Our first case tells the story of a 24-year-old Irish nurse studying in Glasgow, who disappears after a night out with friends. Police focus on the last man she had been seen chatting to outside a nightclub, and they discover he rents a lock-up on a remote farm, where they discover her remains. But still they need tangible evidence. It takes an expert witness in soil analysis to link the suspect to the scene where the body was found. The physical evidence of the soil and the vegetation give up their secrets and help put the killer behind bars. \n \nOur second case follows how, in December 2021, Police Scotland’s wildlife officers began an investigation into a case of suspected hare coursing – an illegal and barbaric blood sport. \n \nPolice receive a report of suspected hare coursing from eyewitnesses, and investigators are able to recover DNA from a hare carcass found at the location. They reach out to wildlife DNA specialist Dr Lucy Webster, who was responsible for a landmark conviction using dog DNA back in 2016. \n\nInvestigators then track down the suspects and retrieve DNA swabs from their dogs as crucial forensic evidence. Lucy’s lab analysis provides a partial DNA match for one of the dogs to ensure charges can be brought, leading to the conviction of three men.
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: 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 2: 4. Body In The Snow And Betrayed By A Text
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 Christ ...
14-09-2023
BBC 1
Series 3: 9. Threads Of Evidence And Bad Chemistry
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 char ...
06-02-2025
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 3: 11. Death On The Nile And Cell To Cell
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 vi ...
10-02-2025
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 2 (reversions): 8. Late Night Murder / Hounded To Death
Our first case tells the story of a 24-year-old Irish nurse studying in Glasgow, who disappears after a night out with friends. Police focus on the last man she had been seen ch ...
05-12-2024
BBC 1
Series 3: 6. Face Of A Killer And Proof In The Pollen
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 in ...
03-02-2025
BBC 1
Series 1 (extended Versions): 6. Fibre Trails, Diamonds And Toxicology
Expert witnesses use fibre and DNA evidence to solve three violent cold cases in Pembrokeshire, a gemmologist exposes a diamond investment scam, and Ashley visits a toxicology lab.
12-12-2022
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