When Clive and Elsie Ralph return home, they discover blood throughout their house, but no sign of their three young children or the man entrusted with looking after them. The investigation that follows uncovers shocking revelations about relationships, missed warning signs, and the events leading up to one of Britain's most shocking child murder cases…
Read moreAlarm at Gartnavel Hospital / Joyce and Jim Harkins, and Peter Flynn / James Harkins
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….
Read moreDalston Triple Murder / Wilbert Dyce
In the early 80s, July 19th, 1982, to be exact, four-year-old Rhodene Cunningham and her grandmother Mavis made their way to Kingsgate Estate in Dalston after spending the weekend together. Rhodene’s father, Keith, was in Spain visiting his brother, international and Real Madrid footballer Laurie Cunningham. Rhodene was looking forward to being reunited with her mother, Norma Richards, and her older sisters, nine-year-old Samantha, and seven-year-old Syretta. But, when she arrived at her maisonette with her grandmother, they found that the front door was already ajar...
Read moreThe Braybrook Street Murders / Harry Roberts
It was a typically warm mid-summer afternoon in 1966. However, shortly after 3 PM, the sound of gunshots rang out on a residential street in Shepherd’s Bush, West London…
Read moreThe Life & Crimes Of Donald Merrett / Ronald Chesney
Henrietta Sutherland rushed into the dining room at 31 Buckingham Terrace in Edinburgh. The maid to the Merrett family found 55-year-old Bertha unconscious on the floor, with a pool of blood around her head. Bertha’s 17-year-old son, Donald, was standing next to her when Henrietta entered the room. It was shortly after 9 AM on March 17th, 1926. The maid had been alerted by the sound of a single gunshot. When asked what had happened, Donald explained that he had been arguing with his mother, and she shot herself. However, not everything was as it seemed…
Read moreHuman Torch Killer / Victor Castigador
The manager of an amusement arcade on the corner of Gerrard Street and Wardour Street in Soho, London, went to open the premises for business — it was just before 8 AM on Monday, April 3rd, 1989. Accompanied by his assistant, when the manager entered the building, he heard faint cries from the basement, and a strong smell of smoke hung in the air. They moved cautiously through the property, heading down some stairs to a locked storeroom. When they opened the door and went inside, they discovered a desperate situation…
Read moreFootball Betting Scams & Brutal Double Murder
A young couple are found brutally murdered in their flat in Newcastle’s West End. The investigation into their deaths exposes a shadowy underworld of illegal betting scams, and traverses continents as detectives try to find the person responsible…
Read moreThe Russell Murders - Part 2 / The Conviction Of Michael Stone
It appeared as though justice was served when Michael Stone was convicted of the murders of Lin and Megan Russell and the attempted murder of Josie Russell. But as the case unravelled over the following weeks, months and years, did the new developments cast doubt on Stone’s involvement?… (Part 2 of 2).
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