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00:11Police emergency, what's the location?
00:14Bar, train station, perry bar please.
00:18In a puppet phone box.
00:24There's blood everywhere.
00:26I've just been raped and attacked.
00:31Oh, put the shit out of me.
00:37I'm bleeding everywhere.
00:39Okay, stay on the line for me.
00:41I've got officers coming to you, please don't move.
00:43I'm bleeding everywhere.
01:30In North Birmingham, a woman has reported being attacked and raped
01:34in a public phone box in the early hours of Saturday morning.
01:41While she's taken to hospital for treatment, a forensic investigation gets underway.
01:50This was a really, really brutal and vicious attack.
01:54You don't expect someone to be raped in a telephone box on a busy road in the early
02:00hours of the morning.
02:01She's gone out for a night out and she's not safe to walk the streets.
02:07So, the telephone box is where the actual incident happened, isn't it?
02:10I mean, it's a real vicious attack.
02:11It's horrific, isn't it?
02:13Yeah.
02:14At one o'clock-ish in the morning, how busy is the traffic and how well is it lit as
02:19well?
02:19You don't know, do you?
02:21So, I think we've swapped the offence location.
02:25I'll have a look just to see if we can get any cellular material.
02:28Yeah.
02:29It's very brazen to do it out of the open.
02:32I'm amazed that nobody saw or stopped.
02:39Crime scene coordinator Joe Ward directs a detailed examination of the phone box, looking
02:46for any evidence that may help police identify the attacker.
02:53There wasn't anything to do that right there.
02:59A public telephone box can cause some issues.
03:03Members of the public use that phone box.
03:06There'll be their DNA, as well as obviously any fingerprints as well.
03:11And that's kind of contaminating the scene as such.
03:15And what you see, initial marks here.
03:17Yeah.
03:17When they appear to be in blood.
03:21The blood in the phone box is mainly contact marks.
03:25So, someone that's bleeding or has got blood on them, actually making contact with the surface.
03:29There's a bit there and there's a bit inside here.
03:32So, on the side of that, you want to look into more.
03:34Yeah.
03:34We know the victim is badly beaten.
03:37But there's the offender bled.
03:40There's the victim managed to fight back.
03:44Whose blood is it?
03:46We really need to identify quickly who is responsible for this offence.
04:04Where the phone box is, is the buses either side?
04:06The train station is here.
04:08Yeah.
04:08It's that phone box just after.
04:13Detectives from the Specialist Rape and Sexual Assault Team gather for an urgent briefing.
04:19Right.
04:19Morning, everyone.
04:20So, what we know so far, we had a lone female leaving Wetherspoon's public house,
04:25where she was brutally raped and attacked inside the phone box.
04:29So, obviously, what we know is when.
04:30We know where.
04:32The main focus of this this morning is who.
04:36Who the male is that has attacked her.
04:39This attack on our victim is what we call a stranger rape.
04:42There's no relationship.
04:43We don't know each other.
04:45It's just a straight grab off the street.
04:47I'd say that they're rare.
04:49But with all stranger rapes, the biggest challenge is we've got to connect two people who seem to be not
04:55connected in any way.
04:56And we've got to get those two people.
04:58We've got to put them in the same place at the same time.
05:01Adele, I know you've been with our victim.
05:03I understand she's got some horrendous injuries.
05:06Are you able just to give us a bit of brief on how she is?
05:09She's coming across so strong.
05:11But I think she is in shock.
05:14What are actually new injuries?
05:15So, visually, you can see all from the face.
05:18She's bled quite a lot, hasn't she?
05:19Under her eye, there's a big cut.
05:21That's quite deep, that is.
05:24Your priority really is your high and low vaginal swabs as well as the pants as well.
05:30I mean, you can all appreciate anybody who's wandering around those streets capable of doing what he's done.
05:35We've got to focus everything on getting this guy in right now.
05:40He's committed a horrendous act.
05:42I can't predict what he's going to do next.
05:44Every day that goes by that he's not caught, the risk to the public is obviously increasing.
05:56After receiving hospital treatment, the victim is brought for a detailed forensic medical examination.
06:03The victim is so brave to come forward and report this incident.
06:09Are you OK?
06:10I'm just going to raise your gown a little bit.
06:13When dealing with the rape case, the victim themselves are actually classed
06:18as a scene.
06:20We advise, you know, not to wash, not to go to the toilet because we can get forensic evidence
06:25from them, DNA from intimate swabs or from clothing.
06:31If you're uncomfortable at any point, tell me and I will stop, OK?
06:37You're doing really well.
06:39Understandably, the victim has gone through something so horrific and so traumatic and we have to work at their speed.
06:47Now I'm just going to take the samples.
06:49It's just the tip of the swab.
06:51We have a forensic window to gather the best forensic evidence before DNA starts to degrade and can be contaminated.
06:59So time is of the essence.
07:02Once intimate samples have been collected...
07:04So I'm just going to take that underwear.
07:08..items of clothing are also taken to be forensically processed at a specialist lab.
07:14From the clothing, we may get semen but also cellular DNA.
07:18As the offenders actually touch the victim's clothing, I'm hopeful but there's never any guarantees.
07:28The next priority for detectives is to get a full account of the attack from the victim.
07:38Right.
07:40I am police staff, investigation officer Powell, that called me Adele, OK?
07:47I'm sorry to put you through all of this.
07:54We know how stressful these are.
07:56The victim's gone through a traumatic incident.
08:00We are asking somebody to sit down in front of a perfect stranger
08:04and talk about the most traumatic experience of their lives.
08:08But it's important for us to get the account from that victim really early on
08:12because there's bits that she can add that we can never get from anywhere else.
08:27I think I'm just trying to absorb what happened to myself.
08:32Yeah, of course.
08:35I want to give a gift to a friend whose birthday it was at the pub in Peribor
08:40and then finally closed off one, two.
08:46I actually started walking towards the train station.
08:52I can see she can't open her eyes.
08:55They're all bruised.
08:57She's got a broken nose.
08:59When you're looking at her injuries, the level of violence used,
09:03reliving it and talking through it, you can just exacerbate their trauma.
09:07So you've got to guide the victim.
09:12I felt someone grab me.
09:14OK.
09:14Where?
09:16Sorry?
09:16Where did they grab you?
09:17They grabbed me from behind and pushed me in the phone box.
09:21He had his arms around me.
09:23He was pushing me as well.
09:30And with one hand, he took my skirt and my leggings down.
09:36And then I'm trying to move, but then he's continually, like, hitting me, hitting me on my head and my
09:43face.
09:45And he raped me.
09:49Have you felt any ejaculation?
09:52I don't know, to be honest.
09:55Everything just happened.
09:59During any of these, has he spoken to you?
10:03He did just say, shut up, or something like that.
10:07But he did have, like, a foreign accent.
10:11Like, Middle East, Kurdish, Romanian.
10:14Yeah.
10:17And what about his whole tennis belt?
10:20He wasn't that big.
10:22I think I'm kind of five foot.
10:27Do you remember anything?
10:29Do you have any tattoos, markings, anything?
10:31I didn't know, to be honest with you.
10:33But I did say to him, leave me alone.
10:36Leave me.
10:38I think she's done incredibly well.
10:39She was able to tell us his height.
10:43She gave us his accent of where she believed he was to originate from.
10:47This can sometimes be a bit subjective, but that's the only information about the suspect that we've got at this
10:54time.
10:55It was a really good starting point.
11:07There's a bit there, and there's a bit here.
11:09There might be some more on the inside.
11:13After swabbing the blood in the phone box, the forensic team hunts for any fingerprints that may have been left
11:20by the rapist.
11:23The fact that the rapist happened in a confined space gives a small chance that the suspect may have touched
11:29the telephone box as he's committing that offence.
11:31What we'll be looking for is, is there any fingerprints in blood?
11:40There needs to be some more here, but it's not the best policy.
11:50To improve the visibility of any prints, investigators apply chemical dyes that react with proteins found in blood.
12:05I can definitely see a color change here.
12:12There's a few good ones there.
12:17And that one there.
12:18Then you switch details on the inside.
12:21They identify a cluster of fingerprints on the outside of the frame.
12:26Originally, the fingerprints were very faint when we had taken them beforehand and appeared to be in blood.
12:31But with the diary agent, to actually bring out the contrast, which should be better for identification purposes for the
12:37fingerprint bureau.
12:42Photos of the enhanced prints are fast-tracked to the fingerprint bureau.
12:47To check against the police national computer.
12:51Is this the biggest mistake he's made?
12:55Because this could be what identifies him.
13:06The CCTV, where are we in relation to the CCTV?
13:10Axon links have been sent for the actual camera footage from One Stop Shopping Centre security team themselves.
13:18The footage is actually going to go to 4am, because their camera's pretty good and it gives a whole overview
13:23of the area.
13:26Birmingham is swamped in CCTV, but it comes with its own challenges.
13:31There is a lot of cameras around traffic, routes, buses, things like that.
13:37Potentially hundreds of hours of footage.
13:40You can never make any guarantees in terms of what you're going to find.
13:47Digital media investigator Rob McKinnon is tasked with scrutinising CCTV of the area around the crime scene.
13:56You do need to be patient, you need to have attention to detail, because you may be looking for one
14:01thing, but you need to record what else you see, because anything could end up down the line being relevant.
14:09To narrow down the victim's movements on the night, detectives are dispatched to the pub she left moments before the
14:17attack.
14:20So, at the minute, we've just got an entrance foyer camera, then the middle area camera.
14:25Okay.
14:27Quite often cameras, especially older cameras, the night footage will be of much lower quality.
14:33It makes it much more difficult to do things like spatial recognition, makes it more difficult to get an image
14:39that would be suitable for release to the public.
14:42Is there a camera by the fruit machine?
14:44It's not the greatest one, there's that one.
14:47Okay.
14:49You get differences in colours, so, yeah, the way that the pixels sometimes blur together during movement can make it
14:56difficult to identify what is actually happening.
14:59Do you reckon you probably have better footage as well, best to clear it in there?
15:03Out of push.
15:13Looking at multiple cameras, Rob focuses on a key timeframe between midnight and 2am.
15:22We're aware that the victim came from the pub before the offence.
15:29That gives us a starting point.
15:31So, we can look at CCTV that covers that area to identify when it is the suspect and the victim
15:38that first become aware of each other.
15:43Is this the side of the train station?
15:45Yeah.
15:45This is far away from the spoons, isn't it really?
15:48No, it's just on the side of the road, yes.
15:50We're looking for people that are acting the way that doesn't make a lot of sense.
15:54You know, people standing around by themselves, maybe watching.
16:00So, this is at 1.26.
16:03He hangs around for a few more minutes.
16:05At this point, the victim is still in the weather's boots.
16:11Rob homes in on a man.
16:13And he wanders off up here.
16:16And tracks him loitering between the pub and the phone box.
16:21The victim comes out.
16:27Crosses the road towards the station.
16:32And at about 1.43, the same man walks up this way.
16:36Which is the time when the victim is going towards the station.
16:41What she doesn't know is that he goes around the corner and waits.
16:52He walks away.
16:54This is our victim.
16:56You know, walking in the same direction.
17:00The next camera shows the attack taking place.
17:10I'm presuming he is waiting around the head.
17:18It's the worst footage I've ever seen.
17:21It's the level of violence and the continuation of that violence.
17:27You can't get emotionally involved in every single piece of footage that you watch.
17:33But there's some that will stick with you.
17:35And this is certainly one that will stick with me.
17:38I tend to try and channel it almost into that determination.
17:43To find whoever it is that's done this.
17:47You see him run back past the same camera.
17:51After the attack, the offender runs out of range of the street cameras.
17:55And disappears.
17:58I can honestly say that in 24 years of policing, I've not watched a piece of footage that has impacted
18:06like this has.
18:08But as horrendous as the offence was, we have to take positives from his brazenness and his violence.
18:15Because hopefully he's left the forensic evidence that he may not necessarily have left.
18:20Should it have been more of a thought out or controlled attack.
18:25Despite having CCTV of the attack, the image is not clear enough for police to identify the offender.
18:48With no identifiable CCTV, detectives are hoping the bloody fingerprints from the phone box may provide a lead.
18:57It's a digital photo of ridge detail associated with blood on the exterior of the phone box.
19:05But first, examiner Mick Killeen must compare the prints to those belonging to the victim.
19:12To eliminate them from the enquiry.
19:21So the first distinctive characteristic we see is a ridge that's flowing and ends what we call a ridge ending.
19:29And then the ridge ending appears in the same formation sequence in the victim's set of fingerprints.
19:38From that first characteristic, there is one intervening ridge, then a further ridge ending, and then another intervening ridge, and
19:48then another ridge ending.
19:54There are eight ridge characteristics in the same formation sequence appearing on the crime scene mark and on the fingerprint
20:03form.
20:04So I'm satisfied that this is an identification against the victim's set of elimination prints.
20:1924 hours after the attack, and with the rapist still at large, Joe and Emma meet for an urgent review
20:25of the case.
20:31So I just want a bit of a summary of what's happened since we last spoke.
20:36So the fingerprints from the telephone box have come back.
20:39A lot of them were insufficient detail, but one came back and was eliminated to a victim.
20:46OK.
20:46Went and dried blood swabs from the actual phone box.
20:50The assumption is really all that blood...
20:51It's going to be hard blood.
20:52Yeah, it's going to be hers.
20:53All the intimate samples have already been submitted, and we didn't get kind of any positive DNA result from them.
20:59We're obviously waiting for the DNA to come back from the...punch from the victim.
21:06I was really hopeful that we'd find some DNA or fingerprints, but the results are all negative so far.
21:14We're against the clock.
21:17I am feeling the pressure because this man is a danger to the public.
21:23He really is.
21:306.30, let's get the very latest local news for Birmingham now with Sean Moore.
21:37ERNB News.
21:37The police are investigating a rape and assault in Peribar.
21:41West Midlands police were called to Warsaw Road in the early hours of Saturday morning following reports that a woman
21:46had been raped.
21:47The man's described as having a slim build and wearing tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie.
21:51Anyone with information is being urged to come forward.
21:59Detectives Emma and Adele have now received CCTV from the pub the victim was in before the attack.
22:07So this is the foyer looking out, so people entering into Wetherspoons.
22:13So we can see faces.
22:16They need to scan through hours of that evening's footage to see if they can spot the man in a
22:22dark tracksuit seen committing the offence.
22:29I know that she's in the Wetherspoons pub.
22:32What I don't know and the questions I need to ask is where is he coming to all of this?
22:36Is he drinking in the pub?
22:38Has he seen her in there before?
22:39Has there been any previous contact between them?
22:41We can see sort of what clothing he was wearing at the time.
22:44The attack gives us a starting point.
22:49There's some guys hovering around here.
22:56This guy looks like he could be our guy.
23:02Same tracksuit, same trainers.
23:06A man matching the description given by the victim enters the pub just after midnight.
23:13That's our guy who's come straight in.
23:16He's looked at the male toilet, then he's gone straight into the female toilet.
23:22So he's gone into the women's toilet?
23:24Yeah.
23:24Let's see how long he's in there for.
23:2710 seconds.
23:2915 seconds.
23:32He's coming back out.
23:33And he's gone into the men's?
23:35Yeah.
23:39He's just peering, watching the bar area.
23:42What's he looking for?
23:47Is his hand?
23:48His hand's on his crotch.
23:52I'd say he's masturbating now.
23:55It's really disturbing, isn't it?
23:58I think he's getting himself excited at the thought of attacking.
24:02That is predatory behaviour.
24:09Emma and Adele closely monitor the man's movements as he hangs around the toilet area.
24:18Hold on, is that our victim?
24:26He's coming back in.
24:27He's coming back in.
24:27He's not even looking or trying to go to the men's this time.
24:30He's gone straight into the women's pool.
24:38She's just exited the toilet.
24:43He doesn't know that.
24:44He still thinks she's in those toilets.
24:48I think he's followed away into the toilet.
24:55It's really terrifying to watch that.
25:00It's really terrifying to watch that.
25:01He's targeted her.
25:04At 1.20am, the man can be seen exiting the pub, shortly before the victim leaves.
25:13So I'm happy from the footage that we've watched now.
25:15We've got some really good imagery that we can use for press release for public and also between the officers.
25:23The images of the man wanted in connection with the rape are circulated in a force-wide alert.
25:29I've got an image.
25:31Yeah.
25:33I'm going to send this through to you.
25:36And urgently released to the public.
25:39If you've got it in you to rape somebody, my opinion is the chances are that that's just a one
25:44-off.
25:45So we have to catch that person before we're able to do it to anybody else.
25:58Rach, do you want to just come over and have a look at this CCTV?
26:01Yes.
26:03It shows our suspect actually punches the bus stop.
26:10While reviewing CCTV for any further forensic leads, Joe has spotted the suspect shortly before the attack.
26:21This actual telephone box here is where our victim was raped.
26:25And he gives it a real hard punch.
26:28And he might have even cut the skin.
26:30Yeah.
26:31The offender has clearly got some anger issues, the way he was walking.
26:36And he's really punched this bus stop quite hard.
26:40He may have cut himself, so there may be blood on the bus stop itself.
26:45I'm thinking forensic opportunity straight away.
26:55So when you look at CCTV, you can see him punch around this area.
27:01So I'm going to kind of swab this area in the middle here.
27:06Coordinator Rachel Hughes is sent to swab the bus stop for any trace of skin cells left by the offender's
27:14punch.
27:17Unfortunately, there's no trace of any blood at all.
27:20So hopefully he gets some sort of cellular material from there.
27:24This bus stop is obviously open to the elements.
27:26With it raining, there's a possibility they could wash away evidence.
27:30Time goes on, DNA deteriorates.
27:32So, you know, time is the essence really.
27:46One of our own officers has recognised a potential suspect from his patch that he covers.
27:54A known offender, who closely resembles the circulated CCTV image, has been identified by a police officer.
28:03So we're just doing some intel checks on this person now.
28:07He was interviewed in relation to an assault with intent to cause serious harm at the end of 2019.
28:14Again then, a malicious wounding at the end of 2017.
28:21Interviewed again for another assault with intent to cause serious harm.
28:25So there's a history of violence from this person.
28:30And the victim states this was such a vicious attack.
28:35So that matches.
28:39He had me from behind and continually hit me.
28:46With blows to my face and my head.
28:49So when he's hitting you, what's he using?
28:53His hands.
28:53Okay, when he says hands, are we talking about arms or fists?
28:57Fists, okay.
28:59It happened really fast, so it's like my head is a bit fuzzled.
29:05Okay, I'm sorry.
29:10We've got images of him on our systems.
29:14There is a striking resemblance in relation to the image.
29:19The hair on the top, the same, similar age.
29:23Everything is pointing that this is potentially our suspect,
29:26so I think it's really important that we get him straight in.
29:30We've got to act fast.
29:31We're not going home today until he's in custody,
29:34because we cannot have that man walking around these streets a second longer.
29:43An arrest team heads directly to the suspect's address.
29:58Police!
29:59Police!
30:01What's going on?
30:01You're going to run under the right side.
30:03For what?
30:04For rape.
30:05For rape?
30:05Yeah, yeah.
30:06Are you being serious?
30:07What are you done for rape?
30:08Are you serious, bro?
30:11That's a big allegation, you know?
30:13Who's on the right?
30:14Who's trying to do it?
30:15I'm the one who needs to be my D-W.
30:16Right.
30:17Don't get down power, yeah?
30:19Rape, you know?
30:20Come on, boy.
30:23We're waiting for forensics.
30:24I think if we do a search of the premises,
30:26try and locate whatever we can find.
30:29In my opinion, he holds quite a likeness.
30:31Yeah, he's a strong likeness.
30:32He's a strong likeness.
30:42He's a strong likeness.
30:43Two and a half days after the rape,
30:45police have a suspect in custody.
30:53This is mad.
30:56Is there proof of this?
30:57Have you got proof of this?
30:59Have you got proof of this?
31:04Joe Ward, crime scene coordinator.
31:06Hi, Joe.
31:07It's Adalia from Rasa.
31:08So, I'd like to speak to you in relation to the guy
31:10that we've got in custody already.
31:13So, yeah.
31:13We need to hopefully come up with a bit of a forensic strategy.
31:17Yeah.
31:18When we get a suspect in custody for a sexual offence,
31:21what we're looking for is any trace of DNA
31:24that belongs to the victim.
31:26The offender is caught on CCTV, which is circumstantial
31:30because the picture may not be clear
31:32or people view CCTV differently from person to person.
31:36So, I'm really conscious of trying to get as much forensic evidence
31:39to provide that link between the suspect and victim.
31:43Obviously, because she was punched quite a few times,
31:46I'll get the oversized photographs,
31:47the palms and the backs of the hands
31:49will do, like, her fingered out clippings
31:52and also kind of scrapings as well.
31:54Her DNA under his nails underneath
31:56and it may be that even though he's washed his hands,
31:58there still may be some kind of blood still underneath his nails.
32:01And I presume you're doing the sexual swabs, are you?
32:05Yes.
32:05Yeah, he's in a dry cell
32:07and we're going to complete all of those
32:09with the medical staff at the custody.
32:11Brilliant.
32:18While the suspect is held in a dry cell
32:21to prevent him from washing away any evidence,
32:25tests are underway to forensically connect him to the attack.
32:32First, we're just going to photograph the underwear
32:34as they've been received.
32:40What we're looking for is any trace of semen
32:44because hopefully we would be able to get DNA from the actual semen
32:48or there may be some cellular DNA that's transferred from his hands
32:52where, you know, he's touched the underwear
32:54and pulled the underwear off.
32:58Forensic examiner Jamie Lee Knight starts by testing for skin cells
33:03that the suspect may have transferred from his hands to the underwear.
33:10We're going to mini-take the outside waistband
33:13because the offender has grabbed the victim from behind
33:17and pulled their clothing down
33:18and we're just looking to target any areas
33:21that the suspect might have come into contact with.
33:28Now that the cellular's been taken,
33:31we've gone to screening for semen.
33:35So I'm just making sure that the item is wet enough
33:38for any semen staining that's present
33:40to be transferred to the blotting paper.
33:45Next, the blotting paper is tested for the presence of semen.
33:51If atophosphatase is present,
33:53we'll get a purple reaction come up on the blotting paper.
34:06This purple indicates the presence of semen.
34:09That's a very strong positive.
34:20While the underwear will undergo further testing
34:23to look for the offender's DNA,
34:29detectives are preparing to question the suspect.
34:35I've got a lot of questions that is going to be asked of him.
34:38Our suspicions are that it's him.
34:39It's on him to tell us where he was,
34:41to prove to us that that's not him that's committed that attack.
34:50I would like to read out a prepared statement.
34:55I vehemently deny all of the allegations against me.
34:58I was not present at the scene of the alleged assault and rape.
35:01I'd never met this person in my life.
35:04Although I do not recall where I was on Saturday,
35:08I was not near Perry Bar train station.
35:11I will now be answering no comment to all questions put to me.
35:18I appreciate that statement,
35:19but obviously we've got some further questions that we need to answer.
35:25I'll show you some CCTV captured from the Wetherspoons
35:28in one stop in Perry Bar.
35:34Do you recognise the man there?
35:37No comment.
35:37Is that you?
35:39No comment.
35:40Is there anybody that you were with
35:42that could verify where you were and that you weren't there?
35:45No comment.
35:48You say this is the case of mistaken identity.
35:52If you can't tell me what you were doing,
35:54you can't offer me any names of anybody
35:58that will be able to verify your whereabouts.
36:01It's hard to believe.
36:03I don't know, it might just be my opinion,
36:04but it's hard to believe that you can't remember
36:05what you were doing on Friday night.
36:07Is there any reason why you wouldn't want to remember that?
36:10No comment.
36:15No comment.
36:15If someone goes no comment,
36:17I think what you're hiding,
36:19if you're innocent,
36:21why have you not given an account?
36:23Why have you not told the officers where you were
36:26so that they can then check that
36:27and this would all be over?
36:35I don't think at this point we've got enough to charge,
36:38so we're now relying on the forensics
36:40to take us further forward with him.
36:43With the suspect refusing to answer any questions,
36:48detectives have 24 hours to charge or release him.
36:57So I'm just going to cut a strip out of this top layer.
37:01At Eurofin's laboratory,
37:04Jamie Lee concentrates on the section of underwear
37:06which tested positive for semen,
37:09in a bid to find any sperm heads containing the suspect's DNA.
37:16We tease apart the fibers,
37:20so basically if there's any sperm heads trapped within them,
37:24just making sure that when we put our reagents onto them,
37:30it's the best possible chance of them being released.
37:33A centrifuge machine is used to separate the more dense sperm particles.
37:46Next, Jamie Lee adds a dye to stain the sample.
37:50If any sperm heads are present, they will turn red.
37:58It's really faint.
38:03There's 80 to 300 million sperm heads in an average ejaculation.
38:12But on this slide, I can only see a single sperm head.
38:20Forensic science has come on massively since I joined.
38:25From needing quite a large amount to obtain a DNA profile,
38:29you know, you need a pin head size.
38:32But in this case, we've got one sperm head
38:36and it's a difficult process.
38:39So I'm really hoping that the scientists can actually still work with that
38:42and be able to achieve a DNA profile
38:44that matches this person in custody.
38:51While the single sperm head is fast-tracked
38:53for DNA extraction and profiling,
38:57Joe reviews evidence from the suspect.
39:05So this is the male that is currently in custody for the rape offence.
39:10Just looking through the photographs that were taken earlier today.
39:17The discovery of CCTV showing the offender punching a bus stop
39:22has prompted her to focus on his hands.
39:26When you're punching a hard surface with some force as well,
39:29which it was clear from the CCTV,
39:31he really did punch it at force.
39:35What I would expect to find is some visible injuries to the hand
39:39and it was his right hand.
39:41He's also punched the victim several times.
39:44And again, I would expect to find some swelling or some bruising.
39:49On the left hand is what appears to be old scarring.
39:54But there really isn't any visible injuries whatsoever to the right hand at all.
40:01So that's a little bit concerning.
40:09Do you know there's some issues with lack of injuries?
40:12Yeah, we've obviously...
40:13From the level of injuries that she's got
40:16and how many times he's actually punched her,
40:18I would have expected some kind of injury to his hands.
40:21Certainly his right hand, which is used, and there's nothing at all.
40:26The victim states to me during her interview
40:30that it is definitely either Kurdish, Romanian.
40:34She said that type of accent.
40:35Having listened to the interview, the guy they've just interviewed,
40:38unless he's put on an accent the whole way through it,
40:40he definitely did not have an easy-mooping accent.
40:42There's just a few things now that are just starting to give me concern
40:45about the guy in custody.
40:47So we've got someone in custody, and at this moment,
40:50we haven't got anything but an identification to put him there.
40:54It's a really difficult position to be in.
40:56What we need is forensics to say,
40:59yeah, we found some DNA, we've got the right person in custody,
41:03or say it's not him.
41:06With the 24-hour custody clock to charge the suspect running out,
41:12detectives are granted a 12-hour extension
41:14to carry out further enquiries.
41:28So the first footage we've got after the offence,
41:31he starts to walk up Birchfield Road.
41:37With the suspect giving no account of his movements,
41:40Rob is trying to further pinpoint where he went after the attack
41:45by widening the CCTV search radius to three miles from the phone box.
41:50It's a very manual, very time-consuming part of the job.
41:54We've recovered hundreds of hours of footage
41:58that needs to be reviewed using a track-and-trace principle
42:01where we identify where somebody goes off-camera.
42:04And then he crosses over onto Harry away.
42:09We then try and find the next camera on that route.
42:13The next footage we've got, he appears on the left-hand side,
42:17walking up towards the right.
42:23And then, a few minutes later,
42:26a second male, wearing a green jacket, walks in the same direction.
42:30Rob has discovered footage of what appears to be the suspect with another man,
42:3515 minutes after the attack.
42:39We're not sure of the identity of the second male,
42:42but obviously we know that he wasn't involved in the actual offence
42:44because we've got the footage of that and that shows that this male was acting alone.
42:50You can see that there's some movement on the left-hand side.
42:54These two males are our males that we've been tracking.
42:58Now, in the corner of this footage, you can see there is a dark-coloured van.
43:01It looks potentially blue.
43:04And the lights turn on and the doors seem to open and close.
43:08And at around 2.40 in the morning, the van lights turn on and it drives away.
43:19So, we now know that 55 minutes after the offence,
43:23the suspect has driven away.
43:24Right now, we need that blue van.
43:26That's what we need to find,
43:27because that is our main link now between the suspect and the offence.
43:33Using automatic number plate recognition,
43:35the van is tracked from the time the offender drives away
43:40until later that same morning.
43:43Have you got it?
43:44Have you got the vehicle anywhere?
43:48Have a look.
43:52After identifying the van's number plate,
43:55detectives are able to link it to an address.
43:59I've picked onto this person,
44:03who is Cornel Gabriel Philly Patch.
44:08He matches the description.
44:11Do you not think his hair is a bit...?
44:13Now, I think, when you look at the hairline,
44:15on the moving footage...
44:17..match his hairline now looks like...
44:23Right.
44:23So, we've now got a name?
44:25Yeah.
44:28Police have now identified a second potential suspect.
44:3221-year-old Cornel Philly Patchy.
44:38We've got a name, we've got an address.
44:41He's driving that van straight after that attack.
44:44It's only circumstantial at this stage,
44:45so we need to get him in as soon as possible.
44:52Despite police already having a man in custody,
44:55an order is issued for Philly Patchy's immediate arrest.
45:02Police!
45:03Police!
45:04Police!
45:05Open the door!
45:08Open the door!
45:09Open the door!
45:10Open the door!
45:10Open the door!
45:15Open the door!
45:15Open the door!
45:17Nothing's clear!
45:18What have we got?
45:19Is that a man?
45:20Yeah, yeah.
45:23Got you under arrest on a speech of right.
45:25Stand up.
45:26Turn around, sit down.
45:2949.
45:30Huh?
45:31Pardon me.
45:43Three and a half days after the attack,
45:46Cornel Philly Patchy is brought into custody to be questioned.
45:53What's your name, please?
45:58This is this house.
45:59They gave me in the holding cell.
46:02So, Cornel, yeah?
46:03And the offence is...
46:05Right.
46:07OK.
46:07What language would you like to speak in?
46:09Romanian.
46:09Romanian.
46:10OK.
46:12What do you do for work?
46:14Yeah, I can't speak with you.
46:18The arrest of a second suspect presents Senior Investigating Officer Emma Watson
46:23with a unique dilemma.
46:25I've got two suspects in custody.
46:28Only one of them can have committed the offence.
46:31That first suspect,
46:33I don't want to release him,
46:35because I'm still not confident that it isn't him.
46:39The fact that police officers identified him,
46:42and I know he's a violent offender,
46:44and we need to protect the public from a potential rapist.
46:48What with Cornel Philly Patchy?
46:51I've got a name that's Eastern European,
46:53and victim describes him as Eastern European.
46:56The accent, that fits.
46:59Face fits.
47:00The CCTV.
47:02But without that forensic evidence,
47:04I can't say that it is him.
47:07Let's go.
47:08Hello.
47:13Police now need to capture any potential DNA evidence,
47:17which may link Philly Patchy to the victim.
47:21Open your mouth.
47:25Even though it's a few days after the offence,
47:28there are still opportunities to get forensic evidence from him.
47:33It may be that he's not washed his clothing since the offence.
47:36He may have not showered.
47:40Flip your hand over for me.
47:45Intimate swabs will also be analysed for any traces of the victim.
47:53You can have a look at your hands, please, sir.
47:58These little marks here, can I photograph those, please?
48:01But that's no...
48:03That one...
48:04Yeah, I...
48:04I appreciate...
48:06I'm not stupid, you know?
48:08No, I'm not either, but...
48:08Take the picture, and that's it.
48:10Take the picture, and that's it.
48:11Take the picture.
48:12Yeah.
48:12You can take a picture.
48:13No problem.
48:14Yeah.
48:14OK, let's look at it.
48:19On the suspect's hands,
48:21there are visible injuries,
48:23which are encouraging.
48:26So he's got to explain those injuries.
48:31Just in that room, I can.
48:40Can I ask you to state your full name, please?
48:48You were arrested for the offence of Ray.
48:53Where were you the late night of 17th January
48:56and early hours up to 7am the 18th January?
49:00No comment.
49:02So that evening,
49:03did you visit a Wetherspoons public house?
49:06No comment.
49:09So the footage there shows,
49:11where I believe it is yourself,
49:13hitting the female three times,
49:14to the face and the head.
49:16Is that you in that footage?
49:18No comment.
49:20Did you drag her to a phone box?
49:22Did you pull her underwear down?
49:25Did you vaginally rape this female?
49:30No comment.
49:32Does this kind of thing excite you?
49:35Preying on vulnerable lone females on the street?
49:39No comment.
49:41I'm just so frustrated that the best evidence that we've got at this time
49:46is only circumstantial with the CCTV.
49:49Just can't get clearing off CCTV to identify which ones commit the offence.
49:57Unless forensic tests come back conclusively linking one man to the attack,
50:02detectives may have to release both suspects.
50:17A specialist laboratory has been attempting to extract DNA from the single sperm head found on the victim's underwear.
50:28PHONE RINGS
50:31Jo has been sent their report.
50:40Good morning, Senator Russell. I'm Watson speaking. Can I help?
50:42Hi, it's Jo.
50:44I've just literally received the update from the lab with the results of the underwear.
50:50Yep.
50:51A single sperm head was observed.
50:54But that's come back inconclusive.
50:58The sample's too weak.
51:00Oh, God. Right, OK.
51:02It's quite disappointing, really.
51:07I was hopeful for a positive result in a name.
51:10But fingers crossed the further testing from the cellular DNA
51:14can get us a result.
51:15OK.
51:17This feels like a massive setback.
51:19The process of extracting sperm head from semen is tricky,
51:23and we're not getting the results through.
51:25Um, you know, and that really worries me at this time.
51:30With police lacking a forensic link to either suspect,
51:34and an approaching deadline to release them,
51:38one last test remains.
51:49A full DNA profile has been extracted from skin cells on the underwear touched by the attacker.
51:58So, we've had a clear major, which is matching the female, and then you've got these additional components which indicate
52:07only the presence of one more person.
52:10Senior reporter Charlotte Hargreaves now checks to see if the profile matches either suspect.
52:17So, we can do a direct comparison to the DNA profile of the initial suspect.
52:25So, here, he's a 21.2, 27.
52:29And coming to the, um, crime stain result, there's no 21.2 and there's no 27.
52:36This area, he's a 14.2, 15 here.
52:41And then if I go onto the crime stain, there's no 14.2 or 15.
52:48This individual has not contributed DNA to this result.
52:54Charlotte is able to show that DNA from the first suspect is not present on the victim's underwear.
53:01Next, she moves on to examine DNA from the second suspect.
53:09So, you can see that this 16 does match Cornell-Silopacci.
53:16Again, we go to the next area, 13, 16.2.
53:21So, you can see that those two DNA components are represented here.
53:26All the way through, you can see that all of his components are represented in these smaller ones.
53:35So, in my opinion, Cornell-Filopacci's DNA profile does match two DNA components present in the climb stone.
53:44Analysis of these findings shows that the DNA result is a billion times more likely to be from Cornell-Filopacci
53:52than not.
53:56Hello, Jill, you all right?
53:58Yeah, not too bad, thank you.
54:00I've got some really, really, really good news.
54:02Oh, really?
54:03The samples taken from the underwear, they've obviously been compared and it's actually matched Cornell-Filopacci.
54:11So, really, really pleased.
54:13Oh, that is brilliant. I should go brief everyone.
54:16No, brilliant. Thanks ever so much for letting me know and I'll just brief everyone, let them all know and
54:20then I'll get back in touch with you about what we do next.
54:23This is the forensic evidence that we were waiting for that has tied it all together to get the news
54:29in that you've got the right person in custody.
54:32It can't be anyone else.
54:34To be able to go tell the victim that we've got him, he's just, it's just such a relief.
54:41So, you're fitting us to be released, yeah?
54:43Oh, she's a victim.
54:44So, give me a signature in that box, please.
54:49But the other side of it is, is that we were able to clear an innocent man.
54:54To be able to say, forensically, it wasn't him, means that I can release him.
55:00Most important is we will be able to charge a dangerous offender, because forensic evidence now, there's no denying it,
55:06there's no arguing with it.
55:07He cannot account for why his DNA is in her underwear, other than he's committed the offence.
55:24Okay, so Cornell, you will be charged with the offences that have been authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service.
55:32So, the first offence is an offence of rape.
55:37The second charge is one of GBH with intent.
55:41You will be aware of how serious these charges are.
55:45Is there anything else that you want to say?
55:49No.
55:51There's lots of emotions that go through your head.
55:54I think the level of violence that was used really put an urgency on it.
55:59The officer will take you back to your cell now.
56:02I certainly didn't feel that he had any remorse or any regret about what had happened.
56:07The important thing now is the person that we believe has committed this offence is off the streets.
56:25I'm as confident as I can be we've got a strong case and I'm hopeful we can get it across
56:31that line.
56:34The first time when you think about the police and the police and the police in the police in the
56:41police,
56:56If you don't know what about the police and the police in the police in the police,
57:01the police are coming back to their home.
57:01years uh reduced to 10 on his his early guilty plea so great work all done really good evidence
57:08oh that's brilliant news really really pleased that um we've obviously got justice for the victim
57:14this case for me has been a bit of a roller coaster um you know i was quite concerned at
57:20one point that um we weren't going to be able to get any dna from the underwear um so it's
57:25a massive
57:28relief forensics was crucial in this investigation it put a violent and dangerous male behind bars
57:37the evidence was that strong that cornell has felt you know he had no alternative but to plead guilty
57:46of course we can't forget the most important person in all of this and that's how it's in
57:51it can't be easy and i know you never get over something like this but i can just
57:55hope that this is the start of her rebuilding her life and her future
58:25is
58:29is
58:36so
58:38is
58:38is
58:48is
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