Forensics: The Real CSI | Series 4 Preview (BBC Two)

With unparalleled access to crime scene investigators, this series follows major and complex cases to reveal the crucial role cutting edge forensic science plays in bringing criminals to justice.

After a decomposed body is found in a freezer at a waste disposal site, West Midlands Police must identify who it is and track down the person who concealed it.  A forensics team attends the scene and the body and freezer are both removed for tests.

West Midlands Forensic Co-ordinator Sonia Parkinson must first identify who the deceased is, the initial post mortem confirms that it is an elderly man and that there are marks on his body suggestive of trauma.  Detectives Nicola Parry and Stu Mobberley begin to investigate the case as a potential murder.

DC Parry traces the freezer back to a flat in Birmingham and discovers that the tenant is 71-year-old John Wainwright.  John has not been reported missing and the body is too decomposed to make a formal identification, so the investigation turns to forensics to identify the body.

Using 3D imagery of the skull and teeth, Odontologist Roland Kouble is able to confirm that the dead male is John Wainwright.  Enquiries reveal that John’s friend was recently evicted from John’s flat and this man is identified as 50 year old Damion Johnson, who is arrested and brought in for questioning.

The investigation takes a significant turn when Damion admits that John died in 2018, a year and a half before the freezer containing his body was discovered at the tip.  Damion denies causing John any harm but admits that he placed John’s body in the freezer.  It is now down to forensics to determine the truth behind Damion’s claims.

In the meantime, detectives discover that the suspect has been claiming benefits for caring for John and they reveal that he bought the freezer that he placed John into at the time of the death. Pathologist Dr Matt Lyall must carry out further tests on the body to establish a cause of death to determine whether John was murdered for financial gain. 

Returns Sunday 10th March at 9pm on BBC Two.