Main content

Blood on the Carpet

Episode 11 of 15

A mother and her son vanish in 1976, leaving just a burnt-out car. Forty years later, a blood analyst helps police find out the truth. And a phone analyst helps find the killer of a drowned man.

In 1976, Renee MacRae and her infant son Andrew are reported missing. The car they were travelling in is found on fire in a lay-by near Inverness. Neither will ever be seen again, but police suspect that this is not just a missing persons case. As the investigation developed, investigators began to suspect that Renee’s married lover Bill McDowell may be responsible for murdering the pair. A lack of solid evidence makes the case go cold. But in the early 2000s, blood pattern analyst Chris Gannicliffe and soil specialist Professor Lorna Dawson are invited to review the case. What they uncover during re-examination of the evidence will lead directly to the arrest of McDowell and his conviction for the murder of Renee and Andrew.

In our next story, the town of Carlisle is rocked when police open a murder investigation into the death of local man Lee McKnight, who was found dead in a river early one summer morning in 2020. Detectives soon identify six suspects in connection with Lee’s death, but to untangle just what happened on the night before the murder and prove who was responsible, police turn to cell site analyst Paul Hope. Paul undertakes a survey of the movements of the suspects’ phones that night and provides the prosecution with key evidence linking two of the suspects to the river area where Lee’s body was found.

11 months left to watch

28 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Ashley John-Baptiste
Reporter Craig McGlasson
Production Manager Andrea McClelland
Composer Philip Guyler
Executive Producer Edward Hart
Executive Producer Emma Barker
Series Producer Lucy Wedlock
Producer Gary Watson
Director Gary Watson
Production Company Rare TV

Broadcasts