British Murders with Stuart Blues

In the fifth episode of British Murders Season 6, I tell the story of David Heiss. German-born David became obsessed with 21-year-old Nottingham-based student Joanna Witton after the pair met in 2007 through a war gaming website Joanna and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Matthew Pyke, had created. Despite being rejected by Joanna, David persisted with his obsession. He even made two unannounced visits...

I welcome John Barlow to the show in this interview episode. After leaving school, John worked as a cabaret musician for several years, then read English Literature at Cambridge University, followed by postgraduate research into Language Acquisition at Hull University. He then worked as a university teacher until 2004 before moving to Spain to write full-time. John's first published work, the nove...

In the fourth episode of British Murders Season 6, I tell the story of Scottish double murderer Iain Scoular. Between October 1, 1982, and December 2, 1982, Iain Scoular murdered 36-year-old taxi driver Catherine McChord and 48-year-old midwife Elizabeth Walton in Cambuslang, Scotland. Initially, the police did not link the two murders. They had no suspects until Iain strolled into the police cara...

In the third episode of British Murders Season 6, I tell the story of Stephen Port, dubbed by the media as "The Grindr Killer". Between June 2014 and September 2015, Stephen used online dating sites such as Grindr, Sleepyboy.com and FitLads to meet young, gay men whom he drugged, sexually assaulted and killed. Despite systematic failings by the local police force, Stephen was finally caught and ar...

I welcome Her Honour Wendy Joseph QC to the show in this interview episode. Until March 2022, Wendy was a judge at the Old Bailey, sitting on criminal cases, trying mainly allegations of murder and other homicide. She read English and Law at Cambridge, was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1975, became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1998 and sat as a full-time judge from 2007 to 2022. When she moved t...

In the second episode of British Murders Season 6, I tell the tragic story of the murder of Mikaeel Kular. In January 2014, 3-year-old Mikaeel passed away through the night due to several days' worth of beatings from his mother, Rosdeep Adekoya. Rather than take Mikaeel to the doctor, Rosdeep kept him at home as she feared the bruises all over his body would raise suspicions. Initially, Rosdeep to...

I welcome Dr Richard Shepherd to the show in this interview episode. Richard trained as a doctor at St George's Hospital medical school at Hyde Park Corner, qualifying in 1977, and then completed his postgraduate training as a forensic pathologist in 1987. He is also an experienced Senior Lecturer and Professor who has taught at universities around the world and lectured to professional audiences...

In the first episode of British Murders Season 6, I tell the story of Felix Spicer. In the early hours of May 25, 1890, Felix murdered two of his children whilst they slept before attempting to murder their mother, Mary. The couple's relationship was approaching its end, and Felix refused to allow the separation to happen. After being found guilty and sentenced to death, infamous British execution...

In this double-header movie review bonus episode, I am joined by my good friend Lee Bailey, a singer-songwriter from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. We discussed Sir Ridley Scott's 1979 horror masterpiece 'Alien' and its 1986 action-packed sequel 'Aliens', directed by James Cameron. You can expect plenty of laughs in this one and the strongest Yorkshire accent you've likely ever heard. You can find and...

I welcome Northern Irish writer and lecturer Claire McGowan to the show in this interview episode to discuss Ireland's mysterious Vanishing Triangle cases. In 1990s Ireland, eight women were abducted and presumed murdered. They vanished without a trace, and no one was ever charged. Bestselling crime author Claire McGowan was determined to find out why. In her book on the case, Claire delivers a ri...

In the season 5 special of British Murders, I'm telling the story of "The Muswell Hill Murderer" Dennis Nilsen. Nilsen was arrested on suspicion of murder in February 1983 after some of the other tenants at 23 Cranley Gardens called in a plumber to deal with their blocked drains. The plumber found pieces of human flesh and bones in an outside maintenance hole and the waste pipe leading out of Nils...

In the season 5 special of British Murders, I'm telling the story of "The Muswell Hill Murderer" Dennis Nilsen. Nilsen was arrested on suspicion of murder in February 1983 after some of the other tenants at 23 Cranley Gardens called in a plumber to deal with their blocked drains. The plumber found pieces of human flesh and bones in an outside maintenance hole and the waste pipe leading out of Nils...

In this episode of British Murders, I welcome Lorraine Purdon to the show to discuss the case of American mass murderer Ronald DeFeo Jr. On November 13, 1974, Defeo Jr. brutally murdered his mum, dad, brothers and sisters at their shared home in Amityville, New York. He was handed six sentences of 25 years to life and died aged 69 on March 12, 2021. His case inspired the book and film versions of...

In the tenth and final episode of British Murders Season 5, I tell the tragic story of Cynthia Bolshaw. Cynthia was murdered in her luxury bungalow in Heswall, the Wirral, on October 8, 1983, and her body was placed face down into 18-inch deep bathwater. Police had no idea who the culprit was until advances in DNA technology led them to a suspect almost 16 years later in March 1999. John Edwin Taf...

I welcome American paranormal historian Miranda Young to the show in this interview episode. Miranda began investigating with a paranormal team in 2013, with her role being that of an investigator, photo analyst, video/audio evidence producer and marketing specialist. Miranda left the team in 2018 due to the volume of travelling and exploring she was doing independently. As a result, Ghost Biker E...

In the ninth episode of British Murders Season 5, I tell the story of Lee Ford. In August/September 2000, Lee Ford murdered his 36-year-old wife Lesley Ford in Carnkie, Cornwall, along with four of her children from her first marriage. Lee initially buried all five bodies in a woodshed at the bottom of their garden before re-burying two of the bodies in a field in Treluswell, Cornwall. On May 24,...

I welcome British writer and award-winning journalist Stephen Bates to the show in this interview episode to discuss the Major Herbert Armstrong case from 1921. For over 45 years, Stephen has reported as a journalist from more than 40 countries worldwide. He's reported for the BBC, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, and The Guardian for 22 of those 45 years. Stephen is now a freelance writer, a regular...

In the eighth episode of British Murders Season 5, I tell the story of Nathan Maynard-Ellis and David Leesley. On May 11, 2019, Nathan Maynard-Ellis entered the Bottle & Cork pub in Dudley, West Midlands, where he met 42-year-old Julia Rawson. The pair left the pub at 2:00 am on May 12, 2019, and nobody saw Julia alive again. Nathan and his partner David murdered Julia before dismembering her...

In this movie review episode, I am joined by Lorraine from the "true crime in horror" podcast 'Once Upon a Nightmare'.⁣⁣ This film marked the directorial debut of Mimi Cave, and it was released on March 4, 2022 (in the USA via Hulu) and March 18, 2022 (in the UK via Disney+). This episode has a great blooper included in my intro, and I once again attempted to do a trailer for the film. You can fin...

I welcome Neil Lancaster to the show in this interview episode. Neil is a former RAF Military Policeman and Police Officer who served in the Metropolitan Police for 25 years between 1990 and 2015. After retiring, Neil turned his hand to writing crime and thriller novels whilst also working as a broadcaster and commentator on true crime documentaries. Neil's fourth book 'The Blood Tide', released o...

In the seventh episode of British Murders Season 5, I tell the story of John Taylor.⁣⁣⁣ On November 26, 2000, John Taylor abducted 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan from Houghley Gill in Bramley, Leeds, before strangling her to death at his home. John was initially handed two life sentences in July 2002 with a minimum term to serve of 20 years, but that was increased when several cold case reviews reveal...

In this movie review episode, I am joined by Steven "Bob" Marshall of 'The Slasher Vidcast' as we discuss 2022's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. David Blue Garcia directed this film, and it was released on Netflix worldwide on February 18, 2022. We had a great time recording this, so I hope you enjoy it. Consider this a bonus episode (a bit of fun). You can find and support 'The Slasher Vidcast' here:...

I welcome Dr Amanda Brown to the show in this interview episode. Dr Brown used to be a general practitioner with a comfortable, suburban practice before changing direction and working with prisoners. She has worked as a doctor in a teenage detention centre as well as Wormwood Scrubs and currently works at Bronzefield, the largest women-only prison in Europe. She has previously written two books ab...

In the sixth episode of British Murders Season 5, I tell the story of Jake Notman.⁣⁣⁣ On November 19, 2020, partners Jake Notman and Lauren Bloomer celebrated the release of the ninth generation video game console, the PlayStation 5. In preparation, Jake had purchased an edible brownie which they both ate shortly before bed. Jake, however, had a terrible trip, and in the early hours of November 20...

I welcome former British soldier and undercover police officer Shay Doyle to the show in this interview episode. Shay's police career spanned 17 years, and he was one of the UK's chosen few Level 1 undercover operatives. Posing as a professional criminal, he came face to face with some of Britain's most dangerous gangsters and was part of a hand-picked team chosen to hunt down the now-convicted mu...