New podcast seeks to find answers to an unsolved case about an unidentified body on Seaham Beach
Testimony – the true crime podcast series from Laudable – explores a case that's confounded investigators for 16 years, in a new two-part special
Testimony is a true crime podcast from Laudable, looking back at tragic and chilling cases, including unsolved murders, unidentified remains and brutal attacks.
Journalists guide us through the story, speaking to experts, police, campaigners, and those who knew the victims to uncover what happened in each of these fascinating cases.
And this week, the podcast returns with a new case: the unsolved case about an unidentified body on Seaham Beach that has confounded investigators for 16 years.
Podcast host and producer Kelly Crichton previews the two-part true crime podcast from Laudable…
Testimony: The Body on Seaham Beach
Testimony: The Body on Seaham Beach is a new two-part podcast which launches 16 years to the day since the discovery of human remains on the Featherbed Rocks in north-east England.
On May 13th 2006, a man walking on the beach in Seaham, six miles south of Sunderland, made a shocking discovery of human remains.
On the podcast, Fiona Thompson – who covered the story as a reporter for the Sunderland Echo at the time – takes listeners through the actions of police and others in the weeks, months and years that followed, in the exhaustive attempt to identify these remains.
Testimony: The Body on Seaham Beach features interviews with key people and agencies involved in the case.
“This case has stayed with me for the last 16 years. I had never seen anything like it before, or since for that matter,” Fiona explains.
“This body washed ashore at Featherbed Rocks and no-one knew who it was. Durham Constabulary set to work straight away and I stayed close to the investigation as they introduced amazing cutting-edge science and technology to try to identify this unknown person.
“I got to know some of those involved in the case quite well, such as Cliff Down the Detective Sergeant and Neville Dixon, the Coroner’s Officer, and for all of us this case has always stayed in the back of our minds.
“By making the podcast we wanted to explore everything that happened and ask the question if something was missed or if more could have been done.
“I still feel this case can be solved. Someone out there knows who this is. The podcast contains everything we know about this man and I hope that something will click with a listener and we can finally say who this person is and return them to their family.”
Testimony: The Body on Seaham Beach highlights the ongoing search for answers and asks whether someone out there may hold the key to solving this case.
Retired Detective Sergeant Cliff Down was the lead police officer on the case and shares his memories about the only case he ever worked on not to reach a conclusion.
“It was the first time I’d ever gone to a body that had been recovered on the beach. There were a lot of inquiries to come which I had never done before and it was a big learning curve for me.
“Like most investigations we started with the basics, we needed to rule out foul play and see if this body matched any missing persons reports from ours and neighbouring forces areas.
“But after that we needed to start thinking more laterally, we had to use all the forensic evidence we had to try and identify this person.
“We ventured into areas of cutting edge scientific investigations that hadn’t been used before by the force, like Isotope analysis. We even undertook to create a full facial reconstruction too in the hope someone would recognise this person.
“No stone was left unturned but, this case still frustrates me to this day and I hope by contributing to the podcast we can reach someone who has information who can help answer some of the outstanding questions we have.”
As well as the specifics of this case, the podcast sheds light on how missing people cases and unidentified remains are treated by the authorities and investigators.
In the podcast, Louise Newell, Operations Manager at the UK Missing Persons Unit at the National Crime Agency, talks about the challenges of identifying some human remains through their DNA database:
“Some families might not report somebody as missing for many, many years if their behaviour is completely normal. So cases could sit there for a long time before we are then able to make a match.
“There are quite a lot of people out there who, for whatever reason, there’s some sort of family breakdown or there's a disconnect between them and family and they don’t have close relationships with people.
“Sadly, when they die a) we can’t identify them and b) family or previous friends or partners won’t know they’re missing as that lack of communication is standard.”
Other contributors include Professor Caroline Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University, who worked with Cliff and his team to carry out the facial reconstruction.
Dr Wilkinson is famed for doing a similar reconstruction of King Richard III, following the discovery of his remains in a Leicester car park in 2012.
Coroner’s Officer Neville Dixon is another expert guest, who explains how this particular case was so unusual.
Niall Benson of Durham Heritage Coast and DNA expert Dr Steven Darby from the University of Sunderland also feature on the series in order to tackle some of the outstanding questions relating to the case in the hope of finally giving a grieving family somewhere, some answers.
Testimony is a Laudable production for the Sunderland Echo and NationalWorld.
Episode 1 will be available on all podcast platforms from Friday 13th May. Episode 2 will be available one week later. It is presented, produced and edited by Kelly Crichton.
Testimony: a shadow hanging over Leigh
‘The Body on Seaham Beach’ is the latest instalment in the Testimony series.
Our true crime podcast launched in December 2020 with another unsolved mystery: the tragic murder of Leigh schoolgirl Lisa Hession.
Neal Keeling, chief reporter at the Manchester Evening News, looks back at an unsolved case that has haunted his career for the past 36 years.
On one winter night in 1984, 14-year-old schoolgirl Lisa Hession was robbed of her life in a back alley only two minutes away from her home in Leigh.
Neal guides us through this tragic case, speaking to those who knew the victim. experts who are still trying to solve the murder today, and campaigners who are fighting for justice for Lisa.
We hope that, one day, these tragic cases - both in Leigh and on Seaham Beach - will be solved, and the families and friends of those involved will finally get their answers.
And we hope that the episodes of Testimony, our true crime podcast, will help tell their stories.
- Kelly Crichton