Now more than ever, forensic science is opening up the possibility of catching criminals for crimes that have remained unsolved for years. In this episode, a case that had lain dormant for 30 years is revitalised when a new forensic investigator examines the evidence. \n\nGlasgow woman Mary McLaughlin was found strangled to death at her West End flat in 1984. Without witnesses or other crucial leads, the case remained cold until 2014, when forensic biologist and DNA specialist Joanne Cochrane was asked to re-examine Mary’s clothing. Joanne’s analysis of a dressing gown cord opened up the case and led to the conviction of a notorious sex offender. Mary’s daughter Gina McGavin recalls the terrible impact her mother’s murder had on the family and the relief that the killer was finally caught. \n\nIn our second case, police made a gruesome discovery in east London in the summer of 2022 – a young female student’s body had been placed in a suitcase and dumped on a quiet roadside. Hina Bashir was just 21 years old, and police were quick to suspect Hina’s friend Muhammad Arslan. But when Arslan denied being in the area where Hina’s body was found, detectives enlisted the help of soil analyst Professor Lorna Dawson. Lorna’s expertise became crucial in placing Arslan at the crime scene and led to a life sentence for the callous killer. Hina’s father recalls the pain of the discovery of his daughter’s remains and the search for justice.
Source: BBC 1
Series 4: 6. Murderers, Messages And The Breakfast Killer
In this episode, we take a look at how phone data can unlock a case and provide a solid link between the suspects and a horrific murder. \n\nIn early 2023, emergency call handle ...
05-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 5. Catching A Cold Case Killer
Now more than ever, forensic science is opening up the possibility of catching criminals for crimes that have remained unsolved for years. In this episode, a case that had lain ...
04-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 4. Cracking The Killer's Code
Our first case concerns a young man, Dolton Powell, fatally stabbed by an armed gang after a party. A group of suspects are arrested and questioned, but they remain tight-lipped ...
31-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 3. The Wheelie Bin Killer
In our first case, father of four, Pat McCormick, goes missing in Comber, Northern Ireland, leaving his family desperate for answers. Police suspected he’d come to harm bu ...
30-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 2. The Body In The Suitcase
An expert witness uses scanning technology developed for the manufacturing industry to find vital evidence that convicts a killer. \n\nIn a Birmingham canal, a truly shocking di ...
29-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 1. The Murder Of Sarah Payne: Fields Of Evidence
True crime documentary series that reveals how expert witnesses helped solve some of the UK's most complex major crime cases. \n\nThis programme travels to Sussex to investiga ...
28-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 5. Written In Blood And The End Of The Line
When two men are wrongly convicted of murder, a forensic blood spatter analyst helps to prove their innocence. And an expert witness uses mobile phone analysis to help police br ...
26-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 4. Corrosive Truth And A Field Of Evidence
When a woman is the victim of an acid attack in Brighton, an expert pieces together hours of CCTV footage to identify the suspect. And through pollen analysis, an expert witness ...
25-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 3. Body Of Evidence And Shallow Grave
When a 21-year-old student is murdered and dumped in the Humber Estuary, a forensic biologist helps police bring her killer to justice. And an expert witness analyses soil at a ...
24-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 2. A Watery Grave And The Dangerous Date
When the body of a farmer is found in a lake, a bioarchaeologist helps police reveal how he got there. Meanwhile, when a man is accused of intentionally spreading the HIV virus, ...
23-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 2. A Watery Grave And The Dangerous Date
When the body of a farmer is found in a lake, a bioarchaeologist helps police reveal how he got there. Meanwhile, when a man is accused of intentionally spreading the HIV virus, ...
23-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: 3. Forensic Imaging And Msn Chat
This episode uncovers the forensic imaging expertise behind the eventual capture of Michael Hardacre, the 'Rochdale ripper'.\n\nIn the summer of 2000, a series of attacks in Roc ...
26-07-2022
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 1 (extended Versions): 10. Pollen, Ballistics And Dna
Expert witnesses analyse nettles and soil to catch the killer of the Soham schoolgirls, new DNA techniques finally solve cold case murders, and ballistics techniques are demonst ...
16-12-2022
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 ...
28-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 2: 15. Killer On The Run And Murder In The Valleys
When a man kills four people and goes on the run, a handwriting analyst is brought in, and after a body is found, an expert in pollen links the suspects to the scene of the crime.
02-12-2022
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 1: 12. Pollen, Chalk And Dna
How expert analysis of nettles and soil helped catch the killer of the Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, and how advances in DNA techniques finally solved the m ...
09-11-2021
BBC 1
Series 1: 10. Pollen, Bones And Dna
Some cases are open and shut. Others present as a complete mystery, and it takes an Expert Witness to uncover the first clues. That’s what happened when human remains were ...
12-08-2022
BBC 1
Series 1 (extended Versions): 5. Dna, Fibres And Crime Scene Management
In this episode, we delve into an old murder mystery in the village of Beenham in Berkshire. Modern forensic science covers a huge area of expertise- blood, DNA, soil, pollen, d ...
09-12-2022
BBC 1