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Professor David Wilson and guests explore the relationship between cold cases and the media.

David begins by travelling to Aberdeen, where he delves into the cruel and vicious attack on local taxi driver George Murdoch in 1983. George was left for dead after picking up a ruthless killer on a dark September evening. So brutal and unusual was the cheese wire murder weapon found at the scene, that the culprit was inevitably dubbed the Cheese Wire Killer.

David is joined in the studio by George Murdoch’s nephew Alex McKay. They discuss the difficulty when years begin to pass and leads run dry, when there is little else the police can do and it’s up to the family to take matters into their own hands. Alex shares what it’s like for the family when a case goes cold and his concern for his uncle’s murder remaining unanswered.

David then ventures to Irvine to examine the tragic death of young mother Shona Stevens in 1994. Shona had left the house at lunchtime to go to the local shops, but on her return she was savagely attacked and left for dead only 200 yards away from her home. Shona’s brutal murder sent shockwaves through the local and wider communities, so much so that it has been featured on Crimewatch twice.

David is also joined by Daily Record crime reporter Jane Hamilton, who talks about why Shona’s case made national headlines, and the relationship between police investigations and press media.

David’s final guest is criminologist Kirsty Bennett, a specialist in policing and cold case homicides. They discuss why certain cases might be favoured by the media, and the benefits and pitfalls of mass-media attention, and they explain what is meant by the term ‘the ideal victim’, and why the public might have more empathy with these sorts of people.