When the body of Leah Questin was found in a suitcase on farmland in Kent in September 2009, Metropolitan Police officers investigating her murder took a tip from CSI’s Gil Grissom and his fascination for bugs. The activity of Blowflies and their eggs at the site of the corpse was crucial in working out approximately …
Category archives: Criminology
The Fall in Violent Crime and Murder
The release of the ‘UK Peace Index‘ (pdf link) has again highlighted the decline in violent crime (including murder) since 2003. “This is the fastest decline in violence of any country in Europe,” the report concludes. It notes that the homicide rate (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) has halved over the last ten years to 1 …
How safe is London?
We were recently sent an email by a worried student asking about the likelihood of being murdered in London. This is perhaps not surprising given the prominence given to reports of teenagers being stabbed to death or shot. As we’ve repeatedly demonstrated, the number of homicide cases (both murder and manslaughter) has been going down …
Talking to Killers
The first thought of any writer covering a murder case is naturally the victim and their grieving families. But that is only one half of the story. What of the murderer and his or her parents, children, close friends and relatives? One man who has built a career on this other side of the coin …
7 Myths about Serial Killers
In 2005 the FBI published a guide to serial murder for investigators which listed seven myths or misconceptions about serial killers. Their examples were all cases from the United States – so we decided to try and match the myths with cases from London’s own history of murder. 1) Myth: Serial killers are all dysfunctional …