The Real Silent Witnesses

Book excerpt: Going beyond the popular TV show, this is the true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses. How do you identify a serial killer? What are the tell-tale signs of guilt? Can we now solve the unsolvable? Since even before the first season of Silent Witness in 1996, forensic science has played an increasingly important role in the investigation of violent crimes. With a boom in cold-blooded cases throughout the 1980s, police began to rely on DNA evidence to help them find perpetrators and since then forensic science has taken off as a powerful tool in solving murders. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us beyond the headlines to examine the real-life stories where forensics have played a crucial role. He speaks to experts who have worked on the most gruesome, most chilling and most shocking crime scenes and explains how notorious criminal cases from across the world were solved. And he shows how the silent witness is often the one who screams the loudest.