Cracking an 'unsolvable' double murder

A crime scene with nothing in it. A community that wouldn't talk. A suspect who turned out to be the wrong man. And a seven-year-old girl lying dead beside her father.

The murders of Tony Byfield and his daughter Toni-Ann were Neil's first case as a Senior Investigating Officer. More than two decades on, he still describes it as the most famous of his career. In this episode, he takes Andy through it from the moment the phone rang: what he walked into, why the early breakthrough collapsed, and what it felt like to lead an investigation that a lot of people had quietly written off.

Neil also reveals the parts of this story that never made the headlines. Why Crimewatch turned the appeal down. What a serious case review later concluded about the state's failure to protect Toni-Ann. And the moment the silence finally broke: a march through Kensal Rise, an anniversary appeal, and a single phone call that changed everything.

Then Andy and Neil turn to Operation Trident, the unit this investigation fell under. What was Trident actually set up to do? Why did the killing of a child become so important to it? And if community trust is what cracked this case, what could the police still learn from it today?

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(120)

Tommy Robinson’s donations: Where does the money go?

Thousands of people hand Tommy Robinson their money. But very few of them know where it ends up.In this episode, Andy is joined by investigative journalist Matt Shea, who has spent months following th...

28 Sep 42min

Q&A: Why is the 'Putney Pusher' case still unsolved?

Why has the 'Putney Pusher' proved so difficult to identify? And is this another investigation that will be remembered for police failings? Andy and Neil are asked why, 9 years on, the suspect has sti...

24 Sep 29min

Special report: Inside London's gang war

The recent fatal shooting of an innocent bus driver in Clapham has put London's biggest gang war onto the front pages.In this special report, Andy is given exclusive access to an undercover Met Police...

22 Sep 51min

Q&A: would the Suffragettes be labelled 'terrorists' under today's laws?

If the Suffragettes were campaigning today, would the law treat them as terrorists? It's a question that goes to the heart of how Britain defines political violence, and Neil - the former head of UK C...

17 Sep 24min

Q&A: Were police too soft on masked mobs in Dover & Portsmouth?

Why did a few hundred masked men appear to be treated more leniently than protesters from groups such as Palestine Action and Just Stop Oil? Were the police scared of the mobs in Dover & Portsmouth? O...

10 Sep 22min

Hillsborough: the cover-up that shamed British policing

Within hours of 97 Liverpool fans being crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, a story was already circulating: that the fans had done it to themselves. Four days later, The Sun pri...

7 Sep 58min

Q&A: Digital ID mission creep, scrapping the 43 forces & are the CPS friend or foe?

When MPs talk about the death threats they face online, are they making a genuine plea for protection or building the case for something bigger? Andy and Neil take on the question of whether the abuse...

3 Sep 23min