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Short filmTranscript
00:07There's a young lad in school uniform. I would say he's about 12 and he has been stabbed in the
00:16stomach.
00:19Is he breathing in and out normally?
00:21Very laboured.
00:24I have confirmed that we've got the police on reach.
00:29Open your eyes. I'm here. Open your eyes. Oh, well done.
00:33All right, just stay with us.
00:57Let's go.
00:57Let's go.
00:58Let's go.
00:58Let's go.
00:58Let's go.
00:58Let's go.
01:11Let's go.
01:11Let's go.
01:24Let's go.
01:26Let's go here also.
01:30Officers from West Midlands Police are responding to a serious incident after a young boy is found stabbed on his
01:38way home from school in South Birmingham.
01:44He was found conscious but even out of consciousness.
01:47He was found conscious.
01:48And then he's gone into arrest.
01:50Did you see what happened at all?
01:52He went to my school. I've told my mum.
01:56If we can check for a pulse in two sites.
01:58OK.
01:59I've got a pulse.
02:00I've got a pulse.
02:00I've got a pulse.
02:01OK.
02:02Let's just make a note of that.
02:03That's 1622 pulses detected.
02:06OK.
02:06It's a weak central pulse.
02:08OK.
02:08Let's go.
02:10Let's go.
02:13Ready.
02:14Steady.
02:15Lift.
02:15Lift.
02:16Come on, Leo.
02:18You can do it later.
02:20The boy, named by a witness at the scene, is Leo Ross, aged 12 years old.
02:27He's taken to hospital for emergency surgery.
02:30That's right.
02:42Crime scene investigator Drew Bertels immediately begins securing forensic evidence at the scene,
02:48which may help identify the attacker.
02:52So we've got the site where Ambo have treated a young lad.
02:57There's no suggestion it's over a wide area.
03:01I think that the assault is confined to this area here.
03:10Working in forensics, you often see distressing and horrific things.
03:16But when you find out this is a little kid that's been stabbed,
03:22it's difficult to comprehend that something like that could happen.
03:33The priority for Drew is to quickly establish how the attack has taken place.
03:40So we've got main pathway stretching from one end of the park to the other.
03:44We've got secondary footpaths that dog walkers, kids, cyclists all use.
03:51We've also got marshland over there.
03:53We've got a stream here.
03:55It's a massive area.
03:58And we know, obviously, that suspects fled, but we don't know in which direction.
04:03So we've got to cordon the whole park up.
04:07There's no one to go through scenes.
04:09No one coming through scene.
04:12So if we do it from these trees...
04:17Whilst officers secure access to the four-kilometre park,
04:22the spot where Leo was found is protected from the elements.
04:27Probably best to be on the south side and cover it.
04:34We know that young lads receive stab wounds.
04:38We don't know with what at the minute.
04:39We're assuming knife.
04:41But I wouldn't rule out broken bottle, screwdriver.
04:45Could be anything.
04:45But we don't know, was there a theft of any kind?
04:49Has there been a fight?
04:54I think it's absolutely horrific.
05:01Leo's school clothing is recovered.
05:04And the crime scene is guarded overnight.
05:16Tributes have been paid to the 12-year-old boy
05:18who was stabbed to death in Birmingham yesterday.
05:21Leo Ross was stabbed in the stomach
05:23and found near Scribers Lane in Hall Green.
05:26He died in hospital after being taken there in an air ambulance.
05:34OK, morning, everyone.
05:36This is Op Ultimo, which is the murder of Leo Ross.
05:39Following the death of the young boy in hospital,
05:42West Midlands police launch a murder inquiry.
05:44Leo was stabbed around half three yesterday afternoon.
05:49Led by Detective Inspector Joe Davenport.
05:53That exact spot there is where he was found.
05:57One of the first witnesses to give an account.
05:59She states she's seen a person in the undergrowth
06:02and has gone over to help.
06:03She has noticed that he was pale, had a wound to his stomach,
06:06with blood across his stomach.
06:08But no-one actually saw what happened
06:09and there were no obvious suspects.
06:12This case is shocking because of the age of the victim.
06:17Leo is only a 12-year-old boy.
06:19He's in school uniform.
06:21So for someone to quite clearly, deliberately stab a 12-year-old boy
06:25just tells me that this person is incredibly dangerous
06:28and needs to be found as soon as possible.
06:31Hypothesis at the moment then, the victim has been stabbed by an unknown person
06:34as part of a robbery, or the victim has been stabbed by an unknown person for unknown reasons.
06:39At the moment I have no clear motive or reason as to why anyone would do this to him.
06:45Youth knife crime is a problem.
06:48Young people stabbing other young people.
06:50So is it gang related?
06:52Has he been targeted as part of a robbery?
06:55Could be a number of different scenarios.
06:58So our main lines of inquiry today then,
07:00search for the murder scene to secure and preserve evidence of the offence.
07:04And we need to find the murder weapon as soon as possible.
07:22A lot of water and there's like a bog marsh and all sorts of things.
07:25Yeah. It's the perfect place to do something like this.
07:27Yeah.
07:29Drew is joined by Joe at the crime scene
07:31to help coordinate a forensic search of the area.
07:37The incident's happened on the inner cordon up there.
07:39It's unclear which way the offender has left the scene or coming to the scene.
07:44The biggest issue we've got is an outstanding murder weapon
07:49in a massive area with so much overgrowth.
07:55We could be stood five metres from the murder weapon
07:58and we're never going to know.
08:03Police drone operators begin mapping the complex terrain
08:06to identify routes the offender could have taken.
08:11The river pathway also leads to nearby houses.
08:16PHONE RINGS
08:18We're doing the investigation into the incident that happened in the park.
08:21We were wondering if your CCTV cameras were working.
08:25No, I'm going to go this alone.
08:29Try and get your position.
08:31Six search teams move in to comb the vast area.
08:37Good to go, yeah?
08:38Yeah.
08:40The murder weapon is vital.
08:43It has the potential to link the suspect and the victim.
08:47But it's a massively challenging scene.
08:50It's got not just water, but flowing water,
08:54which could wash away DNA.
08:59If you've got to hack it to get through it, get through it.
09:02If it's impossible to pass through it.
09:04I appreciate you looking for the main thing.
09:08Time is essential.
09:09The longer it's outstanding,
09:11if it's exposed to the elements,
09:13it can reduce the forensic evidence that's recovered.
09:18A knife that, on its own, may not be small,
09:23but hidden in a park,
09:25becomes a needle in a haystack.
09:40Leo Ross's many friends left flowers and messages near to the park,
09:45where he was fatally stabbed after school yesterday.
09:48A family member described him as the most beautiful, kind child,
09:52funny, sweet and without an aggressive bone in his body.
09:59The community impact of this offence is massive.
10:02A 12-year-old being stabbed in these circumstances,
10:05I think, puts fear in everyone's heart.
10:09Everyone thinks this could have been my child.
10:12Tragic, really?
10:15Yeah, it's awful.
10:20Leo, he's had his whole life taken from him.
10:23So, we will stop at nothing to identify who carried out Leo's murder.
10:39We've got over 200 CCTV locations,
10:42with many, many hours of CCTV footage at each of those locations.
10:46As footage starts coming in,
10:49CCTV analyst Andy MacDonald is tasked with sifting through it
10:53to pinpoint Leo's last known movements.
10:58We want to find Leo because we want to ascertain
11:00if there's any other interaction during his route,
11:03which may have been a precursor that led to what happened.
11:09Unfortunately, a lot of the school kids
11:12are all wearing the same uniform, the same backpack,
11:15even the same coat.
11:18So, we've just got this new AI software which allows us to review
11:23vast quantities of CCTV footage in very short times
11:27and review the findings.
11:31Using advanced facial recognition,
11:34Andy can scour hundreds of hours of footage
11:36across multiple cameras in just a few minutes.
11:41For me, it's a game-changer,
11:43and it's got a function where you can upload imagery of individuals
11:50and ask the system to look for that person.
11:54So, that's the image of Leo.
11:58So, I'm now going to click on that clip.
12:05And it's brought back this sighting of this individual.
12:10And then he momentarily looks back at the camera
12:14and it's picked up somebody that I believe is Leo.
12:23Well, that's unbelievable, because he looks...
12:25With his hood up, he looks... Yeah, yeah.
12:26It's hard to recognise him, isn't he?
12:28It's really quite impressive.
12:29If I had to view that footage,
12:31it would take me two days, three days to view,
12:33and I may or may not have found something of relevance.
12:39It's helped us to identify Leo leaving school.
12:43Where he sort of does a quarter turn towards the camera.
12:46So, that is a split second where only part of his face is visible
12:50and the AI picked it up as being Leo.
12:53It gives me a clear direction of travel,
12:55a really useful tool to help me focus my search.
12:59From that momentary look back towards the camera,
13:05that's now given me a time for when Leo leaves the school.
13:11Andy is now able to trace the young boy's journey towards the park.
13:21So, he's walked down Ravens Hill Road,
13:25across the road...
13:31..along Priory Road,
13:34turning right into Scribers Lane,
13:37and then he goes into where the offence occurred.
13:42So, that's our last sighting at 1510.
13:47The CCTV shows that he wasn't with anyone
13:50and he doesn't appear to have had any conversation
13:52or disagreement with anyone on the way to the park.
13:55But there's no CCTV within the park itself.
13:59So, I don't know what happened.
14:05The post-mortem examination was able to reveal a stab wound
14:09to the front of the abdomen.
14:11Drew has received details of Leo's post-mortem,
14:15which may offer clues as to how the attack unfolded.
14:21It passed through skin muscle and entered the abdominal cavity.
14:25It then terminated at the spine.
14:29Once an artery's been cut in such a severe manner,
14:32it's...
14:34..it's very difficult to come back from that.
14:37The features of the stab wound are in keeping
14:40with the use of a single-edged cutting implement such as a knife.
14:44No obvious serrated features were noted.
14:47We're looking at a smooth-bladed medium-length knife
14:51with the wound being around about eight centimetres D.
14:56It's going to be a kitchen knife.
14:59No defensive-type injuries were noted.
15:02Normally, when we see defensive wounds,
15:04they'll be on the hands, on the forearms,
15:06if they raise their arms to protect themselves.
15:09So, it could mean that Leo didn't even know the attack was coming.
15:24The
15:24Armed with a description of the likely murder weapon,
15:2750 officers have now been deployed to focus the search
15:30across one kilometre of Parkland.
15:34We're going to see how to systematically work our light to it.
15:39Coordinated by senior search officer, Brian Statham.
15:44It can appear overwhelming to start with,
15:47but what I do is I will break the big area into smaller sections,
15:52what we call sectorising,
15:54and we won't move on to other areas until each sector is done.
15:58You've got to be switched on to find it.
16:01You've got to realise why you're doing it.
16:03You're looking for something that could potentially prosecute someone for a horrendous crime.
16:07If your child was involved, you'd want that for your children.
16:14In terms of the water search, that's all being searched.
16:17Are you just wading into it, are you? Is it that deep or...?
16:19The problem with liquid is really, really thick, isn't it?
16:22Because if you have a dive team...
16:26..a specialist dive team moves in to conduct a fingertip search of the river,
16:31starting nearest to the crime scene.
16:35Inside one there, then.
16:37I'd move the inside and then the outside.
16:40You can follow this, it's right on the edge, it's the drop of that here.
16:46Hiding something in such a vast area is very easy for an offender to do.
16:50But you've got to remember they will probably be in a state of panic.
16:54So they won't think like a normal person.
16:57They'll want to get rid of it as quickly as possible
16:59and they will make mistakes.
17:01And that's when we will find it.
17:04What's that, Steve?
17:05Oh, look.
17:11So this is a bit of officer body cam footage.
17:14This is where they have actually found Leo, then?
17:18Yeah.
17:20Joe and DC James Noble review body cam from first responders
17:25to see who else was in the park at the time of the stabbing.
17:31This is horrendous, isn't it?
17:33Yeah.
17:35Leo was discovered quite soon after he was stabbed,
17:39which means that people weren't far away when this took place.
17:42There's a window of time where we can identify
17:45all of the different people who were there.
17:48We've got two lads who are about his sort of age.
17:51We need to understand, who are they to him?
17:53How does he know them?
17:54And has there been any issues between them previously?
17:59He was later like that when I got here.
18:02And that's all I know about it.
18:03So this lads just said he's the one who found him?
18:06Yeah, this kid on the bike.
18:08I seen him and then I seen this woman.
18:11She was walking out, so I told her to call you guys.
18:13So he's somehow raised the alarm with other members of the public, hasn't he?
18:18So just to confirm, you've been riding along here around three-ish.
18:22Was it three bang on or was it after three because it's now near to four?
18:26Can't really remember, but I didn't touch him because that could put me in the case.
18:32What did he say? It could put me in the case?
18:34Yeah, I haven't touched him because that could put me in your case.
18:37Not the first thing you'd think when you've come across someone who's been stabbed.
18:42The young boy looks really, really shocked, doesn't he?
18:46But you contrast that with the older lad on the bike.
18:50The lad on the bike stands out to me.
18:52Some people have engaged in CPR, some people are phoning 999 for the ambulance service.
18:57Whereas the lad on the bike appears to be sitting back, watching what's taking place.
19:02Stop a sec, lad. Stop a sec before me.
19:05You've just come through here.
19:06I asked him for my lad to go, he said, yeah.
19:08He wants to get off, doesn't he?
19:10And also then trying to get away from the scene as quickly as he can.
19:13He drove past here, apparently, and seen him on the floor stop.
19:16That's what he told me anyway.
19:18But I just didn't understand why he said to me.
19:20When the police come, I've got to go.
19:24He's dressed in all black.
19:27He's wearing gloves.
19:28And he said he's 14. Why isn't he at school himself?
19:33We need to know a lot more about him.
19:35Before leaving the scene, the teenager gave his details.
19:43The detectives checked the police national computer to see whether he is known to police.
19:51It looks like in January last year, he's attempted two assault police officers at the school that he attended at
19:58the time.
19:58Obviously, it looks like since then he's been expelled.
20:02It says that he's assaulted some kind of family therapist who he's working with in the park, so in the
20:09exact same location.
20:11He's a standout person, isn't he, at the moment?
20:13Yeah.
20:14For me, based on the information that we've got, his propensity for violence,
20:19he has a history of assault in the exact same location,
20:22and the absence of any other clear suspect at this moment.
20:25The older lad on the bike, for me, has to be a suspect and he has to be arrested.
20:31Joe orders the immediate arrest of the 14-year-old.
20:39Hello, it's the police. Where is he?
20:42Whereabouts is he, mate?
20:43Come here.
20:45Three hands out. You want to do arrest?
20:48Dad, I'm a police station on.
20:55I'm going to pack you down on here, mate, OK?
21:04I've just been arrested for that day.
21:06It's a big offence, mate, that is.
21:08And your reaction to that is a smile.
21:09I've seen it's funny, am I?
21:11I'm just not allowed to smile.
21:12Someone's died, haven't I?
21:14It's not funny.
21:17Stop moving them.
21:19Stick your finger up what you want.
21:21You're mature, are you?
21:24Go in.
21:30Specialist officers conduct a search of the teenager's home, looking for any items of interest.
21:37What I really need is that key piece of forensic evidence which ties him to the offence.
21:44Clothing and footwear are going to be your best opportunity for a forensic link, but also the murder weapon.
21:50Was he finding the suspect's phone, any electronic devices, whether that be a laptop or any other games console?
22:00Was he communicating with the victim or other people discussing the offence?
22:06Although they find no mobile phone or potential murder weapon, the suspect's clothing and PlayStation are seized and will be
22:16sent to the major crime lab.
22:31So we're not going to get anything off those clothes?
22:33No.
22:34OK.
22:34Even in the ones in my room, we ain't going to get nothing off them because they ain't done nothing.
22:45What's he been arrested for?
22:46He was arrested for murder.
22:49OK.
22:49OK.
23:07He's been smirking and making comments to officers who have arrested him.
23:12It may be that he finds it amusing because he knows that he hasn't done anything.
23:16Or it may be that actually he's goading the police and he's getting some kind of kick out of this.
23:22He's going to go to the search room.
23:24I'm going to seize your clothing from you, taking the items.
23:29Swabs are taken from the teenager to obtain his DNA and the clothes he's wearing are seized.
23:35All right then, mate.
23:36I think I've got that jacket.
23:39A suspect in custody is considered a crime scene.
23:42They can hold forensic evidence that can link them to a victim of crime.
23:47He takes a T-shirt off.
23:49If the victim has grabbed suspect clothing and there was a cellular transfer,
23:54that touch DNA can sit with him for some time.
24:10Cheers, mate.
24:16At the moment, we don't know what weapon was used and that is still outstanding.
24:21With a limited time to hold a juvenile in custody without charge,
24:26Drew and Joe run through the forensic priorities.
24:29From the inquiries we've conducted so far,
24:32it doesn't look like Leo and the suspect knew each other.
24:36No communication with phones, no electronic communication, nothing like that.
24:40So, we haven't recovered a phone from the suspect
24:42and according to family, he doesn't have one.
24:46Leo's phone is outstanding.
24:47We do know he has one, but it hasn't been recovered yet.
24:51In the body or video, he's wearing dark clothing
24:56and he's arrested in dark clothing as well.
24:58So, there's a possibility it's the same clothing.
25:01And it's a screening job for blood on the clothing.
25:03I think any link that can be particularly blood between the two individuals,
25:08we've got to look at first and foremost, don't we?
25:11Yeah.
25:13I'm really struggling at the moment to find any link
25:17between the suspect and the victim.
25:20The maximum amount of time I have is 96 hours
25:23to gain enough evidence to get a charging decision from the CPS,
25:27which, when you consider the area which needs to be searched
25:31and how long forensic testing takes, it puts me under a lot of pressure.
25:49The suspect's jacket has been fast-tracked for inspection
25:52by forensic examiner Bo Mitchell.
25:57So, I'm just searching to see if there's any staining that looks like it could be blood.
26:03We're hoping to potentially find victim's blood on here.
26:10This jacket is a particularly hard item to search, just as it's very dark,
26:16especially when searching for blood.
26:17It's very hard in the seams as the stitching's black as well.
26:23Any staining maybe sort of hiding in between the seams.
26:28We know that our victim has received a single stab wound.
26:35And you don't always get the blood loss from the victim
26:40that you might do from an extended attack.
26:48I can see a stain that looks like it could be blood.
26:52So, I'm just grabbing a filter paper
26:55and test this red-brown stain to see if it could be blood.
27:09If there's no pink reaction, then I know that it's negative.
27:10Bo uses a chemical mixture to check for haemoglobin found in blood.
27:15If there's no pink reaction, then I know that it's negative.
27:27And there's no pink reaction, so it's not blood.
27:39It's disappointing that the jacket hasn't produced any forensic results.
27:46A check of the teenager's shoes, worn at the time of his arrest,
27:51also reveals nothing of note.
27:53We still have a lot of work to do.
27:57So, we need to look at further evidence to prove or disprove
28:03that our suspect was responsible for the murder of Leo.
28:10Whilst officers question Leo's school friends
28:13for any connection between the two boys,
28:15the 14-year-old is brought in for interview.
28:21So, you've been arrested on suspicion for murder.
28:23I'll just read out a statement.
28:26I wish to say, I'm 14 years of age.
28:29I'm diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, anxiety and attachment disorder.
28:36I'm also on the autism spectrum.
28:38I was diagnosed with the above conditions around the age of six.
28:42I'm also under the care of numerous mental health services.
28:46I will answer no comment or remain silent due to my conditions.
28:52Interviewing a juvenile does increase the complexities
28:56and the challenges of this case.
28:57He's a 14-year-old child himself,
29:00but he's still got to account as to why he was there.
29:03Does he know Leo? Have they got any history together?
29:09The person that died was a young boy by the name of Leo Ross.
29:18Had you had any issues with them?
29:24Were you in the path that is off Priory Lane and Scribers Lane
29:29on the afternoon of the 21st of January between, say, 3 and 4 in the afternoon?
29:36Were you carrying a knife?
29:41Was it a case that you see Leo being attacked, but it wasn't you?
29:47This is the body doing video.
29:51I've seen him and then I don't look at him.
29:54I didn't touch him because that could put me in the case.
29:58What did you mean by that?
30:03Why wouldn't you want to touch him to help him?
30:10So, at this moment in time, I've only got circumstantial evidence.
30:13I know the suspect was in the park and I know he was acting unusually.
30:18He hasn't provided an accounting interview,
30:20but there could be numerous different explanations as to why that is.
30:23It could be that actually he knows something, but he didn't commit the offence
30:28and he's covering for someone else or he may be in fear of the person who actually stabbed Leo.
30:33I need that key piece of information, that key forensic link,
30:39which tells me that the suspect is connected to the offence
30:42and it's more than just his strange behaviour
30:44and the fact that he's failed to account as to why he was there.
30:52Morning, everyone.
30:55We still need to establish any connection between the suspect and the victim.
31:00The current belief and assumption is that the suspect doesn't have a mobile phone
31:04and doesn't have a handset and doesn't have a mobile phone, etc.
31:07With no phone retrieved from either boy,
31:10Joe is still searching for anything that may connect them.
31:14We have the suspect's PlayStation.
31:16In terms of the PlayStation,
31:19it's just for any possibility of communication between them
31:22or if they knew each other online.
31:25It's a long shot, but I imagine it's quite hard
31:27because they're quite advanced, aren't they?
31:39The suspect's PlayStation is sent to digital forensics officer, Bernie DeBot, to access.
31:47Certain people do actually communicate quite a lot through consoles,
31:50particularly as consoles start to gain the capability
31:54to have more and more information on them.
31:58With this particular device, we've got a Bluetooth dongle in the front of it.
32:03It could be used to connect a mouse or keyboard that's wireless.
32:08The presence of a dongle for a keyboard suggests the teenager
32:12may have used the game's console for messaging.
32:16Modern consoles are different to when I was a kid.
32:21When I was a kid, you'd put the cartridge in,
32:23you'd turn it on and you'd play the game.
32:25But now, they're quite sophisticated.
32:27You have communication capabilities, voice, video and text,
32:33and that information can be retrieved.
32:38So that can be a very useful piece of forensic evidence.
32:47Well, that's quite rare that you get a password at this stage.
32:51Unless, you know, they are quite sensitive of their privacy.
32:55The suspect has password-protected the entire device.
32:59This PlayStation has far more encryption than most devices.
33:05So it does get you thinking, you know,
33:08what is the reason for these extra layers of security?
33:11It might mean that they are trying to obfuscate criminal activity
33:17or evidence that would potentially implicate them in an offence.
33:23OK, let's see how this goes.
33:33All right, let's try.
33:42Yeah, sometimes it can take a little while.
33:49After three attempts, Bernie risks being locked out of the machine permanently
33:54if he continues.
33:57Four-digit PIN. I've tried his date of birth.
33:59That's not worked.
34:00I've not got any other information, really, to guess any further passwords
34:04and I don't know how many attempts I've got.
34:07This password was put on before they were arrested.
34:11And if he's released before we get access to it,
34:14that may then allow him to delete any evidence from the device.
34:17So it's very time sensitive.
34:21There is a PlayStation that's been seized from your home address.
34:26All I'm asking here is if you're willing to disclose the password or pin to unlock the device.
34:31Does it?
34:32No, it goes in it.
34:34No, it goes in it.
34:45We look at it now and on the tick, there's like almost like a discoloration.
34:50It's almost like brown or red.
34:52The team searching the crime scene have made a discovery close to the park's perimeter.
35:03Looks like a black-handled kitchen knife.
35:07It's difficult to see if there's any marks.
35:10I'll just photograph it there.
35:15Photographs of the knife are sent for Drew to inspect.
35:22Black-handled knife with an approximately 13cm blade.
35:27The knife isn't in the best state.
35:29Bit of twig and foliage that's fallen over it.
35:33That could be due to it being thrown,
35:36and these items have just been flicked on top of it.
35:39The end of the knife has got the sharp tip missing,
35:45which could suggest it's been damaged while being used.
35:49You sometimes see that when it's hit a pelvis or another large bone,
35:53and just the end of the blade snaps off.
35:57The knife will be fast-tracked to check for any fingerprints or DNA belonging to either the suspect or the
36:04victim.
36:04There we go.
36:11On the screen, we have all the cameras that I've uploaded in relation to this operation.
36:18Andy has now gathered a total of 5,000 hours of CCTV from 200 separate cameras around the park.
36:27This is a mixture of motion detection, ring doorbell type cameras,
36:32as well as full downloads from a number of locations.
36:35What we'll hopefully be able to do is demonstrate that if the suspect goes in, that he doesn't leave.
36:42He begins to look for anyone matching the suspect's description on the day of the murder.
36:50So the suspect in relation to this case was on a mountain bike and was in all dark clothing with
36:58a hooded top,
36:59so we can put a two-wheeled bike.
37:03The AI will then review the CCTV footage that's been uploaded
37:08and will then identify what it thinks is a potential person on a bike.
37:15Clicking on any of these icons enables me to review the original footage,
37:19whether I think that is a person of note or is potentially the suspect.
37:24So that person has similar features in terms of dark clothing.
37:31But that's not my suspect.
37:34Maybe even this one, let's have a look at that one as well.
37:37It's got that look of him anyway.
37:40No, it's not.
37:43I don't think the bike is right for that one.
37:46No.
37:50Let's have a look.
37:55Yeah, that's him.
37:57That's my suspect.
37:59Amazing.
38:01Having identified the suspect, Andy can now track his movements in real time.
38:08So this is the entrance to the area where the offence occurred.
38:12And it's now showing anybody that crosses that line,
38:16which is in to where the offence occurred,
38:18and looking for persons on bikes.
38:22And I've got a sighting here of my suspect.
38:27Now I know that the suspect goes in to where the offence occurred
38:30at about ten to three.
38:37And then we can see on that CCTV footage,
38:40he doesn't come out then until just gone four.
38:43The CCTV shows the suspect enter the park 20 minutes before Leo,
38:50and only leave after police have arrived.
38:55But there's still no forensic proof that he's the killer.
39:05Visual search for blood conducted.
39:07Handle's been preserved for fingerprints and cellular DNA
39:12taken from the sharp edge of the blade.
39:15At Forensic Headquarters,
39:18Drew receives the completed results for the knife found in the park.
39:23Light source negative.
39:25Lasers negative.
39:27UV.
39:29No ridge detail.
39:33Everything's come back negative.
39:35I don't think that's the weapon.
39:41No, I think we've still got an outstanding knife.
39:47The result on the knife is disappointing.
39:52We have minimal forensic results at this point.
39:56There's no spin you can put on it,
39:59so we'd still need to find that connection between suspect and victim.
40:10We've managed to get the password for this device.
40:14After being approached by police,
40:17the suspect's family has agreed to hand over the PIN code for his games console.
40:24With this particular device, it's got a lot of cloud-based data,
40:29so we're going to connect it to the internet to access PlayStation servers
40:33and get the messages from there.
40:38What I'm going to have to do now is what we call an account takeover.
40:42With a PlayStation, all of the data would be stored on PlayStation servers.
40:47That's essentially what we call cloud-based information,
40:50which means I can't just download the content.
40:52We have to look at it live, and we have to look at it quickly.
40:58I'm actually online right now.
41:00I don't want anyone to become aware of my presence on the device.
41:03So the first thing I'm going to do as quick as I can
41:06is appear offline before somebody decides to lock me out
41:10or delete any messages.
41:14I can already see there's thousands of messages on here.
41:20Bernie starts filtering all messaging over a six-month period prior to the murder.
41:29From the context of this conversation, it looks like potentially this is his girlfriend.
41:35I can't wait.
41:40Young people tend to live far more of their lives online.
41:45I can see that there's lots of normal, ordinary teenage communication.
41:49You know, inviting people to play various games,
41:52group chats with 20 people in.
41:53And it's my job to determine what's normal and what's relevant to the offence.
42:01So there's one here, sort of a vague threat.
42:05He's referring to someone being stabbed.
42:09He says it was one of his friends and he's going to find the person that did it
42:14and do the same to him.
42:16Stab him.
42:20Any kind of messages like that that have references to violence
42:23are obviously going to be relevant.
42:26They obviously don't prove the offence on their own,
42:28but we're kind of trying to build a picture of the suspect's character
42:34as well as prove the offence.
42:36Bernie spots a conversation with the same friend,
42:39dating back months before Leo was stabbed.
42:43So I can also see that he says,
42:45I'm going to go to prison because I'm going to kill my therapist
42:49because she's annoying.
42:53He then goes on to show some understanding of what the sentences are like
42:57for murder in the UK, as if he has looked into it before.
43:05She says she's not going to let him kill his therapist.
43:15He then mentions that he's going out to kill someone now.
43:28Looking through these messages, it can be hard to decipher what is just general teenage bravado.
43:34Is that him trying to build himself up as this tough character?
43:39Or is that him actually going out, trying to find someone to stab?
43:45But there's nothing here that indicates specifically towards Leo.
43:51And that's really the missing piece.
44:00Sir, can you come and have a look at this please?
44:04Intelligence officer Derek Dolan has been looking into a spate of violent assaults in the same park,
44:10which may be relevant to the investigation.
44:12We've got the offence for Leo on the 21st.
44:16And then we've got three other offences within the three-day period before Leo.
44:20And they all involve the use of a bike. It's a black bike.
44:25So the first offence, which is two days before Leo's murder.
44:28This one here is Leo's murder site.
44:30The one just below it is the...
44:32So how far is that then?
44:34It's approximately 50 metres.
44:3682-year-old female and she's been pushed from behind.
44:40She's fallen into the river.
44:42The offender has hit her multiple times.
44:44She's got a broken nose.
44:46She's got swelling and bruising to the face.
44:49The next offence was the following day.
44:52There was a female walking on her own.
44:54The male has knocked her down from behind.
44:59Third offence.
45:00Again, a lone female, 79 years of age.
45:03He pushed her and she screamed.
45:06She said that he turned around and he smiled at me.
45:10This was only about half an hour before Leo's murder.
45:14It's just really strange, isn't it?
45:16The way in which these offences have taken place from behind
45:19in like an unprovoked attack to vulnerable people on their own.
45:22And what was the description for each of them?
45:27For each of these offences, the description is a white male,
45:30mid-teens, black clothing on a push bike.
45:34So no robbery, no kind of argument or dispute beforehand?
45:39That's right, yeah. No motive or anything like that.
45:42It's almost like he's going out hunting, looking for people to attack.
45:49We've got footage for the 21st.
45:52We've pretty much got footage for the 19th and the 20th as well.
45:56The new evidence prompts Andy to expand his CCTV search
46:00to include the dates the teenager is suspected of carrying out the assaults in the park.
46:07So this is the fire team coming in to try to get the first victim pulled out of the water.
46:12He was sitting down the table.
46:15Feel like someone was hitting you on your head?
46:16A young kid has come, has ran down here and ran away.
46:21We've also then got him coming back to sort of observe the emergency services vehicles.
46:31So down here is the emergency services.
46:33So he's at the top of the road having a good look and he stays there for a little bit
46:38of time
46:38and then winds off again.
46:39Yeah. And he keeps coming back.
46:41So, and then he's gone back.
46:42It's very predatory behaviour, isn't it?
46:43That he demonstrates.
46:44100%, yeah.
46:46He's clearly got some kind of obsession or interest in relation to what's occurring.
46:55The behaviour of the suspect hanging around after the alarm is raised
47:00and all of the emergency services start to come in,
47:02points out to me that he's perhaps enjoying seeing the sort of chaos that he's created.
47:09Which just demonstrates how dangerous he is.
47:12The new evidence is put to the 14-year-old in interview.
47:17We've talked about the murder, but there's another incident took place
47:21where a lady's being pushed over in the park.
47:24Do you know that person?
47:27No, no.
47:29She's ended up with two to three centimetre gashes on the right side,
47:33her head, suspected fractured hip.
47:36Are you responsible for causing those injuries to her?
47:40Have you pushed them?
47:41No comment.
47:42Have you kicked them?
47:43No comment.
47:45So, on the 19th of January, the lady was knocked into the water within the nature reserve
47:49and the person hitting her says to her,
47:51I tried to drown you and now I'm going to try and kill you instead.
47:55Did you hit her?
47:57No comment.
48:02There doesn't appear to be any motive and that makes the investigation harder.
48:06And I'm running out of time.
48:10The threshold will be higher to charge a teenager for a murder.
48:15Obviously, we're going to deprive that child's liberty.
48:18So, we need to be really confident in the evidence that we have.
48:21And the CPS needs to be really confident that we have the right person
48:24before they take such an extreme measure.
48:31I'll show you the actual footage which is on this computer.
48:36Let me see if we can get this to work.
48:39Andy alerts Joe to footage he's discovered
48:43on a parked camera recently installed to target fly tipping.
48:47Now, when he goes through at 15, 16,
48:51he's riding at a very slow pace, shall we say.
48:58His next sighting of him, at 15, 28,
49:02he comes flying round here.
49:06He's at speed and he's having to put his foot down
49:09to prevent himself possibly from skidding out or falling off
49:15because he comes round here at a real weight of knots.
49:17The camera briefly captures the 14-year-old at 3.28pm,
49:2311 minutes before Leo's stabbing was reported to emergency services.
49:28So, it's certainly possible that he's now committed the offence
49:32and this is when he's disposing of the knife.
49:36Using the new footage, the search team are able to narrow down
49:40a route the teenager may have taken to dump a weapon
49:43after committing the offence.
49:46If we get you down this pathway,
49:48then I'd like this bit concentrated on
49:51in case he's thrown it over the water.
49:55So, obviously, if he's in a rush, he'd be a hasty throw, I think.
49:59He's been out of sight for a couple of minutes.
50:01So, for me, that narrows down a timeframe of where he could be
50:06because you've got a factor in the county, he's got to get somewhere,
50:09he's got to hide something, and then he's got to cycle back.
50:14Brian orders the search of an area near a bridge
50:17where the suspect is likely to have ridden past.
50:21It's a bit foggy in some paper. Be very careful.
50:25It's a bit cool.
50:46Judge, I think we've got a nice here.
51:00Yeah, it's like a kitchen knife.
51:02It's basically another item, literally to the right,
51:05and it's probably like 20 metres into there,
51:07and it's literally on the bank.
51:09How much supply?
51:10We're about six inches.
51:15The recovery of the knife moves the investigation forward
51:19a massive amount.
51:21It's got the appearance of it being freshly discarded there.
51:25So where that grasp is there, over this other side, it's in there.
51:30But it was outside, it wasn't located straight away,
51:33so there's a high potential for evidence to be destroyed.
51:39Only forensic analysis will determine
51:42whether we've got the right weapon.
52:06The first thing that I'll do is search for blood.
52:10We have to look in all of the grooves
52:14just to make sure we're not missing any areas.
52:20With a single stab wound,
52:22we will often find that the blood won't just settle on the blade.
52:26With the layers of clothing that Leo was wearing,
52:28the potential speed of the attack,
52:31the blade can often get cleaned
52:32from coming into contact with the victim's clothing.
52:38The top of the handle looks red-brown.
52:43So I'm going to test that first.
52:58If we have blood present,
53:00we will get a pink reaction.
53:04That's negative.
53:07So at this point, I'm happy that the knife is negative for blood,
53:12so I can go ahead and sample for cellular.
53:17The lack of blood doesn't mean the lack of evidence.
53:22It may be that the visible blood has washed off,
53:25but there may still be trace DNA evidence left on the blade and the handle.
53:33So if you think about anything that you physically touch,
53:36there is always going to be a transfer of DNA.
53:41So in this case,
53:42obviously we're interested in how the knife will have been handled,
53:46and if the individual has handled it without gloves,
53:52then there would be a transfer of any skin on their hands
53:55to the handle of the knife.
54:08Next, the sample is processed to extract DNA.
54:13This will give detectives a full profile
54:16they can compare with the suspect in custody.
54:25Hello, Judge Lumport.
54:26Hi, Judge Drew from FSI.
54:29The DNA profiling results have been fast-tracked to Drew.
54:36It's coming back a full profile on the blade
54:39and tip of the knife found to Leo Ross.
54:45So it's definitely the knife used then?
54:49Yeah, and the handle is coming back to our suspect.
54:52Brilliant.
54:54And it's saying that it's at least a billion times more likely
54:57to be DNA contribution from our suspect.
55:02I think we've got our weapon there, mate.
55:04Great.
55:05That's a brilliant result, isn't it?
55:06Definitely, definitely.
55:09The knife that was recovered contained DNA of Leo
55:13and DNA of the suspect.
55:16It's a massive result for the investigation.
55:20It's a huge relief when you get to a forensic hit like this.
55:24It demonstrates that you have identified the right person,
55:27but not only that, that you're now in a strong position
55:29to get justice for the victim and for his family.
55:44OK, I need to read something to you.
55:47It's quite important, all right?
55:49Come with me.
55:52You just stand there.
56:01The case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service
56:04for a charging decision.
56:05They've come back with several charges
56:07that I've got to read out to you, OK?
56:09So you were charged with a following on the 21st of January
56:11at Triford Mill Park.
56:15You murdered Leo Ross, contrary to common law.
56:20Do you wish to make any reply?
56:22OK.
56:24You'll be escorted back to your cell by these officers.
56:29Along with murder, the teenager is also charged
56:33with three counts of grievous bodily harm
56:36in relation to the other assaults in the park.
56:54When something like this happens and it's a child murdering a child,
56:59it's difficult to make any sense of it.
57:02Knowing the history of the offender
57:06previous to the murder of Leo,
57:08I would say there is a very strong chance
57:11he would have continued to offend
57:13if he wasn't caught and arrested.
57:33The offender is a 14-year-old child himself.
57:36It's clear to me that he wasn't of a sound mental state,
57:41not just immediately before Leo's murder,
57:44but probably for quite a few years in his life.
57:48Unfortunately, I think we're seeing it more and more in society
57:51where there doesn't appear to be a motive
57:52and it is just down to the person's mental health.
57:58So, this is a really tragic case.
58:00The 12-year-old boy has lost his life,
58:03who did nothing wrong and was completely innocent.
58:07Leo just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
58:23Every contact leaves a trace that forensic experts can follow.
58:27Explore it for yourself with the open unit.
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