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Britain's Most Evil Killers S09E06 (Nov 12 2024)
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00:00In July 1993, a loving mum and keen student with high hopes for the future
00:19was reported missing by her husband.
00:23She was always a good attendee at college, never missed anything,
00:26and all of a sudden, she doesn't come in.
00:28Very quickly, it was clear there was something not right.
00:32Hassan al-Shatinawi's story about his wife Laura's disappearance
00:37quickly unravelled as detectives uncovered lie after lie.
00:42He had a family that he hadn't told the police about,
00:45a secret mistress and a child.
00:47He was one of those people where lies are just like a language.
00:52You just open your mouth and it's part of the language you use to manipulate.
00:56Decades later, the truth of what really happened to Laura al-Shatinawi is still unknown.
01:02Just tell us what happened.
01:04Tell us where she is.
01:05Tell us what's happened.
01:07For murdering his loving wife in cold blood and depriving their son of a mother,
01:12Hassan al-Shatinawi has proven himself to be one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:19The story of a missing mother in a seaside town like Hartlepool
01:47made big waves in 1993.
01:51It's quite a small community.
01:53Everybody knew what's going on.
01:55And at that time, to have a missing mother, it's quite big news.
01:59Detectives used every tool at their disposal,
02:02searching for 36-year-old mother Laura al-Shatinawi.
02:06If there's a missing person, the police usually turn to the public to help,
02:10and they do that by going through the media.
02:13Hassan al-Shatinawi was only too keen to play the role of the concerned husband.
02:20We went on the local TV and appealed for help in trying to find where his wife was.
02:26Police would have encouraged him to do that as well.
02:32Get his face out there.
02:35Get any witnesses who might not know about Laura going missing.
02:39Getting them to see this man on the TV.
02:43The strategy brought in a flood of calls from Good Samaritans,
02:47including several who exposed 37-year-old Hassan al-Shatinawi
02:52as a man with many secrets.
02:55That was really his downfall when he decided to put his face into the public domain.
02:59The more information we got, the more suspicious you got
03:01that this isn't exactly who he appears to be.
03:04This killer's story begins in the Middle East on the 2nd of January, 1946.
03:21Hassan, he's a Salome-Shatinawi, his full name, and he was born in Jordan.
03:27We don't know very much about his early life, simply that he'd studied medicine.
03:32We think he commenced medical school or some sort of medical training on two occasions
03:37but never actually took any exams.
03:39By 1983, 37-year-old Hassan al-Shatinawi
03:43was a postgraduate student in clinical biochemistry living in Cairo, Egypt.
03:52He was ready to settle down
03:54and he knew exactly what kind of a woman he wanted to meet.
03:58He put an ad in a Lonely Hearts column
04:02which said,
04:04Doctor wants to meet English princess.
04:06The lady who replied was called Laura Mae Vaughan.
04:1226-year-old Laura was from the port town of Hartlepool
04:16in the northeast of England.
04:19She'd been to Cairo before she liked travelling
04:21and she replied to the ad.
04:26Many of her friends actually did describe her as an English rose.
04:29Open-faced, warm, gentle.
04:33And she goes out to Egypt
04:35and they start a relationship
04:38and it all happened quite quickly.
04:41She was a very likeable person.
04:44Nobody had a bad word to say about Laura.
04:47Maybe a bit naive.
04:48She wanted love.
04:50I think that's what Laura wanted really was love
04:51and she thought she'd found it with Hassan.
04:59Two years later,
05:01the couple were back in Laura's hometown
05:03living with her father, Donald.
05:05It was a terraced house off Main Town Centre Road
05:09so it was within two minutes' walk
05:11to Hartlepool's town centre.
05:14Laura's father described Chattanoe
05:17as a real gentleman.
05:21It does conjure a picture
05:22almost of this perfect man
05:25who had a very strong moral code
05:29and perhaps a gentleman would take control,
05:32look after their family.
05:34It's quite an old-fashioned term to use.
05:37So we get back then
05:39to that English princess,
05:41real gentleman.
05:43This whole relationship appears to me
05:46to be presenting as some kind of romantic fairy tale.
05:51The couple married
05:53and in August 1985,
05:56Laura and Hassan al-Shatanawi
05:58welcomed a baby son, Rashid.
06:01Rashid's earliest memories
06:10betray nothing out of the ordinary
06:13about his family life.
06:14My childhood was a bit like any other childhood, really.
06:21You know, played out, went to parties,
06:26went to friends' at school.
06:28I remember me and my mum,
06:31my uncle and
06:32my auntie
06:34all going to Rhodes
06:36for the week.
06:38I've got some photographs of
06:41me and my mum
06:43and my dad
06:44in Egypt.
06:45Hassan al-Shatanawi told people
06:54he'd been a GP
06:55in Jordan and Iraq
06:57but once living in the UK
06:59he did not practice medicine.
07:02For someone that professed to be a doctor
07:04he'd never studied,
07:06never practiced in this country.
07:08He may not have had the qualifications,
07:10the UK qualifications required
07:11but he took up property developing.
07:14I think he owned a few houses
07:16which he rented out
07:17and he also bought houses
07:18to do up for renting.
07:21Entrepreneurial al-Shatanawi
07:23had numerous money-making projects
07:25on the go.
07:27He had a carpet shop,
07:29he had a garage,
07:31he'd bought a big plot of land
07:32up Walkmanshaw
07:34to plant Christmas trees on.
07:36Meanwhile,
07:40Rashid's mother, Laura,
07:42had ambitions of her own.
07:45She was studying travelling tourism
07:46and she loved travelling.
07:49She was working for a local
07:51co-op travel agency
07:53and as a result of that
07:55was attending
07:55Hartlepool College of Further Education
07:58doing tourism.
08:00She was quite a bit of a character
08:01in the town,
08:02particularly throughout
08:03the travel agents.
08:05She would always fantasise
08:07about where she was going on holiday
08:08and she wanted to visit here
08:10and she wanted to visit somewhere else.
08:11Always very exotic places
08:13and she came across
08:14as a very nice person
08:15who was wanting to better herself.
08:17In June 1993
08:19when Laura was 36
08:21and her son Rashid
08:23just seven years old,
08:25her hopes for the future stalled
08:27in a way no one
08:28could have foreseen.
08:35On June the 15th,
08:39Laura takes her son Rashid to school
08:41and goes off to college
08:43to take an exam.
08:45She was due to meet her husband,
08:47Hassan,
08:48after the exam.
08:50According to Hassan al-Shatunawi,
08:54Laura never showed up.
08:55The last time she was seen by anybody
08:57sitting the exam in the college.
09:00Though her car was found parked
09:03in its normal spot
09:04near the family home,
09:06Laura didn't return that night.
09:08Hassan al-Shatunawi
09:10told her father
09:11she was working late.
09:13Days passed with no sign of Laura,
09:16but when her father and brother
09:18inquired about her whereabouts,
09:20Hassan al-Shatunawi
09:22told them not to worry.
09:24He said he was concerned
09:25she hadn't come home,
09:27but he wasn't concerned
09:28about her safety.
09:29He believed she'd gone on holiday
09:31and would return very shortly.
09:34She's gone away to Egypt
09:36or wherever,
09:37somewhere in the Middle East,
09:38and I've never heard from her
09:39and I don't know anything about it.
09:42No one doubted that Laura
09:44had the travel bug,
09:46but the idea of her taking off alone
09:48seemed unlikely.
09:51Me mum always took me,
09:52no matter where she went.
09:53I was always with her,
09:57so it was just out of character,
10:00her supposedly going on holiday
10:02without me.
10:06Weeks passed
10:08and Hassan al-Shatunawi
10:10received no phone call,
10:12no postcard,
10:14no contact at all
10:15from his wife.
10:17Laura's friends and family
10:19were very concerned
10:20about her suddenly disappearing,
10:21even with his story
10:25about this impromptu holiday,
10:26and they were pushing him
10:27and pushing him to say,
10:29you've got to report her missing.
10:31But he resisted that.
10:32He really, really didn't want to.
10:35On Thursday, the 8th of July, 1993,
10:40Hassan al-Shatunawi
10:42finally reported his wife missing.
10:46With over three weeks
10:47having passed since she vanished,
10:49the police would have
10:50their work cut out
10:52to follow her trail.
10:54On Friday, the 9th of July, 1993,
11:09detectives John Groves
11:10and Ian Henderson
11:11from Hartlepool Police
11:13visited 47-year-old
11:15Hassan al-Shatunawi
11:17at his home
11:18to find out more
11:20about his wife Laura's
11:21disappearance.
11:22We interviewed Hassan
11:27and took a lengthy statement
11:29off him
11:30to see what his account
11:31of Laura's lifestyle,
11:34how they'd met.
11:36He was very plausible,
11:38very polite,
11:39and he was never disrespectful,
11:42and he never talked badly of Laura.
11:45He thought that she may have
11:47gone on holiday,
11:48although when questioned,
11:49she'd never, ever been
11:51on holiday with anybody else
11:53before other than the family.
11:55She'd never spent a night
11:56away from home before.
11:58This was not the only thing
12:00that stood out
12:01for the CID officers.
12:03It wasn't that D.B. Night
12:05you would expect
12:05of somebody whose wife
12:06was missing.
12:07He was very calm.
12:10There was no tears.
12:11There was no such sense
12:13of urgency
12:13in what he was telling us.
12:15The alarm bells were ringing.
12:19Detectives began
12:20the methodical process
12:22of searching
12:23for 36-year-old Laura.
12:25We wanted to put
12:26the bigger picture together.
12:28You start back
12:29at the beginning,
12:29and the beginning's always
12:30where she lived,
12:31with her husband.
12:33The house would set us
12:34with consent
12:35of Hassan
12:35and the father.
12:36They went to
12:38local travel agents.
12:41If you were going
12:42to buy a ticket
12:42somewhere abroad,
12:44you would be doing it
12:45through a travel agent,
12:46most likely,
12:47and there was nothing
12:48to suggest
12:49that they could see
12:50that Laura
12:51had gone abroad.
12:53There's no evidence
12:54that her passport
12:54has been used.
12:56There's no evidence
12:56that her bank cards
12:57have been used.
12:59There's no evidence
13:00of her leaving any port
13:01in the British Isles.
13:02So where is she?
13:04The police could not
13:06find anyone
13:07who could say
13:08with certainty
13:09they had seen Laura
13:11since the 15th of June.
13:13So all sightings
13:15or all of her normal activity
13:17ceased on that particular day.
13:19Very quickly,
13:21investigators realised
13:22that something
13:23was very wrong.
13:25She's left her son behind,
13:27which isn't normal.
13:28There's nothing to suggest
13:29that she would disappear.
13:31Clearly,
13:32there's something untoward,
13:33and there's no doubt
13:34about it
13:35that Laura Shatinawi
13:37had come to us on harm.
13:38And it was a matter
13:38of finding out
13:39what harm that was
13:41and who was responsible.
13:48Hassan Al-Shatinawi
13:50was invited
13:51to the local police station
13:52to give a full account
13:54of the circumstances
13:56surrounding
13:56his wife's disappearance.
13:58It was a comprehensive statement.
14:01That statement
14:01ended up
14:01at nearly 50 pages.
14:05So halfway through,
14:07Mr Shatinawi said,
14:08I'm sorry,
14:09I've got a prior appointment.
14:10I must leave
14:11and I'll come straight back.
14:13Suspicious from the start
14:15about Al-Shatinawi's
14:17version of events,
14:18detectives wondered
14:19if this was the moment
14:20he would lead them
14:21to his missing wife.
14:24What was decided
14:25would put a surveillance
14:26on him
14:26to see where he went?
14:29Mr Shatinawi leaves
14:30the police station.
14:31He's gone into
14:31the town centre area.
14:34He's gone on a local bus
14:35which was to Seton Carew,
14:37which was also
14:38aborted by
14:39the surveillance team.
14:41Seton Carew
14:42is a small town
14:43just three miles
14:44down the coast
14:45from Hartlepool.
14:47He was followed
14:48to Seton Carew
14:49where he got off the bus
14:51across the road
14:52to the bus stop
14:53and got on the bus
14:54and came back
14:55to Hartlepool.
14:56It was a journey
14:57that made no sense
14:58to the plainclothes officers
15:00following Al-Shatinawi.
15:03Over the next couple of days,
15:04they constantly
15:05kept eyes on him.
15:07It would have taken
15:08a lot of staff
15:09to do surveillance,
15:12really,
15:12because if he's on a bus,
15:15they'd work in pairs
15:16and they've got
15:17to be inconspicuous.
15:18And when he's on the bus
15:19every day,
15:20it would have to be
15:20different people.
15:22He never appeared
15:23to become suspicious
15:24or aware of the surveillance,
15:26which continued
15:28probably a couple of weeks.
15:31On Monday,
15:32the 12th of July,
15:34Hassan Al-Shatinawi
15:35met with local journalists,
15:38telling them of his hopes
15:39for Laura's safe return,
15:41claiming that he'd wanted
15:43to report her missing
15:44much sooner,
15:45but had been put off
15:47by her family.
15:48He was in the
15:50heart of the mail
15:51and local media
15:52appealing for her
15:53to come forward
15:54and saying,
15:54well, I think she's gone
15:55on holiday somewhere
15:57without me.
15:58As a result of the media report,
15:59we had an awful lot
16:00of people saying,
16:01I've seen the woman
16:02I think is Laura Shatinawi.
16:04Any sighting that came in,
16:06we would dispatch a team
16:08to that location
16:10and try and find anybody else
16:12who would confirm
16:12that she'd been there
16:13and nobody could.
16:15Increasingly sure
16:16that Laura had met
16:18with some kind of foul play,
16:20the police kept her husband,
16:21Al-Shatinawi,
16:23firmly in their sights.
16:25Within a couple of days,
16:26the costly operation
16:28brought them a lead.
16:30He took the surveillance team
16:31all over Durham and Cleveland
16:33whilst he was travelling
16:34on the bus.
16:36So inquiries were made
16:37in all these locations
16:38and whilst we were doing
16:40these inquiries,
16:41one of the things
16:41that were found out
16:42was that he did have
16:43an allotment at Seton Carew.
16:46Al-Shatinawi's green fingers
16:48were news to the police.
16:50He'd failed to mention
16:51in his lengthy statement
16:52the existence of an allotment.
16:55Other holes were also appearing
16:57in the Jordanians' account.
17:00We realised that he was living
17:01a bit of a fantasist life.
17:03He called himself
17:04Dr Hassan Shatinawi,
17:06but we know that he had
17:07no medical qualifications.
17:09We actually spoke
17:10to his doctor at the time
17:12and they questioned
17:13whether he had been
17:14fully medically qualified.
17:16He would tell
17:17different stories too
17:19about how he was
17:20making his living,
17:21what he'd done,
17:22where he'd been.
17:23There was just little bits
17:24of information that came in
17:25that this person
17:26isn't all that he appears to be.
17:27The secret allotment
17:38seemed like a promising lead
17:40in Laura's disappearance.
17:42Detectives thought
17:43it might explain
17:44Al-Shatinawi's fleeting visit
17:46to Seton Carew
17:47the day they started
17:49following him.
17:50The surveillance team
17:51noted that he was interested
17:53in what was going on
17:54in the allotment
17:54when he went past.
17:55Our supposition then
17:57was he was there
17:59to see if there's
17:59any police activity.
18:01But an initial search
18:03of Al-Shatinawi's plot
18:05failed to yield
18:06any clues.
18:08We identified
18:09the allotment.
18:11A warrant was obtained
18:12and it was searched
18:14with a negative result
18:16at the time.
18:17By Thursday,
18:18the 15th of July,
18:20a month after
18:21she was last seen,
18:22the police still had
18:23no clues
18:24as to Laura
18:25Al-Shatinawi's
18:26whereabouts.
18:27That day,
18:28her husband made
18:29another emotional appeal
18:31via the media.
18:33Mr. Shatinawi
18:34went on the local TV
18:35and appealed for help
18:36in trying to find
18:37where his wife was.
18:39There were some tears
18:40shed on the TV.
18:42Police would have been
18:44watching him
18:44like a hawk.
18:46We know,
18:47don't we,
18:47that a lot of killers
18:49have gone and done
18:50press conferences
18:50and have revealed
18:52themselves in those
18:53press conferences.
18:55Nothing in Al-Shatinawi's
18:57words or behaviour
18:58gave anything away
19:00that day.
19:02But very quickly,
19:04the calls from TV news
19:06viewers began
19:07to pour in.
19:08People started
19:09contacting the incident
19:11room to say that
19:13I know this person,
19:14but they don't call him
19:15Hassan Shatinawi.
19:16I know him
19:17as something else.
19:18He seems to say
19:19he doesn't drive.
19:20Somebody else came in
19:21and said,
19:21I've seen him
19:22driving this car.
19:23And so the more
19:24information we got
19:25resulted in him
19:26putting himself
19:26in the public domain,
19:27the more suspicious
19:28you got that this
19:29isn't exactly
19:30who he appears to be.
19:37With the help
19:38of the public,
19:39the Hartlepool police
19:40incident room
19:41was building up
19:42a picture of a husband
19:44who was a liar
19:45and a fantasist.
19:46The next call
19:48that came in
19:49would prove
19:50that he was also
19:51a killer.
20:04After Hassan
20:05al-Shatinawi's
20:06TV appeal
20:07for the safe return
20:09of his missing wife,
20:10Laura,
20:10on the 15th of July,
20:121993,
20:13a local tradesman
20:15called the incident room
20:16at Hartlepool police.
20:22He'd been approached
20:24by Hassan
20:24al-Shatinawi
20:25to get rid of a shed
20:26that he had
20:27in the allotment.
20:29He'd said,
20:30that chap there,
20:32he paid me
20:33an amount of money
20:34to take the shed away
20:35and burn it.
20:35This had happened
20:37around the 21st of June,
20:39a week or so
20:40after Laura went missing.
20:43The police
20:44quickly discovered
20:45the shed
20:45had only been built
20:47around the 14th of June.
20:49The shed had cost,
20:50you know,
20:51quite a sum,
20:52250 pounds.
20:54The shed was brand new.
20:55It had no windows in it,
20:57just a door.
20:58It was an astounding
21:00development.
21:01Hassan al-Shatinawi
21:02had paid someone
21:03to build a shed
21:04the day before
21:05his wife's disappearance,
21:07then asked someone else
21:08to destroy it
21:09just a week later.
21:11Who would want
21:11the shed building
21:12immediately
21:13with no windows
21:14and then pay somebody
21:1650 pounds to burn it?
21:18That's just not normal.
21:20The existence of the shed
21:22was a significant development,
21:24but detectives knew
21:25that if it had been burned,
21:27any forensic evidence
21:29it held
21:29would have gone up
21:30in smoke.
21:32They would have wanted
21:33that shed back
21:34against all odds.
21:37That's what they
21:38would have been looking for.
21:39Even if it was in pieces,
21:40it wouldn't matter
21:41because every contact
21:43leaves a trace.
21:44That's the mantra
21:45in forensics.
21:46But in an incredible
21:47stroke of luck,
21:48the workman hadn't
21:49carried out the job
21:50he'd been paid to do.
21:52When he went to see it,
21:53it was brand new.
21:55It was far too good
21:56to burn.
21:57So I took it apart
21:58and I sold it
22:00to a guy
22:00over in Middlesbrough.
22:02So we found the address
22:04and we hot-footed it
22:05to this gentleman's
22:07house in Middlesbrough.
22:08The shed had been rebuilt
22:10in the buyer's garden,
22:11but it would soon
22:13be on the move
22:14once more.
22:15Piece by piece,
22:17forensic officers
22:18dismantled the shed
22:19and took it
22:20to their lab.
22:21Investigators realised
22:22immediately
22:23it would be
22:24a crucial piece
22:25of the puzzle.
22:30The floorboards
22:31in the centre
22:32of the shed
22:33had been gouged out
22:34quite crudely
22:35with probably
22:36a hammer and chisel
22:37to about half
22:38of the depth
22:38of the wood.
22:39The damaged section
22:40had been painted
22:41with a thick layer
22:43of creosote.
22:44Officers suspected
22:45the work had been done
22:47to hide something.
22:49Further examination
22:50by the scenes of crime
22:52revealed some of the
22:53head hairs
22:54and some blood
22:54between the lats
22:56on the floor
22:57of the shed.
22:58It showed significant
22:59blood loss,
23:00not just a cut,
23:01something very serious
23:02had happened
23:02in that shed.
23:08Within a week,
23:09a brand new shed
23:10had been built,
23:11stained with blood,
23:12painted and dismantled.
23:14It was a turning point
23:15in the investigation,
23:17one which dashed
23:18any hopes of finding
23:20Laura al-Shatanawi
23:21alive.
23:22Our assumption
23:24from that was
23:24that, you know,
23:26this has been
23:26the murder scene
23:27and she'd been
23:28murdered here
23:29and this is
23:30the remnants
23:31of the blood
23:31and these gouges out
23:33to try and get rid of it.
23:35What investigators
23:37couldn't prove
23:38just yet
23:39was that the large
23:40quantities of blood
23:41definitely belonged
23:43to Laura.
23:431993 was quite early
23:46for DNA analysis,
23:48I think.
23:49Probably started using it
23:51in criminal justice
23:52around 1986.
23:54Attempts to extract
23:56a DNA profile
23:57from the strands
23:58of hair found
23:59in the crevices
23:59of the shed floor
24:01were unsuccessful.
24:02But while efforts
24:04continued,
24:05detectives felt
24:06they had enough
24:07to bring al-Shatanawi
24:08into custody.
24:10Hassan was arrested.
24:11Even then,
24:12he was very polite.
24:13There was no
24:14fear in him
24:15or anything like that.
24:17Al-Shatanawi
24:18may have been calm,
24:20but for seven-year-old
24:22Rashid,
24:23already missing
24:24his mother,
24:25it was a
24:26watershed moment.
24:27When I first
24:29really knew about it
24:30was when me
24:30mam's best friend
24:31come to pick us
24:33up from school.
24:35That's when
24:36at Rayleigh,
24:37the alarm bell
24:37started ringing.
24:38I knew there was
24:39someone up,
24:39but I didn't know
24:40what.
24:42And we went back
24:43to me mam's friends
24:44and the police
24:45were there.
24:46I was feeling scared
24:47not knowing what
24:48was happening.
24:51While Rashid
24:52was being sheltered
24:53by his mother's friend,
24:54his father
24:55was denying any
24:56knowledge of
24:57Laura's whereabouts
24:58to interviewing
24:59officer John Groves.
25:02He answered
25:02some questions
25:03and we decided
25:04to reproduce
25:05the photographs
25:05of the shed floor.
25:08When Shatanawi
25:09saw the photographs,
25:11he was taken aback.
25:14He was visibly shocked,
25:15you could see.
25:16He didn't think
25:17for one moment
25:18that the police
25:19would ever recover
25:20this shed floor
25:21that he'd paid
25:22a workman
25:23to dispose of
25:24and to burn.
25:25With Hassan
25:26Al-Shatanawi
25:27refusing to answer
25:28further questions,
25:30the police took
25:31their case
25:31to the Crown
25:32Prosecution Service.
25:34The circumstances
25:35which we found
25:36the shed,
25:37the fact that
25:38he hadn't reported
25:38I missed him
25:39for 23 days
25:39when she'd never,
25:40ever spent a day
25:41from home before.
25:43All circumstantial,
25:44but put it all together
25:45and CPS thought
25:47we had enough
25:48to charge him,
25:49which we did.
25:53Charged on the 19th of July
25:56with his wife's murder,
25:58Al-Shatanawi
25:58was remanded in custody.
26:01In the meantime,
26:02the search for Laura's body
26:04continued.
26:05Recovery of the body
26:06was obviously paramount
26:07to the investigation.
26:08We believe that
26:09she was killed
26:11in the shed.
26:12We don't know
26:12where her body parts
26:14or body was disposed of.
26:16There were several avenues
26:17to her chase.
26:20There was a report
26:20that he'd dismembered her
26:21and he'd taken her
26:22to the skips
26:23in Stockton.
26:25There were stories
26:26that she'd been fed
26:27to the pigs.
26:28People say,
26:29oh, because he was
26:29a doctor in Jordan,
26:31he'd be aware
26:32of how to dismember people.
26:34It's quite possible
26:34he knew how to dismember
26:35a body because
26:36the first years
26:37at university
26:38you want to be a doctor
26:38is you actually
26:40dissect a body.
26:41It was one of many
26:42theories the police
26:43worked on
26:44as they explored
26:45every line of inquiry.
26:47I don't know
26:48whether that's true or not.
26:49You do get people
26:50phoning in
26:51with false stories
26:53and again,
26:54you've still got to
26:55chase them
26:55to see whether
26:56they're right or not.
26:57Without Laura's body,
26:59the police
27:00and prosecutors
27:01knew convicting
27:02Al Shatnawi
27:03for her murder
27:04would be much
27:05more difficult.
27:07They were also
27:08struggling to identify
27:09a motive.
27:11He never disclosed
27:12anything other than
27:13a normal relationship
27:14and as far as
27:17he was concerned
27:17it was a happy
27:18relationship.
27:19The answer
27:20when it came
27:21was a bombshell
27:22from an unexpected
27:24source.
27:25The police found
27:27that Shatnawi
27:28was actually
27:29living a double life.
27:31We understood
27:31from social services
27:32that Mr. Shatnawi
27:34had been involved
27:36with another woman.
27:37Hassan
27:38has started
27:39a second relationship
27:40with a woman
27:42whom he met
27:44at a bus stop
27:45in 1988
27:45and indeed
27:46she becomes pregnant
27:49with Hassan's child.
27:54In the early days
27:56of their relationship,
27:57Al Shatnawi
27:58told his new partner
28:00he was single.
28:01Even when he admitted
28:02to being married,
28:04he insisted
28:04it was in all but name.
28:06The marriage
28:07was effectively over.
28:09The other woman
28:10had some health
28:11problems
28:11and as a result
28:14social services
28:14were involved
28:15and they were
28:17intent on taking
28:18the child
28:20from the other woman.
28:23Al Shatnawi
28:24was faced
28:24with his secret
28:25child entering
28:26the care system,
28:28something he
28:29could not accept.
28:30There was a court
28:31case at Leeds
28:33Family Court
28:34where Shatnawi
28:36attended
28:36and gave evidence
28:38to say that
28:39his wife
28:40knew all about
28:41the affair,
28:42knew all about
28:43the other child
28:43and he was willing
28:45to look after
28:47this other child.
28:49Neighbors
28:50of the Al Shatnawi
28:51family would later
28:52report that
28:53shortly before
28:54Laura disappeared,
28:56they'd heard
28:57an almighty
28:58and unusual
28:59row coming
29:00from the home.
29:01Something which
29:02may tally
29:03with a memory
29:03the couple's son
29:05Rashid
29:05now relives
29:07in his nightmares.
29:11I just remember
29:12me dad
29:12like attacking
29:14me mom
29:15and he said
29:16about me.
29:17So on one hand
29:19he could be
29:20this nice
29:21caring person
29:22then on the other
29:22hand he could be
29:23a psychopath
29:24but luckily
29:25I only saw him
29:26do it the once.
29:27In hindsight,
29:29Rashid wonders
29:29if this was the day
29:31Hassan Al Shatnawi's
29:33two worlds collided
29:34when Laura found out
29:36about her husband's
29:37mistress.
29:39I think that's why
29:40me mom died that day
29:41because I think
29:43she might have
29:44found out
29:45what had happened.
29:47A couple of days
29:48after the alleged
29:49fight,
29:49Laura disappeared.
29:51Two days after that,
29:53Hassan Al Shatnawi
29:54met with his lover
29:55and a social worker
29:56to say he was ready
29:58to move in
29:59with his second family.
30:01The thoughts
30:01of the investigating
30:02team were
30:03well,
30:04what was this motive?
30:06It is quite possible
30:08that it had come
30:10to the point
30:11where Laura
30:12had to know
30:14and it's quite possible
30:16that she decided
30:18to leave him
30:19at that point.
30:23If he killed his wife,
30:24he's still got
30:25both his sons.
30:26It tells us
30:28an awful lot
30:28about Shatnawi's
30:30mindset.
30:32Having custody
30:33of those boys
30:34meant more
30:36to him
30:36than anything else.
30:38The women
30:39were expendable,
30:40disposable.
30:42These were
30:42his sons.
30:49It was a strong
30:51motive to take
30:52to trial,
30:53but as the
30:53court date
30:54approached,
30:55Laura's body
30:56was still missing.
30:57In fact,
30:58detectives still
30:59couldn't prove
30:59the blood in the shed
31:01was even hers.
31:03Would they be able
31:04to convince a jury
31:05that Hassan Al Shatnawi
31:07was
31:07a cold-blooded killer?
31:11On the 13th
31:22of October
31:221994,
31:2448-year-old
31:25Hassan Al Shatnawi
31:27stood trial
31:28in Newcastle
31:29for his wife,
31:31Laura's murder.
31:32The trial
31:37was at Moot Hall
31:38in the centre
31:39of Newcastle.
31:40It was the old
31:40Crown Court building.
31:42Moot Hall
31:43is a
31:43traditional,
31:45old-fashioned
31:45Victorian court.
31:47It's
31:48how everybody
31:49imagines
31:49a Crown Court
31:50to be
31:51from the olden days.
31:52It's quite daunting,
31:54really.
31:54Sitting in the dock,
32:04the medic-turned-property
32:05developer
32:06exhibited the same
32:07smooth plausibility
32:09he presented
32:10to police officers
32:11like Hamish McCulloch
32:13from day one.
32:15His demeanor
32:16throughout the trial
32:17was very sure
32:18of himself
32:19that he was not
32:20going to be convicted.
32:21He didn't look concerned,
32:23he didn't look worried.
32:23because he knew
32:25we didn't have a body.
32:26And without the body
32:27it's very hard
32:28to get a conviction.
32:30Though 36-year-old
32:31Laura's body
32:32had not been recovered,
32:34investigators
32:35had no doubt
32:36that her husband
32:37had killed her.
32:39The prosecution
32:40was centred on
32:41his character
32:42and behaviour.
32:43I mean,
32:43he was a man
32:44that had not
32:44reported his wife
32:46missing initially.
32:47She'd gone missing
32:48without apparently
32:49telling anyone
32:49where she was going
32:50and we were relying
32:51only on him
32:52that she'd gone
32:53on holiday.
32:53There was
32:54a suspicious nature
32:55of his visits
32:56to the allotment,
32:57then the discovery
32:58of this shed
32:59which he'd bought
33:00and disposed of
33:01very quickly.
33:02One of the most
33:03amazing moments
33:04of the trial
33:05was when the police
33:06reconstructed the shed
33:08in the courtroom.
33:10To show the jury
33:11exactly what the police
33:14had found
33:14so it was built
33:17and it was taken apart
33:18and showed them
33:18the wood
33:20where it had been
33:20gouged out
33:21and the wood
33:23there had been
33:23creosorted.
33:24Can you imagine
33:25what the jury
33:25must have thought
33:26looking at the shed?
33:28Was this where
33:29Laura May
33:30met her end?
33:31We said it was
33:32premeditated
33:33building the shed,
33:34getting the shed made
33:35ready for that
33:35particular day.
33:37He'd organise
33:38everything
33:38and then he thought
33:4023 days
33:41would give him time
33:42to get rid of the shed
33:44but I'm afraid
33:45it was wrong.
33:50The prosecution
33:52argued that
33:53Al Shatinawi's
33:54motive for murder
33:55was his secret
33:56partner and child
33:57whom he'd promised
33:58to move in with
33:59shortly after
34:01Laura went missing.
34:02The trial
34:03must have been
34:04difficult
34:04for so many people
34:05and especially
34:08the other woman
34:09who could so easily
34:11have been
34:12the victim
34:13in this
34:14and of course
34:15a murder trial
34:16of this type
34:17is going to bring
34:17all sorts of
34:18press and
34:19media interest
34:21going back
34:22into her history
34:23putting her
34:23in the limelight
34:24and her son
34:25it must have been
34:27absolute torture
34:28for her.
34:29Even worse
34:30detectives
34:31had also discovered
34:32that even this
34:33second relationship
34:34was not sacred
34:36to Al Shatinawi.
34:37He wasn't a stranger
34:38to advertising
34:40in publications
34:41to meet other women.
34:43He put an advert
34:44in Farming Weekly
34:45or something
34:45wanting to meet
34:46a farmer's daughter
34:48or somebody
34:48of that nature
34:49in Ireland.
34:50The prosecution's
34:52circumstantial case
34:54against Hassan
34:55Al Shatinawi
34:56was strong
34:57and they had
34:58another card
34:59to play.
35:00For over a year
35:01forensic scientists
35:03had been trying
35:03to prove
35:04that the blood
35:05found in the slats
35:06of the shed floor
35:07belonged to Laura.
35:09The police
35:10had some
35:12challenges
35:13to match
35:15forensic samples
35:16from the shed
35:17to Laura.
35:19There is no
35:20conclusive DNA
35:21from the blood
35:23in the shed
35:24and there is no
35:25conclusive DNA
35:26from the hairs.
35:28In September 1994
35:30just one month
35:31before Al Shatinawi's
35:33trial
35:33the UK Home Office
35:35had approved
35:36a new technique
35:37for obtaining DNA.
35:39At long last
35:40scientists had managed
35:41to successfully
35:41extract a DNA profile
35:43from the blood
35:44but they had no
35:45confirmed sample
35:46of Laura's
35:48to compare it to.
35:49What they did
35:50was take DNA
35:50from her son
35:52Rashid
35:52and her father.
35:54just examined
35:55the results
35:57and came up
35:58with a positive
35:58result.
36:02We share
36:03around 50%
36:05of our DNA
36:05with siblings
36:06and children
36:07so it was
36:08a strong indication
36:09that the blood
36:10in the shed
36:11belonged to Laura.
36:13Neither Rashid
36:14nor his grandfather
36:15had ever been
36:16inside the shed.
36:18But the prosecution
36:19wanted to be
36:20even more sure.
36:22They asked Laura's
36:23father for mail
36:24she'd sent him
36:25and he found
36:27something from
36:28five years earlier.
36:30Laura had sent
36:31a postcard home
36:33to her parents
36:34from a holiday
36:34she'd taken
36:35in Malta
36:36and she'd licked
36:38the postage stamp.
36:39Once again
36:40the new technique
36:41for analysing DNA
36:43was employed.
36:44They got
36:45the postage stamp
36:46and were able
36:47to extract DNA
36:49from the gum
36:50of the stamps
36:51that had been
36:51licked by Laura
36:52and that gave
36:54them a much
36:55clearer match
36:56with the DNA
36:57from the blood
36:58found in the shed
36:58floor.
37:00So this was
37:00a huge breakthrough
37:01in terms of
37:03approving
37:03Hassan al-Shatanwi's
37:04guilt.
37:05Incredibly,
37:06DNA from beyond
37:07the grave
37:08had given Laura
37:09a chance of justice
37:10but the job
37:11wasn't done
37:12just yet.
37:13Al-Shatanawi's
37:14defence lawyers
37:15brought up
37:15the many
37:16well-intentioned
37:17phone calls
37:18from citizens
37:18who insisted
37:19they'd seen
37:20Laura alive
37:21and well
37:22over the last
37:23year.
37:23That was used
37:24by the defence
37:25to say,
37:26well,
37:26she's not dead.
37:27People have seen her.
37:28Blood in the shed
37:29doesn't prove
37:30that she's dead.
37:31It's not for the defence
37:32to prove
37:33that he didn't kill her.
37:35It's for the prosecution
37:36to prove
37:36that he did kill her.
37:38After a five-week trial
37:40on the 21st
37:41of November
37:411994,
37:43it was time
37:44to find out
37:45if the prosecution
37:46had proved
37:47their case.
37:49The jury retired
37:50to decide their verdict
37:51and it took them
37:53quite some time.
37:54I remember
37:55they were out
37:55a long time.
37:57I've been to many
37:57murder trials
37:58and you look
37:59at the juries
38:00and you try
38:00to work out
38:01what way the juries
38:02are thinking
38:03and you don't know.
38:06After two days
38:07of deliberation,
38:09the jury were ready
38:10to deliver their verdict.
38:12One member
38:13of the jury
38:13had fallen ill
38:14and they accepted
38:16a majority verdict.
38:17They decide
38:18by a majority
38:19of 10 to 1
38:20that Hassan
38:21is guilty
38:21of the murder
38:22of Laura May.
38:23Sentencing Hassan
38:24to life
38:26for the minimum
38:26of 16 years,
38:28the judge said,
38:28you deprived
38:29your son of his mother.
38:31This is a wicked crime.
38:33It's a bittersweet
38:35sort of result.
38:35You're happy
38:36that we've got the result
38:37but then underneath it
38:39all is on with the family.
38:41You know,
38:41they haven't got a result
38:42and they then know
38:43that the mother,
38:45daughter,
38:46sister is dead
38:47but they've still
38:48got no answers.
38:50They don't have any closure
38:51for what happened.
38:52Al Shatinawi's conviction
38:54confirmed he had
38:55killed his wife
38:56in an act of
38:56cold-blooded
38:57premeditation.
38:59On the face of it,
39:00he was quite polite.
39:01It was all a cover.
39:03He was evil.
39:04He was a horrible man.
39:05He's planned
39:06to get rid of
39:07his wife Laura
39:08and he's had
39:09no thought
39:10about his son
39:11and how he's
39:13going to miss out
39:13on his mother
39:14bringing her up.
39:15The guilty verdict
39:17ended a tumultuous time
39:19in Rasheed's young life.
39:22Aged just nine,
39:24he would have to
39:25live his life
39:26knowing his father
39:27had murdered
39:28his mother.
39:29To me,
39:30both my parents
39:31had gone.
39:32I lost both my parents
39:33that day.
39:34Although my dad
39:35was alive
39:37and well,
39:38he couldn't do
39:40what normal
39:41fathers do.
39:43He was locked up.
39:45Rasheed moved
39:46to Durham
39:46to live
39:47with his great-aunt.
39:49I had to, like,
39:49rebuild my life.
39:51You know,
39:52I went to a new
39:53place to live.
39:54I had to make
39:54new friends.
39:55I had to go
39:55to a new school.
39:57Fit in there.
39:59What wasn't easy,
40:00for years and years
40:01I was having nightmares.
40:02The hardest thing
40:04for Rasheed
40:05and the rest
40:05of Laura's family
40:06is that her body
40:07has never been found.
40:09I just want to know
40:09where my mum is.
40:11That's all I want.
40:12I just want to
40:13finally bury her.
40:14You know,
40:14like,
40:14like,
40:15my granddad
40:15went to his grave
40:16not knowing where she is.
40:19My uncle,
40:20who passed away
40:21a couple of years ago,
40:23he,
40:23he kept on trying.
40:26He's gone to his grave
40:27not known.
40:27so I think
40:30it's only right
40:31if we try and
40:32just try and
40:34get it done.
40:35Just for all
40:36my mum's friends
40:36as well
40:37and the rest
40:38of the family.
40:40People would visit him
40:41in jail
40:41to ask after
40:42he was convicted
40:43would he disclose
40:44where the body was
40:45and he wouldn't.
40:46He showed no remorse.
40:49He never showed
40:50any empathy
40:51to the family,
40:52to his son,
40:54who was left
40:55without a mother,
40:55to Laura's brother
40:57who asked
40:58and they begged him
41:00to say where it was.
41:05Hassan al-Shatanawi
41:07continued to protest
41:08his innocence
41:09and has never revealed
41:11where his wife's remains
41:12can be found.
41:14Over the years,
41:15efforts have continued
41:16to locate Laura.
41:192005,
41:20more than 20 years
41:21after Laura's disappearance,
41:23the police received
41:24a tip-off
41:25that she may have
41:26been disposed of
41:27in Seton Carew Golf Course.
41:30Somebody had phoned in
41:31to say around about
41:32the time of the murder
41:33and the disappearance
41:34of Laura,
41:35somebody was saying
41:35carrying what appeared
41:37to be a body
41:38over the golf course.
41:41The search team
41:42were brought out
41:42and they exhumed
41:44what they thought
41:45was the body,
41:46which transpired
41:47to be that those
41:48were a dog.
41:50In January 2013,
41:53Rashid got a phone call
41:54that shook his family
41:55and dashed their hopes
41:57of finding Laura.
41:59I'd just come in
42:00from work
42:00and the phone was ringing
42:02so I answered it
42:05and it was the
42:05probation service
42:06and they'd been notified
42:09of the police
42:10that me dad
42:11had been
42:11departed
42:12and it just happened
42:14and it just happened
42:14that quick.
42:15He was freed
42:16even though the parole board
42:17had said he was still dangerous
42:19and the Home Office
42:21decided that he should be
42:22deported back to Jordan
42:24without any hesitation,
42:26which is indeed
42:27what happened.
42:28That annoyed the family
42:29who felt
42:30that he was dangerous
42:32and that they still
42:34didn't know
42:34what happened
42:35to Laura May's body.
42:36Even when his son
42:39has, you know,
42:40implored him
42:42to give some answers,
42:44he hasn't.
42:45He doesn't really
42:46want to take responsibility
42:48for this.
42:48He still maintains
42:50his innocence
42:52and for him,
42:53I suppose,
42:54it's a way
42:55of being the victim
42:57in this
42:58rather than the killer.
43:00Having lost touch
43:01with his father
43:02and lacking the answers
43:04he craves,
43:05Rashid and his young son
43:07have their own way
43:08of remembering Laura.
43:10We've got a headstone now
43:11with a name and that on.
43:13We do go
43:13and we let a balloon off
43:15and we put some flowers
43:16on that down.
43:23In 1983,
43:25Laura Vaughan
43:26was a young woman
43:27with a passion for travel
43:28and a desire
43:30to find the love
43:31of her life.
43:32Just ten years later,
43:33she'd been murdered
43:35by the man
43:36she'd fallen
43:36in love with.
43:39An arch manipulator
43:41who lied
43:42as easily
43:43as he breathed.
43:45Hassan al-Shatanawi
43:47was finally proved
43:48to be
43:49one of Britain's
43:50most evil killers.
43:51us.
44:17Transcription by CastingWords