Robbie Coltrane's Critical Evidence: Season 1, Episode 6

1 - 6: The Body in the Suitcase

On 12th May 2014 a human torso was discovered in a suitcase during routine maintenance work on a Birmingham canal. With no useable DNA and no other body parts, the case initially seemed impossible to crack. As investigations continued, the police got a breakthrough thanks to an environmental scientist and forensic hydrologist. By analysing flow patterns in the canal, she was able to pinpoint where the suitcase had first entered the water, and where other body parts might be found.After the identification of the body as Michael Spalding, other important evidence led police to investigate his former landlord. A search of his home prompted a forensic first: the use of 3-D imaging to establish that hidden within a lump of charcoal was a piece of human bone. Simon was convicted and jailed for life in April 2015. This is the first time the case has been featured on television.