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This dramatic true crime series reveals how some of the UK’s most serious and complex cases were solved by the expertise of a band of unsung heroes – the expert witnesses.
2021
Soil analysis helps solve a 37-year-old murder investigation in Scotland. In Huddersfield, analysis of insect life on a body found on the moors helps detectives catch a killer.
Blood traces hidden under paint allow an expert witness to find a killer and free five men from suspicion. An unusual gait identifies the murderer of an office worker.
Marks left by the tread of a shoe help detectives catch a killer terrorising Rochdale, and a forensic linguist deciphers messages written in slang, revealing a murder plot.
A team of expert witnesses follow a trail of fibres and DNA to solve three cold cases in Pembrokeshire, and a fraudulent diamond investment scheme is exposed by a gemologist.
A body left in a field prompts the examination of pollen, establishing a new forensic discipline, and fibres fused with car wreckage prove who caused a fatal traffic collision.
After 32 years, expert fibre analysis helps bring the killer of two Brighton schoolgirls to justice, and the analysis of bones found on a Yorkshire moor helps find two killers.
Insect evidence helps crack the case of missing Warrington teenager Shafilea Ahmed, and a series of convincing John Anster Fitzgerald forgeries are uncovered by an art expert.
Soil on a spade helps catch the killer of a young woman from Swindon, who for years evaded justice and a stone stuck in the sole of a shoe helps solve a murder in Manchester.
A wrongful conviction is overturned by re-examining microscopic particles on a van seat and an attempted murder outside a nightclub is solved by a facial comparison expert.
Pollen and bone experts help identify the remains of a murder victim found in a sports bag. And advances in DNA help find the killer of a Bradford pensioner after 22 years.
Analysis of text messages reveal a husband's plot to cover up his wife's murder and traces of DNA on decades old evidence helps bring justice to the family of a murdered woman.
How expert analysis of nettles and chalky soil helped catch the killer of Soham schoolgirls and how advances in DNA techniques finally solve the murder known as Beauty in the Bath
Insects establish an accurate time of death, helping to prove a husband killed his wife and analysis of burnt remains in Leeds, uncovers another husband's cold murder of his wife.
Forensics analysis by an art expert prove paintings by a well known cornish artist are fake, and blood spatter patterns in a hotel bedroom, help catch the killer of a father of 3.
A fifty year old cold case murder is solved by DNA and the tenacity of an expert witness. And a murder investigation is solved by tracking unusual blue fibres around the world.
2022
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.
A young schoolboy is mysteriously shot in the head while playing in the school yard, but who fired the gun and from where? Philip Boyce, a forensic ballistics expert, is called in to test-fire a number of different guns and reconstruct the injuries to find out who fired the gun.
Following the unexplained death of a man in Yorkshire, found alone in his home with no signs of forced entry or a struggle, police were at a loss to explain his death. They turned to expert witness Duncan Campbell to help solve the mystery. Duncan, a forensic scientist, decided to analyse something that is part of everyday life, food. After examining the man’s final meal, the expert witness not only solved the crime but in turn helped to make legal history by ensuring a guilty verdict was achieved in this very rare and unusual case.
After a 25-year-old woman goes missing in Bristol, the police launch a major missing-person enquiry. Soon after, the body of the young woman is discoved by dog walkers on Christmas Day, and the hunt becomes a major murder enquiry. As investigators can find no sign of forced entry to her flat, they conclude that her killer must be someone known to her.
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 forensic science who help to deliver justice.
In our first story, a community reels in total shock when a doting grandmother is found murdered in her home. Detectives search for the killer and suspect it may be someone close to her. The suspect's DNA is found all over the crime scene, but that is easily explained because he lived until recently in the same house. So the police try another route. They approach Kelly Sheridan, an expert witness in fibre evidence, who uncovers a trail of fibres, unravelling the mystery and putting the killer in jail.
An expert witness uses soil analysis to find the body of a missing woman feared murdered, and a cell site expert uses his tracking skills to catch a killer in Northern Ireland.
When a young nurse disappears, a soil analyst helps find her body and solve the crime. A digital imaging expert proves that what was thought to be an accidental death was murder.
An expert in microscopic lifeforms helps solve the murder of a teenager, and a handwriting expert assists an old lady whose house has been sold without consent.
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.
Police turn to a footprint analyst and a pollen expert to help solve a murder in Manchester, and a soil expert unearths the evidence needed to arrest a gang of treasure thieves.
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.
An expert in mobile phone technology tracks the movements of a murder suspect, and an expert in art fraud determines whether a very expensive painting is genuine or fake.
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.
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.
2024
The heart-wrenching case of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was abducted and murdered. A forensic ecologist finds a vital link between the suspect and the gravesite. And an expert witness analyses blood at the scene, where remains are found in a freezer
A twisted killer throws two suitcases containing severed remains into a canal, and it’s down to a 3D-scanning expert to uncover the crucial evidence needed to convict him. And a forensic entomologist helps prove a suspected case of extreme dog neglect.
When a body is found in a wheelie bin dumped in a lake, can a cell site analyst track the suspects’ movements and help put them behind bars? And when a man disappears in the Highlands, a soil expert unearths the grim truth that identifies his killers.
When a violent gang use a secret language to discuss a fatal attack, police turn to a forensic linguist to crack their code. And one of the biggest cannabis growing operations ever seen in the UK is brought down with the help of a drugs expert.
Will untying the knot of a dressing gown cord used to kill Mary McLoughlin 35 years ago finally reveal the identity of her killer? And when a student’s body is found in a suitcase, a soil expert’s analysis of muddy shoes helps solve the case.
In a horrifying case of mistaken identity, a man is stabbed to death in his home. Can an intelligence analyst help convict the suspects? And when a teenager is found beaten to death, a trace evidence specialist helps police confirm the murder weapon.
Nearly 30 years after six-year-old Rikki Neave was brutally murdered, the cold case is reopened and evidence from a soil expert proves crucial in convicting his killer. And a wildlife forensic scientist helps police in an illegal ivory investigation.
When fire crew discover a woman’s body in a burning flat, a blood spatter analyst uses a risky and untested method to reveal key evidence. And a Welsh cold case is solved when, for the first time, familial DNA is used to identify a serial killer.
A teenager is found dead in the woods. A pathologist analyses her stab wounds to shed light on the attack, and when remains are found in Scotland, a crack team of experts nail the killer.
The devastating case of a gunman fatally shooting a young girl in Liverpool. An image analyst helps detectives unmask the notorious killer. When valuable antique coins are dug up illegally, two expert witnesses help police to convict the suspects.
A mother and child disappear in 1976, only leaving a burnt-out car behind them. Over 40 years later, can a blood analyst help police finally bring their killer to justice? And a cell data specialist is called upon to plot the movements of six suspects.
The brutal, unsolved murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common shocked the nation. Ten years on, can a forensic team using new DNA technology identify the killer? And a trace expert’s analysis of glass fragments from a beer glass connects a suspect to a vicious assault.
A young boy is beaten to death, but his killer evades justice. Three decades on, a pollen expert finds a crucial link between a suspect and the brutal murder. And after a vicious attack leaves a man dead, can a blood and fibre analyst help trace the killer?
A disabled woman is brutally murdered, and her neighbour is the prime suspect. Can a consultant doctor help police put him behind bars? And a linguistics expert provides vital evidence to convict a man who’s stalking and harassing his ex-partner
The 2005 murder of a Glasgow woman goes cold, but 17 years on, can a Dutch soil expert help to finally bring the killer to justice? And when a man is suspected of stabbing his housemate, a blood analyst employs an unusual technique to crack the case.
Ashley John-Baptiste
Self - Presenter
2023
When a dismembered body is discovered, police turn to a facial reconstruction expert to help identify the victim.
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, a virologist is called on to determine his guilt.
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 shallow grave to unearth the truth behind the death of a man in Scotland.
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 helps police solve a murder case.
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 bring a gang of drug traffickers to justice.
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 investigating the disappearance of an elderly couple.
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 convict the killer of an elderly man in Bristol.
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 when a Merseyside grandmother is found dead in her home.
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 charge after two brutal killings.
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 stalls, a fibre expert is enlisted to revive the case.
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 vicious murder of a Northern Ireland schoolteacher.
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 expert after a bizarre rampage in the Cotswolds.
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 hunt for evidence against an Edinburgh bomber.
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 convictions against three heritage thieves.
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 revealed by an insect expert.
