
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 1: 15. 60s Dna And Fibres Around The World
A 50-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.
13-06-2025
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 ...
12-06-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 11. Text Messages And Dna
Analysis of text messages reveal a husband’s plot to cover up his wife’s murder, and traces of DNA on decades-old evidence help bring justice to the family of a murd ...
11-06-2025
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 ...
10-06-2025
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 ...
09-06-2025
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 ...
06-06-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 8. Soil On A Spade And Stones In A Shoe
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.
05-06-2025
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 ...
04-06-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 2. Blood Under Paint And Gait
A skilled expert witness does more than just analyse existing evidence. They guide detectives towards new clues that can turn a case. That is what happened in the case of Lynett ...
03-06-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 1. Soil And Insects
This episode travels to Edinburgh to look at the fascinating story behind one of Scotland’s longest-running investigations, the World’s End murders, a double murder ...
02-06-2025
BBC 1
Series 2 (reversions): 6. Murder In The Car Park / River Of Evidence
This episode travels to Tunbridge Wells to investigate the shocking murder of Terry Edmonds. Seventeen-year-old Terry travelled to Tunbridge to visit friends when she disappeare ...
03-12-2024
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 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 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 2 (reversions): Episode 1
In July 1978, the city of Aberdeen was rocked when Dr Brenda Page was found bludgeoned to death in her West End home. Initial police forensic work undertaken by Eric Jenson unco ...
25-11-2024
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 ...
28-04-2025
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 ...
12-06-2025
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
Series 4: 15. Buried Secrets
A woman’s body is found in a remote location in South Lanarkshire in 2005 by a dog walker. She is identified as Emma Caldwell, a 27-year-old sex worker, who has been missi ...
16-05-2025
BBC 1
Series 1: 13. Insects And Bones
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 h ...
10-11-2021
BBC 1