Episode
Horizon: How to Commit the Perfect Murder
Overview
Is it possible to use a knowledge of forensic science, not to catch a killer, but to commit a perfect murder? Modern forensic science should make it impossible to commit murder and get away with it. But how easy would it be to outfox the detectives? With the help of top forensic scientists, and real-life murder investigations, we explore whether it's possible to commit a perfect murder. The body is the most important piece of evidence in any murder. Pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd reveals the crucial clues that give away the secrets of a suspicious death. Dr Lee Goff can work out a time of death from just a few maggots on a corpse. To really understand the way a human decomposes he relies on experiments - and dead pigs make ideal human models. And what is the perfect murder weapon? Probably Agatha Christie's favourite - poison. It leaves no marks on the body, and the victim may not even realise what has happened until it's too late. But there still might not be a perfect murder. The world's most notorious poisoner - Harold Shipman - was eventually caught.
Details
- Series
- Horizon
- Season
- Season 44
- Episode
- Episode 9
- Air date
- 2007-05-08
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
How to Commit the Perfect Murder is Episode 9 in 2007 of Horizon. It aired on 2007-05-08. The runtime is 60 min.
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More episodes from this season
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Could Professor Jose Torero's fire protection system have saved the Twin Towers?
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Episode 6: Battle of the Brains
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Episode 5: Moon for Sale
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Episode 4: Mad but Glad
Pianist Nick van Bloss has Tourette's syndrome. Is his illness a blessing or a curse?
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The moment Nick placed his hands on the piano keys his symptoms vanished. By the age of 20, he was an award winning international pianist. He felt sure that his illness had made him the success he was.
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Episode 3: Prof Regan's Beauty Parlour
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Episode 2: The Elephant's Guide to Sex
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Episode 1: My Pet Dinosaur
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Had dinosaurs survived, the world today would be very different. If humans managed to survive alongside them, we wouldn't have the company of most, if not all, of the mammals with which we are familiar today. Giraffes, elephants and other mammals wouldn't have had space to evolve.
Would we be hunting Hadrosaurs instead of elk? Or farming Protoceratops instead of pigs? Would dinosaurs be kept as pets? And could the brighter dinosaurs have evolved into something humanoid?