Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 3

Episode
Murder In A Brothel
Broadcast Info
2025 (59 mins)
Description
Police are called by a distressed young Chinese woman who speaks very little English but has clearly just witnessed a horrific attack by an intruder who has fled the scene. On arrival at the property, Crime scene coordinator Jo Ward and DI Jim Mahon find a Chinese national Jinming Zhang who has been subjected to multiple stabbings and, despite some signs of resistance, died at the hands of a merciless killer. They quickly deduce that the scene is a brothel, and that the caller who witnessed the attack may be linked to trafficking by a criminal gang, which places her at increased risk. But there is no sign of a murder weapon and as the body is removed for post-mortem, the pressure is on for the forensics team to move fast in order to capture any potential DNA evidence inside the brothel - as well as outside, where they discover a trail of blood leading away from the scene - before any samples may degrade during the night. Initially, the investigative team led by DI Mahon works on the hypothesis that they may be dealing with a case of premeditated robbery that descended into vicious murder when the suspect was challenged by the victim. CCTV specialist coordinator Andy MacDonald leads the search for footage in the area (an old industrial site close to the city centre) which has captured an image of the potential assailant only metres away from the scene. At the same time, DNA is painstakingly extracted from blood swabs and analysed by forensic scientist Charlotte Hargreaves, but they don’t turn up any potential leads. Only the victim’s DNA has been found. Back at the murder scene, Jo Ward and blood pattern analyst Phil Field re-examine the blood trails for more samples in an attempt to isolate DNA and fingerprints; but despite further intensive and intricate testing, their efforts still yield nothing. But there’s an unexpected breakthrough when meticulous inch-by-inch searching in the area identified by CCTV reveals more blood spots on a pavement, leading to an extension of the crime scene. Forensics scene investigator Claire Stewart is despatched to try to establish whether the offender was injured and whether the blood trail can narrow down his getaway route. This leads police to a search of the banks of the River Rea, where the attacker seems to have moved towards. A pile of burned clothing is discovered on the riverbank, presenting another opportunity for forensic testing. Will this new forensic opportunity yield results or is this where the trail goes cold? However, five days on from the crime, police are coming under increasing time pressure. They haven’t been able to find the murder weapon, and although they make an arrest, the DNA evidence reveals that it is not their man. They now realise that this suspect is forensically aware, adept at understanding police techniques and after researching a similar crime elsewhere, likely a repeat offender. Despite all the homicide team’s efforts, and the most sophisticated DNA science they have available, a dangerous individual is still at large. But DI Mahon remains upbeat ‘We’ve got his DNA, we’ve got his image, we will not stop until we find him’. And Jo Ward agrees ‘Ten years ago this would have been the end of the road but with forensics always evolving its just another hurdle we need to overcome. He’ll have slipped up somewhere along the line and he doesn’t know it.'
Genre
Criminology; Policing; Forensics

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 3". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/252520 (Accessed 10 Jun 2025)