Always True Crime

Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum became known around the world as the "Peru Two" after they were caught trying to smuggle 11 kilograms of cocaine out of Peru.They said they had been drawn into the operation by an organised crime gang and felt they couldn't back out, while others argued they had knowingly taken a huge risk in return for money. Their arrest made headlines across the globe and spa...

Wednesday 4th of April 1973 at 11pm, on the porch of St Martin’s Church in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire, 60-year-old homeless man, David McManus was beaten to death in an attack identical to a fictional killing in the book ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony Burgess and the controversial film by director Stanley Kubrick. But who was to blame, the book, the film or the killer?Location: St Martin’s...

On the morning of March 13, 1996, children arrived at Dunblane Primary School expecting an ordinary Wednesday. Parents waved goodbye at the school gates, teachers prepared for the day ahead, and a Primary 1 class gathered in the gymnasium for a PE lesson. Within minutes, that normal school morning would become one of the darkest days in British history, devastating a close-knit Scottish community...

"Is it fair that a young lady who dresses to attract, the queen bee attracting the drones, the queen bee that dresses to kill... cries out foul because somebody finds her attractive?" Shockingly, those were the words of the defence barrister during the trial. Understandably, this sparked widespread outrage at the time and remains one of the most extraordinary examples of victim blaming in a Britis...

On the afternoon of September 19, 1978, 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater set off on his usual newspaper round through the village of Wordsley in the West Midlands. A quiet, hardworking schoolboy who loved fishing, football and Scouts, Carl had only recently started earning pocket money delivering newspapers after school. With just a handful of deliveries left to make, he arrived at an isolated farmhou...

Scott Gilhooly was a well-known and popular landlord in Essex who lost his life after trying to help someone in need. His kindness was repaid with an act of shocking violence that left his family, friends and the local community devastated.In this episode, I examine the events that led to Scott's murder, the police investigation, the trial and the heartbreaking victim impact statements that showed...

A gift of £100,000 to buy a house, and £1,000 living allowance a month. The stuff the majority of us can only dream of, isn't it? But it's never enough for some, and combine this with deep-seated hatred, misconceived feelings of being unfairly treated, alcohol and the lockdown we all faced a few years ago, and one night in Dorset 2021 was to end in horrendous violence.And brutal, bloody murder. Th...

On Wednesday 8th of January 1988, at 3:25pm, expelled pupil 16-year-old Darren Fowler entered the Ferrers School in the town of Higham Ferrers with two knives, 25 cartridges and a shotgun. He had written a suicide note, and planned to get revenge on those who had wronged him. By 3:37pm, it was over. But unlike the Dunblane massacre, it is largely forgotten, and why, like the Dormers Wells school s...

In July 2010, the North East of England became the focus of one of the largest and most extraordinary police manhunts in modern British history. What began with a violent attack linked to the breakdown of a relationship quickly escalated into a nationwide search involving armed officers, helicopters, police dogs and roadblocks, as an armed fugitive evaded capture for almost a week. Millions follow...

Elizabeth Simms-Rees was a kind and trusting young woman whose life was brutally cut short at just 21 by someone she considered a friend.The man responsible, Richard Cullen, had a long history of violence and a disturbing obsession with the occult and devil worship. In this episode, I examine the events leading up to one of Swansea's most shocking murders, the investigation that followed, and the...

Scott Pritchard was just 19 years old when he was brutally attacked only yards from his family home in Sunderland. The football-mad teenager, who was recovering from a broken foot and relying on crutches, was especially vulnerable when he was ambushed and fatally struck with a blunt object.For years, his murder remained one of the North East's most enduring unsolved cases. His family suffered unim...

We head back to May 2010 and to the area of Wishaw, near Glasgow in North Lanarkshire for the tale this time around. It was the hottest weekend of that year so far, and an off-road motorcyclist named Stuart Bell was about to make a chilling discovery that he will take to his grave with him....The episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, including descriptions of injury detai...

Saturday the 12th of April 1958, two men – 60-year-old Isaiah Dixon and 32-year-old Matthew Kavanagh – returned to their boarding house at 11 Hillmorton Road in Rugby. Kavanagh strangled Dixon with his own tie, stole 34 10s from his pockets, went shopping, and confessed to his murder. But then in court, he denied murder, and used an alibi which had got many 1950s killers off a murder charge.Locati...

In February 2018, 47-year-old Julie Reilly was captured on CCTV inside an Aldi supermarket on Paisley Road West in Glasgow. Originally from Auchinleck in East Ayrshire, Julie had spent years rebuilding her life after enduring unimaginable personal tragedy, battling addiction and recovering from a serious brain injury that left her vulnerable. A devoted mother of four and grandmother, she was deter...

Medi Abalimba had a talent for convincing people he was someone else. Over the years, he posed as professional footballers, wealthy businessmen and well-connected insiders, gaining access to luxury lifestyles and the trust of his victims. In this episode of the UK True Crime podcast, I examine the rise and repeated downfall of one of Britain's most prolific fraudsters, and how his lies continued t...

On the evening of April 20, 2000, 23-year-old Sara Cameron left a pub in Newcastle city centre after celebrating with friends. A talented athlete, multilingual student and aspiring sports administrator, Sara was just days away from flying to Australia to begin a dream placement connected to the Sydney Olympic Games. With an exciting international career seemingly within reach, she boarded the last...

This podcast normally has a focus on victims of crime. Today, is different as I focus on the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian Brückner.In this special episode, I chat with Alex Frieling, a freelance German journalist covering crime, justice and investigative stories. He has reported extensively on Christian Brückner and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann fo...

A special extended podcast today.When Molly McLaren ended a short relationship, she believed it was the start of a new chapter. Instead, she found herself subjected to relentless stalking and harassment by a former partner who refused to accept the breakup. As the obsession intensified, Molly repeatedly tried to protect herself and move forward with her life. Tragically, her fears became reality w...

You should be able to leave your children for a sleepover, safe as houses, with someone who loves them so deeply she calls them her 'kidlets', shouldn't you? Lee-Anna Spiers and her partner Liam Timbrell had done just that, and looked forward to it for however many months, with all involved excited.Until the night of October 19th, 2012 - when it was to be the last sleepover anyone involved was to...

Wednesday 20th of March 1985, the 9:02pm slow train from London Euston to Birmingham New Street pulls out of Coventry Station, having passed through Northampton, Long Buckby and Rugby. It was silent, empty, and as the lone passenger slides open the door, in an off-side compartment, he saw blood up the windows and its seats saturated in a dark goo, as running twelve feet from the seat to a door sta...

On the afternoon of August 11, 2019, customers at a popular pub in Widnes watched as landlord Christian Thornton confronted a man he had recently barred from the premises. For Chris, it was part of the job. As the long-serving landlord of the Hammer and Pincers, he had spent years looking after customers, serving pints, organising charity events, and helping make his pub a cornerstone of the local...

In this episode of the UK True Crime Podcast, I examine the tragic murder of Jessie Hurlstone, a young woman living in Devon whose life was taken following a campaign of obsessive stalking that escalated into deadly violence. I explore Jessie’s life, the investigation that followed her killing, the evidence presented in court, and the conviction of Stephen Webber.. This is a heartbreaking case tha...

In this episode of the UK True Crime Podcast, I look at the disturbing case of Matthew Falder, a seemingly ordinary university administrator who led a disturbing double life online. Using fake identities, manipulation and blackmail, Falder targeted vulnerable victims across the world, coercing them into degrading and harmful acts.I explore how his crimes were uncovered, the international investiga...

Back in 2019, the ground floor flat at 4 Darell Road in Kew was home to 34-year-old Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, a busy singleton working in the media who had big plans of being a creative success, and was striving to make it happen.She had a good job, a busy social life, she was liked, and she was popular. By the March, she was about to begin (what she believed or maybe hoped) was a fresh start by m...

In March 1953, a tenant in a run-down Notting Hill house tapped on a section of wallpaper and noticed a hollow sound coming from behind it. Curious, he peeled the paper back and made a horrifying discovery. Hidden inside a small kitchen alcove was the body of a woman. When police arrived, they found two more bodies concealed alongside her. Further searches uncovered human remains beneath floorboar...