This Much is True Crime

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In 2008, Glasgow-born nurse Colin Norris was convicted of murdering four elderly women at two Leeds hospitals by injecting them with insulin, and of attempting to murder a fifth. None of the women were diabetic. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 30 years, has since changed his name to Colin Campbell, and has never stopped insisting he is innocent.

The case turned on 86-year-old Ethel Hall, whose blood showed synthetic insulin, and on Norris telling colleagues the time she would collapse. Since then, medical understanding has shifted: natural hypoglycaemic comas in elderly patients are now thought to be far more common than was believed at his trial. The foreman of the jury that convicted him has said that, knowing what he knows now, he would not have found him guilty.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission sent the case back to the Court of Appeal, but in 2025 the judges ruled that the evidence from his trial still outweighed the new science, and refused to let it go to the Supreme Court. His supporters are now looking to the European Court of Human Rights.

Research into 16 nurses who killed in hospital settings, co-authored by criminologist Professor David Wilson, found Norris showed the fewest of the warning signs they shared, and was the only one to target women alone. So how strong is the case against him, and what does the ruling mean for Lucy Letby? A former CCRC commissioner says it blows out of the water the idea that she will be released any time soon.

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"I know where you live. Be very afraid." Those were the words in the emails that began arriving at a regional newsroom, aimed at its main evening news presenter, Alexis Bowater. The stalking ran through both of her pregnancies, while she was visibly pregnant on air, and on through a year of maternity leave.

It was pure cyberstalking, so nobody knew who was behind it. As Alexis puts it, that made it everyone, all the time, everywhere. Outside broadcasts needed extra security. Police drove past her home three times a day, and she slept with a Home Office approved alarm wired to the local police station. When a credible threat was made to blow up the TV studios where she worked, some colleagues went home before the six o'clock news. She still remembers the countdown to going on air, not knowing what would happen at zero.

Police eventually traced the stalker through his IP address, following it across internet cafés up and down the M5 corridor. He was a viewer. Even the court case became a way to control her: he pleaded guilty only the night before she was due to give evidence. He was jailed for four years and one month, one of the longest sentences ever handed down in Britain for pure cyberstalking, and given a lifetime restraining order.

Alexis worked as a journalist for 15 years and has spent as long again campaigning against violence against women and girls, so she knows how stalking looks from the inside and how the system responds to it. There is also a first-hand account of being followed around a university campus by a stranger, and why even someone who had worked in high-security prisons waited before reporting it.

In 2025, 143,000 stalking offences were recorded in England and Wales, yet there were only 3,409 convictions. 77% of victims experience more than 100 incidents before they tell anyone, and stalking comes before 94% of ex-partner murders. So why is stalking still not taken seriously at the start, and why do so many victims wait so long to ask for help? If you are affected, the National Stalking Helpline, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and the Holly Gazzard Trust can help.

This Much Is True Crime is proudly sponsored by the TRUE CRIME channel. Watch TRUE CRIME on Sky 146, Freely 37, Freeview 67, Freesat 135 and Virgin 148. https://www.truecrime-tv.co.uk/

Check out our Patreon for bonus weekly episodes and access to live recordings, plus monthly newsletters: https://www.patreon.com/c/ThisMuchisTrueCrime

Produced by Podcast House.
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Supported by True Crime Channel.

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For years, women in Bournemouth reported finding locks of their hair mysteriously cut off. The man responsible would eventually be exposed as a double murderer.

Danilo Restivo, nicknamed the 'Haircut Killer', was convicted of murdering 48-year-old Heather Barnett in her Bournemouth home in 2002. Investigators also linked him to the murder of 16-year-old Elisa Claps, who disappeared in Italy in 1993. Her remains were not discovered until 17 years later, hidden in the roof space of a church.

Restivo's disturbing fascination with cutting women's hair became a crucial part of understanding his behaviour, but his crimes also raised serious questions about missed opportunities to catch him.

How did a man suspected of involvement in a teenager's disappearance in Italy go on to murder again in Britain? What connected the two killings? And could Heather Barnett's death have been prevented?

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This Much Is True Crime is proudly sponsored by the TRUE CRIME channel.
Watch TRUE CRIME on Sky 146, Freely 37, Freeview 67, Freesat 135 and Virgin 148.
https://www.truecrime-tv.co.uk/

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Check out our Patreon for bonus weekly episodes and access to live recordings, plus monthly newsletters! Click here to join:
/ thismuchistruecrime

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TikTok: / thismuchistruecrime
Instagram: / thismuchistruecrime

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Produced by Podcast House.

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Hit subscribe so you don't miss any updates.Supported by True Crime Channel.

What is it really like to spend 25 years working with some of Britain's most troubled and dangerous offenders?

Former probation officer Elizabeth Baxter joins This Much Is True Crime to discuss her new book, A Murderer's Guide to Cleaning, and the extraordinary people she encountered throughout her career in Britain's probation service.

From violent offenders to some of the more bizarre characters she worked with, Baxter offers a different perspective on the criminal justice system and the people caught up in it. Among them is a convicted murderer who created a homemade cleaning solution in his prison cell using Marmite.

But beyond the unusual stories lies a serious question about the role of probation officers. Tasked with protecting the public while supporting offenders, they are often responsible for some of society's most vulnerable people, including survivors of domestic abuse and young asylum seekers.

What does it take to work with people who have committed serious crimes? And how do you balance public safety with the belief that people deserve a chance to change?

This Much Is True Crime is proudly sponsored by the TRUE CRIME channel.Watch TRUE CRIME on Sky 146, Freely 37, Freeview 67, Freesat 135 and Virgin 148.https://www.truecrime-tv.co.uk/

Check out our Patreon for bonus weekly episodes and access to live recordings, plus monthly newsletters! Click here to join:https://www.patreon.com/c/ThisMuchisTrueCrime

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thismuchistruecrimeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thismuchistruecrime

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Lisa Hayden-Johnson convinced the country that her young son Matthew was suffering from a series of life-threatening illnesses. But the truth was far more disturbing.

From cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis to diabetes and severe allergies, Matthew was subjected to hundreds of medical appointments, made to use a wheelchair and fed through tubes, despite not having the conditions his mother claimed.

The story attracted national attention, with Matthew receiving a Child of Courage award and the family meeting figures including Tony Blair and the Duchess of Cornwall.

But behind the public sympathy was a prolonged pattern of child abuse. Hayden-Johnson was eventually convicted of child cruelty and other offences, exposing a case of fabricated or induced illness, sometimes referred to as Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

How could a mother fabricate her own child's illnesses for years? Why did so many people believe her? And how was the abuse eventually uncovered?

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Check out our Patreon for bonus weekly episodes and access to live recordings, plus monthly newsletters! Click here to join:
https://www.patreon.com/c/ThisMuchisTrueCrime

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thismuchistruecrime

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Produced by Podcast House.

This Much Is True Crime is proudly sponsored by the TRUE CRIME channel.

Watch TRUE CRIME on Sky 146, Freely 37, Freeview 67, Freesat 135 and Virgin 148.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices