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Private Notes
Walking home from football practice in Liverpool in August 2007, 11-year-old Rhys Jones was
shot dead. The incident caused an outpouring of sympathy and re-ignited fears that gun crime
and gang-related violence were blighting Britain's streets. But behind the headlines lay a human
tragedy as Rhys's parents Melanie and Stephen struggled with bafflement and grief.
Real Crime's Mark Austin interviews the couple, whose decency shines amid the depressing
details of the feckless lives led by Rhys's murderer Sean Mercer and his fellow gang-members
and protectors.
Melanie Jones recalls a blase Mercer and his cocky little group in the dock in court during their
trial: "You'd think they were up for shoplifting."
Mercer, 18, was jailed for 22 years. His co-accused were convicted of helping him to evade
justice. They whooped with delight as they were sent down, says Stephen Jones, and his wife
still cannot get to grips with their lives: "Why don't they aspire to be someone?"
In 1992, Rachel Nickell was murdered on Wimbledon Common in front of her two-year-old son and this documentary tells the story of how it took 16 years to bring her killer Robert Napper to justice. Rachel's partner Andre Hanscombe reveals how he has dedicated the past 17 years to rebuilding his and his son's lives, and the programme also includes an interview with Colin Stagg, the innocent party who officers investigating the case were convinced was the culprit. Criminal experts and a childhood schoolmate provide an insight into the background of the man who was finally convicted of the murder
In 2005, teenage model Sally Anne Bowman was stabbed to death, then raped in a quiet suburban street, just yards from her front door. The initial investigation cast suspicion on her boyfriend, who had driven her home, but DNA evidence and a chance incident led to the capture of chef Mark Dixie, who was convicted of the murder in 2008. Featuring interviews with police and Sally Anne's parents, plus CCTV footage of Dixie's arrest and the recollections of his former flatmate
The five-and-a-half-year investigation into the rape and murder of Southampton teenager Hannah Foster in 2003. After fleeing the country, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli confessed to the crime live on Indian TV, and despite a retraction and efforts to stop himself facing justice in the British courts, in 2008 he became the first Indian national to be extradited back to the UK. Featuring interviews, archive footage and dramatic reconstruction
The story of Nottinghamshire-born Neil Entwistle, who was convicted in 2008 of murdering his wife Rachel and nine-month-old daughter Lillian at their Massachusetts home on January 20, 2006. The background of the case is explored using testimony from those most closely involved - including friends of the victim, police and defence lawyers. Juliet Morris narrates
In the autumn of 2000, the biggest manhunt in Dorset Police's history was launched for the person behind a letter-bomb campaign against customers of Britain's biggest retailer. The bomber's plan was to extort millions of pounds from the supermarket chain through the use of blackmail and terror. The events of this crime are recreated through the use of police and witness testimony and dramatic reconstruction.
An insight into the work of the police officers who tracked down terror suspect Yassin Omar following the attempted bomb attacks that disrupted part of London's transport network on July 21, 2005. Just two weeks after the July 7 bombings, four men wearing rucksacks packed with explosives tried to commit mass murder, but when their devices failed to detonate, officers faced a race to capture them before they could strike again.
