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: 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: 10. Pollen, Bones And Dna
Some cases are open and shut. Others present as a complete mystery, and it takes an Expert Witness to uncover the first clues. That’s what happened when human remains were ...
12-08-2022
BBC 1
Series 2 (reversions): 7. Body In The Snow / From The Ashes
This episode takes us to Bristol, where police launch a major missing persons enquiry following the disappearance of 25-year-old Jo Yeates. Days later, the body of the young wom ...
04-12-2024
BBC 1
Series 4: 5. Catching A Cold Case Killer
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 ...
29-04-2025
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 2: 15. Killer On The Run And Murder In The Valleys
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.
02-12-2022
BBC 1
Series 1 (extended Versions): 1. Soil And Insects - Hair
A serial killer is caught by using soil analysis, insects hold the clues to finding a murderer and the forensic sciences of hair evidence and entomology are put under the micros ...
06-12-2022
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 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 1 (extended Versions): 9. Paint, Blood And Fingerprints
A forensic art expert proves paintings by a well-known artist are fake, blood spatter patterns in a hotel help catch the killer of a father of three, and there's a fingerprintin ...
15-12-2022
BBC 1