True Criminals is a multi award winning podcast hosted by Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt and journalist and broadcaster Helen Fospero.
The podcast won Outstanding Independent Podcast at the 2025 True Crime Awards, and returned to the awards this year, where Martin and Helen were named Most Captivating Hosts.
Drawing on decades of frontline journalism, they revisit both high profile and lesser known cases with the insight and curiosity of reporters who understand how investigations unfold. The result is thoughtful, revealing true crime that goes beyond the familiar headlines.
Guests include senior detectives, investigative journalists, bestselling authors and people directly connected to the cases, bringing first hand insight and new detail to each story.
Produced by Audio Bleach Global, with BAFTA winning producer Russell Barnes.
Questions and listener feedbackcontact@audiobleachglobal.com
Follow True Criminals
Instagram: @true.criminals
YouTube: @True Criminals
TikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
Connect with the hosts
Martin BruntTwitter: @skymartinbrunt
Read his book No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter on Amazon.
Helen FosperoInstagram: @helenfospero
Listen to her podcast The Convex Conversation on Apple Podcasts.
Credits
Produced by: Audio Bleach GlobalExecutive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BleachedOriginal Music: BleachedArtwork: Bleached
Learn more: www.truecriminals.co.uk
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EXCLUSIVE PATREON BONUS TEASER | Toni-Ann Byfield: The Investigation with Neil Basu | Part 1
lundi 5 octobre 2026 • Durée 01:13:44
Did you know True Criminals is on Patreon?
You can listen ad free and enjoy exclusive bonus content, just like the episode you’re listening to right now.
Please enjoy this exclusive Patreon bonus teaser of True Criminals. If you would like to listen to the full episode and access our complete catalogue of exclusive content, head over to:
https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
In the early hours of September 14, 2003, seven year old Toni Ann Byfield was shot in the back in a cramped North London bedsit.
An innocent child caught in the middle of a violent drug war, Toni Ann had witnessed the murder of the man she called her father, Bertram “Blacker” Byfield.
In this exclusive two part investigation, True Criminals is joined by Neil Basu, the former Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Senior Investigating Officer who led Operation Trident’s investigation into the murder of Toni Ann Byfield.
In Part 1, Neil Basu takes us inside the investigation and reveals the extraordinary pressure surrounding a Category A murder, the importance of the broken cigarette lead, the devastating reality of dealing with grieving families while managing multiple homicide investigations, and the moment a national television appeal helped change the course of the case.
Neil Basu is one of Britain's most distinguished former senior police officers. During his career he served as Head of UK Counter Terrorism and became one of the UK's leading specialists in organised crime, gang violence, counter terrorism and national security.
This is a rare and deeply personal insight into the Toni Ann Byfield murder investigation, told by the senior detective who led the hunt for her killer.
If you are interested in true crime, British true crime, UK murder cases, police investigations, criminal investigations, Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police, Operation Trident, gang violence, organised crime and the stories behind some of Britain's most notorious cases, this is an episode you will not want to miss.
SUPPORT TRUE CRIMINALS
Listen ad free and access our full catalogue of exclusive content, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, True Criminals relies on the support of its listeners. You can also support the show via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Follow us on Instagram @true.criminals
Subscribe to True Criminals on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@True-Criminals
CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT
Follow Martin on Twitter @skymartinbrunt
Discover more about Martin's career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter:
https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO
Follow Helen on Instagram @helenfospero
Listen to Helen's podcast, The Convex Conversation:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals for more information.
Executive Producer: Lee Mann
Producer: Russell Barnes
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition: BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Babes in the Wood Murders: | Part 1 with author Jean Ritchie
lundi 28 septembre 2026 • Durée 38:14
In October 1986, nine-year-old best friends Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows disappeared after going out to play near their homes on the Moulsecoomb estate in Brighton. The following afternoon, their bodies were discovered in Wild Park.
The case became known across Britain as the Babes in the Wood murders — one of the most notorious and heartbreaking cases in British true crime history.
In Part 1 of this two-part True Criminals special, Martin Brunt and Helen Fospero are joined by journalist and author Jean Ritchie, co-author of My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice with Karen's mother, Michelle Hadaway.
We examine the disappearance and murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, the original police investigation, the search of Wild Park and why suspicion fell on Russell Bishop. We also explore the crucial evidence surrounding the blue Pinto sweatshirt, the weaknesses in the prosecution case and Bishop's 1987 acquittal at Lewes Crown Court.
Jean reveals the devastating human story behind the headlines: Michelle's desperate search for her daughter while seven months pregnant, the impact of Bishop's acquittal, the false suspicions that later surrounded Nicola's father Barry Fellows, and the extraordinary emotional toll the case took on both families.
For more than three decades, Karen and Nicola's families waited for justice.
This is the story of two little girls, two grieving families and a murder case that would haunt Brighton for 31 years.
SPECIAL GUEST: JEAN RITCHIE
READ THE BOOK
My Girl: The Babes in the Woods Murders — A Mother's Fight for Justice by Michelle Hadaway with Jean Ritchie.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454786/my-girl-by-hadaway-michelle/9781804943526
SUPPORT TRUE CRIMINALS
Listen ad free and access bonus content and our full catalogue on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
FOLLOW MARTIN BRUNT
Twitter/X: @skymartinbrunt
Discover more about Martin's career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter.
Buy Martin's book:https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
FOLLOW HELEN FOSPERO
Instagram: @helenfospero
Listen to Helen's podcast, The Convex Conversation:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
PRODUCTION CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Website:https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kerry Daynes: The Profiler - EXCLUSIVE PATREON EXTENDED EPISODE
jeudi 24 septembre 2026 • Durée 01:30:35
Did you know True Criminals is on Patreon? You can listen ad free and enjoy exclusive bonus content, just like the episode you’re listening to right now.
Please enjoy, and if you’d like to become a Patreon member, head over to:https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
We welcome Kerry Daynes back to True Criminals for the second of two conversations with one of Britain’s leading consultant forensic psychologists.
Last time, we explored Kerry’s encounters with serial killer Dennis Nilsen. This time, the focus is Kerry herself and her extraordinary career spent sitting opposite some of the most dangerous and complex people in the criminal justice system.
Kerry takes us back to Wakefield Prison in 1996, when, aged just 21, she entered an intimidating and deeply misogynistic environment to begin her career in forensic psychology. She recalls interviewing men convicted of rape and murder, being deliberately locked in a cell with a killer, and learning how to manage fear, authority and control.
There are darker stories and some unexpectedly funny ones, including the convicted double murderer who repeatedly dropped his prosthetic eye into Kerry’s tomato soup. Learning not to react became a lesson in psychology she still uses today.
Kerry explains what forensic psychologists actually do, how she builds rapport with dangerous offenders without becoming their audience, and why understanding someone’s behaviour is very different from excusing it. She also discusses her approach of “rational compassion” and the importance of remaining authentic when dealing with people capable of extreme violence.
We hear about offenders who successfully deceived her, cases that got under her skin, and the day a man she was assessing stabbed her in the stomach with a kebab skewer, an incident she describes as a bad day, but not the worst of her career.
The conversation also turns to two criminals previously examined on True Criminals: conman Mark Acklom and Charles Bronson, now Charles Salvador. Kerry has worked professionally with Salvador and gave evidence at his public parole hearing. She offers her perspective on the man behind the mythology and considers how decades of imprisonment have shaped him.
Finally, Kerry talks candidly about losing her hearing, why it led her to step away from expert witness work, and why forensic psychology remains not simply a career, but a vocation.
SUPPORT TRUE CRIMINALS
Listen ad free and access bonus content and our full catalogue on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
FOLLOW MARTIN BRUNT
Twitter/X: @skymartinbrunt
Discover more about Martin’s career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter.
Buy Martin’s book:https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
FOLLOW HELEN FOSPERO
Instagram: @helenfospero
Listen to Helen’s podcast, The Convex Conversation:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
PRODUCTION CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Website:https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 1MDB scandal – Clare Rewcastle Brown and the world’s biggest financial heist, Part Two
lundi 21 septembre 2026 • Durée 57:03
In this second of two special episodes of True Criminals, journalists Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are joined once again by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, whose reporting helped expose Malaysia’s extraordinary 1MDB scandal and the disappearance of billions of dollars from a state investment fund.
With former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak behind bars, the investigation turns to the mysterious financier Jho Low, the fugitive businessman at the centre of the scandal, whose extravagant spending brought him into the orbit of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Rewcastle Brown reveals how money stolen from 1MDB helped finance The Wolf of Wall Street, and how Low showered celebrities with extraordinary gifts, including a Picasso painting for Leonardo DiCaprio and millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery for supermodel Miranda Kerr. From champagne-fuelled parties in Las Vegas to private jets, priceless artwork and a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar superyacht, she describes a world of almost unimaginable excess – and the public money that helped pay for it.
But Low’s disappearance following the first major 1MDB exposé in February 2015 would lead Rewcastle Brown towards an even more extraordinary story.
In her latest investigation, detailed in her new book, The China Contract, she uncovers evidence of an alleged international cover-up involving Chinese state-linked companies, inflated infrastructure contracts and billions of dollars in secret financial transactions, designed, she alleges, to plug the enormous financial hole left by the 1MDB scandal.
She explains how a mysterious leaked document first alerted her to an alleged $8bn scheme involving China's Belt and Road Initiative, and how a whistleblower who escaped from Kuwait with crucial documents helped her piece together the money trail.
Rewcastle Brown also discusses her belief that Jho Low is hiding in China, the reported attempts to secure pardons in Malaysia and the United States, and her continuing efforts to trace billions she believes remain hidden within the international banking system.
From Hollywood and Macau to China, Kuwait and London's financial institutions, this is a remarkable account of how corruption can cross borders, implicate powerful institutions and evade justice long after the original crime has been exposed.
And at the heart of it all is a devastating question: what could those billions have done for the ordinary people of Malaysia, particularly the indigenous communities of Borneo, whose struggle first inspired Rewcastle Brown’s investigation?
As she tells Helen and Martin, the story is far from over. There is still missing money to trace, powerful institutions to scrutinise and new evidence to uncover.
Clare Rewcastle Brown’s latest book, The China Contract: The Inside Story of the World's Biggest Financial Scandal … and How It Was Covered Up, continues her investigation into the 1MDB affair.
Find The China Contract here:
https://saqibooks.com/books/the-westbourne-press/the-china-contract/?utm_source=truecrime&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=truecrimepodcast
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Listen ad-free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminals TikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt.
Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here:
https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit:
https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee Mann
Producer: Russell Barnes
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition:BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
“I Watched the Twin Towers Fall” | Helen Fospero Remembers 9/11
mercredi 16 septembre 2026 • Durée 43:54
On September 11, 2001, Helen Fospero stood on the fire escape of her New York apartment and watched the unthinkable unfold.
Living just blocks from the World Trade Center and working as a British television correspondent in New York, Helen witnessed the second plane strike the Twin Towers. Then, as she tried to contact her cameraman and understand what was happening, she watched the South Tower collapse before her eyes.
Twenty five years later, Helen shares her deeply personal memories of 9/11 with her True Criminals co host, veteran crime reporter Martin Brunt.
For this special episode, their usual roles are reversed. Martin asks the questions as Helen recounts the confusion of those first moments, the fear on the streets below her apartment, the collapse of both towers, and the instinct that took over as she went from witness to reporter on one of the darkest days in modern history.
Helen remembers arriving at Ground Zero in the hours after the attacks and seeing firefighters searching desperately through the rubble for survivors. She recalls the families searching for missing loved ones, the stories of extraordinary courage she encountered in the days and weeks that followed, and the remarkable humanity of a city experiencing unimaginable grief.
She also reflects on the people whose stories have remained with her ever since, including survivors, bereaved families and firefighters who entered the towers as thousands of others were trying to escape.
And she remembers one haunting moment after finishing her first broadcast from Ground Zero. Walking home through the silent streets of Manhattan, Helen looked back at the empty space in the skyline where the Twin Towers had stood and realised that nothing would ever be quite the same again.
This is not simply the story of a journalist covering 9/11.
It is the story of a woman who witnessed history from her own home, reported from Ground Zero in its immediate aftermath, and has carried the memories of the people she met there for a quarter of a century.
In this deeply personal episode of True Criminals, Helen and Martin reflect on September 11, the investigation that followed, the courage of passengers and crew aboard the hijacked aircraft, the bravery of first responders, the survivors who escaped the World Trade Center, and the lasting impact of the attacks on New York and the wider world.
We remember the 2,977 victims of the September 11 attacks, and all those whose lives were forever changed by that day.
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Listen ad free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon:
Support True Criminals on Patreon
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:
Support True Criminals via PayPal
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt.
Discover more about his career and the cases he has covered in his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter:
Buy Martin Brunt’s book
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and listen to her podcast, The Convex Conversation:
Listen to The Convex Conversation
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit True Criminals at Audio Bleach Global
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 1MDB scandal – Clare Rewcastle Brown and the world’s biggest financial heist, Part One
lundi 7 septembre 2026 • Durée 51:30
In this first of two special episodes of True Criminals, journalists Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are joined by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, whose reporting helped expose the extraordinary corruption at the heart of Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal.
Rewcastle Brown’s investigation began in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, where the destruction of tropical rainforest and the loss of indigenous land led her to investigate political corruption. Following the money would eventually take her to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Malaysian state investment fund established under former prime minister Najib Razak.
US prosecutors later alleged that more than $4.5bn was misappropriated from 1MDB, with money funnelled through shell companies and offshore accounts and spent on luxury property, jewellery, priceless art, a superyacht and assets connected to the financing of The Wolf of Wall Street.
Rewcastle Brown reveals how leaked documents and whistleblower Xavier Justo helped her uncover a money trail involving PetroSaudi International and Malaysian financier Jho Low, the fugitive businessman alleged by US authorities to have played a central role in the scheme.
Working from her kitchen table in London, she found herself taking on some of the most powerful people and institutions in international finance and politics. She describes legal threats, surveillance and intimidation, being targeted by Malaysian authorities – and the extraordinary moment she took her evidence to the FBI, helping to trigger a major US investigation into international kleptocracy and money laundering.
From Goldman Sachs and offshore banking to Hollywood celebrities, Beverly Hills mansions and billions in missing money, this is the remarkable inside story of how determined investigative journalism helped expose a scandal that shook Malaysia, contributed to the downfall of a government and reverberated through financial institutions around the world.
And this is only Part One.
In Part Two, the investigation turns to Jho Low’s extraordinary Hollywood connections, his life as an international fugitive and Rewcastle Brown’s latest investigation into the alleged efforts to cover up the 1MDB financial hole – a trail that leads to China.
Clare Rewcastle Brown’s latest book, The China Contract: The Inside Story of the World's Biggest Financial Scandal … and How It Was Covered Up, continues her investigation into the 1MDB affair.
Find The China Contract here:
https://saqibooks.com/books/the-westbourne-press/the-china-contract/?utm_source=truecrime&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=truecrimepodcast
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Listen ad-free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt.
Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here:
https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit:
https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Murder of Rachel Nickell: EXTENDED EPISODE - PATREON TEASER EP | How Robert Napper Was Finally Caught
samedi 5 septembre 2026 • Durée 31:58
Please enjoy this complimentary extended episode! If you’d like more episodes like this, you can become a Patreon Insider Member, where you’ll get access to extended and bonus episodes, listen completely ad-free, and unlock our full back catalogue. Membership also includes a True Criminals coffee mug.
Join us on Patreon and get even more from True Criminals:
Become a True Criminals Patreon Insider
...........................................
In Part One, Bill Clegg KC revealed how the case against Colin Stagg collapsed, leaving Rachel Nickell’s real killer free. In Part Two, the story turns to the man who actually murdered her: Robert Napper.
Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are once again joined by Bill, who found himself in an extraordinary position. Having defended Colin Stagg, he later represented Napper after he was charged with the brutal murders of Samantha Bissett and her four-year-old daughter Jasmine.
Within an hour of reading the case papers, Bill became convinced Napper was also the man who had killed Rachel. He explains the striking similarities between the crimes, the warning signs and missed opportunities surrounding Napper, and why police tunnel vision may have allowed the real killer to remain free.
Years later, advances in forensic science finally linked Napper to Rachel’s murder. Sixteen years after her death, he admitted killing her on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Bill also reflects on the wider lessons of the case: the pressure on police to find a suspect in high-profile investigations, the danger of assumptions taking the place of evidence, and the devastating human cost when an investigation goes wrong.
Bill Clegg KC's book, Under the Wig: A Lawyer's Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence:
https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/william-clegg/under-the-wig/9781529401240/
SUPPORT THE SHOW
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt.
Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here:
https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit:
https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Murder of Rachel Nickell: How Robert Napper Was Finally Caught - with special guest Bill Clegg KC
lundi 31 août 2026 • Durée 21:25
In Part One, Bill Clegg KC revealed how the case against Colin Stagg collapsed, leaving Rachel Nickell’s real killer free. In Part Two, the story turns to the man who actually murdered her: Robert Napper.
Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are once again joined by Bill, who found himself in an extraordinary position. Having defended Colin Stagg, he later represented Napper after he was charged with the brutal murders of Samantha Bissett and her four-year-old daughter Jasmine.
Within an hour of reading the case papers, Bill became convinced Napper was also the man who had killed Rachel. He explains the striking similarities between the crimes, the warning signs and missed opportunities surrounding Napper, and why police tunnel vision may have allowed the real killer to remain free.
Years later, advances in forensic science finally linked Napper to Rachel’s murder. Sixteen years after her death, he admitted killing her on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Bill also reflects on the wider lessons of the case: the pressure on police to find a suspect in high-profile investigations, the danger of assumptions taking the place of evidence, and the devastating human cost when an investigation goes wrong.
Bill Clegg KC's book, Under the Wig: A Lawyer's Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence:
https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/william-clegg/under-the-wig/9781529401240/
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Listen ad-free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/truecriminals
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
FOLLOW TRUE CRIMINALS
Instagram: @true.criminalsTikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
CONNECT WITH MARTIN BRUNT
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt.
Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here:
https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY
CONNECT WITH HELEN FOSPERO
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575
CREDITS
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit:
https://www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals
Executive Producer: Lee MannProducer: Russell BarnesAudio Production: BLEACHEDMusic Composition: BLEACHEDArtwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Murder of Rachel Nickell: Bill Clegg KC on the Colin Stagg Honey Trap
mercredi 26 août 2026 • Durée 43:24
In July 1992, Rachel Nickell was murdered in broad daylight on Wimbledon Common, with her two year old son nearby. The killing shocked Britain and triggered one of the most controversial murder investigations in modern British history.
Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt are joined by Bill Clegg KC, the barrister who defended Colin Stagg, the innocent man police accused of Rachel's murder.
With no forensic evidence or confession linking Stagg to the crime, investigators launched an extraordinary undercover "honey trap", using a female police officer to try to persuade him to confess. The confession never came.
Bill reveals what went wrong inside the investigation, how he dismantled the prosecution at the Old Bailey, and what happened when the case against Stagg spectacularly collapsed.
Meanwhile, Rachel Nickell's real killer was still free.
Bill Clegg KC's book, Under the Wig: A Lawyer's Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence:https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/william-clegg/under-the-wig/9781529401240/
.........
Support the Show
Listen ad free and access our full catalogue, including a True Criminals coffee mug, on Patreon at www.patreon.com/truecriminals.
As an independent podcast, we rely on listener support. You can also donate via PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YQVFJR5766BJE
Follow True Criminals
Instagram: @true.criminals
TikTok: @truecriminalspodcast
Connect with Martin Brunt
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY.
Connect with Helen Fospero
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575.
Credits
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals for more information.
Executive Producer: Lee Mann.
Producer: Russell Barnes.
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition: BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kerry Daynes: The Profiler
mardi 18 août 2026 • Durée 01:15:09
We welcome Kerry Daynes back to True Criminals for the second of two conversations with one of Britain’s leading consultant forensic psychologists.
Last time, we explored Kerry’s encounters with serial killer Dennis Nilsen. This time, the story is Kerry herself and an extraordinary career spent sitting opposite some of the most dangerous and complex people in the criminal justice system.
Kerry takes us back to Wakefield Prison in 1996, when, aged just 21, she entered a deeply intimidating and misogynistic environment to begin her career in forensic psychology. She recalls interviewing men convicted of rape and murder, being deliberately locked in a cell with a killer, and the lessons she learned about fear, authority and maintaining control.
There are darker stories and some unexpectedly funny ones. Kerry tells us why a convicted double murderer repeatedly dropped his prosthetic eye into her tomato soup, and how learning not to react became a lesson in psychology she still uses today.
We explore what forensic psychologists actually do, how Kerry builds rapport with dangerous offenders without becoming their audience, and why understanding someone’s behaviour is very different from excusing it. She explains her approach of “rational compassion” and the importance of remaining authentic when interviewing and assessing people capable of extreme violence.
Kerry also discusses occasions when offenders have successfully deceived her, the cases that have got under her skin, and the day a man she was assessing stabbed her in the stomach with a kebab skewer, an incident she remarkably describes as a bad day, but not the worst of her career.
We also turn to two criminals previously examined on True Criminals: conman Mark Acklom, and one of Britain’s most notorious prisoners, Charles Bronson, now Charles Salvador. Kerry, who has worked professionally with Salvador and gave evidence at his public parole hearing, offers a fascinating psychological perspective on the man behind the mythology and asks how decades of imprisonment have shaped the person he became.
Finally, Kerry talks candidly about losing her hearing, why it led her to step away from expert witness work, and why forensic psychology remains not simply a career but a vocation.
It’s a conversation about violence and vulnerability, nature and nurture, punishment and rehabilitation, but above all, about the human beings behind some of the darkest acts imaginable.
Find more from Kerry Daynes
The Profiler with Kerry DaynesKerry examines British murder cases and the psychology behind them.Listen to The Profiler
The Dark Side of the MindKerry’s Sunday Times bestselling account of life and work as a forensic psychologist.The Dark Side of the Mind
What Lies BuriedKerry goes deeper into the psychology behind extreme and disturbing behaviour and the question of what makes someone dangerous.What Lies Buried
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Follow True Criminals
Follow us on Instagram at @true.criminals and subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@True-Criminals.
Connect with Martin Brunt
Follow Martin on Twitter at @skymartinbrunt. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY.
Connect with Helen Fospero
Follow Helen on Instagram at @helenfospero and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575.
Credits
True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.
Visit www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals for more information.
Executive Producer: Lee Mann.
Producer: Russell Barnes.
Audio Production: BLEACHED
Music Composition: BLEACHED
Artwork: BLEACHED
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True Criminals, podcast de Audio Bleach Global - Statistiques, épisodes et classements - My Podcast Data
