We travel to Manchester to investigate the unexplained death of a single mother, Karen Doubleday, found dead in the woods. Investigations reveal she has been strangled and stamped on repeatedly. Suspicion falls on her boyfriend, who has a history of controlling behaviour and violence. \n\nBy analysing Karen’s injuries, Derek Tremain is able to match the suspect’s footwear to the injuries, while Professor Wiltshire is able to place him at the scene from pollen found on his trousers, leading to a conviction for murder. With revealing interviews from DCI Tony Cook, Derek Tremain and Professor Patricia Wiltshire. \n\nIn Leicestershire, a concerned neighbour contacts police about a friend, Jean Crowie, who was last seen 15 years before. Jean’s husband had been seen digging a hole in the garden around the time of her disappearance. Police arrest William Crowie and are left with just 24 hours to search the property while the suspect is detained in custody. They call on geophysicist Paul Cheetham to use specialist equipment to focus the dig and Professor John Hunter, a forensic archaeologist, to excavate the site. They locate human remains in a deep grave, and DNA analysis proves they belong to Jean. Her husband is convicted for her manslaughter.
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 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
Series 2: 1. Shallow Graves - Unearthing A Serial Killer
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 ...
11-09-2023
BBC 1
Series 2: 6. Murder In The Suburbs And Search For A Serial Killer
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 clos ...
27-05-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: 11. Sole Of A Killer And Stolen Treasure
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.
03-06-2024
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 ...
28-05-2025
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 2: 8. Late Night Murder And Exhuming Evidence
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.
29-05-2024
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 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 2: 9. Invisible Evidence And The Chocolate Box Conmen
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.
30-05-2024
BBC 1