Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan has returned to our screens for its most explosive and intriguing season yet. Season four has been extended to an 11 episode run, guiding viewers through each shocking case in incredible, eye-opening detail. No stone is left unturned as Dermot looks to get to the bottom of each case, following in the footsteps of the actual detectives and exploring what these incidents can teach us as a society.
New episodes air every Monday at 9pm and will be available to stream on Crime+Investigation PLAY from the next day. Seasons 1-3 are already available to watch on demand.
Here are five things that are particularly interesting in the fourth season of Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan.
Dermot Murnaghan continues his run as host
As one of the UK’s best-known and most respected journalists, Dermot Murnaghan is the ideal host for Killer Britain. He’s been involved in the show since the very start and fans will be glad to hear his recognisable voice talking them clearly and concisely through each case once again. Most of the crimes featured on the show have been covered by Dermot as breaking news, so he knows each of them inside out.
Speaking to Crime+Investigation, he explained that he wants to be involved in the show because he’s fascinated by true crime and has a strong curiosity about why perpetrators do what they do.
Police creating their own film about the investigative process
Dermot himself admits how rare it is for a police force to produce a video detailing how they investigated a major crime. However, the first episode of the new season covers a case where exactly this happened. West Midlands Police provided the world with an in depth look at how they solved the disappearance of Julia Rawson. The result is a fascinating insight into the processes that our police forces go through, which includes interviews with main detectives and extensive footage that captured the key moments.
It transpired the Julia’s trusting nature was taken advantage of when she approached Nathan Maynard-Ellis who was drinking by himself in the pub. Little did she know that this horror film fanatic had regular fantasies that largely revolved around abusing and murdering women.
One of the oldest life sentence prisoners in the UK
Michael Sams was just about to turn 50 when he kidnapped Julie Dart in 1991 and held her prisoner in a makeshift coffin. He asked for a ransom of £140,000, but murdered Julie after she unsuccessfully tried to escape. Then, six months later, Sams took Stephanie Slater as his second victim, holding her in similar conditions and sexually assaulted her. She was eventually released after her ransom was paid by the police in an attempt to arrest her captor.
When Sams was sentenced for his crimes no minimum term was issued and its unknown whether he will ever be eligible for parole. Now 80-years-old, he is regarded as one of the oldest and longest-serving life sentence prisoners in country.
Several high-profile murder cases
As with every previous instalment of Killer Britain, season four covers several high-profile cases that have been of significant public interest. For example, the murder of Libby Squire, a 21-year-old university student who was attacked after a night out in Hull. She had ridden in a taxi from a nearby nightclub but became disoriented while making the final stages of her journey home on foot. Pawel Relowicz raped and killed Libby before dumping her body in the river.
The so-called ‘Grindr Killer’ also features in the second episode. Stephen Port connected with his victims on gay dating apps and sexual networks, before meeting them at his flat and drugging them with GBH. There was an extensive investigation that eventually led to his arrest, but in the last few years inquiries into potential police failings surrounding the case have been carried out.
Murdered by loved ones
It’s an unfortunate fact that many victims are murdered by people they know and the majority of them have their lives ended at the hands of someone they love. There are several episodes in the latest season that cover cases just like this, where the guilty party is the deceased individuals’ partner or even their parents.
17-year-old Emily Longley was strangled by her boyfriend Elliott Turner at his family home in Bournemouth in 2012. The couple were incredibly popular and would regularly enjoy nights out together with friends. However, Elliott’s behaviour became increasingly obsessive and jealous and he instigated a number of violent arguments, one of which ended in Emily’s death.
Nine years earlier, another 17-year-old was murdered, this time by her parents in Warrington. Shafilea Ahmed’s Mum and Dad were reportedly upset by her alleged ‘Westernisation’, after they moved to the UK before she was born. The gruelling case took years to unravel before Iftikhar and Farzana were brought to justice for the perceived ‘honour killing’.
