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Natural Born Killer, Part 1

Episode 5 of 8

When 54-year-old Jamie Gawler is found dead in his Hereford flat, DCI Gareth Lougher's team piece together his final days. But a suspect's phone yields a shocking new revelation.

Two response officers are called to a flat in Hereford, where they find 54-year-old Jamie Gawler dead in an armchair, with a towel draped over his face. A post-mortem reveals blunt force trauma to the head, neck and chest, with almost every rib broken. Detectives recover a table leg at the scene, considering it to possibly be the weapon used in the assault. DCI Gareth Lougher leads a team of 35 detectives and specialists to investigate.

With no witnesses to the attack, detectives begin to piece together Jamie's final days. House-to-house enquiries establish that he had recently allowed a stranger to stay at his flat. A neighbour describes meeting the man, who she found to be charming and persuasive but left her with an uneasy feeling she couldn't quite place.

Financial data proves crucial, allowing detectives to trace a trail of transactions through Hereford and beyond. The trail leads to a train station in south Wales, where items belonging to the victim are found alongside bank cards in the name of Matthew Jonathan. A fingerprint recovered from a vodka bottle at the scene returns a match to Jonathan, who has 18 prior convictions, including strangulation, and was released from prison just six weeks earlier.

CCTV from Hereford train station captures Jonathan leaving the city the day before Jamie's body was discovered. A man seen with him is traced through local knowledge, and he tells detectives that Jonathan had a thousand pounds in cash, admitted hurting someone and said he needed to leave Hereford.

Police arrest Jonathan in south Wales. In custody, as police take his photographs, they discover the words 'Natural Born Killer' tattooed across his back. At his interview, he largely gives 'no comment' responses. However, when analysts examine his phone, they uncover a video that stops everyone in their tracks and raises the possibility that Jamie may not have been his only victim that day.

11 months left to watch

58 minutes

Audio described

On TV

Tomorrow 22:40

Credits

Role Contributor
Executive Producer Rachael Barnes
Executive Producer Colin Barr
Series Producer Vicky Munro
Production Company Expectation Entertainment

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