Episode 1 - River Island

They say that in the case of a mysterious death, the first 48 hours are critical. If investigators don't make a breakthrough in that time, the chances of it being solved are greatly diminished.

But what if they don't get a breakthrough in the first 48 hours, or the first 48 days. What if they don't get a breakthrough in 48 years?

On March 26th 1971, the body of a young man was found in a secluded spot, an island in the River Trent in the UK with extremely limited access. He was buried in a kneeling position, naked except for socks and a wedding ring. His hands and ankles had been bound.

So began one of the UK’s most baffling murder mysteries, a grisly crime that has remained unsolved to this day. 50 years ago police had no idea who he was, how he died and how he came to be buried. Today, they still don’t.

In the absence of an identification, he was given a name. Because his skull was retained by police, he became known as “Fred the Head”

To mark the 50th anniversary of his discovery, a new podcast series. “The Mysterious Case of Fred the Head” has been released which takes a deep dive into the strange nature of this unsolved crime.