They Walk Among Us - UK True Crime

It was early on a warm Sunday morning, and very few cars were on the A22 road between Eastbourne and London. A motorcyclist pulled in on the grassy verge and ventured a few yards behind the tree line of Ashdown Forest. The sun shone down between the tall oak trees, casting shadows on the leafy ground. Something stood out amidst the earthy tones of the undergrowth. As the motorcyclist walked closer to the blue fa...

Ellie and her partner Marcus walked around to the large conservatory at the back of the house. Through the glass doors, they could see the silhouettes of two familiar figures sitting in their favourite armchairs, although something did not seem right with Carol and Stephen Baxter…

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This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.

Edited ...

The Burton Mail published the article in March 1990. A local couple had the good fortune of winning a Vauxhall Astra with two years' worth of free petrol. The accompanying picture is fuzzy. Sandra and Ryan James pose almost formally and rigidly while standing behind the vehicle with the garage owner poised to hand over the keys. The next time the couple were mentioned in the newspaper, it would not be for such joyous reasons…

The officer called out to identify himself, but there was no response from behind the closed door. He tried to open it but was met by resistance. After managing to wedge the bedroom door a few inches, PC Francis saw the body of an elderly man on the floor. Blood and brain matter were pooling around his head. As PC Francis radioed for support and the London Ambulance Service, he heard a voice say, “You’re too late. He...

Hazel was safety conscious, but the fact that she was not answering the door made George concerned that something had happened to her, so he alerted the police. When officers gained entry to the property, they found a pile of boxes blocking a cupboard under the stairs. Faint cries pleading for help were coming from inside. The reality of what had happened to Hazel was far beyond what George could have ever imagined… 

There is a timeless saying that bad things happen in threes. Some believe the superstition originates from the wartime phrase ‘Three on a match’ — which refers to three soldiers using the same match to light a cigarette. It was said that the light of the match would be seen by an enemy marksman, and by the time the third soldier lit their cigarette, they would be shot by the gunman who had them in their sights. While...

A man in his mid-sixties wearing a light-coloured casual jacket and dark trousers caught the couple’s attention. Concerningly, he was clenching a piece of wood in his hand. Stephen slammed the brakes and got out of the vehicle. He realised another man was lying horizontally on the pavement, being struck about the head repeatedly with the length of wood. Blood was pooling on the path surrounding the injured man. Stephen instinctivel...

Something caught Thomas’ attention at the bottom of a set of stone stairs known to locals as the ABC steps. Twenty-six stone platforms jutted out from the steeply sloping hill towards the canal towpath, a stone for each letter of the alphabet. A young girl was curled up at the bottom of the stairs, her legs folded beneath her as if she were crying. Thomas wondered if she was upset or had fallen, but the reality was far wo...

From the path, that quiet spot on Redcar Beach in North Yorkshire was concealed by sand dunes. As the tide was going out on the crisp morning of April 30th 1977, the body of a man was held in place by the saturated sand. Eventually, hours after the sun had come up, he was found. There were no apparent signs that he had been injured, and bystanders wondered what happened…

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Tony Wesson was looking forward to spending time with his fiancée, Suzanne. They both enjoyed working out at the local leisure club, and weightlifting was the perfect way to blow off some steam at 6 pm on a Friday evening. It was July 1st, 1988, and the sun was still shining over Tewkesbury Walk in the Shaftesbury area of Newport, Wales. Despite the nice weather, the curtains were closed inside Suzanne’s home. Using the key th...

Theresa Colborne wasn’t expecting visitors at her home in Rode Heath, Stoke-On-Trent. It was shortly after 11:30 pm on Friday, May 6th 2022, and someone was pounding frantically on the front door. When Theresa answered, she saw a young woman hysterically crying and begging for help. The woman sobbed, “Please phone an ambulance. I think I've run over my boyfriend”...

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A forensic review of the unsolved murders of two young women who were killed in 1987 turns up new evidence. Genetic genealogy tests lead to one man who left DNA at both crime scenes. During a search of the suspect's home, investigators learn that he not only evaded justice for the murders for over three decades, but the killer had continued to offend in the most horrific manner…

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PLEASE LISTEN TO ‘SEASON 9 - EPISODE 1’ FOR PART ONE OF THIS TWO-PART CASE. After being linked to the murders of three women in Glasgow, the perpetrator seemed to be able to evade capture despite having one of the most well-known faces circulating in the press. Tens of thousands of statements were collected, and nearly one thousand suspects were interviewed. Due to the religious texts he quoted to a victim's sister, the nickna...

It was around 8 am on February 23rd, 1968, when a man walked down a service lane behind Carmichael Place in Glasgow. Every exhale immediately condensed into a cloud of mist that hung in the freezing air. The man’s car was parked in a lock-up on the lane, and he was looking forward to the last day of the working week. Before he could reach the vehicle, the man was stopped in his tracks by a strange sight... (Part 1 of...

The sun was shining, typical for early summer, and the Victorian house cast a shadow over the gravel garden path tucked between two cedar trees. May Chambers’ concerned friends knocked on the door and peered through the windows to try and get a glimpse inside. Finally, they found a way into the home and realised why no one had heard from May in days... 

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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…

THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM ON OCTOBER 12th, 2022.

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Conflicts in the workplace are not unusual. Co-workers don’t always see eye to eye, especially when their occupation is the only thing they have in common. On rare occasions, minor disputes can escalate to violent assaults. According to the Health & Safety Executive and the Office for National Statistics, almost 300,000 assaults were committed in the workplace between 2019 and 2020. While the majority of those at...

At first, it seems to be a freak accident involving a new father. Half a year later, it is uncovered that something far more sinister took place...

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This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.

Script editing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna Fitton

Narration, audio editing, additional writing, and production direction...

One of the most significant murder investigations in Cleveland police history remains unsolved after three decades. But some believe they know who is responsible, and the killer or killers are likely to have committed more crimes. Will the truth ever be uncovered?…  

THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM ON JANUARY 19th, 2022.

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This episode was&...