From the start, it was clear to detectives that this was a murder inquiry. Officers were immediately dispatched to search the area for a possible suspect, maybe someone in bloody clothes or acting suspiciously. Onlookers had seen a man fleeing the scene. They noted he was wearing a light beige waist-length jacket. But despite a quick response from the Kent constabulary, asking all potential witnesses near the scene if they had seen anything, officers drew a blank…

In early April 2016, the judge began his summary of the case. Approaching its eighth week, during the trial the jury were told of the 100 plus injuries that were inflicted. Weighing six and a half stone, Angela Wrightson was beaten, not only punched and kicked, but assaulted with a table, a printer, a television, and a vase, over the course of several hours… (Part 3 of 3).

On the morning of December 9, 2014, Angela Wrightson was found lifeless on the sofa in her living room. She had died from multiple injuries inflicted during a brutal assault committed over the course of several hours. Due to the severity of the attack, a pathologist could not confirm a cause of death. Two teenagers, a 13 and 14-year-old, were charged with Angela’s murder… (Part 2 of 3).

The property did not stand out. Closed vertical blinds shielded the windows from prying eyes. The front door and brick facade were painted white. The chipped paint was offset against half a dozen bouquets of flowers all the colours of the rainbow, that had been secured to a drainpipe running parallel against the front door. In County Durham, around two weeks before Christmas 2014, the body of a female was discovered in a property located a short distance from Hartlepool town centre… (Part 1 of 3).

If you google "Rocklyn in Carnkie", the first articles that appear mention cruel and senseless murders committed in 2000. The views and B&Bs in the sleepy, scenic west Cornwall village take second place. The villagers had seldom seen a police officer in the area, if at all. There was never any need for one to visit, let alone patrol — it was that kind of place. But in the autumn of 2000, officers swarmed a family home at midnight when five people went missing…

Just north of an old toll bridge on the border of Dalkeith, Scotland sits a property called The Neuk in Bridge End. The beautiful home with servant quarters and outbuildings in Midlothian was the place for an exceptional party on February 3, 1911. As the evening was drawing to its conclusion, a party deemed a roaring success, it was time for one last drink, a coffee. But things were about to take an awful turn...

A forensic team dressed head to toe in white overalls combed the field. In their hunt for clues, they stood several metres apart as they steadily manoeuvred through the muddy grassland which was bordered by trees and dense bushes. A nearby road was closed off, and tracking dogs were deployed around the scene. The discovery was made by refuse collectors near the Cheshire village of Ashley located on the boundary of Greater Manchester…

"He murdered because he wanted to, for sexual or other gratification, or perhaps to see what it was like to kill - like so many of his heroes who he had clearly been researching” — Brian Altman QC, The Old Bailey, July 2007

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to years, years to decades. Roy's murderer was free to travel around the countryside and towns across the United Kingdom, undetected. Almost 33 years later, the law would catch up with him, but perhaps some of his crimes were left behind…

"Many people who consume too much alcohol can become aggressive. The prosecution say what the defendant did on July 7 last year… was done in anger and fuelled by drink” — Rachel Brand QC, Birmingham Crown Court, February 2018

In the final days of spring 2017, the police and paramedics were called to an address in Manchester City centre. At the scene, they found a male in his mid-thirties, incapacitated, left bloody and bruised following an altercation with another man who was barely into adulthood… (Part 2 of 2)

Normawati Sinaga was startled when the phone rang. The voice on the other end of the line told her that they worked for the Greater Manchester Police. Trying to understand why on earth someone would be calling an Indonesian home from the other side of the world, she quickly thought of her son. He was studying in England… (Part 1 of 2)

It was the middle of summer — Sunday, July 22, 1990. At 11.30 pm, a musician, Gordon Wilson, was walking back from a late-night recording session on Holloway Road in London. He noticed the women and presumed they were just in a deep sleep. He was in a rush, and the last train was due to leave from Holloway Road underground station. Wilson didn't pause on his journey; it was dark, and he had no reason to think he needed to…

PC Andrew Harper was killed while on duty only four weeks after his wedding. The three people involved in his death were tried at the Old Bailey for murder. Following the trial, towards the end of July 2020, Henry Long, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were acquitted though they would each be facing time behind bars as they were either found guilty of or admitted to a charge of manslaughter. Long received 16 years with an extended licence period of 3 years. Bowers and Cole received 13 years detention in a Young Offender Institution. However, Bowers and Cole were now going to fight to have their convictions for manslaughter overturned, and all three believed their sentences were “manifestly excessive” and should be reduced. This case update follows what happened next...

The crime was compared to ‘Single White Female’, the 1992 film where a young woman imitates everything her new flatmate does, what she wears, even how she cuts her hair — then the obsession turns deadly…

In the years following the murders of Alexander and Dorothy Wood, urban legend surrounding the case spread, with unsubstantiated claims published in the newspaper pages across Britain. Rumours suggested that the killer had posed the bodies, their glassy open eyes staring out through a basement window. It was said, they were positioned to face the direction of the church across the road, where they stayed until they were discovered...

Valentine's day in 1945 began like any other day for 74-year-old Charles Walton. Despite his advanced years and rheumatic joints, which required Charles to walk with a stick, he had worked as a labourer when local farmers had work available. He left with the tools for the job, a pitchfork and slash hook. It was at the edge of Meon Hill, an isolated spot around a mile from the main road, where they found his body…

Maida Vale, West London, 6:20 pm, Sunday, March 24, 1996 — George Fraghistas locked his blue Lincoln Continental in a secure car park on Lanark Road. He walked to the exit. He had plans that evening and wanted to prepare. George was just about to open the door of the dimly lit concrete building, when a man suspiciously dressed for a spring day, in an anorak, gloves and a balaclava, took him by surprise and tried to wrestle him to the ground. George shouted, made a scene, put up a fight, but the assailant overpowered him. The element of surprise gave his attacker an advantage. For a brief moment they were alone, then a car stopped nearby. Three men hurriedly got out...

“The defendant had become so acutely conscious of what was contained within that freezer, and the risk of discovery – if not just from the odour that emitted from the freezer, that it appears that he had chosen to abandon the address” - Duncan Penny QC, Southwark Crown Court, July 2020

In 2018, one week after the new year's celebrations, a middle-aged woman enters Cheadle Heath police station in Stockport. She had travelled almost 5 miles on foot from her home in Reddish, Greater Manchester. She has a blank expression on her face. In a quiet and subdued voice, the woman calmly tells an officer that she has killed someone. The body is buried in her back garden…