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Private Notes
On February 12, 1993, two-year-old James Bulger was abducted from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, by 10-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who then tortured the toddler before killing him. This drama-documentary explores the impact of a crime that sent shockwaves through Britain, and includes testimonies from James's mother Denise Fergus, police and reporters close to the case.
On July 1, 2000, eight-year-old Sarah Payne went missing while playing in a field near her grandparents' home in West Sussex, and her disappearance prompted a nationwide search. On July 17, her body was found near Pulborough, and soon after convicted paedophile Roy Whiting was charged with her abduction and murder. In this documentary, Sara Payne relives the day her daughter went missing and recounts the horror and agonising days that unfolded in its wake. She also speaks about her fight to change the system in the UK so parents could find out if a child sex offender was living in their area.
Documentary exploring the unsolved murder of Crimewatch presenter and newsreader Jill Dando, who was shot dead outside her house in Fulham, west London, in April 1999. Intense media coverage followed and several lines of enquiry were pursued, including a theory that she had been killed by a jealous ex-boyfriend and the idea that somebody had hired a hitman in revenge for a conviction linked to Crimewatch. Following a trial at the Old Bailey, 40-year-old Barry George was found guilty of Dando's murder, but a third appeal quashed his original conviction and resulted in his acquittal in 2009.
Documentary exploring the abduction, rape and incarceration of estate agent Stephanie Slater in 1992, which occurred when she was showing a man with psychopathic tendencies around an empty property. Held for eight days in a makeshift coffin by one-legged Michael Sams in the back of his workshop, Slater was tortured and forced to lie in a bin for up to 23 hours a day. Her ordeal only came to an end when Sams received a £175,000 ransom for her release from her employers. Police eventually traced her brutal captor and brought him to justice, but some of the money has still not been recovered.
The circumstances surrounding the murder of 23-year-old Rachel Nickell in July 1992, when she was attacked and killed in front of her two-year-old son Alex on Wimbledon Common. Colin Stagg was originally charged with the murder, but was eventually acquitted in September 1994 before the case went cold. With more advanced and refined forensic techniques available, Scotland Yard later reopened the investigation and in December 2008 Robert Napper - already serving time in prison for another killing - pleaded guilty to Nickell's manslaughter.
In 1996, two girls and their mother enjoying a walk in the Kent countryside were the victims of a frenzied hammer attack by Michael Stone, who left them for dead. Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan died from their injuries, but nine-year-old Josie survived and made a remarkable recovery. This film examines the events surrounding the murders and features interviews with Shaun Russell - Lin's widower and the girls' father - Josie's close friend Lucy Gregson, her former primary school teacher Lynda Roberts and police family liaison officer Pauline Smith. Last in the series.
