Cracking the Case - Season 1 / Year 2025

'Happy birthday and all the best', reads a birthday card received by a family, tricked into believing their murdered relative is still alive. Around that time, a human torso dumped at a Salford beauty spot sparks a murder investigation.

Police trawl CCTV looking for a suspect as more body parts and DNA are uncovered at further six locations in Greater Manchester. The police investigation starts to close in on a man, identified through an extensive trawl of CCTV, struggling to carry a large bag.

How did the police piece together the evidence to discover the ultimate betrayal? What could the victim's family reveal about their last contact? And how did a chance sighting lead to the perpetrator getting caught?

A journalist, a forensic psychiatrist and a former police detective delve into the details of the murder investigation, determining how the crime was committed, explaining what police work was involved and evaluating what it takes for someone to commit such a 'heinous' crime.

'I hate you', a woman says. 'It's pointless', a man replies. 'The sound insulation here is very good.' Grainy camera footage reveals that, behind closed doors, a hidden sex offender, masquerading as a respectable PhD student, thrived.

Police uncover a series of shocking drug-assisted rapes, perpetrated against unconscious women, filmed secretly by 'one of the most prolific sexual predators' UK police have ever seen.

Why did a seemingly intelligent and gifted academic carry out crimes against women he rendered defenceless and how did his attacks go undetected?

A journalist, a forensic psychiatrist and a former police detective hear from the victims whose bravery brought the truth to light. They delve into the disturbing psychology that drove Zhenhao Zou to commit his sex crimes and examine evidence, described by prosecutors as a ‘rape kit,' secreted throughout a luxury London flat.

'He's been shot, he's been shot!' Gunfire breaks the silence of a summer's evening in Woodford, East London.

The victim lies bleeding as the assailant speeds off in a waiting car. The same vehicle is used to flee a burglary in Kent the evening prior. A month before the shooting, a door is forced open at an art museum in Geneva, Switzerland. The thieves escape with over £2.5m worth of artefacts.

How were a series of seemingly unrelated criminal events all tied together, five years later, by one crucial piece of evidence? What secrets did an iPad found in the water of the River Thames reveal about a web of international, organised crime?

A journalist, a forensic psychiatrist and a former police detective delve into an almost six-year investigation. They look at the evidence that was left behind after the near-fatal assassination attempt and examine how police linked it to the robbery of items including a priceless Ming vase from a museum in Switzerland.