Murdertown is a 360-degree investigation into the impact of a murder on a local community, through the eyes of those most immediately affected (friends and relatives of the victims and, in some cases, the accused) as well as those further afield, such as local crime reporters, investigating police officers, and criminologists.
In each episode, actor and presenter Emilia Fox visits the towns where murders took place to re-tell these tragic stories through the testimony of investigating police officers, local journalists, friends, relatives, and business colleagues: the people whose lives have never been the same since.
In the third episode, Emilia visits the Sanctuary Nightclub in Glasgow, the site where 24-year-old student Karen Buckley was last seen after a night out with her friends.
On the night of Karen’s murder, she exited the nightclub and CCTV spotted her speaking to Alexander Pacteau. After talking briefly, the pair headed towards Church Street. They were seen getting into his car and within a mere 20 minutes of meeting her, Pactueu killed her.
Pacteau was a dangerous man and had a history of charges against him; he had previously been accused of trying to rape and attack a young care worker. However, he was acquitted due to lack of evidence and later served a community payback order for fraudulent activity.
Karen’s possessions were found the morning after her murder near Dawsholm Park by a passer-by, but Pacteau had already begun trying to cover his tracks. It wasn’t until a few days later that police were led to Karen’s remains by a tip-off from a member of the public.
After discovering Karen’s body in a storage unit rented by Pacteau, he was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison and continues to serve his sentence in Shotts prison in Scotland.
Episode three of Murdertown S4 airs exclusively on Crime + Investigation on Sunday, 25th September at 9pm and is available to stream on Crime + Investigation PLAY from the 26th September.
