A CID Detective Relives His First UK Murder Case — 1989

Step inside the world of real homicide investigation with The Detective’s Files: Episode 3. In this gripping instalment, former CID officer Jacques Morrell takes us back to 1989, when he faced his very first murder case.

With 30 years of policing experience, Jacques reveals the reality of moving from the beat into CID, the pressures of working homicide over the Christmas period, and the shocking discovery that forced his team to live at work while chasing down a killer. This is not fiction. These are the real stories behind the uniform — long hours, emotional strain, and the painstaking work of solving violent crime in 1980s Britain.

If you’re fascinated by true crime, murder investigations, and the hidden world of UK policing, this episode takes you inside the case that changed everything for Jacques Morrell. 

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00:00 Intro – Detective’s Files with Jacques Morrell
01:00 Life in uniform and move to CID
03:00 First murder case: the call that changed everything
05:00 Inside a real UK homicide investigation
08:00 Reflections on a detective’s first case

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Inside America’s Darkest Secret: The Serial Killer Capital of the World.

Why does the USA have more serial killers per capita than any other country?

From Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer to the Golden State Killer and Samuel Little, the United States has produced almost 70% of all known serial murderers—despite making up less than 5% of the world’s population. 

In this episode of Psycho Killer: Shocking True Crime Stories, Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell uncover the data, the history, and the psychology that explain America’s dark reputation.

We explore post-war suburbia, the impact of Vietnam, the failures of fragmented policing, and how psychopaths hide in plain sight. Is the American Dream itself a breeding ground for killers? Tune in to Part One: The Perfect Storm to find out.

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Behind every sudden death, there’s a story—and a detective who has to uncover it.

In this second episode of The Detective’s Files, Jacques Morrell sits down with Simon Ford to explore how the police investigate unexpected deaths.

From natural causes to cases of suicide, Jacques reflects on his time in uniform—sharing first-hand experiences with the deceased and their families, and explaining the vital roles of the police surgeon and coroner.

While procedures have changed over the years, Jacques reveals that professionalism is always defined by calmness, compassion, and respect in the face of life’s most difficult moments.

If you or someone close to you is struggling, support is available. In the UK and Ireland, you can call Samaritans on 116 123. In the US, dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For immediate emergencies, call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US.

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Osama Bin Laden masterminded 9/11, evaded the world’s most powerful armies, and reshaped global politics. But who was he, really?

In this second episode of Psycho Killer: Shocking True Crime Stories, Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell go beyond the headlines to explore Bin Laden’s psychology — from fugitive years and obsessive micromanagement to the chilling revelations in the Abbottabad files.

Using the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP), we ask: Was Bin Laden a prophet, a prisoner of his own ideology, or a psychopath? We examine his messianic self-image, emotional detachment, and controlling dominance, alongside his death in Abbottabad and the fractured legacy of al-Qaeda and ISIS.

This is not just the story of one man, but of the world he made — and the fear, violence, and divisions that still echo today. Was Osama Bin Laden mad, bad, or something far more dangerous? Listen now and decide for yourself.

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This month marks 24 years since the 9/11 attacks on America — the deadliest terror strike since Pearl Harbour. To mark the anniversary, Psycho Killer investigates the rise and fall of Osama Bin Laden. Was he a religious zealot, a freedom fighter, or a psychopath? Perhaps all three.

Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) and the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP), Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell apply two clinical tools to Bin Laden’s life and legacy. The result? More than one conclusion — and a portrait of a man whose blend of belief, power, and manipulation shaped the world we live in today.

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Explicit – contains surgery details.

Walter J. Freeman II thought he was a revolutionary. And in a way, he was. He operated during three revolutionary decades of the twentieth century – years that saw the coming of nuclear power, antibiotics and mankind's first tentative steps into space. But his technique was more medieval than post-modern. The cutting edge of his trademark instrument was the point of an icepick – or at least, a wicked-looking tool derived from one. Yet, here was an individual who convinced himself he was doing humanity a service, while all around, patients were wheeled away on gurneys with their humanity neutralised. 

Was Freeman mad, bad, psychopathic... or just deluded? And where does the dividing line fall that separates those traits? Indeed, can they be separated, or do they seep into each other, like blood seeping into bandages, until all we see is crimson? The red mist of a horror too awful to comprehend – a physician sworn to not harm, acting with official sanction in a way that no physician should.

In the second part of The Lobotomist, we answer that question as dispassionately as we can, despite the trail of bodies and tortured souls the good doctor left in his wake. What tools do we have to comprehend the incomprehensible paradox of Walter J. Freeman II? Was he well-meaning, misguided, or something much darker? Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats, because the jury is in.


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An American “hitwoman” is starting a 30-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom for trying to murder her lover's business rival. Aimee Betro, from Wisconsin, flew to the UK in August 2019 and spent more than two weeks in the country before trying to shoot the man outside his home in Birmingham—Simon Ford reports.

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Explicit – surgery details

The story of Walter J. Freeman II is as disturbing as it is bizarre. He pioneered the transorbital lobotomy, a radical and, to modern minds, barbaric form of brain surgery. Freeman left behind him a trail of devastation – shattered lives and a body count that reached the hundreds. Yet it took the authorities two decades to come to their senses and stop him. 

During those years, he worked with official approval at institutions across the United States. He even became a travelling sales-surgeon, peddling his procedure like snake oil, driving from state to state in a vehicle that came to be known as the 'lobotomobile'. His patients, which we would now call victims, included the rich and famous. Some gave consent. Others did not. 

Until his death, Freeman insisted he had altruistic intentions. He wanted to cure the incurable with his ground-breaking surgical technique. He tried to send people back to their families the way they used to be, before mental illness took hold. That is the case for the defence. The prosecution alleges that Walter J. Freeman II was something darker. That his motives were far from selfless. That he was, in fact, a psycho killer of the first order. 

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Step inside one of true crime’s strangest afterlives. In this bonus episode of Psycho Killer: Shocking True Crime Stories, we follow the grisly journey of Henri Désiré Landru’s severed head—from the guillotine in 1920s France to its eerie display in Hollywood’s infamous Museum of Death.

Landru, known as the “Bluebeard of Gambais,” was convicted of murdering at least ten women and a teenage boy during World War I. But what happened to his head after the blade fell is a mystery tangled in rumour, lost records, and bizarre twists.

Was it preserved for science, smuggled as a macabre trophy, or simply passed from collector to collector? Join us as we explore the historical trail, the ethical questions, and the unsettling fascination with turning killers into curiosities.

Acknowledgements
KCAL News (2015). 'The Museum of Death is filled with lively exhibits – if you don't faint.' Available on YouTube.

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An Australian serial killer has been granted parole after almost three decades behind bars. James Vlassakis was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 26 years for committing four of 11 murders in South Australia between 1992 and 1999.  

The case became known as "the bodies in the barrels" serial killings, because the dismembered bodies of the victims were found in barrels of hydrochloric acid in the vault of a disused bank in Snowtown, a remote community 93 miles north of Adelaide.  

As Simon Ford reports, Vlassakis was jailed with three other men after one of the longest and most publicised trials in Australian legal history.

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