Newsquest launches True Crime documentary

According to the publisher, this is the first in the True Crime Newsquest series produced with the help of award-winning investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas.

The series – which is currently being broadcast and published across 66 of Newsquest’s major news websites, the publisher added – looks back at the most shocking cases across Britain using a variety of different types of content ranging from documentaries to podcasts, and crime scene photos with interactive maps.

Yesterday saw the launch of True Crime Newsquest’s “Unsolved” programme presented by the publisher’s new special projects editor Jody Doherty-Cove, on the case of Claudia Lawrence. The 35-year-old disappeared in March 2009. Although several arrests have been made, no one has been charged with her murder and her body has never been found.

To mark the launch of True Crime Newsquest’s latest episode, Williams-Thomas hosted a live Q&A on TikTok at 5.30pm yesterday.

Williams-Thomas said of the new Claudia Lawrence investigation: “We will for the first time, bring you the most definitive timeline and overview of the investigation, bringing you right up to date. In addition, we showcase some very interesting information about Claudia’s phone records.”

You can watch new True Crime Newsquest Claudia Lawrence documentary here.

Now, with the onboarding of Williams-Thomas, who exposed Jimmy Saville as a paedophile in The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, the True Crime Newsquest series is set to expand by splitting into three distinct content areas, the publisher continued – Solved and Unsolved cases and Missing people.

• Solved will give detailed overviews of key UK cases featuring unique insight from reporters and editors who were at the heart of the stories, from first breaking the news in their communities to sitting through extensive trials.
• Unsolved will delve into the perplexing crime stories that have stumped detectives, aiming to feature exclusive interviews, unearthed evidence, or exhaustive research to give audiences unrivalled coverage of mysterious cases across the UK.
• Missing will help to bring public awareness to the people across Britain who have disappeared in a bid to find more information for the heartbroken families that have been left behind.

The publisher says that Williams-Thomas will be joining special projects editor Jody Doherty Cove in fronting the content across the three strands.

The former detective recently completed a large research investigation into unsolved murders, establishing that there are 2,617 such cases across the UK. The real figure, he believes, will be more than 3,000 as police forces have not converted all their paper files to computer and many missing person cases will, in fact, be murders.

The earliest case to remain unsolved is the murder of John Bianchi which was recorded by Northumbria police in 1919.

In addition to the Solved, Unsolved, and Missing strands, which can also be seen on the True Crime Newsquest YouTube Channel and all other social media platforms, the publisher added that Williams-Thomas will also be launching a weekly CrimeBeat a 90-second roundup of stories from Newsquest’s reporters.