What mistakes do murderers make? Forensic Scientist explains.

In this week's episode, we speak to Jo Millington a forensic scientist and blood spatter expert on her incredible work identifying murderers through the 'magic art' of crime scene investigation. Jo reveals the common mistakes murderers make when killing, explains how you can never totally clean up a crime scene and how it feels like to catch a 7/7 London bomber.

00:00 - 00:34 - Intro
00:34 - 02:40 - Early Life
02:40 - 05:23 - Magic Art
05:23 - 06:59 - Simulating Human Flesh
06:59 - 10:18 - Crime Scenes
10:18 - 13:49 - Blood Dripping Through The Ceiling
13:49 - 15:18 - Brain In A Frying Pan
15:18 - 16:59 - Body In A Freezer
16:59 - 18:22 - Clean Up
18:22 - 19:59 - Mistakes Murderers Make
19:59 - 23:37 - Identifying A London Bomber
23:37 - 24:55 - Protecting Mental Health
24:55 - 25:46 - Reflection

#LADbible

[starlightyoongi]

The casually disgusted "what an idiot" really wraps the whole thing together

[paulbuswell]

My dad was a forensic fingerprint expert. He told me about all the torches/flashlights he'd found on jobs, with fingerprints all over the batteries inside.

[nunally]

I remember watching a video where they were pondering on the idea that “Serial killers are not as common as they were in the past, it’s like they don’t exist nowadays” and the expert in the video explained that it’s no that they don’t exist or aren’t common nowadays, it’s just that with the technology we have today, including CCTV everywhere, serial killers can be caught on their first murder before they get the chance to *become* serial killers. Very interesting!

[engelberthovel]

Her competence and distain for murderers is extremely attractive ngl

[StephenWest-tv]

I heard a detective say "a cellphone is by far the best thing to ever happen to murder investigation. Its a tracker, it is never wrong, never forgets, and super accurate. Its every single communication you have, every search, every idea, every thought. Its your best friend, your diary, and your therapist, it it will tell us everything accurately and honestly"

[Rakeindneijs]

My grandmother was a forensic toxicologist. I loved hearing her stories, it made me respect the dead more.

[Yes-dynx]

Underrated line of work. We owe these people so much. Traumatizing themselves so they can help find the person who committed the crime so they can be taken off the streets and away from us….
Thank you to any and all forensics reading this, we owe you more than we will ever be able to give!

[chanchanko]

As a regular civilian, it boggles my mind that people commit crimes when there’s so many CCTV and digital footprints now. My FACE on the internet the same day I commit a crime??? Hell now gtfoh with that.

[laf]

A friend once told me that wicked people often believe other people are stupid and that they will just magically get away with it.

[ISleepWithAFanOn]

"What mistakes do murderers make?"
My brain: "Murdering."

[B-]

In the modern age you'd be surprised how many career criminals leave their GPS tracking and take their smart phones with them when out committing crime.

[Anonym-yrqn]

Documentaries like these have really helped me to feel a lot more comfortable after going for hikes in the everglades!

[Urgrannytranny]

The biggest mistake a murderer can make is to not dispatch the body. As long as investigators can't find the body, it's a case of disappearance.
My father told me about a case that went unsolved for 8 years.
The perpetrator killed his business partner and cremated his body in an empty water well outside city. Before the deed he had booked a train ticket for a business meeting as an alibi. He deliberately chose a train that had a long halt at one of the stations in between. He then boarded the train hours before thr crime. But he sneaked out of his cabin midway through the train journey. He chose a minor train halt for this. He had placed a vehicle nearby using which he came back to kill the victim. Then drove the same car all the way to the destination city. Abandoned the car and reached the railway station. Took his luggage out from his cabin. And purposefully walked past a cctv camera that can catch him.
Hence creating an alibi.
Got caught 8 yrs later only when he himself succumbed to guilt and turned himself in, after the very business for which he killed his friend went bankrupt.

[jekylld]

I once saw a movie where the guy wore gloves when he bought the bullets and thats when i realized i didnt have enough forward thinking to pull something like that off

[thewimp]

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bone you break
Every step you take
A forensic will be finding you.

[domovancan]

This was an amazing episode. I’m commenting on a short here that came up in my feed. I saw this and thought it was fascinating. I encourage anyone interested in this kind of stuff to listen to this brilliant woman.

[ImNotCreativeEnoughToMakeUser]

Did a semester in forensic science. Fascinating how it's nearly inpossible to NOT leave an identifying mark SOMEWHERE

[jaccobbailey]

I remember once haring something along the lines of, "killers, after theyve murdered a victim, are thinking in such an altered state of mind that they just...forget things. Even if theyre highly intelligent, even if theyre highly organized, their mind just wanders away from the scene and they leave behind vital clues".
I think that was in reference to serial killers specifically, but an altered state of mind would seem pretty consistent with ~most~ killers -whether theyre enraged, nervous, or just having an out-of-body once the deed is done, or if its something more to them

[VonThallis]

My forensics professor (she used to be a forensics analyst on murder scenes) used to talk about
"You've murdered once we've investigated dozens/ hundreds collectively, we're better at catching you than you are at murder"

[TheDiamond]

For clarification, only murders who get caught make these mistakes.