Fred Dinenage: Murder Casebook - Episode Guide

The extraordinary tale of deceitful compulsive liar John Christie, who murdered six women and stored them in his home in Rillington Place between 1943-53. Christie initially framed his neighbour, Timothy Evans, who was consequently hanged for the supposed murder of his wife and child, leading to a strong public outcry upon discovery and the eventual abolition of capital punishment.

The seemingly admirable and respectable middle class man, John Haigh, guilty of six grotesque murders in which each victim was drained of blood and later dissolved in acid. Haigh's calculated disposal of the bodies was an attempt to acquire their wealth in belief that this would prevent any risk of conviction. Was he a blood thirsty Satanist or one of the most cunning and callous killers who would do anything for money to feed his greed for money.

Graham young is the reoffending serial killer fascinated with deadly poisons and toxic chemicals who began his fatal experiments at the mere age of fourteen after poisoning his entire family. Released from jail 15 years later he up-scaled his study, this time lacing cups of tea with deadly poison to an entire factory of workers.

Scarred by a traumatic and unstable upbringing, Donald Neilson was the serial burglar turned masked murderer obsessed with weapons and military conduct. The meticulous nature to his three murders, became increasingly violent ending in the kidnapping and brutal murder of seventeen year old heiress Lesley Whittle.

The cold and heartless bigamist murderer George Joseph Smith who left his victims with broken hearts, empty bank accounts and in some cases, dead. Drowning three of his seven wives, which he married in only six years, Smith was eventually hanged for his murderous greed, after his seven aliases were finally connected. We'll examine how the early use of forensics helped police unmask the killer.

Fifteen year old killer Harold Jones brutally murdered two young girls in 1921 giving the reasons for the murders as a 'desire to kill'. After narrowly escaping prosecution on his first attack, Jones was eventually caught red handed when the mutilated body of his second victim was discovered in his attic. Not yet 16 Jones escaped hanging merely by the virtue of his age. We'll examine new evidence that shows Jones may have later gone on to become ‘Jack the Stripper', an unidentified serial killer in the 1960's.

Derek Bentley, the nineteen year old executed at Wandsworth prison, for his part in the murder of PC Sidney Miles during a break in at a warehouse in Surrey. As a minor Bentley's accomplice Christopher Craig, who actually shot the officer, escaped execution and a long sentence leaving Bentley alone to take the fall. With the help of Criminologist Professor David Wilson we'll discover how his case changed the law.

A brutal crime of passion that gripped the nation and saw Ruth Ellis hanged after murdering her estranged lover at the violent climax of a destructive relationship fuelled by jealousy. We'll examine what punishment may have been dealt out to Ruth had she committed the murder in today's modern age.

Fred Dinenage looks back over the life of Lord Lucan; the aristocratic figure whose glamorous life became tainted by murder, mistaken identity and events that would launch the biggest manhunt in British history.

Lord Lucan's life had gone from gambling, parties and weekends in the country to a bitter divorce, a custody battle for his children and huge debts. His only way out was to murder his wife, instead he murdered the nanny when he mistook her for Lady Lucan.

He then attacked his estranged wife who managed to escape with severe injuries. Meanwhile Lord Lucan was making his own exit; he disappeared after the attacks, only visiting a friend briefly, he was never seen again. There have been many reported sightings around the world but the Lord Lucan mystery continues.

Fred Dinenage examines the horrific murders performed by Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel.

Manuel was hanged at the age of 31, convicted of 7 murders but suspected of many more. He was a cold ruthless killer with no motive and an incontrollable rage… who just wanted to be the centre of attention.

Fred Dinenage examines the brutal crimes of child killer Mary Bell.

At just 11 years old Mary Bell shocked the country when she was convicted of strangling two young boys aged just 3 and 4. What made this child commit such horrific acts and can children who have murdered change?

Fred Dinenage investigates one of Scotland's most enigmatic serial killers, Archibald Hall known as the Monster Butler.

Hall's lust for a luxurious lifestyle turned him from a conman and jewellery thief into a callous murderer. Fred discovers what drove Hall to kill from local journalist, Frank Ryan, Hall's Lawyer, Len Murray and Alan Place, a police officer who was handcuffed to Hall on his arrest.

Fred also finds out about Hall's abilities to exaggerate and glamorise his own so-called achievements; Fred meets author Allan Nicol who disproves many of Hall's wild claims and reveals the truth behind this cold murderer's lies.

Fred Dinenage looks back over the life of John Straffen; at the age of 21 he strangled two little girls but escaped the hangman's noose due to his low IQ of just 58.

After six months at Broadmoor Straffen escaped and committed a third murder on another young girl in a local village. This time he was reprimanded in maximum security prisons and remained so for the next 55 years.

Straffen died in prison in 2007 but continues to carry the title of Britain's longest serving prisoner.

During the 1960's, fear spread through the local community of Cannock Chase. Children were being snatched from the streets, sexually assaulted and murdered.

Fred Dinenage investigates the brutal killings that sparked one of the biggest manhunts in police history, and led to the conviction of Raymond Leslie Morris.

Fred meets detectives Conrad Joseph and John Farrall who worked first hand on the child killer hunt and finds out with Professor David Wilson how difficult putting together a photofit of a killer is.

Fred Dinenage follows the extraordinary tale of serial killer Patrick Mackay, who savagely murdered more than three people in cold blood.

Certified a psychopath at 15, could these murders have been prevented if the authorities had stepped in earlier? Fred meets WPC Amy Tapp who dealt with Mackay in his youth when his disturbing behaviour had already become a cause for concern. John Penycate, author of ‘The Psychopath' and Panorama Producer, gives a real insight into the disturbed mind of Mackay who became increasingly violent towards the elderly.

Lawyer Robin Clarke and Ken Tappenden, who led the hunt for Mackay once he had committed the brutal murders, help Fred discover more about the horrific actions of the man who earned the nickname of ‘The Psychopath'.

Fred Dinenage looks back over the life and crimes of RAF cadet Gordon Cummins.

During the London Blitz of 1942, terror stalked the war torn streets. It was not just the horror of German bombs falling from the sky… the fear was created by a spree killer. In just one week four women were brutally killed and two women attacked.

Not since Jack the Ripper had there been such a gruesome spate of murders…earning Cummins the title... The Blackout Ripper.

Fred Dinenage takes a journey back to the poverty stricken East End of 1888 and speaks to Ripperologists about the continuing fascination behind the Jack the Ripper mystery.

With interviews from historian John Bennett and author Linda Stratmann, we tell the story of life in the East End and what could have led to some of the most horrendous murders of the 19th Century.

The Moors Murders is one of the most infamous murder cases of the 20th Century. Between the years 1963 - 1965 young couple Ian Brady and Myra Hindley abducted, assaulted and murdered five children in the Manchester area, burying four of them on Saddleworth Moor.

Nearly fifty years later, Fred Dinenage meets Ian Fairley one of the police officers from the original investigation and interviews Father Michael Teader, Myra Hindley's Roman Catholic Priest. He asks who were this young couple whose mug shots have haunted the public for so many years and why hasn't the body of victim Keith Bennett, ever been found?

In 1962, James Hanratty was hanged for the murder of Michael Gregsten but was there enough evidence at the time?

Fred Dinenage interviews his brother Michael Hanratty and Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC about the prospect of his underlying innocence. John Kerr, the first person on the scene, describes the appalling sight he discovered whilst wo

For twenty six years the public believed that two children found dead in Epping Forest in 1970 had died of exposure. Then in 1996 a convicted child murderer, Ronald Jebson, called police from Wakefield Prison – he had information about the murder of the Babes in the Wood.

Fred Dinenage interviews Metropolitan police officer, Declan Donnelly, who finally solved the case and meets the family of victim, Gary Hanlon, to find out why they never believed that two children would just lay down and die.

In Germany in 2002, a case came to light that shocked the world. A man in a rural German village had filmed himself dismembering, killing and eating another man. The culprit, Armin Meiwes was to become known as The Cannibal of Rotenburg.

Fred Dinenage travels to Germany to meet Armin's childhood friend Manfred Stück and asks leading experts on the case: What would make one man want to eat another?

On Friday 13 April 1973 the bodies of three children were found impaled on garden railings in Worcester. The murderer? The family's lodger and babysitter David McGreavy.

Fred Dinenage discovers the critical mistake that cost the children their lives and asks what caused the babysitter to embark on such a barbaric killing spree.