The fourth episode of Season 1 of Forensic Files is a little different than most cases in the series. This episode focused on two related murders in Great Britain, while most of the episodes in the series focused on the United States. In "The Footpath Murders" we see the origination of DNA profiles as they pertained to both exonerations and convictions.
Peter Thomas' Opening Monologue: "On a deserted footpath early on the morning of November 22nd, 1983, a hospital worker witnessed a terrible sight."
In November 1983, a 15-year old girl named Lynda Mann was walking on a public footpath in England when she was attacked, raped, and murdered. About three years later, another 15-year old girl, this one named Dawn Ashworth, used a footpath in the same area. She likewise was attacked, raped, and murdered.
Sun, Aug 3, 1986 – 1 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.comIn the aftermath, police were able to obtain a confession from a man named Richard Buckland in the murder of the second individual. However, police were shocked when the DNA that was taken from the crime scene was that not of Buckland's. What resulted was a renewed manhunt.
If you watch this episode of Forensic Files, then you can expect to encounter the following forensic-related terms or phrases that are related to the topic of crime-scene investigation:
Semen sample
Blood-type match
Enzyme profile
RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism)
DNA
electrophoresis
radioactive dye
electrophoretic gel
ultraviolet light
autoradiogram
x-ray film
Furthermore, "The Footpath Murders" contains the following phrases that students of forensics should familiarize themselves with.
Funeral surveillance by police
Issuing a victim's poster
Advice to the community
Witness statements that produce a lead
The suspect knows more than he should
Confession to a crime one didn't commit\
Genetic dragnet
DNA fraud -- giving a DNA sample under a false name
conspiracy to pervert justice
Alec Jeffreys
Sun, May 14, 1989 – 36 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
This was an interesting episode because we get a great indication of how justice worked both before DNA and after it. As a precedent setter, this is a case that students of forensics have to be familiar with.
Author: Shane Lambert Original time of writing: February 8th, 2021; Second look on March 31st, 2025.
"The House That Roared" is an episode of Forensic Files that originally aired on October 10th, 1996. It told the sad story of Christopher Campano, a man who killed his wife one night in the summer of 1992. Her name was Caren Campano; she was murdered in the bedroom she shared with her husband, and forensics was a big part of solving her case.
This episode was available on YouTube on the publication date of this article. However, it seems to have been removed over time. As of March 31st, 2025, you can get it here, but it might dance around again in the years ahead.
This was a case that involved a lot of blood, and anyone interested in serology should pay attention to it. In fact, Caren's blood loss was so great that the prosecution in the case was comfortable proceeding to trial even in the absence of finding her body.
Usually, the absence of a body is considered a major obstacle toward getting a conviction. In fact, there have been some pretty solid cases that have never been pursued due to a lack of a body.
Forensic Breakdown: What To Learn From "The House That Roared"
If you watch this episode, then expect to learn something about the following topics that have to do with forensics:
Hemosticks: they reveal the presence of blood but can't identify species; I think these might be old-school.
Octalony tests: tell you what species the blood is from.
Luminol: reveals blood stains that have been cleaned and are not visible to the naked eye.
RFLP analysis involves analyzing bits of DNA.
Dental records: they were used to identify a Jane Doe as Caren.
Injuries: How might you be able to tell if injuries are from a car accident or from an assault?
Since 1992, forensic science has advanced significantly. While hemosticks and RFLP analysis were cutting-edge then, today’s investigators might rely more on rapid DNA sequencing and digital blood-spatter analysis. Luminol remains a staple, but it’s now paired with high-resolution imaging to capture hidden evidence. Watching this episode offers a snapshot of 1990s forensics—and a reminder of how far we’ve come in solving cases like Caren’s.
Non-Forensic Evidence That Helped Build The Case
There were other forms of evidence in this case that were not forensic in nature but had to do with circumstantial evidence. Firstly, Christopher pawned Caren's items the morning after the night when she was last seen. That might suggest that he knew she was dead.
Secondly, Christopher and Caren had an argument the night she disappeared, an argument that was audible to neighbors. That speaks to animosity between the two and a motive to kill.
Lastly, Christopher didn't have an alibi at the time of Caren's murder.
Christopher received a bizarre sentence: one thousand years. You could watch a lot of based-on-real-crime shows without seeing a sentence like that. Watch out for his murder's return to the streets in the year 2994.
:D
But more seriously, I did some research on the sentence. These kinds of sentences, which are shockingly long, are symbolic to an extent. They also do something to avoid parole boards, which a blanket "life sentence" might not do.
Helle Crafts was a flight attendant who went missing on November 8th, 1986. She was a flight attendant who was last seen by other flight attendants at about 6pm that evening.
Her case is interesting for a couple reasons: firstly, her disappearance and murder were covered in the very first episode of the series Forensic Files (originally aired on April 23rd, 1996). Secondly, the conviction of Richard Crafts, Helle's husband, was the first conviction without a body in the state of Connecticut.
The case is also interesting for those that remain skeptical of using so-called "lie detectors" to try and establish the innocence or guilt of an individual. Richard Craft was convicted of murdering Helle Crafts, however, prior to the conviction, he had passed a lie-detector test.
The more formal name of a lie-detector test is a polygraph examination. This was a subject that was covered in a course I took on Private Investigation with ICS Canada (Online Private Investigator Training Course). The course material used the following definition:
"A polygraph examination is a scientific method to aid in determining deception or truthfulness by obtaining recordings of physiological phenomena such as changes in blood pressure, pulse, and respiration (breathing)."
The recreation of the polygraph examination in the Forensic Files episode appears to be true to what I learned in the course. The only people that are meant to be in a room during a polygraph examination are the subject and the polygraph examiner.
I have watched other forensic television shows where several police officers are present during a polygraph examination. These should be scoffed at as they do not accurately depict the professional standard of a polygraph examination.
In the case of Richard Craft, he was able to beat the polygraph examination. That is, he was able to tell lies that the polygraph examiner was not able to detect. There are many possible explanations for this and they include the polygraph examiner's errored analysis of the data that he/she received. Furthermore, there are known countermeasures to a polygraph test but these may involve using drugs that would create behaviors that are easy to spot.
Machines are objective in spitting out their results but people reading the data that machines produce is another matter. Furthermore, machines need to be collaborated and this can be done wrong by the human in charge of it. If you understand that human error can cause problems with polygraph tests, then you can understand why the results should only be food for thought as opposed to something that's 100% accurate.
Clearly, forensic evidence is far more valuable than the results of polygraph examinations. In the case of Richard Crafts, forensic evidence was given more weight than his polygraph examination.
While Helle Crafts' body was never found one of her teeth was conclusively found. This tooth was scattered amidst other remains that were identified as human and of the same blood type as Helle. In the same area of these remains, a chain saw had been discarded and this item was linked to Richard Crafts through documents. Additionally, a woodchipper was seen to have been operating in the area where Helle's remains were found. Lastly, Helle's disappearance happened in the context of marital problems with Richard Crafts.
The first episode of Forensic Files is definitely one that students of forensics should pay attention to. It contains several pointers that can be used as food for thought in other cases. I will make my points on the episode as noted below:
Richard and Helle Crafts were in a crumbling marriage that included infidelity, lies, the husband not spending time at home, and a hired Private Investigator; that latter circumstance reveals crumbling trust while the other circumstances have to be considered risk factors that might precede the disappearance of a spouse.
The forensic study of human blood is known as serology; in this episode, there is an interesting detail about serology that is discussed during Dr. Henry Lee's interview; at the 7:50 mark of the Youtube video below it's revealed that forensic medicine (the study of the human body for forensics) can reveal whether blood is from circulation blood or menstrual blood; of course, if blood in a crime-scene room is the latter then it might be held to mean that its presence is not indicative of a criminal act whereas the former increases suspicion of such; this is something that students of forensics should be aware of.
Another pointer to take away from the episode is that filed-off serial numbers are not necessarily gone for all-time; I've seen this in other forensic shows as well where car serial-numbers can be found; there is a process to find the serial number beneath the filed-off numbers and the forensic scientists employed in Helle Crafts' case were able to identify the chainsaw's serial number despite the fact that he had been filed off.
The episode is certainly recommendable. The year of Helle's disappearance, 1986, was a time when DNA was in its infancy when it came to criminal cases. They talk about blood type more than DNA in the episode.
The one skeptical remark I have about the case has to do with the statement that Richard Crafts was convicted even without finding Helle Crafts' body. They did find her tooth amidst body parts that were human, like bits of a skull. It's not like they don't have a trace of her remains and a convincing reason to believe that she was dead.
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