Some criminal investigations are so complicated that they require a number of expert witnesses to be involved. This programme examines how forensic evidence from a whole team of scientists turned a missing person case into a hunt for a murderer, and then into an investigation into one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers.\n\nAfter the body of a young Polish woman was discovered in the basement of a church in Glasgow, police observed an element of organisation and methodology behind the killing and became convinced the culprit had murdered before. They launched a huge operation to dig into the killer's life: where he had been living, what he had been doing, and which nearby crimes remained unsolved. Their investigation led them to two cold cases, but only evidence from expert witnesses could reveal if these were the work of the same killer. \n\nThe police enlisted the help of forensic scientists Jennifer Miller, Carol Rodgers and Peter Faulding - experts in a range of different disciplines, from bioarchaeology to forensic biology and ground-penetrating radar testing - to help them gather evidence. And despite the passage of time, the experts ensured that no piece of evidence was overlooked and that the truth was finally discovered.
Source: BBC 1
Series 3: 15. Grave Secret And Lockdown Tragedy
Evidence unearthed by a forensic archaeologist helps to catch the killer of a young woman from Wiltshire. And a case of harrowing neglect suffered by a Welsh teenager is reveale ...
14-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 14. Fragments Of Truth And Wall Of Evidence
A forensically trained dentist’s expertise helps police to connect a man to the disappearance of his wife. And the diligent analysis of a soil expert helps to bring convic ...
13-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 13. Facing Justice And Language Of Terror
When a decomposed body is washed up on a Dutch beach, a UK facial reconstruction expert helps uncover the identity. And a forensic linguistic specialist leads an international h ...
12-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 12. Red Light Killer And A Rural Rampage
Detectives hunting the killer of a young woman from Bolton require the help of a fibre and DNA specialist to arrest their suspect. And police seek the help of a body fluids expe ...
11-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 11. Death On The Nile And Cell To Cell
When a British woman is found dead in an Egyptian hotel room, a UK toxicologist uncovers a sinister murder plot. And police turn to a cell communications analyst to solve the vi ...
10-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 10. A Grave Error And Souvenir Of A Killer
When a teenager’s body is located in a shallow grave, a soil specialist is called on to unearth evidence to convict the killer. And as a murder investigation on Merseyside ...
07-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 9. Threads Of Evidence And Bad Chemistry
A fibre specialist from the UK brings closure to Australia’s longest-running murder investigation. And a forensic pharmacologist uses her expertise to ensure a murder char ...
06-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 8. Patterns Of Behaviour And Time Flies
A blood residue specialist leads police to the killers of an East Sussex waiter, brutally bludgeoned in his flat. And a forensic entomologist uncovers a case of extreme neglect ...
05-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 7. Hidden Blood And Traces Of A Killer
Police turn to an expert witness to help them link a drug gang to the death of a Vietnamese man in Wales. And experts in DNA and fibre analysis provide the evidence needed to co ...
04-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 3: 6. Face Of A Killer And Proof In The Pollen
When a young man is stabbed to death, a facial recognition expert helps Merseyside Police catch the killer. And a specialist palynologist’s help is needed by detectives in ...
03-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 6. Dna, Fibres And Bones
In this episode, we reveal how the tenacity of a team of forensic scientists helped finally catch the killer of two children in Brighton. Also, when bones were discovered on moo ...
03-08-2022
BBC 1
Series 4: 11. Blood On The Carpet
In 1976, Renee MacRae and her infant son Andrew are reported missing. The car they were travelling in is found on fire in a lay-by near Inverness. Neither will ever be seen agai ...
13-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 1 (extended Versions): 9. Paint, Blood And Fingerprints
A forensic art expert proves paintings by a well-known artist are fake, blood spatter patterns in a hotel help catch the killer of a father of three, and there's a fingerprintin ...
15-12-2022
BBC 1
Series 4: 14. Blood On His Hands
When a disabled woman is found brutally murdered in her home, her neighbour is the prime suspect. Rhona Heywood was found dead next to her unconscious neighbour in 2008 after sp ...
20-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: 5. Pollen In A Field And Fibres In A Car Crash
When smouldering human remains are found in a field in Hertfordshire, a policeman’s hunch and a diligent expert witness help catch the killers. \n\nNot every expert witne ...
29-07-2022
BBC 1
Series 2: 12. Murder In The Car Park And Cold Call Fraud
Blood spatter analysis helps identify the killer of a body found in a suitcase, and an expert helps in a serious case of financial fraud that cost some victims their life savings.
04-06-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 6. Face Of A Killer And Proof In The Pollen
When a young man is stabbed to death, a facial recognition expert helps Merseyside Police catch the killer. And a specialist palynologist’s help is needed by detectives in ...
03-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 1 (extended Versions): 1. Soil And Insects - Hair
A serial killer is caught by using soil analysis, insects hold the clues to finding a murderer and the forensic sciences of hair evidence and entomology are put under the micros ...
06-12-2022
BBC 1
Series 3: 12. Red Light Killer And A Rural Rampage
Detectives hunting the killer of a young woman from Bolton require the help of a fibre and DNA specialist to arrest their suspect. And police seek the help of a body fluids expe ...
11-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 2: 5. Body In The Woods And Murder At The Post Office
This episode follows two shocking criminal cases in Yorkshire, each involving a woman murdered by her partner, and two expert witnesses with very different disciplines in forens ...
15-09-2023
BBC 1