Catch up TV

Series 5: 3. A Deadly Dose

The first case in this episode follows the baffling deaths of married couple Carol and Stephen Baxter, found slumped in chairs in their Essex conservatory on Easter Sunday 2023. After their daughter Ellena raises the alarm, she makes the grim discovery with the help of the couple’s close friend Luke D’Wit. \n\nAt first, there is no obvious cause of death, no sign of foul play and no clear motive. Police know Carol had been battling Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, and the couple were following a health regime to ease her symptoms, including turmeric smoothies prescribed by an online doctor, Dr Andrea Bowden. But the post-mortem blew the case open. Both Carol and Stephen had fentanyl in their systems, with no prescription and no reason for it to be there. \n\nDetectives called in forensic toxicologist Fiona Perry for deeper analysis. She confirms the fentanyl and also finds traces of promethazine, a sedative commonly used in sleeping tablets. \n\nThat breakthrough leads police straight to a copy of the couple’s will, leaving everything to neighbour Luke D’Wit. A search of his home uncovers devices showing he had been posing as Dr Andrea Bowden and other fake identities, along with proof he forged the will found in the Baxters’ house. Despite his denials, D’Wit is convicted of murder and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 17 years. The programme includes revealing interviews from crime reporter Daniel Rees, consultant endocrinologist Dr Naveed Younis and forensic psychologist Kerry Danes. \n\nIn the second case in this programme, detectives believe that two separate murders are the work of the same suspect. \n\nWhen an elderly lady is found dead in her home in a quiet part of Worcestershire, in January 2012, police launch a large-scale investigation. Betty Yates was a popular churchgoer and lived alone in a house on the banks of the River Severn. She was found beaten and stabbed, and the killer appeared to have tidied up before leaving the property. He has also left behind his footprint on a yoga mat, near to the body. \n\nJust six weeks later, the body of the Rev John Suddard, a 59-year-old Anglican vicar, was found dead at the Vicarage of St Mary’s in Thornbury, just over 70 miles from the first murder. A humiliating scene had been created around the dead man’s body, and it appeared that the killer stayed overnight so was in no rush to leave after committing the horrendous crime. But when he did, a bloody footprint was left on the carpet. \n\nDetectives from two police forces start comparing the cases and believe they could be linked. \n\nCCTV footage from outside the second murder scene identifies Stephen Farrow, and it isn’t long before they have him in custody. \n\nExpert witness Padraig O’Shea is a marks and traces specialist and carried out thorough examinations to prove that the soles of Farrow’s boots matched the print left at both crime scenes. He was charged with two counts of murder, and further work by Padraig also linked him to a burglary, one month before the murder of Betty Yates. \n\nThe programme includes insight from BBC journalist Liz Beacon.

Source: BBC 1