ITV documentary Code Blue: Murder begins tonight with the first of two specials.
This evening’s episode – Thursday, April 4 at 9PM on ITV – tells the story of The Murder of Katherine Smith.
Part of ITV’s Crime and Punishment season, Code Blue: Murder follows detectives from the first ‘Code Blue’ call to the crime scene, through to the convictions of the killers.
In the first programme, detectives are called out to a flat in Cardiff where the body of young mother Katherine Smith, aged 26, has been found on the floor with stab wounds. The key suspect is her boyfriend of six weeks, Anthony Lowe. Detectives know the first 48 hours is key in terms of gathering evidence and picking up suspects – but Lowe has gone missing.
Officers are able to track their suspect’s phone and get their first break when they receive notifications that it is ‘pinging’ off cell towers around Bristol – and he is still sending text messages to Katherine’s family.
Documentary cameras follow detectives as they race to try to arrest him. In a new text, he threatens to commit suicide before turning the phone off.
Senior investigating officer Det Chf Insp Rob Cronick says in the episode: “We desperately need to get answers from Lowe. With his phone now not responding and the fact he’s threatened to commit suicide, there’s a real chance we may be too late.”
The police’s suspect later turns up 30 miles away in Weston-Super-Mare and texts Katherine’s mum asking if her daughter is okay or not.
Later, after a dramatic takedown outside a supermarket, Lowe is arrested and taken back to South Wales, where cameras follow as he is taken into custody. Now detectives need to build their case against him.
In interview, Lowe submits a statement to detectives accusing Katherine of punching him following a row before he headbutted her and then left the house. He denies stabbing her and says another person has keys to Katherine’s flat.
Detectives keep Lowe in custody while they build their case – making discoveries about him, like the fact he contacted a series of ex-girlfriends while on the run.
One of them agrees to meet a detective and reveals how Lowe had been using a fake identity to meet women on an online dating website.
While Lowe clams up in the interview room, detectives discover a deleted video on his phone which provides direct evidence that they need to put him behind bars for life.
However at trial, Lowe, decides to plead guilty to murder and is ultimately jailed for a minimum of 18 years.
Code Blue: Murder – The Murder of Katherine Smith – airs on ITV at 9PM on April 4.
The series continues next Thursday, April 11, with The Murder of John “Jack” Williams.
