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The Murder of Sarah Payne: Fields of Evidence

Episode 1 of 15

When eight-year-old Sarah Payne is murdered, a pollen expert finds a vital link between the suspect and the grave. In another case, a blood spatter expert is called when a body is found in a freezer.

True crime documentary series that reveals how expert witnesses helped solve some of the UK's most complex major crime cases.

This programme travels to Sussex to investigate the high profile and utterly devastating case of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who on an idyllic summer's evening, was abducted while playing with her siblings by someone in a white van. The local community joined police officers to scour the fields and woods around where the little girl went missing, all hoping for a miracle. Sixtenn days later, her body was found buried in woodland, and police launched their hunt for her killer.

A forensic ecologist, Professor Patricia Wiltshire, is tasked with the key job of linking the site of the shallow grave to the suspect. And by analysing pollen on some of his belongings, she is able to place him at the site where Sarah’s body was found. The man who snatched Sarah’s life away was convicted of her murder and jailed for life. With revealing interviews from Professor Wiltshire and investigating officer Martin Underhill.

In the summer of 2004 in Kingston upon Thames, a mother received a distressed message from her son Paul Dalton. Concerned about his welfare, she went to his house – which he shared with his wife and daughter – and made the horrific discovery of her daughter-in-law Tae Hui’s dismembered body in a chest freezer. Police immediately treated the home as a murder scene, but because the house had been thoroughly cleaned and stripped of furniture, finding clues proved challenging. They enlisted the help of blood spatter analyst Jo Millington, in the hope that she could reveal the truth behind the shocking crime. The expert witness uncovered evidence that helped convict the victim’s husband of her murder.

Release date:

28 minutes

On TV

Mon 28 Oct 2024 14:30

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Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Ashley John-Baptiste
Reporter Liz Beacon
Production Manager Andrea McClelland
Composer Philip Guyler
Executive Producer Edward Hart
Executive Producer Emma Barker
Series Producer Lucy Wedlock
Producer Ben Thomas
Producer Angus Gibson
Producer Gary Watson
Director Ben Thomas
Director Angus Gibson
Director Gary Watson
Production Company Rare TV

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