Nowhere To Hide

A gruesome string of murderers, rapists and master-crooks who laughed at the law for years are at last being brought to justice through DNA profiling. The revolutionary techniques of 'genetic fingerprinting' has meant convictions, long after they committed their crimes, for the evil men who mistakenly thought they had escaped detection. Cases that have ended with guilty men standing in the dock are chronicled in this fascinating examination of the past two decades of forensic crime-fighting and how it had finally put the villains where they belong - behind bars. From the sensational, groundbreaking case of bakery worker Colin Pitchfork who murdered two teenage girls near his Leicestershire home to the historic conviction of teenage shop assistant Craig Harman - tracked down by his brother's DNA for slaying an innocent lorry driver by hurling a brick at him from a motorway bridge - this engrossing book details the crime, the criminals and the men and women who brought them to justice. Acclaimed author John McShane also analyses the hunt for and capture of the M25 rapist who carried out a series of terrifying attacks on young women. He traces the DNA trail that led from London to Korea and back to convict a bloodthirsty landlords who killed his female tenants and callously dumped their bodies in a cupboard and a suitcase. A catalogue of other gruesome cases where the DNA analysis caught the criminals involve are re explained in a clear, jargon free manner. This book also highlights and explains the astonishing future that lies ahead for DNA research. Every crime was unique. Every one looked unsolvable. Many remained so for years. These gripping accounts covering the past 20 years at last reveal the true stories behind the headlines and send out a chilling message to the criminal underworld. Now there really is nowhere to hide.

John McShane is a journalist and author. As a Fleet Street reporter and then as associate editor in charge of news at both the Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror he reported on and covered most of the major crime stories of recent years. He is married with three children.