In March of 2002, Milly Dowler went missing. She was 13 years old and had been walking home after school that afternoon, down a busy road in a familiar area, near to her middle class home. Despite efforts by Surrey police to locate her there were no leads. Her body was found 20 miles away over 6 months later.
No one knew who had taken Milly, or what had happened to her. Nor was it know that hers would be the first – and most high profile – in a series of murders and violent attacks carried out by a man who hated women and young girls.
This is the story of the murders of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy and their murderer, known as The Bus Stop Killer.
In the summer of 2000, 8 year old Sarah Payne was out playing in the evening sunshine with her two older brothers and her little sister. After falling, she ran out of the field and into a lane to head back to her grandparents with brother Lee following behind.
In April of 2015, two countries were gripped by the disappearance of a 24 year old nurse. Karen Buckley, from Co. Cork had gone on a night out in Glasgow’s busy West End. But she didn’t return home.
Quickly a police search for the missing woman was up and running. But it would prove to be too late. Karen’s fate was sealed mere minutes after she told her friends goodbye.
Early on a December morning, in 1991, Suzanne Capper (16) was found wandering on a quiet laneway south of Manchester. She was half naked, and her body had been burned badly. She was brought to hospital, but died 4 days later of her injuries.
It quickly emerged that she had been held in a house, tied up and tortured for nearly a week before her death. These horrific acts were committed by people she had considered friends. She was able to name them before she died, and they were held responsible for their crimes.
But Suzanne is far from the only young girl who has suffered torture at the hands of a group of people that she knew.
In the final episode on the life and crimes of Archibald (Roy) Hall, we chart his activities over the final months of 1977 and into 1978. He had gone from butler and thief to murderer, when he turned against his lover and ex con David Wright. But that was far from his last murder, and the next couple of months he would kill employers, associates and family members, and drive thousands of miles across the UK, criss-crossing England and Scotland.
But eventually his crimes caught up with him, and Roy found himself before a court again – not once, but twice.
In the first of a two part series, we take a look back on the life and crimes of Archibald Thompson Hall, aka Roy Hall, aka Roy Fontaine, the monster butler. Roy was born to a working class family in Glasgow, and from an early age wanted to live an extravagant lifestyle. One that he could not (or would not) achieve through hard work and graft. Roy preferred to take what he could. He became a thief and spent many years in and out of prison. In between these stints, he worked as a butler, to be close to the status he desired, and the belongs that went this, that he could steal.
How did this supposed high flying and often hapless thief turn murderer?
On the morning of Wednesday, 27th January 2010, 45 year old mother of four Fiona Donnison walked into a police station in Heathfield, East Sussex. She was distressed, had what appeared to be self inflicted wounds and was making little sense. But then, she shocked police by telling them that she had killed her two small children, Harry (3) and Elise (2).
They were found soon after in the boot of her car, parked around the corner from the home that she had once shared with her children and her ex-partner, Paul.
In this episode, we tell the story of Fiona Donnison, and explore the reasons why some mothers turn murderous. What was Fiona’s excuse?
In December 1979, the Hastie home on Selby Street in Hull caught fire in the early hours of the morning. Three of Hastie boys would die of their injuries. It was apparent from the beginning that the fire was arson: there were matches left and a trail of paraffin at the front door, and there was the smell of accelerant in the air. In an attempt to find out who would want to hurt the family, it became apparent that they were strongly disliked, but still there were no real leads. Until, that is, the police picked up 19 year old Bruce George Peter Lee.
He admitted to setting the Hastie fire. And then shockingly admitted to another 10 arsons in the Hull area. No one had suspected these fires were malicious. But should the police believe this young man with a troubled background?
In 2002, Colin Norris was a young man at the beginning of his career in his chosen field of nursing. But the sudden death of an elderly patient, Ethel Hall, who had been under his care prompted a police investigation which scrutinised the 18 months that he had worked in Leeds General Infirmary, and he was accused of 4 murders and an attempted murder. authorities said he had maliciously administered injections of insulin to elderly patients, police said because he didn’t like old people.
But would there be enough evidence to convict him?
This week, we take another trip back in time and have a look at three vintage murders. First, we crack open the 1832 autobiographical account of John Holloway, who murdered his first wife Celia and buried her body, hidden in a trunk, down a lovers lane.
Over 100 years later, two more trunks filled with murder victims’ bodies were found again in Brighton. One of these cases remains unsolved to this day, while the culprit for the other Toni Mancini, was never punished for his crime.
