Crimes That Haunt Us

In October 1974, 39-year-old Josephine Backshall, a devoted mother of three from Maldon, Essex, answered a classified ad for part-time modelling work.  A smooth-talking stranger named "Peter" lured her with a £100 gig. She kissed her kids goodbye, drove off in her red Ford Cortina... and vanished. Three days later, her bound body was found face-down in a shallow pond 40 miles away—watch...

In December 1992, 14-year-old Johanna Young vanished from her home in the quiet Norfolk town of Watton on a foggy Christmas Eve night.  Her body was discovered days later in a water-filled pit—naked from the waist down, drowned after a fractured skull, with clear signs two people dragged her there.  Despite Norfolk Police's biggest-ever murder investigation, multiple arrests, fresh appeals in...

On a quiet Saturday afternoon in 1997, 14-year-old Kate Bushell left home to walk her neighbour’s Jack Russell terrier, Gemma, along a peaceful lane in Exwick, Exeter. She never made it back.  Hours later, her own father found her body in a field just 300 yards from their front door – her throat savagely slashed in a single, ferocious knife attack. No sexual assault. No clear motive. Just pure, ra...

In 1970, Barbara Mayo vanished while hitchhiking along Britain’s M1 motorway, sparking one of the most chilling and mysterious cases in UK true crime history.  Months earlier, 18 year old Jacqueline Answell Lamb also vanished whilst hitchhiking the same stretch of motorway. Both women would be viciously killed and dumped off the motorway. Barbara’s story remains unsolved decades later — a haunting...

On 8 March 1970, 18-year-old Jackie Ansell-Lamb stood alone on the northbound M1 slip road in London, thumb out, hoping for a ride back to her tiny attic flat in Manchester.  Hours later she was found raped, beaten and strangled with electrical flex in isolated woodland just off the M6 near Mere, Cheshire. This is the full, gripping story of Jacqueline Susan Ansell-Lamb — her final weekend, every...

In the early hours of June 13, 1971, 29-year-old Gloria Booth was found brutally murdered in Stonefield Park, Ruislip — naked, bitten, mutilated, and strangled in an attack of shocking savagery.  Her case remains unsolved to this day. But what if Gloria was the first victim of one of Britain's most notorious serial killers — Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper? Decades later, explosive theor...

In this episode of Crimes That Haunt Us, we dive into one of the most chilling unsolved murders of the 1970s: the brutal killing of 17-year-old German au pair Heidi Mnilk in London, 1973.  On July 8, 1973, Heidi boarded a train at Charing Cross Station after a day of sightseeing. Minutes later, as the train sped past London Bridge, screams echoed through the carriages.  Witnesses saw a man flee he...

In 1988, 15-year-old Lee Boxell vanished from Sutton, South London — and was never seen again. What began as an ordinary day quickly became one of Britain’s most haunting unsolved cases. In this episode of Crimes That Haunt Us, we take a comprehensive deep dive into the disappearance of Lee Boxell, examining the timeline of events, witness accounts, police failures, and disturbing unanswered quest...

On May 6, 1967, 12-year-old Keith Lyon left his happy family home in Ovingdean, Brighton, for a short walk to buy a geometry set accessory. He never returned. Ambushed on the scenic Happy Valley bridle path, Keith was brutally stabbed 13 times in a frenzied attack—his pockets rifled, body hidden under bushes. A teenage girl walking her dog discovered the blood-soaked scene just minutes later. In t...

In 1976, Enrico Sidoli was brutally murdered in one of the most public places imaginable — the Parliament Hill Lido in Kentish Town London. The crime took place in broad daylight, surrounded by life, movement, and people… yet no witnesses ever came forward.  How does someone get murdered in public without anyone seeing a thing? This episode of Crimes That Haunt Us examines the chilling contradicti...

In October 1986, 13-year-old Philip Cairns disappeared while walking to school from Ballyroan, Dublin. He has never been found. Nearly four decades later, Philip Cairns’ disappearance remains one of Ireland’s most haunting and troubling unsolved missing person cases. Despite witness sightings, Garda investigations, media appeals, and multiple reported leads over the years, no definitive answers ha...

He said “I don’t want to die here”... then vanished without a trace. This is the full corrected story of Lars Mittank—the German tourist who ran out of a Bulgarian airport and was never seen again. In this updated Podcast, we fix a critical date error and walk you through the verified timeline, the events in Golden Sands, his mysterious behavior, and the airport footage that continues to haunt mil...

In the year 1995, 16-year-old Ruth Wilson vanished from the quiet village of Betchworth in Surrey, England. She skipped school, caught a taxi to a remote hill — and was never seen again. There was no struggle. No witnesses. Just a teenage girl who disappeared without a trace. Ruth wasn’t troubled. She wasn’t running from a crime. But she was carrying a secret — one that may hold the key to everyth...

On 7th November 1994, 13-year-old Lindsay Jo Rimer left her home in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, to buy a simple box of cereal. Hours later, she had vanished, leaving her family, friends, and a tight-knit community in shock. In this episode of Crimes That Haunt Us, we recount the terrifying events of that day, the police investigation, the suspects and theories that emerged, and the lasting impa...

In the dead of night on a quiet suburban road in 1954, stylish 21-year-old Jean Townsend — the glamorous West End “Girl in Black” — screamed “HELP!”… then vanished.  Her body was found the next morning, carefully arranged like a sleeping doll, strangled with her own scarf, shoes and stockings neatly folded beside her. No fingerprints. No sexual assault. No motive.  Her killer has never been caught...

A shy 15-year-old schoolgirl boards a quiet afternoon train home in 1964. Moments later she is savagely attacked with a broken bottle, dragged into the toilet, and her throat slashed in a frenzied murder. Her body is discovered by a screaming 12-year-old boy as the train speeds on. The killer calmly slips away among 100 passengers... and is never brought to justice. This is the full story of the b...

George "Dod" Murdoch was the kind of taxi driver everyone in Aberdeen knew — gentle, polite, and dependable. But on a quiet September night in 1983, something unimaginable happened. That evening, 58-year-old Dod picked up what should have been a routine fare. Just minutes later, he was ambushed and strangled with a weapon so unusual it stunned investigators — a cheesewire. His taxi was f...

Dive into the chilling unsolved murder of 17-year-old Raonaid Murray, stabbed to death in the quiet suburbs of Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, on September 4, 1999.  This full episode of Crimes That Haunt Us explores the tragic night Raonaid left Scott's Pub, the mysterious argument overheard in Silchester Crescent, and the frantic search for her killer that has baffled investigators for over 25 years....

In the shadows of Ireland’s infamous Vanishing Triangle lies one of the most heartbreaking and overlooked cases: the disappearance of 22-year-old Imelda Keenan. On (or around) January 3rd 1994, Imelda vanished from her Waterford city bedsit. She left behind her glasses, handbag, purse, ID, cigarettes, unopened Christmas presents… and her beloved diary. Her fiancé Mark Wall’s account has been fierc...

In November 1996, 16-year-old Damien Nettles vanished from Cowes, Isle of Wight, after a night out with friends.  Last seen on CCTV at Yorkies Chippy acting incoherent—struggling to order chips, words failing, looking drugged.  His behavior deteriorated fast: trying car doors, mumbling "They are watching us." He was never seen again. Rumors swirled of a brutal end at the hands of local d...

On 9 January 1986, 21-year-old florist Diane Sindall was brutally murdered in Birkenhead, Merseyside. She was found stabbed and sexually assaulted in a shocking frenzied attack. Peter Sullivan was wrongfully convicted of her murder and spent 38 years in prison. In 2025, new DNA evidence finally cleared him — one of the longest miscarriages of justice in British history. Yet nearly 40 years later,...

On 18 January 1976, 15-year-old Peter Watts from Colwyn Bay, North Wales, left home telling his family he was going out. The next day he was found critically injured in an underpass near Euston Station in London — over 250 miles away. He died shortly after in hospital. His death was ruled a murder, but nearly 50 years later, no one has ever been charged. How did a Welsh schoolboy end up dying alon...

On 5 March 1979, 15-year-old Martin Allen said goodbye to his brother at Earls Court Underground station in London… and vanished without a trace. One of Britain’s most disturbing and high-profile missing persons cases, Martin’s disappearance has been linked to alleged VIP paedophile rings, powerful establishment figures, and possible cover-ups. Despite decades of investigation and multiple suspici...

On 9 January 1965, 14-year-old Elsie Frost left her home in Wakefield to go ice skating. She was last seen alive walking through an old railway tunnel… and was later found brutally murdered. Nearly 60 years later, her killer has never been brought to justice. Despite multiple investigations, a prime suspect, and fresh appeals, the case remains one of Britain’s most disturbing unsolved child murder...

On 19 August 1978, 13-year-old Genette Tate left home to deliver newspapers in the quiet village of Aylesbeare, Devon. She was last seen cycling along a country lane… and then she vanished without a trace. Nearly 50 years later, Genette’s disappearance remains one of Britain’s most haunting unsolved cases. Despite extensive searches, multiple suspects, and links to notorious serial killer Robert B...