The Murder Detectives on Channel 4: The Story Behind the Murder of Nicholas Robinson
The three-part documentary series follows the Bristol police's hunt for a murderer after the fateful stabbing in 2014
What is the series about?
The Murder Detectives is a groundbreaking documentary series from Channel 4 that follows a real murder investigation in real-time. In the first episode, titled 'The Search', viewers are introduced to the tragic case of 19-year-old Nicholas Robinson, who was attacked and stabbed to death in Bristol in March 2014. The series differs from traditional true crime by having had full access to the investigators from Bristol Police for 18 months, providing a raw and unvarnished picture of the police's methodology, frustrations, and breakthroughs. Director David Nath has focused on the human aspect of the investigation, both among the police and the victim's family.
The real case
The real case behind The Murder Detectives began on March 5, 2014, when Nicholas Robinson was found fatally injured after multiple stab wounds in a stairwell at Ron Jones House in Bristol. Nicholas managed to call emergency services himself, but his life could not be saved, and he passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. The investigation, led by Major Crime Investigation Team , initially faced a significant challenge as the motive behind the brutal attack was unclear. Nicholas was known as a nice young man with a bright future, which made the seemingly senseless murder even more shocking for the community in Bristol.
Timeline of the case
The investigation spanned a year and a half, during which the police sifted through thousands of hours of surveillance footage and conducted numerous interviews. In the weeks following the murder, the police focused on a number of suspicious individuals seen in the area around the crime scene. Through technical evidence and witness testimonies, they gradually managed to piece together the events. The case took a turn when it emerged that the murder was related to a dispute over a deal involving counterfeit watches, leading to the identification of the perpetrator, Luchiano Barnes, who subsequently fled to Jamaica before being brought to trial at