In this episode, I’m joined by one of my real true crime heroes in Tom Wood, a retired senior police officer who spent almost 40 years in policing, working on some of Scotland’s most significant murder investigations. Tom has worked on some of Scotland’s most infamous murders and was Officer in Overall Command of a national investigation into the murders of five young Scottish women in the 1970s,

A gang of armed robbers terrorised Bristol for more than a year, targeting banks, building societies and post offices with shotguns and other weapons. But how did they operate, and how did police finally bring them down? In this episode, I look at the robberies, the victims and the remarkable covert operation that eventually led to the gang's arrest and imprisonment - it is quite a story. I releas

Very occasionally, I recommend a podcast series to you and this is a show I have found really interesting and I hope you will too. This is episode one of Rough Diamond, the new true crime series from Always True Crime. NOTE: I haven't been paid to promote this podcast It starts in the 1960s when London was in the grips of a crime spree…rare diamonds are being stolen. The latest is the Colenso diam

Today’s story takes us to Plymouth, where we look at the tragic story of Callum Hill and the events surrounding his death. At the heart of the story is a personal dispute between two men and the seemingly futile idea that problems can be settled by arranging a fight. What begins as an argument driven by pride, ego and a refusal to back down ultimately has consequences far beyond the people involve

A building project that went badly wrong would lead to a lengthy and costly legal dispute between builder Michael Chudley and his customer, Christopher Sear. As the court case dragged on for years, the consequences for Chudley and his partner became increasingly serious, with both of them losing their homes. As the financial and personal pressures mounted, Chudley began looking for someone to blam

True Crime Catch Up is back! I'm delighted to say that True Crime Catch Up is back with a brand-new episode, as I sit down with Stuart Blues, host of the British Murders podcast, for episode one of our new monthly series. If you haven't listened before, it's a chance for the two of us to get together and chat about different aspects of true crime, from individual cases to our own experiences of re

Sixteen-year-old Ruth Wilson disappeared after travelling by taxi to Box Hill in Surrey. She had skipped school and, after being dropped off, was last seen standing alone in the rain on a quiet bridleway as darkness was falling. Ruth had been experiencing difficulties in her personal life, having recently discovered the truth about her biological mother's death, something that reportedly had a sig

Carol Jarvis was a woman whose life was shaped by her family and, later, by a degenerative illness which left her increasingly dependent on others. As her health deteriorated, her husband took on the role of her carer, looking after her at home as she became less able to care for herself. But behind the closed doors of the family home, things were not quite as they appeared. Carol’s children began

Note: This epiosde was originally released in February 2022. High Wycombe isn't somewhere you would necessarily associate with violent crime, but in this case an apparently ordinary churchyard became the setting for a brutal and completely unnecessary murder. Lee Gillespie found himself caught up in a complicated situation involving jealousy, relationships and misplaced loyalty. What began as tens

A weekend of music, mountain biking and entertainment at the impressive surroundings of Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. But for one 18-year-old man with everything to live for, the weekend would end in tragedy. What happened during those final hours, and how did a celebration turn into a devastating event. This is the story of Alex Pilkington. I release new episodes of the UK True Crime Podcast e

The story today is from Cheshire, when two childhood friends visit a family property, Boarded Barn, unaware that their lives are about to be caught up in a terrifying chain of events. This is a case involving mistaken identity, an extraordinary sequence of events and a murder investigation that would eventually uncover the truth. It’s a story that raises some difficult questions about chance, circ

In 2005, Jim Phillips co-founded a marketing company with his best friend. The business grew quickly, securing major contracts and working with high-profile international clients. But behind the success, Jim began to notice increasingly strange behaviour from his business partner. What followed was an extraordinary web of deception involving fake contracts, impersonated bank officials, claims of c

She spent more than 100 hours with the man she believed she loved - but she never saw his face. Kye Fortune was, to the woman at the centre of this case, a real person. They had built a relationship online and eventually met in person, but only on the condition that she wore a blindfold. What followed would lead to one of the strangest criminal cases in the UK, involving deception, identity, trust

Rachel Thacker was just 21, with a new job, a new car and a future that seemed full of possibilities. A caring, outgoing and popular young woman, she had recently graduated with a degree in occupational therapy and was looking forward to beginning her career. After travelling to Manchester to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday, Rachel spent the evening with friends before deciding it was time to h

What would it be like to lose your identical twin to murder? In this episode, I talk to Nick Dawson, whose identical twin, Simon, was murdered in the most dreadful attack in 1998. I found this conversation incredibly moving and, at times, very emotional. Nick takes us back to his brother’s childhood and talks about the man Simon was before his life was so brutally taken away. We also discuss the m

Dawn Rhodes was a 38-year-old mum whose attempt to leave an unhappy marriage ended in tragedy. After her murder, a disturbing version of events emerged in which Dawn was portrayed as a violent woman who had attacked her own child. But behind that story was a lie which would have devastating consequences for those left behind. The episode today explores the murder of Dawn Rhodes, the story created

In Newport, South Wales, Martin Podmore met a woman at a party - nothing unusual there, and the two got on well. But it was the beginning of an encounter that would take a deeply disturbing turn when he later kept her captive against her will. She was trapped in a situation where her freedom was taken away by someone she barely knew. And then came a disturbing discovery: this wasn't the first time

In this bonus episode, I chat with top crime reporter, Martin Brunt. Martin spent 36 years at Sky News and built such a reputation for contacts that, during the 2006 Ipswich serial murders, a police press officer reportedly told a rival journalist: 'Call Martin Brunt. He knows everything before we do.' Martin Brunt joined Sky for its launch in 1989, reported from the Gulf and Balkan wars, then bec

When you move into a small flat in a new town, just how much can you really know about your neighbours? Melanie Sturton had only recently left home to work and study when she moved into a flat in Aberdeen. She could have had no idea that someone living nearby would ultimately play a part in a terrible crime. Melanie was murdered, and in this episode I look at the shocking circumstances of the kill

Minutes before taking his own life, Michael Ryan looked back on the devastation he had caused in Hungerford. He had killed 16 people and injured 15 others. Then he told the police negotiator: “I wish I had stayed in bed.” In this episode, I look back at what happened that day, the people whose lives were changed forever, and the events that unfolded as a quiet town found itself at the centre of a