Savage axe attack on woman in East Yorkshire and hunt for the perpetrator to feature in new Channel 5 documentary
A horrific axe attack on a woman in East Yorkshire will feature in a new Channel 5 documentary starting tonight (Monday, February 3).
The savage attack in broad daylight happened in Goole last year and left the woman with “catastrophic” head and arm injuries and fighting for her life. The male suspect fled the scene into the countryside, triggering a huge manhunt involving armed response, the dog unit, a police helicopter and dozens of officers.
It led to a former East Yorkshire man being caught up in the drama, on the same day he buried his mother. He was staying in a holiday cottage close to where the attacker was arrested and was advised by police to “stay indoors and keep the doors locked”.
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The new TV series, Murder: Suspect No. 1 – a spin off series from Channel 5’s successful detective series Police: Suspect No. 1 – focuses on the investigation by Humberside Police ’s Major Crime Team, and includes chilling footage. The programme takes viewers through from the moment the first calls to emergency services came in to report the woman being attacked and laying seriously injured in an alleyway, to the hunt for her armed attacker, and his later interviews by police.
The 1.5-hour documentary has been singled out in one TV guide as the “best real life” watch this week. It said: “If you’ve ever wanted to be a police detective, this engaging series will be right up your street. Episode one opens with a woman fighting for her life after an axe attack.”
A post on Facebook by Humberside Police said: "Looking for something to watch tonight? ‘Suspect No. 1’ will be premiering on Channel 5 at 9pm featuring our Major Crime Team. The series showcases the challenging work our detectives face every day to solve crimes occurring across our region to seek justice for victims."
A Channel 5 spokesperson for the new series said it will follow detectives at work, beginning with the axe attack in Goole. “The suspect, armed with an axe, is dramatically arrested and taken into custody, but for detectives of Humberside Police’s Major Crime Team, the work has only just begun.
“Officers must interview him and the horrified witnesses, track the man’s movements in the hours before the assault and examine horrific and disturbing footage of the attack itself. With extraordinary access to the detective team throughout the investigation, we follow the case as the hours and minutes tick by.
“Can police unravel what happened and, in just 24 hours, prove the suspect is guilty? And will the victim survive her terrible injuries to see justice done?”
The series as a whole has been described as “heart-stopping” with each case beginning with a frantic 999 call, with victims on the edge of life, facing death – “someone's mother, father, sister, brother, child”. The spokesperson said: “With extraordinary access to the detective team throughout each case, the series draws the viewer into the dark heart of murder investigations as the hours and minutes tick away, and where real life unfolds as the ultimate high-stakes drama.
"Can the detectives unravel what happened and who was responsible, will the police manage to confront their Murder Suspect No.1 in interview and present their evidence? And will they get the charges to stick before the suspect strikes again?”
Murder: Suspect No.1 premieres tonight (Monday, February 3), from 9pm on Channel 5.