The Trial: Russell Brand
The Trial goes behind the headlines of some of the biggest trials in the world. We take you into the courtroom, bringing you the detail as the evidence unfolds, examining key moments and carrying out exclusive interviews with detectives, victims, and experts.For ad-free listening to The Trial, exclusive bonus episodes every week, and complete access to previous series of the show, subscribe to The Crime Desk now. Visit www.thecrimedesk.com to become a member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Trial: Russell Brand - The Trial Begins
It’s Day 1. The start of Russell Brand’s trial in London. He’s accused of several counts of rape and sexual assault - which he denies. As things got underway, Russell Brand, wearing a blue suit, an open neck shirt and a cravat, stood in the dock. The first order of business was to select the jury and Caroline and Liz were there.
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The Trial: Russell Brand - The Allegations
A new trial and a new series with Caroline and Liz. This time it’s Russell Brand in the dock facing charges of rape and sexual assault. It’s alleged that over 10 years from 1999 to 2009 he sexually assaulted 6 different women. He has vowed to clear his name, saying he was many things but never a “rapist” and in the coming days and weeks a jury will be asked to decide. We’ll be there every day and in this episode we’ll run you through his rise to fame and what might unfold next week in a London courtroom.
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Lucy Letby: The Facts
In this special video episode Caroline and Liz are back to discuss Lucy Letby - focusing on the facts and context of the case. Joining them in the studio is Press Association Reporter, Kim Pilling, who covered every day of the trial and believes more balance is needed in the ongoing conversations. They discuss how cherry-picking certain elements of the case, while omitting key information, has created a false narrative about what the jury actually heard over the 10-month trial and ultimately why they found Lucy Letby guilty of killing and harming babies.
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Kenneth Law: Poison In The Post
In October 2021, David Parfett tragically found his son, Tom, dead in a hotel room in Surrey. Tom was just 22 years old.
David was determined to find the truth behind his son’s death. He followed Tom’s digital footprint and made a shocking discovery.
A man called Kenneth Law had set up an online company to exploit vulnerable people suffering from mental illness. He helped them take their own lives by sending them poison through the post.
David soon discovered that Tom wasn’t the only person to have received the le...
Rape Courts: Will They Make A Difference?
Can new government measures really improve the experience of rape victims in the criminal justice system? With thousands of rape and sexual assault cases waiting to reach court, ministers are promising dedicated courtrooms, fixed trial dates and more support for victims.
In this episode, Liz speaks to senior barrister Mary Prior KC about whether the proposals can make a meaningful difference. Mary explains why delays are so damaging for both victims and those accused, the practical problems facing courts across England and Wales, and why she believes much more investment is needed to fix a system...
Lucy Letby, The Inquiry: Babies Should Not Have Died
We now know for certain, babies should not have died at the Countess of Chester Hospital. In her scathing report into the failings which allowed Lucy Letby to harm babies for months, Lady Justice Thirlwall said three babies should not have died and seven more should not have been harmed. In her scathing report she condemned a fundamental lack of understanding of basic safeguarding regulations, a “tribal” approach from nurses, and an “exercise in spin” from senior leaders to delay police being called in to investigate. She also said the parents of the babies were treated reprehensibly. In this episode...
Lucy Letby, The Inquiry: The Hospital’s Day of Reckoning
Could Lucy Letby have been stopped sooner? Could babies have been saved? Was there an orchestrated hospital cover up? Were parents consistently lied to? Did a toxic hospital culture allow a serial killer to remain undetected for months?
Today Lady Justice Thirlwall is likely to answer these questions and more when she publishes her long-awaited report into the failings at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In this bonus episode Caroline and Liz dissect the key moments from the seven month inquiry as they prepare to read her findings.
S...
Chris Brain: The Priest, The Cult, The Trial
Today on the podcast Caroline and Ryan have the extraordinary allegations against a Church of England Priest, who ran what's been called a "cult" service to abuse his female "disciples". Chris Brain admits having sexual relations with worshippers at the infamous Nine O'Clock Service in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, but he's now accused of criminal offences. The allegation is the women he targeted were so vulnerable, isolated and frightened that they did not have the capacity to consent.
Also today, Caroline chats to Liz about the imminent report by Lady Justice Thirlwall into the...
Who cares about the Jury?
Does the law need to change in order to better protect jurors?
That is what the House of Lords is now considering. Long-established laws means members of a jury are not allowed to discuss a case with anyone during a trial. And even after a trial is finished, what they can say about what they have seen and heard is limited. But it's now recognised that the evidence in many cases is traumatising and jurors need more help. But that would mean amending the law and that is what a new inquiry is looking into this...
Christopher Phillips: Did a Grief Disorder lead to a Prison Sentence?
60-year-old Christopher Phillips kept his mother’s body in a freezer for almost three years, talking to her about her favourite television programmes and holding her hand as if she were still alive. A court heard that he was suffering from a little-known mental health condition called Prolonged Grief Disorder. But he also kept collecting her pension money - and he's now been sent to prison.
In this episode, Liz speaks to Dr Michael Duffy, a psychotherapist and specialist in trauma therapy, about what happens when grief becomes prolonged and overwhelming. They discuss Christopher Phillips’s unusu...
Jools Sweeney: The Continued Search for Answers
In this episode Liz speaks to Ellen Roome, the mum who has spent the past four years fighting for answers about the tragic death of her 14-year-old son Jools. After an inquest that lasted just 23 minutes and failed to properly examine his phone or social media activity, Ellen has now succeeded in getting the original verdict quashed by the High Court and a new inquest opened.
Ellen tells Liz why she believes social media could hold the key to understanding what happened to Jools, how her campaign has helped change the law, and why she is c...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - "A Threat To All Women"
Simon Levy will never be released from prison. A judge today decided his crimes against three women were so horrific, so depraved, that he should spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In this episode, Liz and Nick have all the details from an emotional day at the Old Bailey, including the words of Sheryl Wilkins’ mum Mary and sister Lindsay, and Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo’s daughter Nazly. They also hear from Levy’s surviving victim, who told the court he had taken away her soul and her dignity. But as those women described the devastation his cr...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - It was Predictable
In this episode Emeritus Professor of Criminology David Wilson tells Caroline that Simon Levy was a textbook sexual predator who should have never slipped through the net. He says the way Levy was attacking women on the tube always had the potential to escalate to rape and to murder and until all men are more willing to stand up and call out predatory behaviour, the danger men like Simon Levy pose will continue to be underestimated.
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Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - Verdict: Betrayed
Simon Levy has just been convicted of murdering two women and of raping a third. After hearing six weeks of evidence the jury at the Old Bailey decided his crimes did escalate, from serial sexual assault in public places to rape and murder. But we can know now he should and could have been stopped sooner. In this episode Caroline and Nick have all the details from the case including the catastrophic failures which allowed him to remain free for months. Failures of two police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the courts. And we ask the question: Is v...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - “This prosecution does not stand up”
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the final stages of this trial before the jury start to consider their verdicts. It’s the last opportunity for the barristers to persuade the jury of their arguments. On behalf of Simon Levy, the jury were told no crimes took place, the first alleged victim was not raped and the two dead women were not murdered - they died from drug use. Conversely the prosecution told the jury Simon Levy is a sexual predator, a dangerous man who has a fascination with rape and murder. The final decision on the verdicts in...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - "Bare-Faced Liar"
In this episode Caroline and Nick bring you the latest from the Old Bailey as the jury hear the final closing speech from the prosecution before they retire to consider their verdicts. Prosecutor Tom Little KC described Simon Levy as a "bare-faced liar", telling the jury his decision not to give evidence was an attempt to hide the truth about what happened to the three women at the centre of the case.
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Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - No Crimes
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the start of the defence case - and the news that Simon Levy will not be giving evidence. His barrister Siobhan Grey KC told the judge he would not be going into the witness box to face questions but she said again he did not harm any of the woman at the centre of this case. She said no crimes were committed.
Today we also have the latest from Hull Crown Court and the extraordinary story of Robert Bush - the funeral director who deceived the local community on a...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - The Searches
In this update episode Caroline and Nick have the details of what was found when police searched the home of Simon Levy after he was arrested. There were thousands of newspaper cuttings relating to serious and violent crimes, and an interest in convicted criminals including Jeffrey Epstein and Lucy Letby. On his computer there were over 160,000 items including Youtube videos of Andrew Tate, searches for "tips on how to talk to women", and a document which was called "My Sex Record".
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Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - The Attacks on the Tube
In this episode Caroline and Nick bring you the details on Simon Levy’s previous convictions for sexual assaults on women, after the jury were told of 10 attacks that he carried out on London’s transport network between October 2023 and May 2025. These included when he attacked two women in the same incident on the tube and a sexual assault on a member of staff inside a prison.
Plus, we also describe what happened when Simon Levy was arrested.
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Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - A Third Party
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the evidence from the pathologist who found around 80 injuries on the body of one of the alleged victims of Simon Levy. He said 60 of the injuries on the body of Sheryl Wilkins were caused at the time she died. And when a further examination of her body was carried out a fractured bone was found in her throat. The doctor said what he found “strongly suggested” someone else was involved in her death but he could not say for sure that she was strangled.
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Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - The Expert Witnesses
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the evidence of several expert witnesses in the case. One told the jury that victims of strangulation do not always have bruises on their neck, and another said he could not confirm the exact reason Carmenza Valencia Trujillo died. He said he could not rule out that she had been strangled but he also couldn’t be sure her death was not drug related. We also answer your questions about why can say that Simon Levy has previous convictions for sexual assault.
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...Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - The CCTV
In this update episode, Caroline and Nick talk us through the CCTV footage that was shown in court of the last moments of Sheryl Wilkins life. It shows Sheryl being followed by Simon Levy with his hood up, him approaching her and then the two of them disappearing into the B&M carpark in Tottenham for almost 50 minutes, after which only Simon Levy is seen leaving the scene. Sherly’s body was found by police around 5 hours later.
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...Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - Did These Women Have To Die?
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the answers to why the alleged attack and rape of a women in Tottenham, which Simon Levy is now on trial for was initially closed down by the police. It was later reopened after the bodies of two women were found five months apart and the police suspected they’d been murdered. By then Simon Levy was in custody and he was linked to the alleged attacks on all three women. We also have the evidence of CCTV and the mobile phone footage which placed him at the scene of one of th...
Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator - “He raped me”
In this episode Caroline and Nick have the words of the woman Simon Levy is accused of raping. She told the court she would never forget his face or the smell of his hands as he allegedly smothered and raped her in Tottenham in January 2025. He’s then accused of murdering two other women later in the same year. He claims he had consensual sex with the three women but he didn’t harm them. The jury already know Simon Levy is a sexual predator who has 13 previous convictions against women.
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Simon Levy: The Sexual Predator on Trial
In this new series Caroline and Nick cover the trial of Simon Levy, a sexual predator who’s now on trial for rape and murder. The allegation is he targeted three vulnerable women in London “thinking that he would get away with it.” He allegedly raped one woman before murdering two more over an eight month period in 2025. The final alleged murder was committed when he was on bail after being arrested for an earlier attack.
Today, as the trial got underway the jury were also told that Levy already has convictions for sexually assaulting 13 women dating...
NEW TRIAL: Simon Levy: A Sexual Predator
Caroline and Nick are back with a new series following the trial of Simon Levy, a convicted serial sexual predator now accused of rape and murder. Prosecutors allege he targeted vulnerable women. Two were allegedly murdered and one survived being alleged raped and suffocated. He denies all the charges, and Trial UK will be at the Old Bailey covering every day of the case.
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The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: Getting Behind the Trial
In this special episode Caroline and Liz get behind the trial of Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley. We’ve got an insight into the police investigation and the questions which now need to be asked and answered. We also gain an insight into the mind of a man like Jamie Varley from expert Criminologist and former Prison Governor, Professor David Wilson. And we have the emotional words of Preston’s birth mum, Sarah, who says her son was failed by the very people trusted to take care of him.
The Trial UK is part of the Crime...
The Tragic Life of Preston Davey: The Day of Reckoning
A teacher, a head of year, a safeguarding lead will never be released from prison. A judge today decided Jamie Varley’s crimes against Preston Davey were so sinister, so depraved, so relentlessly evil that he should never be free.
In this episode, Caroline and Liz have all the details from an emotional day in court, including the words of Preston’s foster carers Sandra and Paul Cooper and his mum Sarah Davey. But as Jamie Varley and John McGowan Fazakerley were told about the devastation caused by their crimes they did not flinch.
The...
The Tragic Life of Preston Davey: The Verdicts
Preston Davey was the victim of two sinister and wicked men, who “chose” him from an adoption website - then they both abused him and one of them murdered him. That’s what a jury have now decided. Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerly denied to the bitter end that they mistreated him, but the jury didn’t believe them. Today Caroline and Liz have got those verdicts in full and what happened as they were delivered - plus we can now bring you many of the details we haven’t been able to share up to now.
Trigger warn...
The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: The Jury
The fate of Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley is now in the hands of the jury. As this trial comes to an end Caroline and Liz have the final arguments, the final pleas and the final instructions to the jury. The decisions on the guilt or innocence of the two men on trial is now up to them.
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Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull
Actor...
The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: “A Tragedy Waiting to Happen”
Preston Davey was in “peril at the hands of Jamie Varley” and John McGowan Fazakerly knew it - that’s what Peter Wright KC told the jury in this episode of the podcast with Caroline and Liz. As he closed his case, the prosecutor said Preston’s death was a “tragedy waiting to happen” - he said Jamie Varley had a sexual interest in children and he subjected Preston to a “litany of physical and psychological abuse” - and John McGowan Fazakerly could have foreseen what would happen. The danger Preston was in, Mr Wright said, was “blindingly obvious”.
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The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: “Your worst fears”
In this episode John McGowan-Fazakerley tells the jury how he turned detective to try to piece together what caused his adopted son, Preston Davey, to die. He said he knew now that his trust in Jamie Varley had been misplaced because he hadn't known the extent of the disturbing content on his phone. John McGowan-Fazakerley denied ever abusing or harming Preston - he said the allegations were abhorrent and vile - but he was asked repeatedly why traces of his semen were found on Preston's cot.
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Update Episode - The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: John McGowan-Fazakerley
In this update episode Caroline and Liz have the moment John McGowan-Fazakerley told his story. As he gave evidence for the first time, he said he and his partner Jamie Varley doted on their son. He also said he'd never seen Jamie Varley hit, punch, kick, poke, prod, smack or bite Preston and he said if he ever suspected his son was his danger, he would have grabbed him and run out of the front door to protect him.
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The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: Preston’s “brilliant life”
In this episode Caroline and Liz have the cross-examination of Jamie Varley. He denies the prosecution’s claims that he abused Preston to punish him because he was struggling with being his main carer and resented his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, for working or being away.
He also denies making up a ‘cock and bull story’ about how Preston died to cover his tracks.
Instead he tells the jury that, although he made mistakes and was sometimes a little rough with Preston, he loved him and he had a brilliant life.
He says h...
Update Episode - The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: “Your Plaything”
In this emergency update episode Caroline and Liz have the moment Jamie Varley’s story was picked apart. He was accused by the prosecutor of abusing Preston for his own amusement and gratification, of killing him, and then inventing a “cock and bull” story to cover it up.
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Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull
Actors: Benny Fiddimore
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Creative D...
The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: Divided
In this episode Caroline and Liz have more of the evidence from Jamie Varley as he continues to give evidence in his own defence. He told the jury he didn’t agree with the medical evidence that Preston died because his airway was deliberately obstructed. He also said he didn’t lie to his partner, John McGowan Fazakerley, about what happened on the day Preston died. He also said the couple hadn’t been given time to grieve the loss of their son.
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The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: Jamie Varley
In this episode Jamie Varley tells his story. As the defence case gets underway Jamie Varley entered the witness box to deny abusing or killing Preston Davey. He said he was the safest person in the world for Preston and being a teacher and a daddy was all he ever wanted. He also denied keeping pictures on his phone which were “trophies” of Preston being sexually abused. But he said he accepted looking back that some of the footage was inappropriate.
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BONUS: The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: "You've killed him Jamie."
In this extra episode Caroline and Liz have the moment Jamie Varley is faced with the extent of the allegations against him - and his reaction to them. He tells detective they are wrong that he sexually abused and murdered his adopted 13-month-old son, Preston Davey, and he will fight the allegations until the day he dies.
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Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Liz H...
The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: “Frozen Watchfulness”
In this episode Caroline and Liz have the evidence from a doctor who said in some of the videos on Jamie Varley’s phone, Preston Davey was in life threatening situations. Dr Jo Gifford, an expert in child sex abuse, said Preston showed signs of being mistreated and abused, and there was footage of him before he died which showed several “near misses.”
We also have the evidence from Preston’s foster mum Sandra Cooper who came into court to refute Jamie Varley’s suggestion that the reason Preston was pictured and filmed naked was because she had advised...
The Tragic Life Of Preston Davey: Was Preston bitten and abused?
In this episode Caroline and Liz have the medical evidence which the jury were told were consistent with Preston Davey being bitten and sexually assaulted before he died. A pathologist with 40 years experience said she found evidence that he could have been smothered or he may have died from having something forced into his mouth. She also said he suffered bruises which were not accidental. Preston was 13 months old when he died within four months of being in the care of Jamie Varley and John McGowan Fazakerley who were in the process of adopting him. The prosecution say he...
