Some criminal investigations are so complicated that they require a number of expert witnesses to be involved. This programme examines how forensic evidence from a whole team of scientists turned a missing person case into a hunt for a murderer, and then into an investigation into one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers.

Blood traces hidden under paint allow an expert witness to find a killer and free five men from suspicion. An unusual gait identifies the murderer of an office worker.

Marks left by the tread of a shoe help detectives catch a killer terrorising Rochdale, and a forensic linguist deciphers messages written in slang, revealing a murder plot.

The heart-wrenching case of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was abducted and murdered. A forensic ecologist finds a vital link between the suspect and the gravesite. And an expert witness analyses blood at the scene, where remains are found in a freezer

Evidence unearthed by a forensic archaeologist helps to catch the killer of a young woman from Wiltshire. And a case of harrowing neglect suffered by a Welsh teenager is revealed by an insect expert.

Detectives hunting the killer of a young woman from Bolton require the help of a fibre and DNA specialist to arrest their suspect. And police seek the help of a body fluids expert after a bizarre rampage in the Cotswolds.

A fibre specialist from the UK brings closure to Australia’s longest-running murder investigation. And a forensic pharmacologist uses her expertise to ensure a murder charge after two brutal killings.

A blood residue specialist leads police to the killers of an East Sussex waiter, brutally bludgeoned in his flat. And a forensic entomologist uncovers a case of extreme neglect when a Merseyside grandmother is found dead in her home.

When the body of a farmer is found in a lake, a bioarchaeologist helps police reveal how he got there. Meanwhile, when a man is accused of intentionally spreading the HIV virus, a virologist is called on to determine his guilt.

When a man kills four people and goes on the run, a handwriting analyst is brought in, and after a body is found, an expert in pollen links the suspects to the scene of the crime.

When a young nurse disappears, a soil analyst helps find her body and solve the crime. A digital imaging expert proves that what was thought to be an accidental death was murder.

An expert witness uses soil analysis to find the body of a missing woman feared murdered, and a cell site expert uses his tracking skills to catch a killer in Northern Ireland.

This episode follows two shocking criminal cases in Yorkshire, each involving a woman murdered by her partner, and two expert witnesses with very different disciplines in forensic science who help to deliver justice.

A fifty year old cold case murder is solved by DNA and the tenacity of an expert witness. And a murder investigation is solved by tracking unusual blue fibres around the world.

Forensics analysis by an art expert prove paintings by a well known cornish artist are fake, and blood spatter patterns in a hotel bedroom, help catch the killer of a father of 3.

Pollen and bone experts help identify the remains of a murder victim found in a sports bag. And advances in DNA help find the killer of a Bradford pensioner after 22 years.

A body left in a field prompts the examination of pollen, establishing a new forensic discipline, and fibres fused with car wreckage prove who caused a fatal traffic collision.

A mother and child disappear in 1976, only leaving a burnt-out car behind them. Over 40 years later, can a blood analyst help police finally bring their killer to justice? And a cell data specialist is called upon to plot the movements of six suspects.

The brutal, unsolved murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common shocked the nation. Ten years on, can a forensic team using new DNA technology identify the killer? And a trace expert’s analysis of glass fragments from a beer glass connects a suspect to a vicious assault.

A young boy is beaten to death, but his killer evades justice. Three decades on, a pollen expert finds a crucial link between a suspect and the brutal murder. And after a vicious attack leaves a man dead, can a blood and fibre analyst help trace the killer?

Insect evidence helps crack the case of missing Warrington teenager Shafilea Ahmed, and a series of convincing John Anster Fitzgerald forgeries are uncovered by an art expert.

A dental expert helps police investigating the mysterious death of a teenage girl, and an autograph expert is brought in to help convict scammers selling fake celebrity signatures.

When a body is found in a wheelie bin dumped in a lake, can a cell site analyst track the suspects’ movements and help put them behind bars? And when a man disappears in the Highlands, a soil expert unearths the grim truth that identifies his killers.

When a violent gang use a secret language to discuss a fatal attack, police turn to a forensic linguist to crack their code. And one of the biggest cannabis growing operations ever seen in the UK is brought down with the help of a drugs expert.

In a horrifying case of mistaken identity, a man is stabbed to death in his home. Can an intelligence analyst help convict the suspects? And when a teenager is found beaten to death, a trace evidence specialist helps police confirm the murder weapon.

Nearly 30 years after six-year-old Rikki Neave was brutally murdered, the cold case is reopened and evidence from a soil expert proves crucial in convicting his killer. And a wildlife forensic scientist helps police in an illegal ivory investigation.

A disabled woman is brutally murdered, and her neighbour is the prime suspect. Can a consultant doctor help police put him behind bars? And a linguistics expert provides vital evidence to convict a man who’s stalking and harassing his ex-partner

The 2005 murder of a Glasgow woman goes cold, but 17 years on, can a Dutch soil expert help to finally bring the killer to justice? And when a man is suspected of stabbing his housemate, a blood analyst employs an unusual technique to crack the case.

In our first story, a community reels in total shock when a doting grandmother is found murdered in her home. Detectives search for the killer and suspect it may be someone close to her. The suspect's DNA is found all over the crime scene, but that is easily explained because he lived until recently in the same house. So the police try another route. They approach Kelly Sheridan, an expert witness in fibre evidence, who uncovers a trail of fibres, unravelling the mystery and putting the killer in jail.

When a dismembered body is discovered, police turn to a facial reconstruction expert to help identify the victim.

When fire crew discover a woman’s body in a burning flat, a blood spatter analyst uses a risky and untested method to reveal key evidence. And a Welsh cold case is solved when, for the first time, familial DNA is used to identify a serial killer.

Soil analysis helps solve a 37-year-old murder investigation in Scotland. In Huddersfield, analysis of insect life on a body found on the moors helps detectives catch a killer.

A team of expert witnesses follow a trail of fibres and DNA to solve three cold cases in Pembrokeshire, and a fraudulent diamond investment scheme is exposed by a gemologist.

After 32 years, expert fibre analysis helps bring the killer of two Brighton schoolgirls to justice, and the analysis of bones found on a Yorkshire moor helps find two killers.

Soil on a spade helps catch the killer of a young woman from Swindon, who for years evaded justice and a stone stuck in the sole of a shoe helps solve a murder in Manchester.

A wrongful conviction is overturned by re-examining microscopic particles on a van seat and an attempted murder outside a nightclub is solved by a facial comparison expert.