Wild Park, is an area of land, several miles from Brighton's coast. Within that park stands a wooden bench and a brass plaque, inscribed with the names of two little girls. When the bench was built it sat between two maple trees that were planted in their memory. Karen and Nicola were only nine years old when they were murdered. The investigation to bring their killer to justice would take over three decades, and the toll it took on those involved was unimaginable — a failed trial, divorce, death from a broken heart, a change in the law, unfounded accusations of abuse, and all while the girls killer was in prison for a separate albeit near-identical crime. This is the case of the Babes In The Wood (Part 1 of 4).

In 1976, a boy was photographed. The picture appeared in The Daily Mirror. The 3-year-old was marching up and down in front of a sentry who stood outside Clarence House in London. Wearing a faux Queen’s Guard uniform, the boy was excited for the Trooping the Colour ceremony the next day. A snippet in the article mused about the child and his future. It read: "Dreaming, perhaps of the day when he can measure up to the real thing himself ". That boy was Mark Acklom. He chose a very different path to the one the newspaper and his parents had envisioned. From teenage swindler to one of England’s most wanted fugitives — Mark Acklom, known as an MI6 conman, led a life of audacious scams…

Under Operation Ensign, Sussex Police completed one of the most significant mass DNA screenings in its history. Still, by December 2018, the fifth anniversary of the murder, they were no further forward with capturing the person responsible. The killer appeared to have committed the perfect crime, and Valerie Graves’ death would forever remain a mystery. That was until July 10, 2019…

A traffic warden discovers a man stabbed to death in a parked car. Scotland Yard struggle to find any clues that would link a suspect to the scene. A month later, they receive a call from a headteacher at a college around 70 miles away. Police were told the victim could have been killed as part of an initiation test for the special air service…

During 2016, the cute and fuzzy creatures of Beatrix Potter’s famous children's books were being added to 50 pence coins to commemorate one hundred and fifty years since the author’s birth. No one was to predict the coins, engraved with classic characters such as Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Jemima Puddle-Duck, would be the motivating factor behind a brutal murder…

On Monday, November 6, 1978, Norah left her flat and ventured out in the late evening, planning to go to Southend-on-Sea, visiting a friend who was unwell. Norah’s car was parked in a garage behind The Old Ship pub, not even a hundred yards from her flat. Making the journey in the dark wasn’t too daunting as the car was merely a short walk away. Besides, there was plenty of foot traffic, and the streets were well lit. It was a journey she made often…

Nisha Patel-Nasri was attacked and murdered. Detectives believed that following a break-in, she was stabbed with her own knife. It was at first postulated the intruder had wanted the keys for the expensive limousines that were parked outside her home, or perhaps and less probable, her volunteer work as a special constable had made her a target. Officers working the case viewed CCTV footage around the time of Nisha’s murder. The recording showed a car close to the scene. That evidence would lead them to the front door of her husband, Fadi Nasri, who, the police were alleging, had arranged for a hitman to dispatch his wife. But why? (Part 2 of 2).

After doing some late-night accounting for her husband’s business, Nisha was in the kitchen, putting together the things she would need for a chocolate foundation — one of the centrepieces at her brother's wedding. Nisha securely locked the property and retired to bed. As the residents of Sudbury Avenue were settling in for the night, the faint noise of cars passing was pierced by a high-pitched scream (Part 1 of 2). 

On June 30, 2016, the emergency services were called to an address in Leeds after a young man was struggling to breathe. What the paramedics found would remain with them for the rest of their lives…

The idea of a trip to the local supermarket seems uneventful. So the last thing you would expect when taking your five-day-old baby out of the house for the first time is your sleeping newborn being punched in the face by a random stranger. The attack would lead to a stay in hospital and an ensuing trial for common assault, on a baby that wasn't even a week old…

You may not be aware of who Ken Dodd is. A surreal stand-up, family-friendly Liverpudlian comedian and ventriloquist, Dodd began his career in the 1950s but really had his heyday in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. He is a distinctive looking man—his prominent features, a head of fluffy wild hair and protruding teeth, were often accompanied by a red, white and blue feather duster, a prop that Dodd called his tickle stick…

An allotment is usually a place of tranquillity and community. Somewhere to watch your hard work grow. During 2017, at an allotment in London, something happened to change that sense of peace...

Raised in Swindon, Sallyann, or Sally as her mother would call her, had a happy childhood. Much like any other youngster at the time, Sallyann would ride her bike around the estate, enjoying walks in the park and family picnics. She was especially close to her mother. She was a happy child, but in her adolescence, she grew rebellious…

He had already spent much of his teenage years in and out of facilities for youth offenders. Edinburgh-born Alastair Thompson, at only eighteen years old, was about to commit a heinous crime that would see him put behind bars for over a decade and a half… 

On March 19, 2002, Linda Razzell vanished on her way to work. After a lengthy investigation, police set their sights on Linda’s estranged husband, Glyn. His whereabouts on the morning she went missing could not be accounted for, and a considerable amount of Linda’s blood was found in a car he had borrowed. Glyn Razzell was charged and the case went to trial, but he protested his innocence, insisting that the blood found in the car had been planted… (Part 2 of 2).

At 8:40 am on the morning of Tuesday, March 19, 2002, Linda Razzell got into her red Ford Escort along with her partner Greg Worrall and three of her four children. She was running late, which was not uncommon… (Part 1 of 2).

A nineteen-year-old Oxford student suddenly goes missing in 1991. Can the police weave their way through the lies to get to the truth?…

On March 24, 2011, Christopher Halliwell was arrested in connection with the suspected kidnapping of Sian O’Callaghan. Halliwell subsequently admitted to the murder, leading police to not only Sian’s body but the remains of another victim. After DNA testing, police identified the woman to be a Swindon native, Rebecca Godden-Edwards. During October 2012, Halliwell was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years for Sian’s murder, but a judge ruled that evidence gathered during the day of Halliwell's arrest was inadmissible. He couldn’t be charged for the killing of Rebecca Godden-Edwards, despite him leading police to her remains. But Why?… (Part 2 of 2).

Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher had been with the police force for 25 years. Following a missing persons appeal in 2011 — that quickly unravelled into a double murder inquiry — he couldn’t have imagined that his actions, to find the truth, would not only bring about the end of his career but almost cost him his life… (Part 1 of 2).

The New Forest is a beautiful and peaceful part of rural Hampshire. Purple heather covers grassland, horses roam freely, deer wander through the woodland. In 1986, the tranquillity was disturbed by one of the most heinous crimes in British history…