Susanna Reid hosts Who Killed Sharon Birchwood: Police TapesCredit: ITV
What's the documentary about?
In this new documentary in ITV’s Crime & Punishment strand, presenter Susanna Reid gains exclusive access to police interview tapes from the investigation into the murder of Sharon Birchwood, a 52-year-old woman with no apparent enemies or criminal connections.
After Sharon was found strangled at her home in the suburbs in 2007, it became apparent that Surrey Police were going to be faced with one of their most challenging murder investigations ever.
What they found would take the investigation from the country lanes of affluent Surrey to shocking answers hidden among the backstreets of Thailand.
Sharon’s body was discovered by her ex-husband Graham, who quickly became the prime suspect.
But when it was proved conclusively that he couldn’t have committed the murder, officers were back at square one until a fingerprint was found which identified a new suspect.
Reporter Susanna Reid interviews key members of the police investigation team, some speaking for the first time, to piece together just how they solved what seemed to be an impossible puzzle.
Every twist and turn of the case is revealed in hours of police recordings that show how police played a strategic game with their new prime suspect in order to make sense of this vicious, baffling crime.
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Paul Cryne was found guilty of Sharon's murder
When was Sharon Birchwood killed? Who was found guilty of her murder?
Sharon Birchwood, 52, of Ashtead, was found strangled and trussed up with parcel tape in Ashtead on December 7, 2007.
Expatriate Paul Cryne, 63, who flew to the UK from Thailand to carry out the killing for a £30,000 fee, was convicted of her murder in August 2010.
His appeal was dismissed by three judges who ruled the verdict was safe.
Her husband, Graham Birchwood was jailed for 32 years for hiring Cryne to kill his ex-wife Sharon.
Who is Susanna Reid?
Susanna was born 10 December 1970 in Croydon, South London, making her 47 years old.
She can be found week day mornings hosting Good Morning Britain on ITV.
She previously hosted BBC Breakfast, and is also the face of Save Money: Good Food.
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