CRIMINOLOGIST DR HONOR DORO TOWNSHEND ON HER NEW SHOW
Crime+Investigation’s new show #DEAD2ME looks into the shocking cases of ten people who were brutally murdered by their partners. Among those featured are aspiring musician Tai O’Donnell, stabbed to death by Kamila Ahmad; Canadian student Ashley Wadsworth, savagely attacked by Jack Sepple; and Dawn Walker, killed by new husband Thomas Nutt, hours after their wedding. In the series, family members share never-before-seen photos and footage of their loved ones, while criminologist Dr Honor Doro Townshend offers her analysis. Here, she tells us more…
#DEAD2ME is emotional, sensitive and victim-focused. Was that what drew you to it?
Absolutely. This series is very much victim-centred, and focuses on the fact that they were human beings, with aspirations, lives and families. Historically, it’s always the perpetrators’ names that are remembered, not the victims, and I’m very keen for that to be the other way around.
All the cases are sad and shocking, but did any stand out for you in particular?
All the stories in this series are etched into me. In episode one, Damien Bendall murdered his pregnant girlfriend Terri Harris, her children [John and Lacey Bennett], and her daughter’s friend [Connie Gent]. Jennifer Poole really strikes a chord because we’re of similar age and demographics. Regardless of expertise, when you’re talking about someone who is a similar age to you and is in a situation you could have seen yourself in, that is really upsetting. I’m also really glad that the stories of two male victims – Tai O’Donnell and Simon Gilchrist – are included, too, because, while that’s statistically less common, it is still an important issue.
Were these murders premeditated or from a sudden rage?
In every case here, there’s a history of coercion and abuse in some form. We can see, generally from a timeline, that controlling and coercive behaviour underpins the vast majority of domestic homicides. I can see the trigger point – the thing that’s threatening the control that they have over their partner – but this is underpinned by a want of control rather than a loss of it. Bendall went on a murder spree, but we also know he had a dangerous, violent history in the same way as Gavin Murphy. When Murphy attacked Jennifer [Poole], that can be seen as a fly-off-the-handle moment because it’s like a severe rage. But from the first day they met, he was lying about his history – he said he’d been working in Spain when he had actually been in prison. Someone who intentionally controls the narrative from day one shows they’re already abusers, so there are precursors to that rage.
Could you say the same about Jack Sepple, who killed Ashley Wadsworth?
