They Walk Among Us - UK True Crime

It was a typically warm mid-summer afternoon in 1966. However, shortly after 3 PM, the sound of gunshots rang out on a residential street in Shepherd’s Bush, West London… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***     This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane . Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna...

Shrill sirens could be heard as firefighters jumped from their trucks to control the flames emanating from the imposing concrete structure. Many of the doors and windows had been boarded up with plywood in a futile attempt to dissuade trespassers. It was an arduous task for the emergency crew to remove the boards before they could gain entry and try to extinguish the growing blaze. After the...

She rolled her car to a stop and rushed over to attend to the man lying on the verge. Elizabeth discovered his name was Malcolm Webster, and the fireball not far from where they were now standing was his car engulfed in flames. Elizabeth asked if there was anybody else inside the vehicle. Webster replied, “ No ,” before later correcting himself, and saying, “Yes, my wife”...  *** LI...

Simon slowly walked through the property, calling for his friend, before he entered the spare room.  Adrian was lying on the bed. It was evident he was dead and had been for some time. Simon instinctively knew that someone else was involved. A bottle of whiskey was on the table, and Simon knew his best friend did not drink whiskey… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***   &nb...

It had been a particularly bitter winter, and the ice in the canal was just beginning to thaw. As the men strolled by the waterway, they spotted something floating in the murky canal. It appeared to be bobbing up and down with the flow of the water, but it was not gathering any traction. The men got closer to inspect the unfamiliar object. They could see that it was something wrappe...

Henrietta Sutherland rushed into the dining room at 31 Buckingham Terrace in Edinburgh. The maid to the Merrett family found 55-year-old Bertha unconscious on the floor, with a pool of blood around her head. Bertha’s 17-year-old son, Donald, was standing next to her when Henrietta entered the room. It was shortly after 9 AM on March 17th, 1926. The maid had been alerted by the sound of a...

In the early morning hours of May 28th, 2018, as usual, Levens Drive was peaceful. Shortly after 4 AM, however, an early riser in the neighbourhood noticed the distinct aroma of smoke in the air. As she glanced out of her bedroom window, she could see that her neighbour’s bungalow was up in flames, with thick black smoke billowing from the windows. She immediately called the Fire Service...

The manager of an amusement arcade on the corner of Gerrard Street and Wardour Street in Soho, London, went to open the premises for business — it was just before 8 AM on Monday, April 3rd, 1989. Accompanied by his assistant, when the manager entered the building, he heard faint cries from the basement, and a strong smell of smoke hung in the air. They moved cautiously through the property, h...

Throughout the first two decades of the 20th century, life in Britain began to change rapidly. In the years preceding the first world war and the great depression, the economy was stable — although the divide between classes was significant, women were getting closer to equality, and the first female police officers began to patrol the streets. It had been many years since Jack the Rippe...

Elstree Studios is based in Borehamwood, an area where hundreds, if not thousands, of movies and TV shows have been filmed — it's not unusual to see the odd celebrity. But, in December, the high street is abuzz with a different excitement — it's Christmas time, and the festivities are in full swing… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***     This episode was researc...

November 1991 — rumours were circulating around the village of Northiam in Sussex, about 52-year-old Terry Daddow and his 51-year-old wife, Jean. The malicious gossip focused on their love life as well as Terry’s business dealings. In an attempt to set the record straight, Terry and Jean went to unusual measures. They addressed a letter to the local newspaper requesting that it be printed… **...

PLEASE LISTEN TO ‘SEASON 7 - EPISODES 23 & 24’ FOR PARTS ONE AND TWO OF THIS THREE-PART CASE. Late on the night of December 11th, 1975, police constables Stuart MacKenzie and Tony White were on patrol in the Nottinghamshire area of Mansfield Woodhouse, when they noticed a man walking in the shadows with his head down and a holdall bag over his shoulder… (Part 3 of 3). *** LISTENER CAUTION IS A...

PLEASE LISTEN TO ‘SEASON 7 - EPISODE 23’ FOR PART ONE OF THIS THREE-PART CASE. On February 10th, 1975, almost a month since Lesley Whittle’s kidnapping, detectives announced that the suspect was “ the most wanted man in Britain ”… (Part 2 of 3). *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***     This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane . Script edit...

Highley is a village built along the banks of the River Severn in Shropshire. Previously a mining area — the collieries closed in 1969 — the village became a market town. In 1975, the population was small, around 3,000 residents. Among them were 17-year-old Lesley Whittle and her mother, Dorothy Walker… (Part 1 of 3). *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***     This episo...

Soon after midday, on Tuesday, January 19th, 2021, the London Ambulance Service received a frantic phone call from Susan Oliver. Susan lived in Mottingham, South London, with her 74-year-old husband, David. She hysterically told the operator that her partner had been stabbed at their home…  *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***     This episode was resear...

It was quiet in Ardoyne on Saturday, March 15, 2014. However, during the early morning hours, a woman living on Ardoyne Place was awoken by the sound of shouting. It was coming from somewhere in the neighbourhood, but at first, she couldn't make out the exact location.  The loud voices sounded like several men who were upset — it was difficult to decipher what they were yelling...

Residents of Balne Lane were settling in for the night, preparing dinner and searching for something good to watch on television. It was March 15th, 1994 — a quiet Tuesday evening in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Some employees at Green’s Printers, which overlooked the neighbourhood, were working late. Shortly after 6 PM, one of the silk screen print workers noticed a man approaching a red-...

Desperation can lead people to flee the country they call home in search of somewhere safer, a place where they might have better work prospects and a better quality of life. In some cases, they feel they have no choice but to turn to traffickers to get them out. When they arrive at their intended destination, they know they will be financially indebted to the traffickers, perhaps for the res...

It was difficult to see, but as his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, something caught his eye. It was a plastic bag floating in the remnants of the petrol. Billy hollered to Mick, telling him to look at what was inside the bag. Mick waded through the sludge and approached the out-of-place object. It was evident by the shape and the way it moved that there was something i...

Some say the perfect time to visit Scotland is in the Autumn, around the Halloween period. Halloween originates from the Celtic festival of the ‘Feast of Samhain’, celebrated in Scotland, Ireland and on the Isle of Man from October 31st until November 1st. During this festival, people lit bonfires as a way to ward off unwelcome spirits. Many of these traditions were carried on throu...

It was shortly before 10 AM when several locals spotted an old, damaged red Fiat Punto. It appeared as though the vehicle had recently been in an accident. Two men were inside the car, one driving and one in the front passenger’s seat. The vehicle was slowly navigating the remote country roads throughout the village and the surrounding area, so unsurprisingly, it caught the attention of...

Lower Park Road is a leafy residential area located in the large seaside town of Hastings in England. Fronted by the picturesque Alexandra Park, the area boasts large Victorian-era style homes, surrounded by shops and parks, a short distance from the beach. In 1997, Hastings no longer saw the volume of tourists it once did — some old empty properties had been turned into flats and hostel...

On a cold and crisp winter's morning, January 25, 1970, the body of a young boy is found in a watery ditch at a farm near Ponteland in Northumberland. Just two years earlier, two little boys had been strangled by another child, and although the culprit had been caught, investigators wondered if something eerily similar had happened to Allan Graham… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***  &n...

On April 28, 2018, a woman nervously went to the police station to report a disturbing conversation she’d had with a co-worker a few days earlier. She was drinking with her friend's father — a man she believed had just lost his wife to suicide. As he consumed his first pint of the evening, the widower made a startling confession. However, it was less than a week before his partner's body was...

“The prisoner is probably the youngest person actively concerned in the investigation of this case. You may build round a case of this kind, a mountain of motive, you may surround it with suspicion, but if you do not prove the person - whose death you are investigating - was murdered, your mountain of motive and all your suspicion are without value” - James Dale Cassels, Sussex Assizes, March 1930...