Britain's Almost Perfect Murders Season 1 Episode 6
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00:01The perfect murder, the unsolvable crime, does it really exist?
00:07In a TV first, we reveal the cutting-edge technology now used by British police to join the dots
00:15and reveal new evidence in all homicide investigations.
00:19I'm Tim Tate. I've been an investigative journalist for almost 50 years.
00:26I'm Sam Robbins, and I'm a criminal intelligence analyst.
00:30For over 20 years, I've worked alongside detectives on major murder investigations.
00:34Together, in this new series, we are going to discover the fatal mistakes
00:39which prevented the perfect murder from ever being committed.
00:54MUSIC PLAYS
01:16One of the most common tropes in criminology is the killer who thinks he or she can use their skills,
01:26their expertise and training to get away with the perfect murder.
01:31But those same academic studies also show, routinely, that these killers overestimate their abilities.
01:41And the result is not a perfect murder, but conviction and prison for an almost perfect one.
01:52And the case of the murder of Clare Howard is a textbook example.
01:59MUSIC CONTINUES
02:04What was the first thing that struck you about Martin Foreshaw?
02:09This is a standout one, due to the fact that Martin Foreshaw and his victim are both police officers.
02:16So Martin is in a career and a job that really should give him the ability to commit the perfect
02:26murder.
02:26And do you think in his mind he thought he could do that?
02:31I think he did, yeah. I think he was aware of the technicalities.
02:35He thought through how a murder could be staged to look like an accident, potentially,
02:43and thought that he probably had committed the almost perfect murder.
02:51My name's Andy Tattersall. I was the former detective superintendent of the Greater Manchester Police.
02:57MUSIC CONTINUES
03:02This case starts on the 7th of May in 2009.
03:06The police of Greater Manchester receive a 999 call at 2.25am in the morning.
03:13It's from a remote house on the outskirts of Bolton,
03:18between Bolton and Bury, near a small village called Harwood.
03:23The circumstances are that a man has run to this remote house,
03:28he's banged on the door, and he's asked if he can use the 999 telephone there.
03:35That man was Martin Alexander Foreshaw.
03:38He was known as Alex.
03:41Alex was a police officer from the Cheshire Police.
03:45Everyone said he was a very good, solid, dedicated officer.
03:49He got on with people. He was not violent in any way, shape or form.
03:54He was just a very solid young man, good police officer.
04:02Just looking at his background and the people he's associated with,
04:08what do we know about his family?
04:11Foreshaw comes essentially from a policing family.
04:14So his father was an inspector and he'd followed through and joined the job when he was 21.
04:22He'd obviously undertaken his beat and his probation time
04:25and then went to specialise as a roads police officer.
04:28He'd done his time as a traffic officer,
04:31so he knew how traffic accidents worked and how they were investigated.
04:35But he'd also trained, he'd got specialist training in diffusing violent arguments,
04:41in handling potentially violent situations.
04:44In your experience, what sort of police officer excels at that?
04:52Is it something that you have to have a lot of control, self-control for?
04:55Yes, I think, you know, you've got to be able to keep calm in all circumstances,
05:03no matter how a situation escalates.
05:06You've got to be able to keep a level head
05:07and keep on trying to return that situation back down to a level of calm
05:12rather than letting it escalate out of control.
05:15Yeah, I mean, you've got to defuse it, haven't you?
05:17Yes, yeah, absolutely.
05:22A couple of years before this, he had a girlfriend
05:26and they had a young child, but that relationship broke down
05:31and he felt forced to leave the home,
05:36leaving his ex-girlfriend and young son.
05:39He had split up from his former girlfriend
05:42and had formed an apparently stable relationship
05:46with a young trainee police officer called Claire Howarth.
05:56Claire was 31 years of age
06:00and worked for the Greater Manchester Police.
06:03She'd been with the police two years.
06:07She'd just gone through a probation period
06:09and passed that with flying colours
06:13and she'd just got an appointment onto a local community beat team,
06:18which was very good for someone of her service.
06:24Prior to joining the police, she was a travel rep
06:27for various travel companies, working in Spain, Italy, Ibiza.
06:33So she was a live wire, she was a good communicator,
06:36she was well-liked, she was a confident, confident, beautiful girl.
06:42They had so many things in common and they fell in love.
06:45And that romance blossomed very quickly
06:49and within months they decided to get married.
06:53They got engaged whilst they were away in Mexico
06:56and they got a house together in Tottington,
07:00which is on the outskirts of Bury, between Bury and Bolton.
07:09So on the timeline chart,
07:12it's this point here
07:15where Martin Foreshaw and Claire Howarth,
07:19his live-in partner, become engaged.
07:22That happens in Mexico.
07:23That's like a dream engagement, isn't it?
07:25Yeah, it's lovely, isn't it?
07:27And they're going to get married.
07:28Yes.
07:29Claire started planning the wedding.
07:31This was months in advance.
07:34She was so excited, she was so happy
07:37that they were getting married.
07:40And she even planned the best wedding you could imagine.
07:44They were going to go to St. Lucia in the Caribbean.
07:49But he doesn't want to do that.
07:51No.
07:52If you look at the investigation and the timeline,
07:55he doesn't really look to move that forward.
07:58And for an investigation team,
08:01there are massive clues and pieces of evidence here
08:04to suggest that despite the fact
08:06that he said he was going to do one thing,
08:08he was planning something completely different.
08:11What was the reality?
08:12So the reality was that Martin Foreshaw
08:16was leading a double life.
08:17Very much so.
08:19So in the time that he was with Claire Howarth,
08:23he was also maintaining a relationship with his ex-partner.
08:28But he was cheating on Claire with his ex-partner.
08:32Yes, he was.
08:33And that becomes particularly significant
08:35when it comes to investigating these crimes
08:38because there's critical actions that Foreshaw takes
08:43which suggests that he had intended to carry out the crime of murder.
08:50There's little doubt that he was torn.
08:54He was torn between the affections and love for his child
08:57and his new girlfriend in Claire.
09:01He couldn't face up to the right thing to do.
09:07He found himself in a situation
09:09that he couldn't engineer himself back out of
09:11or felt like he couldn't engineer himself back out of.
09:15That he maybe shouldn't have split up with his partner
09:18who he had the child with
09:19and a relationship that was moving at pace
09:24with Claire Howarth in a direction
09:25that he probably didn't want it to go in.
09:28He found himself in a situation.
09:31Isn't it a reality that he actually created that situation?
09:35He did.
09:36He did create the situation
09:37starting the relationship with Claire
09:39but it progressed very, very quickly
09:43to the point of them becoming engaged
09:46and he was due to be married
09:48whilst maintaining the relationship with his ex-partner.
09:52And the time that they were due to travel off to get married
09:57is actually the real critical tipping point
10:00that led this offence to happen.
10:04But of course Claire did not know this.
10:06She was so happy at the time
10:10and was looking forward to getting married
10:12but of course he wasn't.
10:14The day of a death.
10:16Later that day they were going to fly from Manchester to Gatwick
10:20and then get a connecting flight to St. Lucia
10:22where they were going to get married five days later.
10:27But it never got that far
10:29and poor Claire died that day on the 7th of May.
10:52On the night of May the 6th to 7th
10:55the brewing storm broke.
10:58That day Claire had been out
11:00at the Trafford shopping centre
11:03a giant mall near Manchester
11:05and she'd been buying some last-minute items
11:08for the ceremony.
11:11Claire had been on her own that night
11:15and she'd been talking to friends
11:16and she'd had the odd drink
11:18and she was getting ready to celebrate
11:22packing the cases
11:23and getting off early
11:25an early flight from Manchester to Gatwick
11:28and then the connection flight to St. Lucia.
11:31That's clear.
11:31She had cases were packed
11:33she'd been looking forward for this for months
11:35she'd been planning this for months
11:36but he was having second thoughts
11:40and as the date got nearer
11:43those second thoughts would have got worse
11:45and it started to dawn on him
11:48that he's got to make a decision
11:49and he made the decision
11:51that he would not get married
11:54but of course
11:55he dealt with this in such a terrible, terrible way
11:58the emotions got the better of everybody
12:02and resulted in the tragic death of Claire
12:10The investigation team
12:12knew that she was alive and safe and well
12:15at around 1am
12:16because she texted one of her friends
12:18saying that she's giddy with excitement
12:21and she's dancing around the house
12:23and she can't calm down
12:24because she's so looking forward to her wedding
12:27over the next five days
12:29And then what happens?
12:31And then nobody hears from her again
12:33Here's the key tipping point
12:36The point of no return
12:381.30 on the morning of the 7th of May
12:42What happens?
12:43So unsurprisingly
12:45when Farshaw delivers the news to Claire
12:49that he wants to pull out of the wedding
12:51a huge argument takes place
12:54and instead of using the skills that he has
12:59and has honed over being on the force
13:02for five years longer than Claire has
13:06that argument escalates
13:08and escalates to very damaging consequences for Claire
13:19So he's likely to have rehearsed this a number of times
13:22and say he planned not to get married
13:24so he knew that was going to happen
13:26he knew there was going to be a confrontation
13:28and he will have planned various different scenarios in his mind
13:32and how he was going to deal with what happened
13:36Claire was utterly blindsided
13:39and unsurprisingly
13:40a row ensued
13:43Farshaw was trained as an officer
13:46as a police officer
13:47to handle rows
13:49to defuse potentially violent situations
13:53and see he didn't
13:56instead
13:56he grabbed
13:58a lump hammer
13:59but it's not a small hammer
14:02it's a huge hammer
14:03with a huge steel head
14:05now
14:07a big hammer like that
14:08is difficult to wield anyway
14:10in a small confined area
14:12and yes
14:13they may have struggled
14:14she would have been shouting
14:16and bawling at him
14:17I would imagine
14:19he said that
14:20it was in this struggle
14:21that he accidentally
14:23struck her on the head
14:23with the hammer
14:25but that's not plausible
14:27it's definitely not plausible
14:36he overpowers her
14:37I think there was a considerable size difference
14:39between the two
14:40there was obviously considerable strength difference
14:42between the two
14:43and yet he still chooses
14:45to use a weapon
14:47he could
14:49have made the choice
14:50to have an argument
14:51say the wedding's off
14:53and walk out the door
14:54face the consequences
14:56of his decision
14:57yes
14:58pay them himself
14:59yes
14:59instead
15:00he chooses violence
15:02an extreme violence
15:04my belief is
15:06with the intent to kill her
15:08because
15:08he picks up a lump hammer
15:10yes
15:11and he doesn't just
15:13hit her once
15:14does he
15:14no
15:15he hits her multiple times
15:16to the point where she becomes
15:18unconscious
15:18unresponsive
15:22so what we commonly refer to now
15:24is this kind of idea
15:25of toxic masculinity
15:26where men particularly
15:28see themselves
15:28as this very
15:30strong
15:31dominant
15:33individuals
15:34and there was something
15:35they will take that to
15:35the very extreme
15:36and
15:37they very much see women
15:38as quite weak
15:39quite people to be manipulated
15:41that they are
15:42the father figure
15:44the man of the house
15:45the person who would
15:47be in control
15:48of these situations
15:49and when it doesn't work out
15:50for them
15:50that's when they often
15:51react in these very
15:53very extreme ways
15:54this very extreme violence
15:55it's a trait that runs
15:57through their personality
15:58anyway
15:59but when confronted
16:00with situations
16:01where they're not going
16:02to get what they want
16:03they will resort
16:04to those extreme measures
16:05he would panic
16:07he wouldn't know what to do
16:08because it wasn't planned
16:09it just happened
16:10and anybody's capable of murder
16:13I'm afraid anybody
16:14is capable of murder
16:16and emotions just
16:17take over
16:21at that point
16:23he says he panics
16:25the honest responsible
16:27thing to do
16:27would have been to
16:28call an ambulance
16:29and get her help
16:30but he doesn't
16:31he chooses
16:32from this point onwards
16:34to try and conceal
16:35what he has done
16:36to Claire
16:37so at this point
16:38Claire is badly injured
16:40yes
16:41but she's still alive
16:42she is alive
16:43it's possible
16:44that if he had acted
16:46responsibly
16:47and honestly
16:48she might not have died
16:49yes
16:51what does he do
16:53with Claire
16:54so he
16:55takes her
16:57unconscious
16:58picks her up
16:59takes her down the stairs
17:01and places her
17:02in the passenger seat
17:03of her car
17:07he doesn't know
17:08what to do
17:08he puts her in the car
17:10the BMW
17:11on the front drive
17:12and he drives off
17:13he doesn't really know
17:14where he's going
17:15he doesn't drive to A&E
17:16that's for sure
17:17he drives into
17:18the remote area
17:21leading out of Tottington
17:22and
17:23it would appear
17:25that she regained
17:26consciousness
17:27she would still be alive
17:28at that stage
17:29she's regained
17:31consciousness
17:31in the car
17:33he drives
17:34around
17:35the countryside
17:37with Claire
17:38semi-conscious
17:39in the passenger seat
17:41and he is
17:42he says
17:43trying to decide
17:45what to do
17:47where's the hospital
17:48is it in the countryside lanes
17:50or would it be in the town
17:51key point isn't it
17:52yes it is
17:53he doesn't
17:54eventually go to hospital
17:55he doesn't
17:57come to his senses
17:59what does he do
18:01for sure's account
18:02is that he
18:04is driving through
18:05the country lanes
18:06and he comes
18:07across
18:07a house
18:08his account
18:10is that
18:11he is going to
18:13try and get help
18:14from this house
18:15he's realised
18:16that the situation
18:16is going
18:17even more horribly wrong
18:19than it already has
18:20and he's going
18:21to try and raise
18:22some help
18:22from this house
18:23so
18:24his account
18:26is that
18:26he takes Claire
18:27from the car
18:29and places her
18:30on the driveway
18:31of this house
18:33but
18:34she comes
18:35to
18:35and he realises
18:37that she's in
18:38so much pain
18:40that he
18:41goes back
18:42to the car
18:43to retrieve
18:44the hammer
18:44in order
18:45to put her
18:46out of pain
18:47does that make
18:48any sense
18:49to you
18:49I struggled
18:51so much
18:52with this
18:52this part
18:53of the account
18:54and for me
18:55there is
18:56another scenario
18:57which would
18:58be more fitting
19:00my guess
19:01is
19:01that
19:02Claire
19:03starts to come
19:04to
19:04and she
19:05starts to
19:06panic
19:07because she
19:08knows
19:08that she is
19:09she is in
19:10grave danger
19:11and she
19:12tries to
19:13either get out
19:14of a moving car
19:15because she can
19:15see there's a
19:16house nearby
19:17and that she
19:19makes a move
19:20to run
19:21stagger down
19:22that driveway
19:23but collapses
19:24in that driveway
19:25and at that point
19:26for him
19:27he's panicking
19:28and the game
19:28is potentially up
19:29so he has to act
19:30pretty quickly
19:31to stop her
19:32from getting
19:33to that house
19:34and what does he do?
19:35he beats her
19:36around the head
19:37again
19:37with a lump hammer
19:39with a lump hammer
19:40yeah
19:40now that's a very
19:41callous thing to do
19:44even if he had
19:45made a mistake
19:46you know
19:46and it had
19:47gone horrible
19:48take her to hospital
19:50get her help
19:51save her life
19:54does this
19:55second attack
19:56with a lump hammer
19:57killer?
19:58it
19:58doesn't
19:59no
20:00so he's
20:02placed her back
20:03in the car
20:04realising that he
20:06needs to take
20:06further action
20:07in order to
20:08finish the job
20:08there comes a point
20:10in this
20:12meandering drive
20:13in the early hours
20:14of the morning
20:15where he decides
20:16what he's going to do
20:18yes
20:18and what
20:19does he do?
20:20he decides that
20:21he's going to
20:22try and stage
20:23the crime
20:24to make it look
20:25like she's had
20:26a car crash
20:27he spent time
20:29as a traffic officer
20:30yes
20:31who better
20:32to know
20:33how to stage
20:35that crime scene
20:35how does he stage
20:37the scene?
20:38what does he do?
20:39obviously having
20:39Claire in the
20:40passenger seat
20:40isn't going to
20:41make any sense
20:42at all
20:42so he takes her
20:44from the passenger seat
20:45and he places her
20:47in the driver's seat
20:48and uses his foot
20:51to push the car
20:52through a hedge
20:54and into a field
20:55to make it look
20:57like she has
20:57lost control
20:58on a road
20:59and come off the road
21:00this is
21:01calculating behaviour
21:03isn't it?
21:04yes
21:04it certainly is
21:06but there are
21:07so many things
21:09that he didn't
21:10take into consideration
21:13it looks like
21:14there's some
21:14potential there
21:16that he's thought
21:16this before
21:17you know
21:18very few people
21:18just act on a whim
21:20so there's probably
21:20various situations
21:21where he's run
21:22through various
21:23scenarios in his mind
21:24he may have come
21:25across similar things
21:27in his work
21:27and thought
21:28well that's a good idea
21:29it's not necessarily
21:30always premeditated
21:32in the sense
21:32that that was
21:33the actual plan
21:34but certainly
21:35it's something
21:35he had in his mind
21:37previously
21:37he didn't just
21:38come up with it
21:38on the spot
21:43he got onto
21:45the 999 system
21:46and was asking
21:48for an ambulance
21:50the account he gave
21:51was that he
21:52and his girlfriend
21:54Claire Howarth
21:54had been out
21:55driving that night
21:58Claire had been
21:59in a happy mood
22:00and that she was
22:01changing the CD
22:02in the car
22:03the car was being
22:05driven about
22:0550 to 60 miles
22:07an hour
22:07and unfortunately
22:08she wasn't
22:09wearing a seatbelt
22:10and as she
22:12was changing
22:13the CD
22:13she drove the vehicle
22:16off the road
22:17it veered off
22:18to the right
22:18and it was involved
22:20in a crash
22:21and she suffered
22:22serious head injuries
22:24foreshore
22:25was appealing
22:26for the ambulance
22:27for the ambulance
22:27to attend
22:28as soon as possible
22:31traffic officers
22:32were deployed
22:33to the scene
22:33along with
22:34ambulance team
22:35and they found
22:36Claire slumped
22:38in the driver's seat
22:39with her head
22:40laid across
22:40the passenger side
22:42she was bleeding
22:43heavily
22:43from massive
22:44injuries
22:45to her skull
22:47she was rushed
22:49to hospital
22:49the nearby hospital
22:50which was the
22:51Royal Bolton Hospital
22:52but very unfortunately
22:54she died
22:55as a result
22:56of massive
22:58head trauma
23:16when police
23:17and ambulance
23:18crew
23:18arrived
23:19at the scene
23:20foreshore
23:21repeated
23:22his story
23:23he was using
23:25so he thought
23:26his own experience
23:28as a police officer
23:29to try
23:31and convince
23:32the emergency services
23:34that the accident
23:36had been genuine
23:37in that way
23:39he planned
23:39to get away
23:40with
23:41a perfect
23:42murder
23:44so when we see
23:46situations
23:46where police officers
23:48or firemen
23:49or doctors
23:50sometimes we see
23:51that as almost
23:51a bit of a cloak
23:52a mask
23:53where they're hiding
23:54behind
23:54and they'll sometimes
23:55use that
23:56even to their
23:56advantage
23:57we've seen
23:58lots of cases
23:58although quite rare
24:00that police officers
24:01will be quite
24:03dangerous individuals
24:05who will be able
24:06to use situations
24:07to exploit
24:08other people
24:09exploiting the authority
24:10that they have
24:10over them
24:11and it's quite likely
24:12that even if they
24:13didn't purposely
24:14join to do that
24:16they will have
24:16very quickly learned
24:17that they could
24:18use that
24:18to their advantage
24:23so when he gives
24:25his accounts
24:26he suggests
24:27that
24:27that Claire
24:28is driving
24:29at speed
24:30and that
24:32she
24:34drops
24:34a CD
24:36a music CD
24:38on the floor
24:39and that
24:40she's trying
24:40to recover it
24:41the CD
24:42and he's
24:43already said
24:44to officers
24:44it was around
24:4560 miles per hour
24:47now bearing in mind
24:48what he has actually
24:49done
24:49he's put his foot
24:50on the accelerator
24:50and let the car go
24:52it's never going to
24:53reach 60 miles an hour
24:54because he hasn't
24:55got the run up
24:56or the speed
24:57to get to that speed
24:58so immediately
25:00the experienced
25:01road traffic officers
25:02that turn up
25:03to the scene
25:03think
25:04something doesn't
25:05feel quite right
25:06here
25:06now he's called
25:08them to the scene
25:09he has
25:09he's made a 999 call
25:11he has
25:11yeah
25:12trying to establish
25:14a narrative
25:15yes
25:15so the officers
25:17that were attending
25:18obviously listened
25:19to his account
25:23the traffic police officers
25:24attending the scene
25:25though
25:25became suspicious
25:26because when they
25:27looked at the vehicle
25:28which is a BMW
25:31it was
25:32off the road
25:34it had mounted
25:34the grass verge
25:36and it had run
25:37into some bushes
25:38but
25:39it was not
25:41really damaged
25:42in fact
25:43the airbags
25:44had not been
25:47activated
25:47now airbags
25:49normally
25:49would activate
25:50at a speed
25:51of 20 miles an hour
25:53of course
25:54the Porsche
25:54was saying
25:55that it was 50 to 60 miles an hour
25:57and that was just not consistent
25:59but furthermore
26:01and what was even more suspicious was
26:04that there was no impact damage
26:06in the actual vehicle itself
26:09there would have been an absolute disconnect
26:11between the injuries that
26:13she had sustained
26:15and the scenario of the car accident
26:18the collision
26:19because they just didn't add up
26:22because they just didn't add up at all
26:23and the extent of injuries
26:26was such that
26:27the head had effectively been damaged
26:31really excessively
26:33through the use of a lump hammer
26:35and those injuries were quite definitive
26:38in terms of their features
26:40and the blood staining
26:42that would have been created
26:44as a result of those
26:45repeated blows
26:46into wet blood
26:48would have been
26:49very distinctive
26:50the impact spatter
26:52would have been
26:53present at
26:54any site
26:55in which those injuries
26:57had been
26:57sustained
26:59and that blood staining
27:00would not have been available
27:02in that vehicle
27:03so it would have
27:04immediately
27:05alerted the investigators
27:07to the fact that
27:09those injuries
27:10were not
27:11sustained
27:12in this vehicle
27:19So there's no scratches
27:21No
27:21There's no air mag
27:22No
27:22There's just Claire
27:24in the driver's seat
27:26covered in blood
27:27Yes
27:28Were her injuries
27:30consistent
27:31with that sort of
27:32road traffic smash?
27:33Absolutely not
27:34And you have to bear in mind
27:35that these road traffic officers
27:37see horrific injuries
27:39through road traffic accidents
27:41every day
27:41so they are going to
27:42be able to quickly
27:43know what they're looking for
27:45I mean he's in an absolute
27:47position of trust
27:48and he has abused that trust
27:51throughout the whole
27:53of this timeline
27:53at every point
27:55he's abused that trust
27:59He was able to
28:01meet the police
28:02He arrived at the scene
28:03and he was able to
28:05kind of tell them
28:06that he was a police officer
28:07and he genuinely believed
28:08that that would be
28:09some kind of
28:09almost camaraderie
28:11that they would
28:12look up to him
28:13he would be able to
28:13direct
28:15the situation
28:16when they kind of
28:17came to the car
28:17it became pretty evident
28:19that it was not
28:20how he described it
28:22but he still believed
28:23that he had this ability
28:24to do that
28:26by you know
28:27the rank he held
28:28and speaking to
28:29the other officers
28:30and he still sort of
28:31thought that
28:32it was still an avenue
28:33for him to get away
28:34with it
28:34and genuinely believed
28:35that the police badge
28:37would cover him
28:38in this situation
28:40You've been inside
28:41the police force
28:42I've been a journalist
28:43on the outside
28:44I am not
28:46shall we say
28:47unfamiliar with cases
28:48where police officers
28:49in those circumstances
28:51attending officers
28:52have given a fellow officer
28:54the benefit of the doubt
28:56Is that something
28:57you've come across?
28:58I haven't personally
29:00I have seen cases
29:02where that has happened
29:04and obviously
29:05once you start
29:06on that trajectory
29:08from an investigation
29:09point of view
29:10things are going to
29:11go badly wrong
29:12Yeah it's good night
29:13isn't it?
29:14Yes it is
29:14because you're already
29:15starting at
29:17something that is a lie
29:18you're taking
29:19as the point of truth
29:21In terms of forensic science
29:24then usually
29:25you're quite removed
29:27from the kind of
29:30nucleus of an investigation
29:32because you'd almost
29:35be called in
29:36to a crime scene
29:37to apply your
29:40particular specialism
29:41if you have one
29:42and to help the police
29:45kind of start
29:46to piece things together
29:48The investigation
29:49in terms of the who
29:51and the how
29:52and the where
29:54and the context
29:56is usually
29:57within the police
29:59investigation team itself
30:00and so on that basis
30:03I wouldn't necessarily
30:04have that information
30:06that they are
30:07necessarily looking
30:08at one of their own
30:13Claire died as a result
30:15of massive head injuries
30:17which were revealed
30:18on post-mortem
30:19She had three separate
30:22fractures to the skull
30:23along with other injuries
30:24to her head and neck
30:26They were not consistent
30:28with anything
30:29that was found
30:30in that vehicle
30:30There was lots of blood
30:32there
30:33mainly on the passenger seat
30:35where Claire
30:35had fallen forward
30:37But it was not consistent
30:39with a road traffic accident
30:41the nature of which
30:42they were being presented with
30:44There was little
30:45or no damage
30:45to the BMW
30:46and the officers
30:48very rightly
30:50made the decision
30:51to arrest
30:52Rochaw
30:53on suspicion
30:54of causing those injuries
30:55and the death
30:56of Claire Howarth
31:00So his type of personality
31:02he would be
31:03very manipulative person
31:04he would have seen himself
31:05as quite intelligent
31:07quite
31:08you know
31:09one of the high
31:09impeccing order
31:10but then
31:11his own officers
31:13to come and arrest him
31:14and to have done so so quickly
31:16would have really been
31:17a bit of a blow
31:18to him psychologically
31:19he would have really
31:20found that
31:21an affront really
31:22to his personality
31:23his ability
31:25to get away
31:25with his crime
31:26but he still would have
31:27maintained
31:28his innocence
31:29he still would have
31:30thought there was
31:30some game to play
31:31and he would still
31:32manage to get away
31:33with it
31:35He was
31:36arrested
31:37and taken
31:38to the local
31:39police station
31:40but what
31:41the problem was
31:43was where
31:45were the injuries
31:46inflicted
31:46how did she
31:47come by
31:48those injuries
31:50his account was
31:51that Claire
31:52went mad
31:54she had rushed
31:55downstairs
31:55and got
31:56a huge
31:57heavy
31:58duty hammer
31:59and attacked him
32:00and he said
32:02whilst in the process
32:03of defending himself
32:04that
32:05they were pulling
32:06and shoving
32:06and he just
32:08happened to
32:09hit her
32:09three times
32:10on the head
32:13they would expect
32:14to find
32:15defensive wounds
32:17the wounds
32:18were all on
32:18Claire
32:19and based
32:20very largely
32:21around her head
32:21I think she had
32:2214 fairly horrific
32:24wounds
32:25all around her
32:26head region
32:27and face region
32:28which automatically
32:29says that his story
32:30she started it
32:31she attacked me
32:32with a lump hammer
32:33that's nonsense
32:34yeah
32:34no injuries on him
32:35as far as I'm aware
32:39we now have a situation
32:41where
32:42he admits
32:43that he
32:44was involved
32:45in the assault
32:46on Claire
32:47and that
32:48he struck her
32:49on the head
32:49with the hammer
32:50albeit in his words
32:51in self defence
32:54the decision
32:55was made
32:55to go back
32:56to
32:58visit their
32:59home
32:59in Tottington
33:02you would
33:03very very quickly
33:04get a section 18
33:06warrant
33:06for a home address
33:07so that means
33:08you've got the powers
33:09to search
33:09that home address
33:10because
33:11it's very clear
33:13that the
33:14crime scene
33:15isn't the crime scene
33:16so you've then
33:17got to establish
33:18if that is not
33:19the crime scene
33:20then what is
33:22so very quickly
33:23the house was searched
33:25and it was
33:26very abundantly clear
33:27that a serious
33:29and violent assault
33:30had taken place
33:31in that bedroom
33:33the first thing
33:34they saw
33:34was a trail of blood
33:36there were drops
33:37of blood
33:37from the front driveway
33:38going right round
33:39to the back
33:40of the house
33:42into
33:43the French windows
33:44at the back
33:45the blood trace
33:46was then followed
33:48into the house
33:49and up the stairs
33:51and into
33:52a spare bedroom
33:55in that spare bedroom
33:57on the spare bed
33:59were two suitcases
34:01one was full
34:02and it had
34:04Claire's dress
34:04and clothing in
34:05ready to go away
34:06and another one
34:07that was empty
34:11also in that room
34:12was the devastation
34:14and the clear evidence
34:16of a very very
34:18violent struggle
34:20a very very violent attack
34:23and there was blood splatter
34:26there was blood spread
34:28all along the carpet
34:30but more importantly
34:31on the fitted wardrobe doors
34:36there were three
34:37consistent strikes
34:39at different levels
34:41against the wardrobe
34:43that's not evidence
34:45of self-defense
34:47and a struggle
34:47yes there would have been
34:49a struggle
34:49but it's not evidence
34:50that it's an accidental
34:53that was considerable
34:55force used
34:55not accidental
35:00it would be
35:02very difficult
35:04indeed
35:04to avert
35:06the eyes
35:07of the investigation
35:08and to
35:09get away
35:10with this murder
35:12the fact that
35:14the scenes themselves
35:16were so diverse
35:18and separated
35:20then it was
35:22it would be very easy
35:23to effectively
35:24reconstruct the path
35:26of this crime
35:27and those scenes
35:29in themselves
35:30each told
35:31a different story
35:32about how the assault
35:34had evolved
35:35and would tell us
35:37about his involvement
35:38in that attack
35:39through the bloodstaining
35:41that was either
35:42available in the scene
35:44or have been transferred
35:45onto his clothing
36:04I picked this case up
36:06the morning
36:08from about 8 o'clock
36:09in the morning
36:10and I was called
36:11I went up to the crime scene
36:13and at that stage
36:14we had cordoned the road off
36:17and I distinctly remember
36:19a post office man
36:20in his red van stopped
36:21and said
36:22I've got some mail
36:23to deliver at that house
36:24there
36:24can I go through
36:25so we let the mailman through
36:28as he came back
36:30the mailman said
36:31you need to have a look
36:32at that driveway
36:32of the house
36:33there's a trail above
36:34going down to the house
36:35this was a matter of
36:37400 metres away
36:38from where the crash site was
36:39up and over the hill
36:41so something had gone on
36:43at that location
36:46I remember speaking
36:48to the occupants
36:49of the house
36:49and they said
36:51yes we
36:52I remember going to bed
36:53last night
36:53and round about 2 o'clock
36:55we heard some noise
36:56outside
36:57we thought it was
36:58a fox
36:59and then
37:00they heard what they thought
37:01was a
37:02a female voice
37:04and it actually haunts me
37:07to
37:08to say this
37:10but they remembered
37:11the exact words
37:14and
37:14the female voice said
37:16all I ever did
37:18was love you
37:19you bastard
37:19those were the last words
37:22of Claire Howarth
37:28it was very clear
37:29from this point
37:30that the police
37:31were looking for
37:32a blunt heavy object
37:34they obviously
37:35would have searched
37:36the house
37:36and not found
37:37the murder weapon
37:38there
37:38they would have
37:39searched the car
37:40to suggest
37:41that something
37:43heavily blooded
37:44would have been
37:45in that boot
37:46so you then
37:47make that leap
37:48to suggest
37:48well could that
37:49be the murder weapon
37:50where did the car
37:51end up
37:52the car ended up
37:53in a field
37:53and really
37:54he could have
37:55disposed of that
37:56murder weapon
37:57anywhere along
37:58that country lane
37:58he had time
37:59to do that
38:00before the police
38:00turned up
38:01he had literally
38:02lobbed it
38:03in the field
38:04from the car
38:05thinking that
38:06no one was going
38:06to search for a murder
38:07weapon
38:07because they wouldn't
38:08assume that it
38:09was a murder
38:10and police recovered
38:11the murder weapon
38:12in that field
38:13and on the handle
38:14end was
38:15Martin Forshaw's
38:17DNA
38:18and on the blunt
38:20and on the blunt
38:20end the heavy
38:20end was obviously
38:21the blood
38:22and DNA
38:23with Claire Helms
38:24at that point
38:25it's game
38:25set and match
38:26isn't it
38:26yes absolutely
38:29he was charged
38:30with murder
38:31and he was listed
38:33for trial
38:33at Manchester
38:34Graham Court
38:36he was going
38:36not guilty
38:37to murder
38:38on the basis
38:39of self-defence
38:40that he defended
38:41himself
38:41however
38:42on the
38:45morning of the trial
38:46it changed his plea
38:47and it changed
38:49his plea
38:49to guilty
38:52clearly there was
38:53evidence from
38:53the pathologist
38:54that the injuries
38:56that she suffered
38:58were
38:59and the account
39:00given as self-defence
39:02were totally
39:02implausible
39:05so the police
39:06have a difficult job
39:08sometimes
39:08when they have
39:09people in their own ranks
39:11who have committed crime
39:12and it's inevitable
39:13that people will
39:14but we tend to be
39:15sometimes much harsher
39:16on those people
39:17it becomes a bit
39:18of a shock
39:18because those are the people
39:19that we trust
39:20to uphold law and order
39:22when they're breaking
39:23the rules
39:23and it does impact
39:24upon people's perceptions
39:26of the force
39:27it's thankfully quite rare
39:29but unfortunately
39:30often these quite
39:31high profile cases
39:32where very often
39:34women have been
39:35attacked and murdered
39:37they do
39:38really sort of
39:39tend to impact
39:40upon
39:40particularly certain
39:41groups of people
39:42whether they will
39:43look after them
39:44whether they are
39:45out for their interests
39:46or serving those
39:47of others
39:49the judge
39:50was not happy
39:52and before passing
39:54sentence
39:54he wanted an account
39:56of what happened
39:59prior
39:59to the accident
40:01there was a pause
40:03in the hearing
40:04and
40:05foreshaw
40:06was allowed to speak
40:07with his barrister
40:08with his barrister
40:08at the time
40:10and I remember
40:11sitting in court
40:12saying
40:12we've never had
40:13an explanation
40:13as to what happened
40:14we don't really know
40:15what happened
40:17we know what happened
40:18at the house
40:20we know that he put her
40:21in the car
40:22drove up
40:22to that remote location
40:25and clearly she had
40:27severe injuries
40:28at that stage
40:28she would be
40:30unconscious
40:32but we still
40:33didn't know
40:34how we could
40:35account for
40:35the blood trail
40:37and the words
40:37spoken by
40:38that were heard
40:39by the family
40:40at the remote house
40:43and after about
40:44an hour or so
40:44the barrister
40:45came back
40:45into court
40:46and on behalf
40:47of foreshaw
40:49he gave
40:50further
40:51explanation
40:53he said
40:53that he had
40:54panicked
40:54he didn't know
40:55what to do
40:56he was panicking
40:57driving
40:59didn't know
40:59where he was
41:01and that
41:03she'd come round
41:05so he stopped
41:06the car
41:08he stopped
41:09the car
41:09at her house
41:10on his right
41:11hand side
41:11and it was
41:13the only house
41:13in the area
41:14he could see
41:15and he took
41:16Claire
41:17down the driveway
41:18to the house
41:19trying to get help
41:20he said
41:23but then
41:24when he got
41:25to the driveway
41:26he realised
41:27that her injuries
41:28were so severe
41:30that he had
41:31to put her
41:32out of her pain
41:34and he struck her
41:36twice
41:36two further
41:37blows
41:39now
41:40I can only
41:41imagine
41:42that he must
41:42have gone
41:43for the hammer
41:43that was in
41:44the boot
41:44of the car
41:46and he hit her
41:47again
41:47on two further
41:50times
41:50down that driveway
41:52he must have
41:53then carried her
41:53back to the car
41:54and then driven
41:55to the top
41:56of the hill
41:56and then
41:57swapped round
41:58put Claire
41:58in the driver's seat
42:00and then
42:01moved the seat
42:02forward
42:02make it look
42:03as though it's
42:03an accident
42:04and let the car
42:06roll down the hill
42:07and he even
42:09threw the hammer
42:10into the field
42:11which recovered
42:14so this was
42:15the result
42:17of
42:19an absolute tragedy
42:22under English law
42:24there is only
42:26one sentence
42:27for murder
42:29life imprisonment
42:31but life
42:32never quite
42:33means life
42:34and the judge
42:34has the discretion
42:36to set
42:37a minimum
42:38term
42:38he sentenced
42:40police constable
42:42Martin Foreshaw
42:43to life
42:44imprisonment
42:45with a minimum
42:46term
42:47of 18 years
42:51I personally
42:53for the fact
42:54that he
42:54was a serving
42:55police officer
42:56and there was
42:58such an abuse
42:59of trust
43:01I don't really
43:02feel that that
43:03was it
43:03it's such a cruel
43:04murder
43:05it's so cruel
43:06personally
43:07I would have
43:08liked to have
43:08seen more years
43:12this was not
43:13the perfect murder
43:14by any stretch
43:15but what I am
43:17concerned about
43:18is
43:19that what
43:20happens if
43:21that vehicle
43:22had crashed
43:23through that
43:24fence
43:24and careered
43:25right through
43:26and down a
43:26ravine
43:27and into a
43:28valley below
43:30now if that
43:32had been the
43:32case
43:33the officer
43:33would have
43:34been confronted
43:34with a very
43:35badly damaged
43:36vehicle
43:36and a very
43:38badly damaged
43:38person
43:39consistent
43:40and he
43:41possibly would
43:42have got away
43:45with it
43:46it's possible
43:46from this
43:47to see a
43:48pattern developing
43:49to see
43:49key points
43:51key trigger
43:51points
43:52key inflection
43:53points where
43:55the situation
43:56could have
43:56changed
43:57yes
43:57does it
43:59tell you
44:00anything
44:01about
44:02quotes
44:03perfect
44:04murders
44:05you're talking
44:06about someone
44:07that had
44:08all the tools
44:08and knowledge
44:09available to
44:10them
44:10and yet
44:12they still
44:13couldn't carry
44:14out the
44:14perfect
44:15murder
44:15and the
44:16minute
44:16that you
44:16introduce
44:17panic
44:18and stress
44:21mistakes
44:21in covering
44:22your tracks
44:23are going
44:23to be made
44:24which is
44:25why
44:25in my
44:26experience
44:27criminologists
44:28say
44:30there isn't
44:31really such
44:31a thing
44:32as a
44:33perfect
44:33murder
44:33seeing it
44:35like this
44:35just lays
44:36it out
44:36so clearly
44:37the
44:38arrogance
44:39and the
44:40overconfidence
44:41is what
44:42made the
44:42difference
44:43between the
44:43two
44:43yes
44:44yeah
44:45and talking
44:45in really
44:46blunt
44:47terms
44:47he messes
44:49it up
44:50spectacularly
44:51you know
44:51for someone
44:52who comes
44:53from a
44:53law enforcement
44:54background
44:55at no point
44:56has he thought
44:57well the house
44:58is going to get
44:58searched
44:59I'll clean
44:59the scene
45:00every part
45:02of this
45:03crime
45:04suggests
45:04that he
45:05panicked
45:05at every
45:06single stage
45:06of it
45:09and he's
45:10now serving
45:1118 years
45:16there were
45:17no winners
45:18in this
45:18case
45:18Claire's
45:19family have
45:20lost
45:20a beautiful
45:21young woman
45:22who had
45:23everything to
45:24live for
45:24and she
45:25was
45:26killed
45:27by someone
45:28who she
45:28thought
45:28she loved
45:29and trusted
45:31on the other
45:31hand
45:32you've got
45:32a foreshore
45:33and unfortunately
45:35emotions got
45:36the better
45:37of him
45:37that night
45:37he didn't
45:38know what
45:39to do
45:39and I
45:39understand
45:40that
45:40but look
45:41what happened
45:42look what
45:43happened
45:44when he
45:44didn't face
45:45up to
45:45the reality
45:47and he
45:48left it
45:49right to
45:49the last
45:50minute
45:50just before
45:51they were
45:52going to
45:52pack the
45:52cases
45:53get on
45:54that flight
45:54and they're
45:56off to
45:56St.
45:57Lucia
45:58it's an
45:59absolute
45:59tragedy
46:29you
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