Episode 1272: Mr Big's arrest, Sean McGovern's trial, and the cold case murder of Emer O'Loughlin

His was a bizarre and macabre death which led to more questions than answers.Since the body of British spy Gareth Williams was found padlocked inside a sports bag in his flat in London, his death remains a mystery.But now journalist Jonathan Maitland and Vanessa Bowles have turned their attention to one of the most peculiar crime scenes in recent history. Was Williams assassinated by Russian secret services, killed by a secret lover or was his death a very tragic accident?Nicola Tallant is joined by Jonathan Maitland and researcher Anna Marie Robinson to discuss their new podcast 'Man in a Bag'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Des 202250min

WHO says you can’t solve crime in your spare time? Elderly armchair detectives with a penchant for puzzles are the inspiration for Richard Osman’s chart-topping 'Thursday Murder Club' novellas, but far from his pages of perfect prose there are groups of amateur sleuths who investigate gritty crimes in the hope of uncovering the truth.Clodagh Meaney talks with Nicola Stow, author of the 'Real Life Murder Clubs', about the people who have helped families to get justice for their loved ones. Nicola tells Crime World about the mother who caught her daughter’s killer, the two citizen investigators who 'liberated' dozens of files from a police station to help them track down the Golden State Killer and what happens when online sleuthing goes wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Des 202250min

CHESHIRE, England 1996, Howard Ainsworth violently bludgeoned his wife to death with a hammer before taking his own life. Three years later in the same town, Donald Ward beat his wife to death with a ceramic hot water bottle before using the shards of glass to take his own life. At least that’s what the police report concluded. In 2020, Cheshire coroner Stephanie Davies re-examined the deaths, and other similar cases, and concluded that they were not murder-suicides, but rather the work of an enigmatic serial killer who would go on to be dubbed 'The Silver Killer'.Today, journalist and author David Collins tells Crime World’s Clodagh Meaney about the inconsistent crime scenes, the report that rocked Cheshire police and the hunt for the serial killer you’ve never heard of.This episode is graphic in nature and discusses suicidal ideation, listener discretion is advised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Des 202237min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Des 202234min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Des 202232min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Des 202225min

DAY seven of the cross examination of Jonathan Dowdall came to its conclusion, as it was put to him that he had a role in a botched gun attack on the Kinahan mob at the Red Cow Hotel months before the Regency, and that he was trading bombs for protection with dissident Republicans in the North.Dowdall continues to deny any wrongdoing, save for talking nonsense and taking tablets while under stress.Today, Nicola Tallant chats with Niall Donald as the Regency trial draws to a close for Christmas and a defiant Dowdall appeals his four-year sentence for facilitating the murder of David Byrne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Des 202244min

Jonathan Dowdall’s evidence to the Special Criminal Court is now centred on his own 10-hours of bugged conversation in a car with Gerry Hutch.Dowdall is flagging in the witness box after six gruelling days under cross examination, yet, he still manages to do battle with Brendan Grehan SC, Hutch’s defence barrister.Nicola Tallant talks with Niall Donald about 'mass murder, bomb making' and the '12 gang members' he says carried out the Regency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Des 202235min