soldier lit their cigarette, they would be shot by the gunman who had them in their sights. While there is no scientific proof to support the notion that tragedies continue to happen three times in a row, there are certain stories where the belief rings true...
Read moreThe Killamarsh Killings / Damien Bendall
The Probation Service and Parole Boards are meant to safeguard our communities. However, no organisation or independent body is immune to errors or shortcomings. If they fail in their duty, then dangerous people can be released straight into the path of innocent victims…
Read moreThe Millionaire & The Murder Suicide / Christopher Foster
At first glance, the Foster family possessed all the trappings of a picture-perfect life; a sprawling mansion worth £1.2 million nestled in the quiet expanse of Maesbrook, Shropshire, a privately educated daughter, and a fleet of luxury cars. In the summer of 2008, everything changed in an instant. As dawn broke on August 26th, an explosive eruption jolted the neighbourhood awake, drawing sleepy residents from their beds. Flames engulfed the Fosters’ lavish home, and thick smoke penetrated the morning sky. An investigation into the inferno would unearth the unsettling truth that sometimes, appearances can be deceiving….
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