Catching a killer
In a fascinating and often chilling new series, Donal MacIntyre shows how some of the UK and USA’s most perplexing murders have been solved
Look at some of the biggest ratings hits of the past few years, from podcasts to dramas inspired by real-life events, and it’s clear we’re a nation fascinated by true crime.
And in the new
CBS Reality series Donal MacIntyre’s
Killer Evidence, the investigative journalist is back to back to provide in-depth analysis of how cases are built.
Delving into 10 complex cases, he shows how forensic evidence helped put the culprits behind bars.
Each story picks up from the crime scene, as the first responders – including the leading police officers – take us through the case, detailing everything they uncovered along the way.
We also see how the forensic teams gather their key evidence. As they find the missing pieces of the complicated jigsaw, they strike gold – whether it’s with special chemicals that reveal trails of blood, or a footprint pointing the wrong way that cracks the case wide open.
Among the notorious cases Donal revisits are that of serial killer Anthony Hardy, AKA the Camden Ripper. Hardy murdered his victims in appalling ways, then disposed of their limbs across London, creating a forensic nightmare for investigators. Then, just as police found the evidence they needed to nail him, he went on the run and it was a race against time to catch him before he struck again.
We also witness the downfall of killer Stephen Nicholson. When a 13-year-old child’s body was discovered in a Southampton woodland, police found that she had been brutally stabbed 27 times. As more details emerged, her diaries uncovered a tale of shocking sexual abuse at the hands of Nicholson, a troubled 23-year-old man who had been staying with the family. Nicholson appeared to have a watertight alibi – until the latest forensic methods proved his guilt.
Another of the 10 stories will chill viewers to the bone. In October 1999, in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, police received a call from a panicked man who told them his wife of 30 years had been murdered and he’d just discovered her body. The man in question was Dr Dirk Greineder, a well-respected Harvard physician.
Police noticed Greineder had blood on his clothes and shoes, which he claimed were the result of his having moved the body. But his hands were completely clean, and the forensic team found the crime scene suspiciously wiped of any fingerprints…
‘‘ Just as police found the evidence they needed to nail him, he went on the run