Crime Next Door

A father is the sole survivor of a house fire that killed his wife and five children. On 15 October 2012, Dr Abdul Shakoor jumped from an upstairs window of his house in Harlow, Essex. It was a desperate attempt to get help. His wife Dr Sabah Usmani and their five children died in the fire and police opened a murder investigation. Dr Shakoor has been fighting for answers and justice ever since. Wr...

A top bullion dealer explains how the toilet could have disappeared and where the gold might be today. Meanwhile, Jimmy Sheen’s pocketed £520,000 from the gold sale and an investigation shows he’s made big money from other crimes. Explore where his missing millions could be and whether they will ever be in the hands of the police. Presenter: Clodagh Stenson. Producer: Jonathan Eden and William McL...

A trial begins and the three defendants plead not guilty. Details emerge about reconnaissance trips to Blenheim made days before the heist. Also, Jimmy Sheen’s voice notes are shared. They offer a rare chance to eavesdrop on the crime as it’s happening, uncovering how he cashed in on his golden loot. Presenter: Clodagh Stenson. Producer: Jonathan Eden and William McLennan. Sound Designer: Meic Par...

Four years later a toilet thief is unmasked as James ‘Jimmy’ Sheen. An investigation uncovers Sheen's dark past leading up to the Blenheim burglary with a career of crime that began in his twenties. The ringleader of multiple gangs, he's tied to violent thefts, nationwide fraud and a shooting in Coventry. Presenter: Clodagh Stenson. Producer: Jonathan Eden and William McLennan. Sound Designer: Mei...

As the palace reopens to the public, curious visitors flock to witness the infamous crime scene. Behind the scenes, Blenheim’s Chief Executive scrambles to tighten palace security. An internationally renowned art hunter is hired by the insurers to hunt the golden treasure. Meanwhile playful sightings of fake golden toilets pop up across Oxfordshire. Presenter: Clodagh Stenson. Producer: Jonathan E...

Stunned Blenheim Palace staff are coming to terms with an early morning raid as the gang make their getaway with the £5 million gold toilet. Meanwhile, rumours swirl about who could have orchestrated the heist with fingers pointing to the toilet’s creator, Maurizio Cattelan, who has a history of elaborate stunts. When the artist shares a statement denying any involvement a police investigation is...

The mystery of one of Britain’s weirdest art heists begins at an exhibition party at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, in September 2019. A £5 million solid gold toilet, created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, is centre-piece at the exhibition. Hours after partygoers leave it is stolen by a masked gang. The events are a shock for the palace staff who witness the heist and its aftermath, including...

A story of art, mystery and a solid gold, fully plumbed in toilet stolen from a British palace. With behind-the-scenes access at Blenheim Palace, we explore the inside story of the heist and its fallout. Installed as part of an art exhibition, the £5 million toilet was notorious prior to its theft. Those behind the burglary remained a mystery for years. In 2025, with reporting restrictions lifted,...

This final episode, recorded in December 2024, considers what the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry will achieve, and what might change as a result. BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg and Dan O’Brien from BBC News discuss what we’ve heard, what happens next, and what impact the Salisbury Poisonings have had around the world. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy...

After 7 weeks and over a hundred hours of evidence, the public hearings of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry come to an end. In this episode, the main participants, including Dawn’s family, make their final statements to the Chair. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan O’Brien. Executive production by Mary Sanders and Naomi Wordley.

When the agents suspected of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok left Salisbury, what did they do with the nerve agent and how did the deadly chemical weapon end up in the hands of Charlie Rowley four months later? In this episode, we hear the most likely theories from Counter Terror Police and discover why some parts of this mystery are still unsolved. The Russian state and the suspe...

The widow of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko explains why she feels lessons weren’t learned between her husband’s assassination and the Salisbury Poisonings. Marina Litvinenko warns that British citizens need to be protected from foreign agents who ‘come to play their games’ in the UK and she recalls the moment she heard about the Salisbury nerve agent attack. This episode was made by Mari...

As Salisbury starts to reopen in the summer of 2018, the authorities weigh up how to keep the public safe, when they know there could be more Novichok out there. Questions are asked about whether enough was done to protect people from accidentally picking up a discarded chemical weapon. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan O’Brien. Executive production by Mary San...

Two Russian men visit Salisbury just as the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a nerve agent. They say they simply wanted to see the famous cathedral spire, but that’s not the view of the UK authorities who believe they came to kill. In this episode we learn more about the men, their movements and their real identities. Plus, we learn more about the Russian intelligence a...

When Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned with a nerve agent, police faced one of the most complex investigations in their history. They had to trace a weapon which they could neither see nor smell, but it could kill thousands. In this episode, we hear how they checked everything from coins to car keys in the hunt to find the source of the poisoning. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy H...

When Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were taken to hospital, the emergency services tried to piece together what had happened to them. We hear how they questioned whether it was a coincidence that they had treated two people for nerve agent poisoning four months earlier or whether the events could be connected. And we find out about Porton Down, the UK government’s secretive laboratory which iden...

One of the first police officers to go inside Sergei and Yulia Skripal’s house after they were poisoned with a nerve agent was Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey. He then became critically ill himself, after touching the front door handle. It had been smeared with the deadly chemical. He relives the events of 2018, which would change his life forever. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard...

When the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed on a bench in Salisbury, it was Sunday shoppers who first stepped in to help. Amazingly, two of them were highly qualified medics. We hear their stories. Also, how the consultants at Salisbury District Hospital realised these were no ordinary patients. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan...

Who is Sergei Skripal? The former Russian spy was poisoned by Novichok in March 2018, but until now very little has been known about him, his life in England, and his mysterious past. His friend and neighbour tells the Inquiry what he was like and how they became close. Plus, the BBC‘s Security Correspondent Gordon Corera describes Sergei’s life as a spy in Russia, and reveals how he ended up in S...

An in-depth interview with the Head of Counter Terror Policing at the time of the poisonings, Neil Basu. He relives how dangerous the investigation was for the officers involved, what it took to find the suspects, and 6 years on, how he feels about Dawn Sturgess’ death. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan O’Brien. Executive production by Mary Sanders and Naomi Wo...

Andrea Sella, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at University College London, answers the big questions about Novichok. The deadly nerve agent killed Dawn Sturgess and poisoned many more in Salisbury and Amesbury in 2018. What is it, when was it developed, and what does it do to our bodies? This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan O’Brien. Executive production by Mary...

As the inquiry prepares to move from Salisbury to London, Andy Howard and Marie Lennon review a momentous week of evidence, which saw the emergency services interrogated and the communication between them questioned. Dawn's family ask for President Putin to appear at the inquiry in person to answer questions about her death and the Russian Ambassador to the UK gives his response. Focus turns to th...

Paramedics and police relive the moments they were called to Charlie Rowley's flat in Amesbury. First Dawn Sturgess is found unresponsive, and then several hours later Charlie falls ill too. The emergency services disagree about what has caused him to be so unwell. The Inquiry investigates whether Dawn could have survived if the initial treatment had been different. This episode was made by Marie...

Caroline, Dawn’s mother, speaks publicly for the first time about her daughter and sets the record straight about who Dawn was. The police apologise to her family for the way she was portrayed, plus we hear evidence from the only person who saw what happened to Dawn on the day she was poisoned, her boyfriend Charlie Rowley. This episode was made by Marie Lennon, Andy Howard, Tom Ryan & Dan O’B...

Marie Lennon and Andy Howard reflect on an extraordinary first day at the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry. We hear that there was enough nerve agent hidden in a perfume bottle to kill thousands. Dawn is described as an “innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of an illegal and outrageous assassination attempt.” As the finger is pointed at Putin, Dawn’s family call on the Russian president to give evidence...