Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 79 i Crime Monthly

Hashem Abedi, the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman, has been charged with attempted murder after an attack on prison officers. Three guards at HMP Frankland in Durham were left with serious injuries after hot cooking oil was thrown over them and they were stabbed in April, while a fourth was wounded. Abedi, 28, will appear in court on 18 September on three counts of attempted murder, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one count of unauthorised possession in prison of a knife or offensive weapon. He was jailed for a minimum of 55 years in 2020 for helping his brother plan the attack during an Ariana Grande concert in 2017, which killed 22 and injured more than 1,000.…

Two suspected people traffickers have been arrested as part of the National Crime Agency’s crackdown on organised immigration crime. A 22-year-old Iranian was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration in Birmingham, while a 22-year-old Albanian man was taken on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration near Gatwick Airport. Branch commander Sara-Jayne Moore said, ‘The NCA will leave no stone unturned to tackle the perpetrators of organised immigration crime.’ Jacque Beer, NCA regional head of investigations, added, ‘People smugglers operate for profit without concern for the safety of those they transport, which is why dismantling the networks is a priority for the NCA.’…

On 11 July, Luciano Frattolin – a 45-year-old businessman from Montreal – arrived in the US on a custody visit holiday with his nine-year-old daughter Melina. The pair travelled across Connecticut and New York for the next week, and at 5.30pm on 19 July, they were captured on CCTV enjoying a meal in a Saratoga Springs restaurant. They were due to travel back to Quebec shortly after wards, but at around 10pm, Frattolin made a frantic 911 call from near Lake George. He claimed that two men had pulled up in a white van and abducted his daughter. An Amber Alert was issued within minutes, but as the police investigated, they began to realise the story was a lie. And within a few hours, camera footage and forensic evidence had…

Throughout his three decadeslong policing career, David Swindle worked on some horrifying investigations, but the murder of A ngelika Kluk at the hands of serial killer Peter Tobin became a life-defining case. The 23-year-old language student was killed in a frenzied attack before her body was found under the floorboards of St Patrick’s Church in Anderston, Glasgow, in September 2006. Suspicion fell on church handyman Pat McLaughlin, who police soon discovered was an alias for registered sex offender Peter Tobin. A thorough investigation into Tobin’s life through Operation Anagram, which David set up, led to the discovery of the bodies of Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol, who both disappeared in 1991. And since retiring from the force in 2011, David, 70, has continued to help families get justice for their…

Sipping on my drink, a voice beside me said something that made me blush. ‘Not in front of everyone,’ I gasped. It was 2024, and I was on holiday with friends in Marmaris, Turkey, to celebrate my cousin’s 60th birthday. We were having a great time, soaking up the sun and checking out the nightlife. And behind the bar, I’d spotted someone who took my fancy. His name was Sam, and as he poured our drinks, we got chatting. He told me he was 34, eight years younger than me, and I thought he was gorgeous. Then he leaned over and said the words that made my cheeks go pink, ‘I want to kiss you,’ he said. I was taken aback but sparks flew as his lips met mine. After…

DISNEY+, FROM 9 SEPTEMBER The hugely enjoyable comedy drama starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short as a trio of amateur sleuths returns for a fifth season. This time, they are investigating the suspicious death of their beloved doorman Lester, uncovering a dark web of secrets involving mobsters, billionaires, and the changing face of New York. And as tensions rise at the Arconia, loyalties are tested. The great Meryl Streep also returns as Loretta Durkin for her third turn in this series, which feels like an old friend.…

PRIME VIDEO, STREAMING NOW In May 2013, a French-speaking man stepped into a Cheshire phone box, called the police, and calmly confessed to killing his housemate years earlier. But detectives had no idea they were about to uncover one of Britain’s most extraordinary true-crime cases. This two-part documentary charts the chilling discovery of a body entombed in concrete in a quiet suburban street – and the tangled web of lies, betrayal, and violence behind it. Told through the eyes of lead investigators on the case, alongside moving inter views with the victim’s family, Murder In Concrete unfolds like a slow-burn thriller, with each revelation stranger than the last. Over the course of three trials, the shocking truth emerged – a story of friendship turned fatal, cover-ups, and calculated cruelty. Gripping,…

On 20 February 2025, James and Kristin Brock were found dead at their home in Carrollton, Georgia – the couple had been shot multiple times as they lay together in their bed. Their five-year-old daughter made the shocking and horrifying discovery, before she told her half-sister, Sarah Grace Patrick, who called the police. Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry, and nothing appeared to have been stolen. The Brocks’ callous deaths left everyone baffled: who would want to kill them? Kristin, 41, and James, 45, were much-loved members of the local community and popular churchgoers. Kristin’s father Dennis Nolan said, ‘This is so horrendous. You just can’t imagine that someone would come in and take the life of two good people.’ Catalyst Church member Tasha Meza said, ‘Kristin…

On 2 October 2023 in Topeka, Kansas, police were called to a petrol station outside a local grocery shop. There, they found paramedics desperately treating an unresponsive child. Her name was Zoey Felix, and she was just five years old. Zoey – a little girl who loved mermaids and unicorns – had been discovered unresponsive and half-dressed inside a tent at the homeless camp where she was living with her family. Her father Ezekiel was working at the pumps, and Zoey was taken there by her older sister Katie and the man living with them, Mickel Cherry. The girl’s father and a passer-by with medical training had been battling to revive her, but to no avail. Tragically, despite the efforts of the paramedics, just one hour after Zoey was rushed…

Bryan Kohberger has begun serving his four consecutive life terms without parole, after taking a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in July. He was formally sentenced for the murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle following an evaluation period. During that time, security and psychological assessments were carried out to decide where he should be imprisoned. Officials have since confirmed he is in restrictive solitary confinement at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where inmates spend nearly all their time alone. Alongside the sentencing, newly released case files gave more harrowing details of the murders. It was confirmed Kaylee was left ‘unrecognisable’ as her ‘facial structure was extremely damaged’, and that most of Xana’s wounds were defensive, indicating she was awake and fought back. It…

In South Texas this July, 45-year-old Jerry Lee Martinez was arrested on charges that shocked even seasoned investigators. Police say Martinez impregnated his own 17-year-old daughter and then drove her to Nuevo Progreso in Mexico to buy abortion pills over the counter. On the way back, the drugs reportedly induced labour and the teenager miscarried in the bathroom of a Walmart store in Kingsville, Texas. A round 30 minutes after she left the building, the seemingly viable baby was discovered in a bin by employees. The newborn was unresponsive and staff performed CPR until the emergency services arrive. But although rushed to hospital, the infant was declared dead. Horrified investigators searched surveillance footage and spotted Martinez leading his daughter into the store and returning alone. He waited in the car…

More than three decades after their arrests, the grisly crimes of Fred and Rose West continue to shock and horrify. The UK’s most prolific murderous married couple were arrested in 1994, accused of killing at least 10 girls and women between 1967 and 1987 – including two of their own children – and burying the bodies at their ‘House of Horrors’ in Gloucester. Rose, 71, was sentenced to 10 life terms for the murders and now remains behind bars at HM Prison New Hall in Flockton, west Yorkshire. The second woman, after Myra Hindley, to be handed a Whole Life Order, she will never be freed. Fred died by suicide in his prison cell, aged 53, in January 1995 as he awaited trial after admitting 11 murders. Howard Sounes, a…

On 25 May 1979, Etan Patz vanished from a Manhattan street while walking to the school bus alone for the first time. His disappearance shocked the nation and his face became the first to appear on a milk carton, part of a campaign that transformed how America responded to missing children. Three decades later, Pedro Hernandez was convicted of Etan’s murder, despite the absence of a body. But in July 2025, that conviction was overturned and the case reopened once more. THE VICTIM Six-year-old Etan loved drawing, riding his scooter, and playing with his cat. He liked making up stories about space travel, and on the morning he disappeared, was wearing his favourite ‘Future Flight Captain’ pilot hat, a blue jacket, and a bookbag slung over one shoulder. It was…

Minutes before midnight on 6 December 1991, firefighters responded to a fire at a frozen yoghurt shop in Austin, Texas. After clearing the inferno at the local branch of I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!, they found the naked bodies of four young women in the store room, stacked on top of each other and charred beyond recognition. Eliza Thomas and Jennifer Harbison, both 17, worked at the store, while Jennifer’s sister Sarah, 15, and her best friend A my Ayers, 13, helped out as they waited for Jennifer to finish so they could head home together. Investigators found that all the girls had been shot in the back of the heads execution-style with a .22 pistol, and forensic evidence showed that at least one of them had been raped. Sarah,…

Early in the morning of 7 July 2011, Richard Oland’s secretary entered his office to find her boss lying dead on the floor, brain matter and blood every where. The 69 year old had clearly been a victim of foul play, as he’d sustained 45 stab wounds, his face and head also bludgeoned by a blunt object. Word of the gruesome crime spread like wildfire as Richard was a well-known and well-respected businessman in the peaceful town of Saint John, in New Brunswick, Canada. But well respected didn’t mean well liked. TROUBLE BREWING Richard made his £20million fortune in various ways, but it was built on beer. In 1865, farmer’s wife Susanna h Oland moved from England to Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband John. Susannah was ambitious, so when…

PRIME VIDEO, FROM 10 SEPTEMBER Based on Michelle Frances’ bestselling novel, this gripping six-part psychological thriller delves into obsession, deception, and maternal control. Robin Wright (House Of Cards) stars as Laura, an elegant gallery owner with a seemingly perfect life – wealth, a devoted husband, and her son Daniel (Laurie Davidson), to whom she is devoted. But her world begins to unravel when Daniel brings home Cherry, (Olivia Cooke, Slow Horses), a determined young woman who’s slightly less privileged and has had to fight for every opportunity that’s come her way. Cherry’s contrasting background and potential motives cause friction with Laura, who grows suspicious of her son’s new love. Convinced Cherry is hiding something, their relationship soon spirals into a chilling battle of wills. Is Cherry a social climber, or is…

CHANNEL4.COM, EARLY SEPTEMBER It began as a quiet Friday night shift at a Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana. By midnight, the restaurant was deserted: lights on, tills dumped on the floor, back door wide open. Police assumed the teenage staff had stolen the cash to party, but two days later, the bodies of Jayne, Ruth, Mark, and Daniel were discovered in a remote area of Johnson County, brutally murdered. Forty-five years later, no one has ever been charged. This documentary revisits the investigation and enduring mystery, using actors to dramatise four theories about what happened. With archive footage, expert insight and interviews with those still seeking justice, the docu sheds new light on one of America’s most baffling crimes – and asks whether the truth will ever be known.…

Ghislaine Maxwell has renewed her appeal for the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction, claiming she was unlawfully prosecuted ‘as a scapegoat’ for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. The former socialite was sentenced to 20 years for child sex trafficking and other offences in 2022, and is scheduled to be released in 2037, while Epstein died by suicide in prison in August 2019, as he awaited trial. Maxwell’s continued appeal case – based on the grounds she was protected by a non-prosecution order aimed at Epstein’s ‘potential co-conspirators’ – comes after her initial plea was rejected by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2024. The court is due to make its ruling on whether she can appeal at the end of September, but the family of the…

The stepfather of Madeline Soto has been sentenced to 21 life terms for the murder of the 13 year old. Stephan Sterns took a plea deal last month to escape a potential death sentence, admitting one count of first-degree premeditated murder and 20 counts of sexual battery and child exploitation offences. Maddie – the daughter of Sterns’ girlfriend Jennifer Soto – vanished on 26 February 2024, after failing to arrive at school. Days later, her body was found in a wooded area near St. Cloud, Florida, and a medical examiner determined she had been strangled. Investigators later discovered images and videos on Sterns’ devices documenting repeated sexual abuse of Maddie, beginning when she was just 11 years old. At sentencing, her father Tyler Wallace called Sterns ‘depraved’ and a ‘coward’,…

Until 6.30 pm, Monday 28 July had been like any other summer evening in Midtown Manhattan. Then 27-year-old Shane Tamura parked a black BMW outside of 345 Park Avenue, a 44-storey office block housing the NFL’s New York headquarters, global investment firm Blackstone, property company Rudin Management, and others. Carrying an M4-style rifle, he walked into the lobby and immediately opened fire, kickstarting a five-minute rampage that would end with five dead – including the gunman himself. TRAGIC TIMELINE The first to be killed was off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was working a private security shift. Married with two sons and a third child on the way, he had emigrated from Bangladesh in search of a better future and died attempting to shield others from the gunfire. As panic…

In Miami earlier this year, 42-year-old Iraq War veteran and former Marine Zachary Perez became the subject of chilling video footage released by prosecutors. Over two days in May, surveillance captured Perez allegedly subjecting his six-year-old stepson to horrific physical and psychological abuse. In one scene, Perez is seen gripping a dog lead wrapped around the child’s neck, yanking him backward to the ground. Surveillance also shows the boy being kicked, punched, and forced to run through the home with a backpack filled with rocks. His documented injuries included swollen eyes, scratches, and a rash around his neck, The Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney described Perez as a ‘ticking time bomb’, while Perez’s mother claimed he has a brain injury from his time in the military. Since his arrest, prosecutors claim…

It was the smell coming from Gary Heidnik’s Philadelphia home that attracted the attention of his neighbours. When one resident confronted him, he replied, ‘Maybe you just don’t like my cooking’, and when police turned up to investigate, Heidnik told the officers he’d fallen asleep and burnt his dinner. They believed his story and left without searching the property. It was a mistake that cost Deborah Dudley her life. The 23 year old was captive in the cellar when the police called round, and although four other kidnapped women made it out of the basement alive, Deborah did not. Her body was found buried in woodland in New Jersey two months after she’d been lured to the house hiding the darkest of secrets. EARLY LIFE Born in Ohio in 1943,…

When the hangman pulled the lever to release the trapdoor and send H. H. Holmes to meet his maker, the condemned serial killer’s neck did not break. Holmes dangled from the rope for 15 minutes inside Moyamensing Prison in Pennsylvania before he was belatedly pronounced dead by strangulation and his body taken away for burial. The year was 1896 and one of America’s first serial killers was no more. Also guilty of grave robbing, bigamy and forgery, Holmes was sentenced to execution after confessing to the murder of man called Benjamin Pitezel. The pair had teamed up to attempt to fraudulently claim on Pitezel’s $10,000 life insurance policy, but Holmes wanted all the money for himself. The plan was for Pitezel to be ‘killed’ in a lab explosion – his…

CHANNEL4.COM, STREAMING NOW Back in 2020, there was an ITV drama series telling the true-crime story of the killing of five members of the Bamber family in 1985, shot dead at a place called White House Farm in Essex. Now, those same tragic events are explored in this fascinating new two-part docuseries. The first part looks at how the murders were initially blamed on daughter Sheila, who was thought to have taken part in a supposed murder-suicide. But then Jeremy Bamber, the only survivor, became the prime suspect.…