Manhunt

'..goes by the name of Nigel Dempster.

'All that and much more on TVAM,

'but for the moment, on behalf of all of us here

'at our studios at Thames, good night.'

Mum?

Hi, Mum!

Mum!

Mum?

Mum?!

Mum!

Mum!

What are you doing, Colin?

Looking for dishwasher salt. I could've sworn I bought some.

Want me to pick some up?

Er, yeah. Would you?

Hamish Campbell.

Er, DCI Colin Sutton to see Hamish Campbell.

He's this way. Just through there.

Thank you.

..apprehension of this dangerous man

without regard to his personal safety

was in the finest tradition of the Metropolitan Police.

Apologies - commendation write-up. Hello, Colin.

Morning, sir.

Bloody amazing, what these young PCs will do for us.

Yes. Well done, again, on Bellfield.

Oh, it's team effort, sir, thank you.

Great work.

What do you know about Operation Minstead?

A long string of burglaries and rapes of the elderly

dating back to the '90s. 1992, 17 years.

The press called him the Night Stalker,

and he's recently become active again.

Haven't we got his DNA?

Yeah, but he's not in the system, so we can't ID him.

DNA tells us he's of West Indian origin, but that's it.

Our new commissioner has suggested that we make the Night Stalker

a priority of the Command.

Right, and when a new commissioner suggests...

Oh... he thinks there's an impression

that the Met drags its heels

when it comes to serial sex offenders.

Well, after Worboys, I can't blame him.

Given that you have some experience with high-profile,

serial sex offenders...

well, I thought you could bring something to the table.

Right. So do you want my team to take a look at it

or for me to review what they've got?

The latter. Definitely the latter. Simon Morgan remains as SIO.

Didn't Serious Crime just do a review?

Yes, they did, and there's been at least three before that.

This guy's good, Colin - 17 years and he's never left a fingerprint,

never let a witness see his face.

Years go by, no offences.

Teams get broken up, budgets get re-allocated,

and then he starts again.

It's a ten-year investigation.

They might be missing something that's staring them in the face.

That's ten years of feathers to ruffle.

I-I know you're retiring in a few months.

I just need you to take a look. In and out in a couple of weeks.

Well, come on, give us a clue.

I want you to dig out everything you can on Operation Minstead

and email it to me.

They're not lumbering us with that? No, just me for the moment.

Right. I'm just gonna have a look.

A fresh pair of eyes and all that.

But I do need those files, Clive.

Oh, you must be the analyst? DCI Colin Sutton.

Richard Moore.

I'm here to see Simon Morgan.

Another review, is it? Yes and no.

Er, incident rooms, straight ahead.

Thank you, Richard.

DCI Sutton?

DI Nathan Eason.

Colin Sutton. I'm here to see Simon Morgan.

Yeah, he's not here, I'm afraid.

What d'you mean? We're meeting at 12.

I know. He left me to be the welcome party.

We had another one last night. Oh, right.

What, and Simon's at the scene, is he? He is, yeah.

OK, er, well, there's nothing like learning on the job, is there?

I'm sure he won't be long.

Don't worry, Nathan, I won't get under anyone's feet. Let's go.

All right.

DCI Colin Sutton. He's with me.

Simon Morgan. Colin Sutton.

I was hoping to brief you properly before you came to a scene,

but no matter.

The victim's a Sandra Nelson, 82-year-old woman.

She's been taken to hospital. Is she hurt?

TBC. She's traumatised, like so many before her.

Might not be able to give us a reliable account.

Original concrete path, original front door

with inlaid panes of glass intact, a nice shade of mid-blue.

Hmm. Sends a signal.

Yeah. "Old person lives here".

To which our man is fully attuned.

Yeah, well, practise makes perfect, I suppose.

Forensics reckons he was hiding in that corner all night,

hour after hour, just waiting for his moment.

He's leaving DNA, but he doesn't care.

He's not in the system and he knows it.

How long have you had it?

The Night Stalker's DNA.

1992.

Look, er, no offence,

but that's a name coined by the press

to sell papers and scare people. I never use it, neither do my team.

Minstead Man is how we refer to him.

Right. I'll know for next time.

Two years ago, he stopped dead after the case featured on Crimewatch,

and then, a month ago,

he hit three homes in three weeks, still targeting elderly women.

And where were those offences?

Clara-Jane Proctor, 74, was sexually assaulted in the house

where she was born in Birch Avenue, Shirley.

Then a week later, Lynn Marie Kerr, 69,

a former headmistress from Coulsdon, was burgled.

Two nights after that, he moves up to Croydon. Phylis Carlton, 71,

a widow that had just buried her husband.

Can't always leave DNA, can he?

So what other markers tell you it's Minstead Man?

Well, top five would be age of victims, light bulbs removed,

phone lines cut, balaclava, gloves...

He's covered the PIR light again, boss.

DS Neville Hylton, DCI Colin Sutton.

Let's have a look. This way.

Stops the motion-sensitive lights coming on

when he's stalking the property. Just up there.

Last time, he used a glove,

time before was a broken branch, but not from a nearby tree.

He comes prepared. That's an understatement.

It's hard to reconcile, isn't it?

The control and the planning with the depravity of what he does?

Yeah, it is.

Is it OK if I speak to the victim some time?

Well, as long as the FLO's happy. It's her call. Yeah.

I'll brief you properly back at Lewisham.

Neville, wanna show me this corner, mate?

OK, it's this way, boss.

We found some more cigarette butts like last time...

Is he in pain?

Could've bailed years ago on a full injury pay out.

Altercation with a prisoner, left him with massive spinal injuries.

Nathan.

DCI Colin Sutton, DC Patricia Henry, our FLO.

Good to meet you. You, too.

Colin's joining us for a few days, giving us the benefit of his wisdom.

Well, I wouldn't go that far.

No offence, but I'm not sure you'll get your head around this case

in a few days.

How's Sandra?

She suffers from dementia, so we haven't got much beyond the usual -

balaclava, torch, the opening one-word demand for money.

Do you think she's been sexually abused?

Don't know. We just swabbed for semen and DNA.

Poor woman. She kept asking the nurse what she was doing.

She did mention something we've seen in a few other Minstead offences -

he took her pulse.

Any idea why he'd do that?

Well, one time, the victim feigned injury so he felt her pulse,

said, "Nothing's wrong with you" and punched her to the floor.

Would you mind if I had a quick word with her?

Yes, I would.

She needs rest, and with respect,

you wouldn't elicit anything from her I haven't.

Fair enough.

Bit of a wasted trip. For you, I mean.

Oh, I wouldn't say that. Oh, no matter.

Almost all the interviews with the victims were recorded.

I warn you, they're not easy viewing.

No, I understand. Thank you.

A good number of his victims have already passed away.

Janet, for instance.

She suffered a perforated bowel during her assault

and died shortly after.

Did he kill her? Not legally.

But in every other way...

Yeah.

I could've left this case years ago.

Probably should have.

I would've had a very different career, but...

Yeah, I understand.

Far as I'm concerned, he's a serial killer.

Perhaps we should, er, get to the investigation.

I've got a few preliminary questions.

Sorry, no time. I've got a thing at the Yard now.

What? A budget meeting. Pain in the arse.

I thought you were gonna brief me fully back at the station?

Well, with respect, if you hadn't gone to the hospital,

we would've had time.

Team meeting in the morning, my place. Your place?

The best way for you to catch up. Nathan will give you the address.

Meantime, I'll collate some files,

give you a chance to get a proper handle on things.

Thank you.

You got a minute?

Erm, yeah.