Crimes That Shook Britain Episode Rating Graph

Double murderer, John Sweeney, brutally murdered two of his girlfriends, dismembered their bodies and dumped them in canals. Handed two life sentences he was told he will die in prison. In a macabre twist, a key detective on the case tells how Sweeney allegedly hid clues to his killings in abstract paintings he produced, and how FIVE other girlfriends of his are currently missing as well.

In the summer of 2010, the nation watched as police mounted one of the largest manhunts in British history. Raoul Moat went on the run after he shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend and killed her new partner in Newcastle.

Arguably Britain's most infamous serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe became known as The Yorkshire Ripper when he began murdering women in Yorkshire during the 1970's.

Failed businessman Christopher Foster killed his wife and daughter before burning their mansion in Shropshire to the ground in August 2008.

Drug dealer Dale Cregan hit the headlines in 2012 when he murdered police officers Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone. Dermot Murnaghan examines the tragic case

With exclusive, first time access to Dennehy’s mother and father, we hear from the murderer’s parents and how the crimes of their daughter have shattered a family. Joanne Dennehy is the first woman in the UK to be handed a whole life tariff by a Judge. The judge ordered that she should die behind bars for the brutal murders of three innocent men. Dennehy showed no remorse for the killings. Her reason – “to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish and I got a taste for it". In this episode we delve into the mind of such a cold hearted killer and look at what drove her to become one of Britain’s most notorious female criminals. We also hear from the officers who handled the case and an acquaintance of Dennehy’s who she bragged to.

One of the UK’s biggest sex trafficking rings was uncovered in Rochdale in 2012. In a horrific catalogue of abuse, girls as young as 13 were subjected to rape and torture by a gang of nine men. One 15-year-old girl was even ‘recruited’ by the gang to lure other girls into the trap. After plying them with alcohol and money, the victims would be raped by up to twenty men at a time. The gang were sentenced to between four and nineteen years for their crimes.

In broad daylight on a busy Woolwich street on 22nd May 2013, serving soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby was attacked and murdered by Islamic extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. The men used their car to strike the soldier from behind as he crossed the road. They then proceeded to use knives to hack at Lee’s body in an attempt to decapitate him before dumping him in the middle of the road. These sickening events were caught on camera phones by horrified onlookers and the killers were filmed claiming to have carried out the attack in the name of Allah. In a dramatic sequence of events, police arrived at the scene within minutes and shot at the two men as they ran towards them holding up their weapons. Both Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. In this programme we speak to witnesses to the attack and experts on terrorism to examine how two young British men could be radicalized to such an extent that they killed an innocent man in the name of religion.

In the summer of 1993, gay men in London was being terrorised by a brutal killer. Colin Ireland, a loner from Southend in Essex, had made a macabre resolution - to become a serial killer.

Police and witnesses reflect on David Copeland's nail bomb terror in 1999, when blasts in Soho, Brixton and Brick Lane killed three and injured over one hundred.

The parents of innocent 11-year-old Rhys Jones, shot on his way home from football club in Liverpool 2007, speak about the harrowing day when they lost their son.

Garry Newlove, a married father of three, was beaten to death outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire in August 2007.

Peter Tobin is one of the most notorious serial killers in the UK. From 1991 – 2006 he raped and murdered three young girls, Dinah McNicol, Vicky Hamilton and Angelika Kluk. Yet even prior to these horrific murders he had a history of violence, raping two 14-year-old girls and leaving them for dead. Luckily they survived. 

An inside look at the series of mysterious deaths that occurred at the Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in 2011.

A closer look at the crimes of Steve Wright, who was dubbed 'The Suffolk Strangler' after murdering five women in Ipswich in 2006.

A chilling look at the crimes of Stephen Port, the east London serial killer who poisoned four young men with lethal doses of a date rape drug.

For the first time since the terror attack in May 2017, we hear from the survivors, victims' families and emergency responders about that tragic night.

In this special episode, we focus on those criminals who have been brought to justice for one crime only to be released to commit further terrible acts. We speak to legal professionals to discover if the system is at fault or have these killers exploited legal loopholes. We talk to victims and relatives of killers who preyed on their loved ones – if the perpetrators had been kept inside – would their loved ones still be alive? And we discuss with campaigners what can be done to ensure the justice system can both rehabilitate but also ensure our safety.

Examining the murder of EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie, who was killed by her older brother in the east London flat they shared in 2012.

The tragic story of Ann Maguire, who was stabbed to death by a pupil while teaching a Spanish lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds.

Documenting the landmark case of Stephen Lawrence, who died at the hands of a racist gang on 22 April 1993 while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London.

Estate agent, Suzy Lamplugh, disappeared in July 1986 after going to meet a client at a house in Fulham. Witnesses said they saw her arguing with a man near the address and then getting into a car. She has never been seen since. For almost thirty years police have followed many lines of enquiry – one being to identify who ‘Mr Kipper’ is that she went to meet. So far they have reached a dead end. In 1994 she was officially declared dead, presumed murdered. The strongest theory to date is that convicted rapist and killer, John Cannan, killed Lamplugh. But as yet, this hasn’t been proven. Cannan is already serving a life sentence with the recommendation he never be released.

Eight year-old Sarah Payne's disappearance and murder shocked the nation.

Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were convicted of murdering five young boys and girls between 1963 and 1965. Until 1985 both killers maintained their innocence, but eventually confessed and led police to all but one of the bodies – Keith Bennett, who remains missing until this day. We investigate the brutal murders through relatives and officers, and look into new information held by Bennett’s brother that could finally reveal his resting place.