Series profiling major 20th century crimes, beginning with the case of notorious Gloucester couple Fred and Rose West. The pair were arrested after police found several dismembered bodies in and around their home, but Fred escaped trial by committing suicide in prison. His wife was convicted of 10 killings and sentenced to life imprisonment
Profile of serial killer Dennis Rader, who preyed on families in Kansas for 30 years, and called himself BTK to draw attention to his preferred murder method - bind, torture and kill. Rader's narcissistic nature proved to be his downfall when, after years of mocking the police officers attempting to find him, a careless mistake exposed his identity
The case of Green River killer Gary Leon Ridgeway who was arrested on 30 November 2001 after 19 years of police searches. The offender is recognised as the most prolific murderer in US history, having slayed at least 48 women. A warrant was granted to search his property in 1987 but no evidence was found at the time, it was only after a breakthrough in DNA technology in 1999 that the case was reopened
The case of Austrian Jack Unterweger who, after serving a 14-year spell in jail for the murder of a girl in 1974, went on to become a celebrated media figure and an example of the reform system's effectiveness. However, since his release, it transpired he had killed up to 11 more people across Europe and America and he hanged himself in his cell after being given a life sentence without parole
The case of Ivan Millat, who killed at least seven backpackers in New South Wales, Australia, during the early 1990s. Police were initially confounded by the marked differences in the murders and it was suggested two offenders could be on the loose. However, evidence eventually began to mount against Millat, who had been charged with the rape of two women in 1971, and it was ascertained he was the only culprit
The case of Phoenix Strangler Sipho Thwala, who was sentenced to 506 years in jail in March 1999 when he was convicted of the murder of 16 women in Durban, South Africa. The police search was initially hampered as the bodies had been burned, but with the help of psychological profiler Micki Pistorius and DNA samples which matched those from a past attempted rape, Twala was eventually brought to justice.
How a nurse on a special children's unit became one of Britain's most notorious killers. Doctors at Grantham Hospital's special children's unit were baffled when in early 1991 they were suddenly faced with a spate of unexplained and unexpected deaths.
Investigating Arthur Shawcross, who murdered 11 women in the city of Rochester, New York, in the late 1980s. With almost no forensic evidence to build their case, police had to rely on ground-breaking criminal profiling work by the FBI to help catch the killer
The story of 'chessboard killer' Alexander Pichushkin, who aimed to kill 64 people - one for each square on the board of the game - but was caught before he could complete his task. The Russian committed his crimes over a 15-year period between 1992 and 2006 before being apprehended, and officers encountered problems substantiating his claims to have killed more than 50 people
The unsolved case of the Monster of Florence, who preyed on young couples and committed murders in and around the city in the early 1980s, but who has never been officially identified. Among several people suspected of the crimes was peasant farmer Pietro Pacciani, who was tried and convicted, but later cleared by the Italian Supreme Court due to a lack of evidence
Docu-drama examining a string of gruesome murders that affected the close-knit community of Snowtown, near Adelaide, Australia. The perpetrators, led by ruthless psychopath John Bunting, tortured and killed 12 people during the 1990s, before disposing of the bodies in barrels of acid. This programme reveals how the murder of one of the victims, Elizabeth Haydon, alerted police to the gang's activities
The story of Belgian Marc Dutroux, who kidnapped, tortured and abused six girls during 1995 and 1996 - four of whom he murdered. The country's initial joy at the rescue of two of the captives turned to horror when information emerged about the police investigation, suggesting that corruption - and not incompetence - led to Dutroux being free to carry on with his crimes for so long. This possibility brought 300,000 people to the streets in protest and left the nation in turmoil
The case of Japanese businessman Joji Obara, who came to the attention of Tokyo police in 2000, while they were investigating the disappearance of Lucie Blackman from Kent. Raiding his properties, investigators found more than 200 video tapes of his sexual assaults, and he was later convicted of numerous rapes and the manslaughter of an Australian woman
Investigating how the psychological state of Dennis Nilsen, who killed at least 15 men and boys, was approached by the judiciary and media, after the serial killer claimed he committed the murders in a trance
In-depth investigations into infamous criminal cases and uncovering the motives behind them and the procedures used to arrest the perpetrators
Profile of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of six men following a year-long killing spree in Florida. The programme explores how police were able to gather only circumstantial evidence against Wuornos, and launched an undercover operation to lure her and a possible accomplice out into the open
The hunt for the Suffolk Strangler, who murdered five prostitutes in the Ipswich area during 2006, leading to the largest manhunt since the Yorkshire Ripper
