Frightened to Death

An elderly man is found dead in his home amid signs of forced entry and a brutal attack. West Midlands Police must identify when and how he died in a bid to track down his killer.

West Midlands Police are called when concerned neighbours report an elderly man is not responding to them at his home near Birmingham. Arriving on scene, they find harrowing evidence of forced entry to the house and discover his body face down on the living room floor. From his injuries, it is clear the man was restrained with telephone cable and endured a terrifying attack before being left to die. As his body is removed for post-mortem to establish the exact cause of death, crime scene co-ordinator Jo Ward and homicide detective Tom Lyons launch a murder enquiry and brief their investigating team.

Detectives face a challenge to work out when the crime may have occurred and when the man may have died. Although he kept in contact with family members living in other parts of the country, he was known to keep to himself, and it was only when he missed a scheduled call that concerns were raised. Police must interrogate CCTV evidence from around his house to try and find out when he was last seen.