Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy Robert Murphy

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Samantha Robins was the Intelligence Manager on the Major Crime Team at Surrey Police in May 2010 when, late in the evening, the call came in: a young mother had been murdered in her home.
What followed was a multi-pronged inquiry.
Sarah Thomas was a 38-year-old mother of three who was found in her flat in a quiet English village.
Her boyfriend raised the alarm - and was arrested.
But when it became clear he was not responsible for Sarah’s death, suspicion passed to a dark character with an horrific criminal record.
As the inquiry moved through the gears and a major manhunt was begun, detectives started leaning heavily on Samantha and her team of analysts which was sifting through the influx of sightings and clues.
* Who was Sarah’s killer?
* Why had he murdered her?
* Where had he been spotted?
And when the full history of the killer’s criminal record became known, the manhunt became a race against time.
You can learn more about Sam here: https://x.com/SamRobins


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Det Insp Paul Franklin was in charge of the inquiry to bring the murderous, cheating husband Emile Cilliers to justice.
But it wasn’t easy. There was little direct evidence that Cilliers had tampered with the parachute of his wife, Victoria.
There was no CCTV nor DNA.
And Victoria did not support the investigation into her husband.
A new docudrama about the case is being broadcast in the UK. To coincide with this, Paul has given this new interview to Behind the Crimes to discuss how he built the case, the challenges of Victoria becoming a hostile witness, how dangerous Cilliers is - and the long-term impact of the inquiry on everyone.
And it is now the subject of a brilliant three-part docudrama, made by Story Films for Channel4 in the UK:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fall-skydive-murder-plot/on-demand/75275-002
Victoria has written her own account too.
If you are impacted by issues raised in this interview, please read more here: https://refuge.org.uk/i-need-help-now/coercive-control/
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/
https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe

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Emile Cilliers made global headlines in 2018 when he was convicted of the attempted murder of his wife Victoria.
He was an upstanding army sergeant, a family man, who led a debaucherous double life of sex clubs, girlfriends and payday loans.
He tried to murder Victoria by tampering with the gas meter in their home. When this failed, he sabotaged her parachute - both her main and reserve canopies.
Somehow, Victoria survived the 4,000-foot drop.
There was little direct evidence: no DNA, no CCTV. No clue that Emile was responsible.
But after taking a spine-tingling call and arresting Cilliers, detective Maddy Hennah became convinced he was the perpetrator.
What followed was a long, arduous inquiry leading to a sensational pair of trials.
It has been the subject of my own eight-part podcast series:
And it is now the subject of a brilliant three-part docudrama, made by Story Films for Channel4 in the UK:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fall-skydive-murder-plot/on-demand/75275-002
Victoria has written her own account too.
If you are impacted by issues raised in this interview, please read more here: https://refuge.org.uk/i-need-help-now/coercive-control/
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/
https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe

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This was Penelope Jackson’s final chance. The evidence against her seemed overwhelming: the glib 999 call admitting the killing of her husband, her further confessions on police body worn footage.
In court, even her friends had described her as overbearing and domineering.
Now it was her turn to take to the witness stand to give her version of events.
In the words of her lawyer: ‘She could see no way out, She replaced invisible handcuffs for real ones but at least then she knew where she would be.’
But would the jury believe Penelope?
If you’ve been affected by issues in this episode, please follow these links:
https://www.nelsontrust.com/
https://refuge.org.uk/


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To friends, David and Penelope Jackson were like most other retired couples living in the West Country.
They had a good life: a nice home, an active social life and a penchant for foreign cruises.
But in February 2021, Penelope killed her husband after a birthday celebration.
She then called 999 saying ‘I stabbed him once, then he said I wouldn’t do it again so I did it twice more.’
Had she been suffering in silence for years at the hands of a silent abuser?
Or was she fabricating a life of coercive control to wriggle away from a murder charge?
If you’ve been affected by issues in this episode, please look at these links:
https://www.nelsontrust.com/
https://refuge.org.uk/


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe

To coincide with the launch of my true crime book ‘Decoy’ I’ve updated and reissued this podcast featuring a rare and exclusive interview with Chris Gould.
In the 1970s, the city of Bristol was terrorised by a man nicknamed ‘The Clifton Rapist.’ The stranger-attacker assaulted seven women over a two-year period.
PC Chris Gould suggested a daring honeytrap: Avon and Somerset Police should set up an innovative undercover sting, using young rookie police officers as decoys to catch him.
This was a monumental gamble, putting the lives of their youngest, least-experienced female officers on the line.
But 12 women volunteered.
As the weeks passed, with no further attacks, commanders made an even more innovative move. And Chris’s career was never the same again.
How was the predator caught and justice achieved? Chris has never spoken in this detail before.
+++ Grab your copy of Decoy here in the UK: https://tinyurl.com/fd759pmh +++
+++ Or here in the USA: https://tinyurl.com/yethzdum +++
Haven’t subscribed yet? Just hit: robertmurphy.substack.com
NB: This is a reissue of a podcast episode first released in November 2023


This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe