The Mysterious Case of Fred the Head

Episode 15 - The Other Missing Man

A new discovery takes me on an unexpected detour, and takes me on the trail of another missing man

Episode 14 - The Archive in the Attic

I needed to find the exact date of a story that appeared in the Burton Mail, as it could provide vital information. But how was I going to find three consecutive years of newspapers from 50 years ago - and what would they reveal?

Episode 13 - The Vanishing Man

I'm on the hunt for a man who vanished from Burton in 1971. But how do you find someone from 50 years ago who no one has been able to track down since?

Episode 12 - Conversations

A very good question leads to the next stage of the investigation, leading to a series of conversations which open up more and more lines of enquiry.

Episode 11 - Connections

My most promising lead has disappeared at a critical point of the investigation and that means that my quest to find the identity of the body is at risk.

Episode10 - The Mysterious Mr Czenner

I'm on the trail of Jozsef Czenner, the man who seems to be associated with a series of strange coincidences. How exactly does he fit into the investigation?

Episode 9 - Whatever happened to Joszi?

Following the leads from the last episode, I get to work on trying to identify Joszi, the man someone had been looking for in early 1969. But then a discovery deep in the archives raises some further questions about what could have possibly happened to Joszi, and just maybe, an identity.

Episode 8 - The Hungarian Connection

Sometimes, you've just got to follow the evidence wherever it leads you, and this time it led us to somebody with an amazing story to tell.

And one that brings us within touching distance of identifying the victim.

Episode 7 - Two Victims and a Perpetrator

Over the years a number of missing people have emerged as potentially being the victim, and more recently a potential perpetrator has also emerged. We take a deep dive in to these claims and provide an update on the current investigation.

Episode 6 - The Skull Reveals Some Secrets

I discover that in 2013, the University of Derby was involved in work to recreate the skull in 3D form, at the same time they ran some tests that gave clear indications on possible nationality of the skull. I interview the project leader, it leads to an idea that, if true, might just bring us very close indeed to exactly who Fred the Head really is.

Episode 5 - Beyond the Grave

When we are trying to solve a 50-year-old cold case and I read in the local paper the headline "Man claims to speak to Fred the Head from beyond the grave", that's just too good an opportunity to miss. We interview him and this is that interview. Interesting......

Episode 4 - Occam's Razor

From what we have already discovered, I try and piece together the simplest explanation to the five most basic questions: When?, How?, Who?, Why? and Where?

I'm joined in the process by Andy Hough, former Head of Serious Crimes, and together we  take a deep dive into the options.

The process certainly moves things forward in my mind, and just maybe, we make a minor discovery about the date the murder took place.