Psycho Killer: Shocking True Crime Stories

The intelligence picture is never complete—but sometimes, what’s missing matters most. Most people think policing starts with an arrest. In reality, it starts with intelligence. In this episode of Detective’s Files , Jacques Morrell explores how surveillance, information, and instinct combine to identify suspects and prevent crime. From the chaos of paper-based systems to today’s digital databases...

How closely are we really being watched? In this episode of Detective’s Files: True Crime Tales With Jacques Morrell , former detective Jacques joins Simon Ford to explore the hidden world of police surveillance. From Britain’s vast network of CCTV cameras to the painstaking craft of covertly following suspects, Jacques explains how surveillance works in real investigations—and why it’s far more c...

In this episode of Detective’s Files , former major crime detective Jacques Morrell reflects on the reality of firearms in British policing — from the culture of knives and blunt weapons in the late 1980s to rare but devastating firearm cases. We examine:  • UK firearm homicide statistics (1980–present) • Major British gun massacres — Hungerford, White House Farm, Dunblane • The 2002 Nottingham RB...

On 15 April 1989, 97 Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. For decades, false narratives blamed the fans. In this episode of  The Detective’s Files , former major crime detective Jacques Morrell reflects on public order policing in the 1980s — from riot training and football match duties...

The Zodiac didn’t just kill — he performed. In this episode of A-Z of Psychopaths, we examine the crimes and communications of the Zodiac Killer, whose letters, cyphers, and taunts terrorised Northern California in the late 1960s and continue to fascinate investigators and psychologists today.  Rather than focusing on suspect speculation, this episode analyses Zodiac’s behaviour through the lens o...

Content warning: This episode discusses filicide, postpartum psychosis, severe mental illness, and religious delusion. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Andrea Yates remains one of the most disturbing—and misunderstood—cases in modern criminal history. This episode does not sensationalise her crimes. Instead, it examines postpartum psychosis, religious delusion, and the profound failures th...

Eight murders. One night. One man’s shocking killing spree. In January 2009, a quiet town in Hubei Province, China, became the scene of one of the country’s most shocking acts of mass violence. Xiong Zhijun — also known in court records and media reports as Xiong Zhenlin — murdered eight people in less than 15 hours, including a toddler. The killings followed a pattern of personal grievance, rejec...

She was bad to the bone – a heartless, lying serial killer – but was Aileen Wuornos insane, too? In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, we examine one of the most controversial figures in modern true crime. Aileen Wuornos was convicted of murdering seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990 and was executed in 2002 — but debate continues over how her crimes should be understood.  Was Wuornos a...

“ Eating people is like eating pears. ” Dorángel Vargas—known in Venezuela as El Comegente (“The People Eater”)—is one of the most disturbing figures in modern true crime. A homeless man living beneath bridges in the Andean state of Táchira, Vargas confessed to killing and eating multiple men during the late 1990s. But this episode of The A-Z Of Psychopaths asks a question that most true crime pod...

Suave, urbane, and prone to strangling women with their underwear – Jack Unterweger fooled high society. Jack Unterweger was once held up as a symbol of rehabilitation: a convicted murderer who became a celebrated writer, journalist, and cultural figure.  Released early from prison, he was embraced by politicians, intellectuals and the media — and even invited to lecture on criminal reform. Then w...

Ottis Toole: the serial killer who confessed to almost everything.  Ottis Toole is remembered as one of America’s most disturbing serial killers — a drifter, arsonist, alleged cannibal, and prolific confessor who claimed responsibility for dozens of murders, including some he almost certainly did not commit. In this episode of The A-Z Of Psychopaths , Simon Ford examines the life and crimes of Ott...

A trusted family GP. A reassuring bedside manner. With a liking for lethal injections. Harold Shipman is believed to have murdered more than 200 patients, making him the most prolific serial killer in British history. He didn’t stalk strangers or lurk in the shadows — he operated in plain sight, protected by professional status, routine, and trust. In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths , Simon...

Richard Ramirez didn’t stalk victims because they were chosen. He stalked them because they were there.  Armed with no fixed pattern, no consistent victim type, and a worldview steeped in chaos, Ramirez terrorised California in the mid-1980s — breaking into homes at random, switching methods, and leaving behind scenes of extraordinary violence. In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths , Simon For...

Wherever she went, death followed – but the authorities never had the evidence to convict her. Marie Besnard was accused of murdering at least a dozen people over three decades, quietly dispatching husbands, relatives, and neighbours with arsenic while maintaining the image of a respectable provincial widow.  But here’s the twist: after years of trials, scientific disputes, and forensic confusion,...

He shot his girlfriend through a bathroom door. Discover why this grey-area case belongs in the A–Z of Psychopaths. Oscar Pistorius is not a psychopath. He doesn’t fit the classic profile. No predatory patterns. No serial victims. And yet, the combination of fear, jealousy, and fragile self-esteem made him capable of lethal violence.  In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths , we explore why Pist...

Let's take stock of the catalogue of carnage to date. We’ve reached the halfway point of The A–Z of Psychopaths — and before plunging headlong into the rest of the alphabet, it’s time to pause, reflect, and ask an uncomfortable question: Who is the worst psycho killer… so far? In this special mid-series episode, I'll rank the most disturbing figures we’ve covered to date using a deliberately unsci...

Thanks for your support during a fantastic year! Hi, it’s Simon here. On behalf of Jacques and me, we want to wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2026! This year has been huge — three new strands, a growing community of true-crime fans, and more ambitious plans ahead. Listen in for a festive message and a glimpse of what’s coming in the New Year, including bonus content, Patreon p...

"The gun went off through the driver's window ... and he shouts, 'Call 999! We've got an armed man!' " Paul Cullen was a teenager hanging out with a friend when a series of dramatic events catapulted him into the criminal history books. His actions on a cold December night in 1975 helped bring Britain's most wanted fugitive – the elusive and deadly Black Panther – to justice. Neilson had hijacked...

He built a torture bunker and videotaped acts of depraved cruelty. Charles Ng is one half of one of America’s most disturbing criminal duos. Alongside Leonard Lake, he participated in a series of kidnappings, tortures, and murders carried out in a remote bunker in the foothills of California. Their videotapes — cold, clinical, and horrifying — remain among the most chilling pieces of evidence in U...

"There had been families going into the park during the day, dog walkers, you know, it was very well used, and she was there all at the time." Fifty years ago, two boys were growing up on opposite sides of the English Midlands — unaware that a killer was shaping both their childhoods.  One lived just yards from the place where Donald Neilson — the Black Panther — held kidnapped heiress Lesley Whit...

Join us live at 19.30 GMT, Thursday, 11 December 2025 , from the exact location where the Black Panther was brought down. For Lynn Dorling, Thursday, 11 December 1975, was just another day at the village school in Blidworth, where she was head teacher. But the next day, Friday, would be a day like no other. Overnight, just down the road in Rainworth, another colliery community, Britain's most want...

To mark 50 years since the capture of Britain's most wanted fugitive, Jacques and Simon retrace the Panther's movements on the night he was caught. Donald Neilson, dubbed the Black Panther for his ruthless cunning and stealthiness, thought he was above the law. Invincible, even. So when a couple of Bobbies asked him what he was up to one night in December 1975, Neilson responded by hijacking their...

A predator with a shotgun. A village that refused to let him escape. On 11 December 1975, armed robber and murderer Donald Neilson — the Black Panther — was finally captured in the Nottinghamshire village of Rainworth. In this 10-minute on-location scene setter, presenter Simon Ford revisits the streets where it happened, explaining who the Panther was, why he was feared, and how the people of Rai...

Manson didn’t kill people. He convinced people to kill. Charles Manson never stabbed, shot, or strangled any of the victims in the Tate–LaBianca murders — yet he was the driving force behind every killing. Through psychological manipulation, apocalyptic ideology, and a cult-like hold on his followers, Manson created one of the most disturbing criminal networks of the 20th century.  In this episode...

A polite smile, a marriage proposal, and a stove full of ashes. Henri Désiré Landru was one of France’s most notorious killers — a polite, moustachioed gentleman who lured vulnerable women with promises of marriage during World War I. Once they entered his villas, they vanished forever.  In this episode, Simon Ford examines Landru’s double life, his careful record-keeping, and the forensic evidenc...