We uncover how even when a professional hitman attempted to hide his identity from CCTV cameras, a forensic analyst used their expertise to help police build a case against a child killer. \n\nAs pressure mounted on Merseyside Police to solve the shocking murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in 2022, detectives explored all avenues to catch the killer. All they have is grainy CCTV imagery of a dark-clothed gunman wearing a balaclava just before and after the shooting. A breakthrough comes in the form of a tip-off – the name Thomas Cashman is passed on to police as the man who murdered Olivia. Police enlisted digital analyst Tessa Macklam to help detectives prove that Cashman was the gunman seen on CCTV. Tessa’s painstaking work examining 40 items of video over the course of two weeks eventually connects Cashman to the murder, solving one of Liverpool’s most upsetting and notorious crimes. \n\nIn June 2015, an amazing discovery was made in Herefordshire. Amateur metal detectorists unearthed a stash of ancient coins and jewellery worth potentially millions. But instead of declaring the precious find to the authorities, as the Treasure Act demands, the treasure hunters donated just a small fraction of the haul and attempted to cash in on most of it through black market contacts. It was an unusual investigation for the police, and they called in expert witness Dr Gareth Williams, The British Museum’s Anglo-Saxon coin specialist, who was tasked with comparing some of the coins donated to a museum in Wales with those allegedly sold on the black market. Gareth’s careful analysis helped prove that both sets of items had been part of the same treasure hoard, leading to jail sentences for the pair involved.
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 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 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 2: 10. Car Killer And Shot On The Sofa
A blood spatter analyst unlocks the mystery of a woman murdered in her own car, and an expert witness uses a mobile phone to help detectives solve a baffling murder case.
31-05-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: 14. Paint Materials And Blood Patterns
Forensics analysis by an art expert proves paintings by a well-known Cornish artist are fake, and spattered blood in a hotel bedroom helps catch the killer of a father of three.
11-11-2021
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 2: 14. Deadly Date And The Football Fraudster
A dental expert helps police investigating the mysterious death of a teenage girl, and an autograph expert is brought in to help convict scammers selling fake celebrity signatures.
01-12-2022
BBC 1
Series 4: 9. Lured To The Woods
We explore a case that encompassed the biggest fingertip search in British history and required the help of a digital forensics expert to apprehend the suspect. But it would tak ...
11-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: 9. Cerium And Cctv
We reveal how the power of forensic science not only found a killer, but also freed an innocent man. Forensic evidence is a powerful tool. So powerful, that if it’s misint ...
05-08-2022
BBC 1