The Detective

Mark Williams-Thomas
The Detective

Hosted by investigative journalist and former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, this podcast explores possible miscarriages of justice in a variety of cases, ranging from terrorism, to murder, to missing people. Each episode asks, does the evidence collected by the police and presented in court stand up to scrutiny, or are people in jail for crimes they did not commit? You will be placed at the centre of these investigations where you, as the armchair detective, piece together the evidence and decide: are these convictions safe, or did our justice system get it wrong? Evidence files and photos can be viewed at www.the-detective.co.uk Important Notes: The subject matter of our podcasts includes details of murders and sexual assaults on both adults and children and can be very distressing for some listeners. Our podcasts include recordings of real-time confrontations with suspects, victim interviews and phone calls that we gather during our live investigations; sometimes the audio quality of those segments is not ideal as we only get one opportunity to record them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See All

  1. EPISODE 1

    Series 5, Episode 1 • The Disappearance of Nicola Payne

    Episode 1 of 2: OVERVIEW A raw and compelling, podcast following Host and Investigative Reporter, Mark Williams-Thomas, as he re-investigates one of the biggest unsolved murder cases in the country that has baffled the police for almost 30 years. In a UK first, Mark puts his own money and reputation on the line to conduct a thorough re-investigation into the disappearance and murder of 18-year old Nicola Payne, to try to give answers to her family and find out where her remains could be. With full support from Nicola’s grieving family, total access to all of West Midlands polices case files, and the UK’s top private forensic search team, our podcast captures the twists and turns of a very real investigation. THE STORY  Saturday 14 December 1991 – Coventry. 18-year-old mum-of-one Nicola Payne set off from her boyfriend’s house to walk the short distance to the home she shared with her parents, across an area called the 'black pad'. Although it was just a 10-minute walk, she never made it to her parents’ house. She simply vanished. Nearly 30 years on, her body has never been found. It’s the biggest and most expensive unsolved case in the history of West Midlands Police - and one of the biggest in the UK, which they are desperate to solve, hence their total co-operation. Within 48 hours of her disappearance two men, Barwell and O’Reilly, were arrested on suspicion of Nicola’s abduction and murder. They gave an alibi which at that time could not be broken and, although they went on the run whilst on bail and changed their identity meaning they could not be picked out at an ID parade, the police did not have enough evidence to charge them. At the time the police found several items of significance, but forensics was in its infancy. In 2015, nearly 25 years after Nicola’s disappearance, a cold-case investigation team made a crucial discovery with the case evidence; advancements in forensics resulted in finding Nicola’s DNA on the tent bag recovered in 1991. Both men, Barwell and O’Reilly, were charged with her murder. At their Crown Court trial the defence argued that the evidence linking the suspects to Nicola had been contaminated whilst in police care. Subsequently, both men were acquitted. Nicola’s family were desperate for another breakthrough but the police leads had gone cold again. All her, now elderly parents, want is to bring Nicola home so they can bury her. In 2018 they asked Mark to re-investigate her disappearance, to seek answers and to try and find Nicola. Mark Williams-Thomas has agreed to help the family and re-investigate the disappearance and murder of Nicola Payne, to date he has done it all pro bono, Mark believes the answers lie within the community and is determined to find them. Mark’s investigation, gives listeners an all-access pass to see what it’s like to undertake a cold case murder investigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    35 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Series 5, Episode 2 • The Disappearance of Nicola Payne

    Episode 2 of 2: OVERVIEW A raw and compelling, podcast following Host and Investigative Reporter, Mark Williams-Thomas, as he re-investigates one of the biggest unsolved murder cases in the country that has baffled the police for almost 30 years. In a UK first, Mark puts his own money and reputation on the line to conduct a thorough re-investigation into the disappearance and murder of 18-year old Nicola Payne, to try to give answers to her family and find out where her remains could be. With full support from Nicola’s grieving family, total access to all of West Midlands polices case files, and the UK’s top private forensic search team, our podcast captures the twists and turns of a very real investigation. THE STORY  Saturday 14 December 1991 – Coventry. 18-year-old mum-of-one Nicola Payne set off from her boyfriend’s house to walk the short distance to the home she shared with her parents, across an area called the 'black pad'. Although it was just a 10-minute walk, she never made it to her parents’ house. She simply vanished. Nearly 30 years on, her body has never been found. It’s the biggest and most expensive unsolved case in the history of West Midlands Police - and one of the biggest in the UK, which they are desperate to solve, hence their total co-operation. Within 48 hours of her disappearance two men, Barwell and O’Reilly, were arrested on suspicion of Nicola’s abduction and murder. They gave an alibi which at that time could not be broken and, although they went on the run whilst on bail and changed their identity meaning they could not be picked out at an ID parade, the police did not have enough evidence to charge them. At the time the police found several items of significance, but forensics was in its infancy. In 2015, nearly 25 years after Nicola’s disappearance, a cold-case investigation team made a crucial discovery with the case evidence; advancements in forensics resulted in finding Nicola’s DNA on the tent bag recovered in 1991. Both men, Barwell and O’Reilly, were charged with her murder. At their Crown Court trial the defence argued that the evidence linking the suspects to Nicola had been contaminated whilst in police care. Subsequently, both men were acquitted. Nicola’s family were desperate for another breakthrough but the police leads had gone cold again. All her, now elderly parents, want is to bring Nicola home so they can bury her. In 2018 they asked Mark to re-investigate her disappearance, to seek answers and to try and find Nicola. Mark Williams-Thomas has agreed to help the family and re-investigate the disappearance and murder of Nicola Payne, to date he has done it all pro bono, Mark believes the answers lie within the community and is determined to find them. Mark’s investigation, gives listeners an all-access pass to see what it’s like to undertake a cold case murder investigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
See All Season 5 (2)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Hosted by investigative journalist and former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, this podcast explores possible miscarriages of justice in a variety of cases, ranging from terrorism, to murder, to missing people. Each episode asks, does the evidence collected by the police and presented in court stand up to scrutiny, or are people in jail for crimes they did not commit? You will be placed at the centre of these investigations where you, as the armchair detective, piece together the evidence and decide: are these convictions safe, or did our justice system get it wrong? Evidence files and photos can be viewed at www.the-detective.co.uk Important Notes: The subject matter of our podcasts includes details of murders and sexual assaults on both adults and children and can be very distressing for some listeners. Our podcasts include recordings of real-time confrontations with suspects, victim interviews and phone calls that we gather during our live investigations; sometimes the audio quality of those segments is not ideal as we only get one opportunity to record them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Williams-Thomas
  • Episodes
    18
  • Seasons
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mark Williams-Thomas
  • Show Website
    The Detective

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada