The latest episode of Sky’s How I Caught the Killer, airing on Tuesday night examines the tragic murders of Matthew Manwaring, 62, and his daughter, Alison Manwaring, 24. Their bodies were discovered in a shallow grave, buried in a garden in Abbeywood, London.
The perpetrator, Benjamin Laing, committed these heinous crimes on 23 April 1992. Laing shot Matthew and strangled Alison before dismembering their bodies and attempting to conceal the evidence. What sets this case apart is Laing’s motivation—he sought to commit the perfect murder. Inspired by accounts of murders disguised as suicides, including the Roberto Calvi case, Laing meticulously planned his crimes, even creating a notebook titled “Master Plan for Murder.”
Laing’s trial commenced at London’s Old Bailey on 24 February 1993. He pleaded not guilty, fabricating a story about being blackmailed by a terrorist group called the Fijian Freedom Fighters. However, the jury swiftly saw through his lies, delivering a unanimous guilty verdict after just four hours of deliberation.
How I Caught the Killer: Love Always in God – Benjamin Laing airs Tuesday, 24 September 2024, at 9:00 pm on Sky Crime.
