00:00:04
[dramatic music]
00:00:05
[weapon fires]
00:00:06
- When a murder's committed,
00:00:07
it's always a race against time
00:00:10
to find the truth, to
separate fact from fiction,
00:00:14
to catch the killer,
00:00:16
and to make sure that
justice is served.
00:00:20
What happens when the truth
vanishes with the victim?
00:00:24
I'm Dr. Richard Shepherd and
I've spent my entire career
00:00:26
as a Forensic Pathologist
00:00:27
performing nearly
23,000 autopsies,
00:00:30
including on some of
the most high profile
00:00:32
cases of recent times.
00:00:34
I've learned that the
dead don't hide the truth
00:00:36
and they never lie.
00:00:38
Through me,
00:00:40
you'll be hearing
directly from the victim,
00:00:42
from a state-of-the-art
laboratory
00:00:44
with groundbreaking technology
00:00:46
that uses digitally
scanned sample bodies.
00:00:49
I'll be investigating a
series of intriguing murders
00:00:52
where from the victim's
bodies, I'll be revealing
00:00:55
to you the truth behind
those horrific crimes.
00:00:59
[camera shutter clicking]
00:01:04
[dramatic music]
[sirens wail in distance]
00:01:07
[fire crackling
over dramatic music]
00:01:11
Late at night on the
6th of January, 2013,
00:01:16
58-year-old Peter Fasoli was
found dead in the burnt out
00:01:19
remains of the small
bungalow in London
00:01:21
where he lived alone.
00:01:22
[dramatic music]
00:01:27
- That evening, neighbors
had been alerted
00:01:29
to a fire alarm at Peter's house
00:01:31
[sirens wailing]
[dramatic music continues]
00:01:34
and called the fire
brigade who came
00:01:36
and extinguished a house
fire at his address.
00:01:40
Sadly, within the house,
Peter was found to have died.
00:01:46
During a subsequent
investigation,
00:01:49
it was concluded
00:01:50
that the house had
probably caught light due
00:01:52
to a 40 light bulb fitting
00:01:54
that had fallen down onto the
bedding and caused the fire.
00:01:58
- [Dr. Shepherd] A report
by the fire service
00:02:00
said it was an accident,
00:02:02
but was it?
00:02:04
For almost two years
after the fire,
00:02:06
a silent witness laid dormant,
00:02:09
waiting to be found.
00:02:12
While the extra
ordinary true story
00:02:14
of how Peter really died
lay hidden within his body.
00:02:20
[dramatic music]
00:02:22
Peter Fasoli was born to an
Italian family in Manchester
00:02:25
where he lived most of his life,
00:02:29
but he'd moved to London
in 2012, where at the age
00:02:32
of 58 he lived by himself.
00:02:36
- He lived in a small
bungalow in Northolt
00:02:40
in West London.
00:02:44
[gentle dramatic music]
00:02:48
He worked as a sort of IT
consultant sitting in front
00:02:52
of a computer at home all
day effectively, which meant
00:02:55
that his social interactions
were quite limited.
00:03:01
Mainly he met people
over the internet.
00:03:06
- Peter Fasoli was a quiet
man, kept himself to himself,
00:03:11
lived his own life, no
long-term relationships,
00:03:17
reached out online
to make friendships
00:03:19
and to arrange dates.
00:03:21
By all accounts, was a
happy individual living his
00:03:24
life the way he
wanted to live it.
00:03:27
- He didn't have an awful
lot of contact with the
00:03:29
outside world, and he
didn't have an awful lot
00:03:32
of very close relatives
living nearby either.
00:03:35
So he was fairly isolated
from the community,
00:03:39
but he was the kind of person
00:03:40
who did crave
interaction with people.
00:03:43
He would quite often seek
out young gay men for company
00:03:52
and also for sexual
encounters as well.
00:03:57
- We know that
Peter had made use
00:03:59
of an online dating
app to meet others.
00:04:04
- [Dr. Shepherd] It was on
one of these dating apps
00:04:06
that in January, 2013,
00:04:08
he met a man calling
himself Gabriel,
00:04:10
who he invited to his house.
00:04:15
- They'd arranged to meet
at his bungalow in Northolt
00:04:18
on the evening of
the 6th of January.
00:04:22
According to the messages
had gone to and fro,
00:04:26
Peter was expecting some
sort of sexual encounter.
00:04:31
It seemed as if the
person he'd connected
00:04:34
with on this website
fitted the bill.
00:04:38
They seemed to be
into the same things,
00:04:41
and this person who went by
the name of Gabriel had said,
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well, I'm gonna come
00:04:47
and we're going to
engage in this sort
00:04:48
of role play activity.
00:04:52
So that was what Peter
Fasoli was expecting.
00:04:58
- [Dr. Shepherd] They agreed
that Gabriel would come
00:05:00
to Peter's house at 7:00
PM on the 6th of January.
00:05:06
- On the morning of
the 7th of January,
00:05:08
Peter received some text
messages from Gabriel.
00:05:11
[ominous music]
00:05:15
Gabriel was apologizing
for not having turned up
00:05:18
to their appointment
the night before
00:05:20
and exploring Peter's
availability for future meetups.
00:05:25
- And then some more
messages later on saying, oh,
00:05:29
why are you ignoring me?
00:05:30
So clearly something
has gone wrong
00:05:33
according to these messages,
00:05:34
[ominous music continues]
00:05:37
- [Dr. Shepherd] But Peter
never read these messages.
00:05:43
- Very late on 6th of January
going into the early hours
00:05:46
of the seventh, Peter
Fasoli's fire alarm goes off
00:05:50
and the emergency
services are called.
00:05:56
He's found in the
house, collapsed,
00:06:00
and he's pronounced dead.
00:06:06
Initially, it does seem
00:06:08
that the fire was an accident.
00:06:14
- There'd been a
initial investigation
00:06:16
that identified
nothing suspicious.
00:06:18
- The death goes through
the usual process.
00:06:20
There's a inquest which confirms
00:06:23
that Peter's death
was an accident.
00:06:28
- There was a
post-mortem examination
00:06:29
of Peter's body to see
00:06:31
what it could reveal
about his final moments.
00:06:35
Peter's charred body was
found in his bungalow,
00:06:39
and at the time it was thought
00:06:40
that there were no
suspicious circumstances,
00:06:43
but the cause of death
still had to be determined.
00:06:47
I've examined many fire
deaths in my career,
00:06:50
and I know that within a
domestic fire, temperatures up
00:06:52
to 800 degrees Celsius,
00:06:55
that's 1500 degrees Fahrenheit,
are easily achieved.
00:06:58
So the hot gases
themselves can cause death,
00:07:02
but the crucial things
00:07:03
that kill are the
smoke and the fumes.
00:07:07
These cases cause problems
for any pathologist
00:07:10
who has to examine them.
00:07:11
They have to consider a
whole series of things.
00:07:14
They've got to establish the
identity, the cause of death,
00:07:18
but particularly
they've got to try
00:07:20
and work out whether the
person was alive at the time
00:07:23
the fire was burning.
00:07:25
We look into the air passages,
the trachea, the bronchi,
00:07:29
and the lungs, and
this image shows
00:07:31
what you find at
postmortem, the black soot
00:07:35
and debris distributed
throughout those air passages.
00:07:38
And if we can find soot
00:07:39
and heat damage in
the airways, we know
00:07:42
that the person was alive at
the time the fire was burning.
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[dramatic music]
00:07:48
The evidence suggested
there was no doubt
00:07:50
that Peter was still breathing
when the fire had started,
00:07:56
and it seemed that the
cause of death was clear.
00:07:59
- Peter had some health issues,
he had a heart condition
00:08:03
and at times needed
the support of oxygen
00:08:05
to help him breathe
and get about easily.
00:08:08
The conclusion was that
Peter had inhaled some smoke
00:08:11
during the initial
stages of the fire, that
00:08:15
that had triggered problems
with his heart condition
00:08:18
and that he had died as a
result of a heart attack.
00:08:23
- That is certainly what
the police decided based on
00:08:26
what the fire
brigade was saying.
00:08:27
So really they didn't
take things any further.
00:08:30
They didn't look at
the wider circumstances
00:08:35
of Peter's death.
00:08:36
[dramatic music]
00:08:39
- [Dr. Shepherd] After the
inquest in August, 2013,
00:08:41
the investigation was closed,
00:08:44
but there was something
the police didn't know.
00:08:49
In the hours after Peter's
death, his money was being spent
00:08:53
by someone else.
00:08:55
- So the really curious
thing about this is
00:08:57
that Peter Fasoli
dies in a house fire
00:09:01
and he's found in the early
hours of January the seventh,
00:09:04
the next day, his
credit card is used
00:09:06
to buy a ticket
from London to Rome.
00:09:10
On January the 11th,
00:09:12
a man called Jason
Marshall boards a flight
00:09:17
using that ticket.
00:09:21
- [Dr. Shepherd] But
who was Jason Marshall
00:09:23
and how had he got his hands
on Peter's credit cards?
00:09:27
- This case was one
of the most unusual
00:09:29
that I've ever dealt with.
00:09:30
The true facts hadn't been
exposed in the initial
00:09:34
investigations.
00:09:35
[dramatic music settles]
00:09:46
- The charred body
of Peter Fasoli
00:09:48
had been found in his house
00:09:49
in Northolt West London.
00:09:51
An inquest in August,
2013 had concluded
00:09:55
that it was an accident
caused by a faulty light bulb
00:09:58
and the case was closed,
00:10:02
but the body still
had secrets to tell
00:10:05
and the truth of what happened
was yet to be discovered.
00:10:08
- Four days after Peter
Fasoli died in a house fire,
00:10:13
a man called Jason Marshall
boarded a flight to Rome
00:10:19
from Gatwick Airport.
00:10:21
He'd used a credit card in
the name of Peter Fasoli
00:10:25
to buy the flight,
00:10:27
and he also had cash
that he'd withdrawn from
00:10:32
that account as well.
00:10:33
[dramatic music]
00:10:39
- [Dr. Shepherd] Not long
after arriving in Italy,
00:10:41
Jason started using online
dating apps to find gay men.
00:10:46
- So within days of
touching down in Rome,
00:10:50
Jason Marshall is busy setting
up new connections online.
00:10:56
Jason had set himself
up on dating websites
00:11:01
and arranged to
meet older gay guys
00:11:04
and arranged to meet them
through these dating websites
00:11:07
for sexual encounters.
00:11:11
He meets a guy
called Vincenzo Iale.
00:11:15
- [Dr. Shepherd]
67-year-old Vincenzo Iale
00:11:18
worked as a tour guide in Rome
00:11:23
and lived in a small town
00:11:24
outside the city called
Torvaianica Alta.
00:11:29
Just over two weeks
00:11:30
after arriving in Rome,
Jason was on his way
00:11:33
to Vincenzo's house.
00:11:37
[dramatic music]
00:11:40
Vincenzo may have been
expecting a sexual encounter,
00:11:43
but Jason had
something else in mind.
00:11:47
- Jason was not interested
00:11:51
in sexual meetings.
00:11:53
He just wanted to steal
00:11:57
their credit card or cash.
00:12:01
Every time he was searching
this kind of victim,
00:12:05
and every time he
approached to them for
00:12:12
a sexual meeting, every
time with just one purpose,
00:12:17
steal their credit
cards, steal cash,
00:12:22
extorting numbers
and bank details,
00:12:29
and then killing his victims.
00:12:32
- [Dr. Shepherd] Several
days after his encounter
00:12:34
with Jason Marshall,
00:12:35
Vincenzo Iale's
body was discovered.
00:12:39
- Vincenzo was found
00:12:41
completely nude on the floor.
00:12:46
One week, seven days
later, the homicide.
00:12:51
Because he lived alone.
00:12:54
- This murder scene
was over a week old
00:12:57
and in forensics, time
is of the essence.
00:13:01
With the passage of time,
00:13:02
vital clues such as the DNA
00:13:04
of the killer can be lost.
00:13:06
And in terms of the
injuries, it can be harder
00:13:08
and harder to determine which
00:13:10
of the injuries actually
was the cause of death.
00:13:15
Decomposition will have
started to set in on Vincenzo,
00:13:18
and it's usually first seen in
the right lower abdomen over
00:13:23
the cecum and the
appendix area of the body
00:13:26
as a green discoloration
of the skin
00:13:29
that gradually spreads
over the entire body.
00:13:33
But the pathologist in
this case was well able
00:13:35
to identify the numerous
stab wounds to the chest
00:13:39
of Vincenzo, and he could also
see that he had been tortured
00:13:43
and the crime scene showed
that it's been dragged
00:13:46
around the flat, evidence
of the physicality
00:13:49
of the murderer.
00:13:51
Despite the severity of
the injuries, they were not
00:13:54
what killed Vincenzo.
00:13:56
The pathologist found that
Vincenzo had been strangled
00:13:59
by a ligature, and the mark
on his neck was entirely
00:14:03
consistent with the use
of an electrical cord.
00:14:07
Ligature strangulation
causes pressure to the neck
00:14:10
and the blood vessels and
airways inside the neck.
00:14:14
It causes pressure to
these red carotid arteries
00:14:17
that are taking
blood up to the brain
00:14:19
and it causes pressure on
the jugular veins which are
00:14:21
taking blood away.
00:14:23
And so the brain is starved
00:14:25
of oxygen when those
blood vessels are pressed,
00:14:27
but it can also lead to
compression of the airways above
00:14:31
and below the larynx, stopping
air entering the lungs,
00:14:35
and so meaning there's loss
00:14:36
of oxygen in the
bloodstream itself.
00:14:39
Now, the time it takes
for someone to die
00:14:42
with ligature strangulation
is very variable.
00:14:44
Depending on the ligature
00:14:46
and the pressure applied,
it can be very quick
00:14:50
or it can be delayed over
a prolonged period of time,
00:14:53
depending how much
pressure is applied.
00:14:56
[dramatic music]
00:14:58
On the very day Vincenzo
was found murdered.
00:15:02
Jason Marshall was on his
way to meet his next victim.
00:15:06
[dramatic music continues]
00:15:10
- Within days, he moves
on to another guy.
00:15:15
This time a chap called Umberto
Gismondi, who lives in Rome.
00:15:22
- He met him on a
social network site
00:15:26
for sexual meetings.
00:15:29
The victim invited
Jason in his home
00:15:32
and they had the
dinner together.
00:15:36
[knife chops]
[dramatic music continues]
00:15:41
They go to the bedroom.
00:15:43
Jason not seem so interested
00:15:48
to have a sexual meeting.
00:15:51
[dramatic music continues]
00:15:53
- [Dr. Shepherd] Armed
with a truncheon,
00:15:54
Jason launched a terrifying
attack on Umberto Gismondi.
00:16:00
First he incapacitated his
victim with pepper spray,
00:16:03
then bound and gagged him
00:16:05
and attempted to suffocate
him with a cushion.
00:16:10
And he made it clear to Umberto
00:16:12
that this was not the
first time he had carried
00:16:14
out such an attack.
00:16:17
- Jason showed the
picture on his phone
00:16:21
and said to the victim,
"Watch this picture.
00:16:25
Watch this man, I killed
him one month ago.
00:16:31
If you don't give
me the PIN number
00:16:34
of your credit cards,
I'll kill you too."
00:16:40
- There's an effect whereby
people become more desensitized
00:16:44
as time goes on,
00:16:45
and if they commit
one harmful act,
00:16:50
maybe it's easier for
'em to commit another one
00:16:53
and another one, and
then maybe they realize
00:16:56
that they're actually
kind of enjoying this
00:16:59
and that keeps them going.
00:17:01
[gentle dramatic music]
00:17:07
- Jason was a serial killer
00:17:09
because every time he
made the same actions.
00:17:14
First of all,
00:17:16
victims are the same,
00:17:18
homosexual, alone,
00:17:21
and they're old men.
00:17:24
Why old men?
00:17:25
Because Jason is
a strong, young,
00:17:31
tall, powerful man.
00:17:33
And so in case of struggle,
00:17:36
he could win against them.
00:17:41
- Very fortunately,
00:17:43
the victim's neighbors
hear the commotion
00:17:47
and raise the alarm, and
Mr. Gismondi is rescued.
00:17:51
[eerie music]
00:17:56
- [Dr. Shepherd] Umberto
Gismondi was very lucky
00:17:58
to have been saved,
and he survived.
00:18:03
Jason fled the scene,
00:18:05
but Italian police tracked
his movements using his phone
00:18:10
and he was apprehended on a bus
00:18:12
a few hours after the attack.
00:18:15
He was arrested and taken to
a jail in Rome where he was
00:18:19
provided with a defense lawyer.
00:18:24
- I was the court
appointed lawyer.
00:18:27
In my life, I will not
have a case so bizarre.
00:18:35
I met Jason
00:18:37
for the first time
when he was in jail.
00:18:44
He said, "I am innocent,
Francesco, I am innocent."
00:18:50
Jason was very convinced and
Jason was very believable,
00:18:54
and I thought, oh, maybe
he's really innocent.
00:18:59
But what he said to me
00:19:03
was not supported by the facts.
00:19:10
- [Dr. Shepherd] When
Jason had been arrested,
00:19:11
he had fresh blood on him
00:19:12
and he had credit cards
00:19:14
and a gate key of his first
Italian victim, Vincenzo Iale.
00:19:20
He was also found in
possession of pepper spray,
00:19:22
a fake pistol
00:19:23
and a counterfeit badge
from the British embassy.
00:19:26
- Jason said to me, "I work
for the British Embassy,
00:19:31
I work for MI5,"
00:19:33
but it was unbelievable.
00:19:37
It was not credible.
00:19:40
[dramatic music]
00:19:43
- [Dr. Shepherd] In 2014,
00:19:44
Jason Marshall
stood trial in Italy
00:19:46
for the attempted murder
of Umberto Gismondi
00:19:49
and the murder of Vincenzo Iale.
00:19:53
- During the final
part of [indistinct],
00:19:57
Jason want to speak,
00:20:01
and I remember that
Jason said to the judge,
00:20:04
"You can't judge me
00:20:06
because only God can judge me."
00:20:10
[dramatic music continues]
00:20:13
- [Dr. Shepherd] In July,
2014, he was found guilty
00:20:15
and sentenced to
16 years in prison.
00:20:20
Now he was confined to
an Italian prison cell,
00:20:23
Jason Marshall could
not kill again,
00:20:26
but the question being asked
was, had he killed before?
00:20:31
Shocking evidence was
about to come to light.
00:20:34
- This case is back
to front really,
00:20:36
in that the suspect was
locked up for murder
00:20:39
before we even knew
there was a murder.
00:20:41
I've investigated many cases
which have strange aspects
00:20:45
to them, but very rarely do
you find a murder set to music.
00:20:49
[dramatic music settles]
00:20:59
[dramatic music]
00:21:01
- [Dr. Shepherd] On the
6th of January, 2013,
00:21:04
58-year-old Peter Fasoli had
met a man called Gabriel on the
00:21:07
internet and invited him back
to his home in West London.
00:21:13
But later that night,
his house was on fire
00:21:16
and Peter was found dead.
00:21:20
An inquest concluded that
it was an accident caused
00:21:23
by a faulty light bulb,
and the case was closed.
00:21:27
The body had revealed Peter
was alive during the fire,
00:21:30
but there was more to tell.
00:21:33
An all-seeing
witness was waiting,
00:21:35
ready to reveal a
shocking secret.
00:21:41
- There is an investigation
00:21:43
and it does confirm that
Peter's death was an accident.
00:21:47
So, you know, the family are
obviously shocked and grieving,
00:21:52
but since it was just
a tragic accident,
00:21:54
they move on with their lives.
00:21:58
Peter Fasoli's family are
not particularly local.
00:22:04
His belongings what's left
of them, what's not been,
00:22:08
you know, completely destroyed
by the fire in his house
00:22:12
collected up
00:22:13
and they're stored by a friend
00:22:15
of the family up in Yorkshire.
00:22:20
- [Dr. Shepherd] It was
not until almost two years
00:22:21
after his death that evidence
emerged revealing the truth
00:22:25
of what really
happened that night.
00:22:28
- Peter Fasoli's nephew decides
00:22:31
that he'd be quite interested
in going through some
00:22:34
of Peter's effects, which have
been stored up in Yorkshire.
00:22:38
So he goes to have a look.
00:22:41
He's particularly interested
00:22:43
because he knows that
Peter had a shared interest
00:22:47
with him in his family tree.
00:22:50
So he thinks that there might
be something on the computer
00:22:54
that Peter had in his house
00:22:56
that might give him a bit
more information about
00:22:58
the family history.
00:23:00
So he goes to Yorkshire
00:23:01
and collects the hard
drive from the computer
00:23:05
and takes it home with him
00:23:07
and sets it up so he can kind
00:23:09
of have a look and
see what's on there.
00:23:11
[suspenseful music]
00:23:13
What he finds is not anything
to do with the family tree.
00:23:18
He makes a very shocking
discovery of a series
00:23:22
of videos that Peter
Fasoli had made initially
00:23:27
meeting guys for sex,
00:23:29
and it had been
filmed on his webcam.
00:23:34
- [Dr. Shepherd] But what
he sees on the final video
00:23:36
shows something else entirely.
00:23:39
Shocked by what
he had discovered,
00:23:41
Peter's nephew immediately
handed the video
00:23:44
to the local police.
00:23:47
- We received a call from
West Yorkshire Police
00:23:49
with some really
significant information
00:23:51
that was gonna take the whole
case into a new direction.
00:23:56
So once we got back to London
00:23:58
and reviewed the video that
Peter's nephew had found,
00:24:02
it was really shocking
00:24:05
and quite a harrowing
watch to be honest.
00:24:07
It happened that Peter had
a kind of hidden CCTV camera
00:24:12
that was connected
to his laptop.
00:24:15
It was effectively a recording
of the events of the evening
00:24:19
of his uncle's death
00:24:21
and showed that Peter had
been visited by another male.
00:24:25
[suspenseful music]
00:24:34
The man in the video
is wearing a clothing
00:24:37
that clearly intending
to portray himself
as plain clothes,
00:24:41
law enforcement of
some description,
jeans, bomber jacket,
00:24:44
T-shirt under that.
00:24:47
When he takes the
jacket off at times,
00:24:49
you can see that
he's got a holster
00:24:50
with whether it's
handcuffs in one slot,
00:24:53
pretends to have a firearm.
00:24:54
I think there's a radio
clip to it as well.
00:24:57
And if you were left in
any doubt at that point,
00:24:59
he's also wearing an ID badge
on a chain around his neck,
00:25:03
clearly intending to portray
himself as law enforcement.
00:25:10
The events ran on
for several hours,
00:25:12
but for the vast majority of
the time entirely consensual.
00:25:17
There'd been different role
plays with the suspect,
00:25:20
a role playing either a
police officer or a an agent
00:25:24
or a spy or whatever was
going through his mind,
00:25:27
but was certainly asserting
a position of power
00:25:31
and authority over Peter who
was quite willingly submissive
00:25:35
to that power and authority.
00:25:40
[handcuffs clicks]
[dramatic music continues]
00:25:46
- It was like a role
play taken to extremes.
00:25:49
There was a role certainly,
00:25:52
and it was a powerful role.
00:25:53
[suspenseful music continues]
00:25:56
A dominating role, a
role that had authority
00:26:00
and also access to specialized
procedures and equipment.
00:26:05
But the play part
of the role play,
00:26:09
play itself can serve a
function even for adults.
00:26:13
It can give them a
taste of that identity
00:26:17
that they're aspiring to.
00:26:19
Whilst they're
acting out this role,
00:26:22
life might seem different,
00:26:24
the situation might
seem different to
how they are in their
00:26:28
usual everyday
life as themselves.
00:26:33
- [Dr. Shepherd] But as the
hours passed, something changed.
00:26:38
- It was only right at the
very end when things took
00:26:40
a more sinister turn.
00:26:43
- The young man in the video
starts becoming quite violent.
00:26:49
He threatens him with
a knife repeatedly.
00:26:54
He also injects him with
a needle more than once.
00:27:01
He really, really becomes
quite violent and aggressive
00:27:06
and he's clearly enjoying it.
00:27:08
He's clearly taking some
sadistic pleasure in
00:27:12
bringing Peter
Fasoli down so low
00:27:15
and humiliating him.
00:27:21
- Jason Marshall was calm
and collected throughout.
00:27:23
There didn't seem to be
any agitation, any panic.
00:27:27
It's as if he kept
on playing the role.
00:27:30
- And there's a
point in the video
00:27:32
that I remember quite clearly
actually, where it seems like
00:27:37
the penny drops and Peter
going from being quite excited
00:27:42
and energized about
this kind of role play.
00:27:45
It suddenly dawns on him, it's
not a game for him anymore,
00:27:49
and he actually becomes
very frightened for real.
00:27:55
- [Dr. Shepherd] Eventually
the torture escalated
00:27:57
to a point of no return.
00:28:00
- The suspect took
a roll of cling film
00:28:04
and wrapped it round Peter's
head, causing him to struggle
00:28:07
to breathe and suffocate
00:28:09
and then put a plastic bag
over his head causing Peter
00:28:11
to fall to the floor.
00:28:13
- [Dr. Shepherd]
Without realizing it,
00:28:15
Peter Fasoli had recorded
his own brutal murder.
00:28:20
- This is a video showing
Peter Fasoli's death
00:28:24
at the hands
00:28:25
of an extremely violent
sadistic killer.
00:28:28
[dramatic music]
00:28:29
- The cuffs were
removed, the bag
00:28:32
and the cling film were removed.
00:28:33
Shortly after that,
00:28:35
the video then shows
the suspect clearing up
00:28:38
the scene behind him, and
then the video is cut,
00:28:41
but the sound continues.
00:28:43
And what can be
heard is the sound
00:28:46
of probably some accelerant
being poured around the flat
00:28:50
[lighter clicks]
00:28:51
and the sound of
that being ignited.
00:28:53
And it's within
seconds of those sounds
00:28:57
that you then hear
the smoke alarm,
00:28:59
which alerted the neighbors
who then subsequently,
00:29:01
as we know, called
the fire brigade.
00:29:04
- Throughout the video
of Peter Fasoli's torture
00:29:08
and ultimate death,
00:29:11
there is a sort
of weird situation
00:29:14
because he'd put on classic
FM in the background,
00:29:18
you know, for this encounter,
00:29:22
I wouldn't say
romantic particularly,
00:29:24
but it's an encounter of sorts
00:29:27
with Jason Marshall
and it is very bizarre
00:29:30
because you hear Myleene Klass
talking about classical music
00:29:34
in the background,
00:29:36
and that is on throughout
this horrendous violent
00:29:42
situation that's
unfolding in his house.
00:29:44
- The detail of this
remains with me today.
00:29:49
It was unbelievably shocking.
00:29:52
It was a showing of
such determination,
00:29:55
such calculation,
planning, evil almost.
00:30:02
And seldom do you see
in a domestic context
00:30:05
footage of someone's death
00:30:09
through evil crime.
00:30:11
[dramatic music]
00:30:13
- [Dr. Shepherd] The
truth of what happened
00:30:14
that night had been hidden
in Peter's body all along,
00:30:17
waiting to reveal itself, but
the body had never been asked.
00:30:24
A body may never lie,
00:30:26
but sometimes it's really
important to make sure
00:30:29
that you ask the
right questions.
00:30:32
We know that Peter was
still fighting for his life
00:30:34
after Jason had set
fire to his house
00:30:37
and the initial cause
of death was inhalation
00:30:40
of fire fumes in association
with his heart complaint.
00:30:44
But the major contributing
factor to Peter's death,
00:30:47
despite all he'd endured,
was clearly suffocation.
00:30:50
And suffocation occurs when
the external air passages
00:30:55
the mouth and the
nose are blocked
00:30:58
so the air can't enter the body
00:31:01
and that will deprive
the body of oxygen
00:31:04
and eventually
result in brain death
00:31:07
and the death of the individual.
00:31:09
And we know from the video
that Peter was struggling
00:31:11
and fighting to breathe,
00:31:14
and we also know that the
cling film was removed
00:31:16
and replaced several times,
00:31:20
but that when the fire was
burning, Peter was still alive
00:31:24
and struggling to breathe,
which accounts for the soot
00:31:28
that was present in
his airway at the time
00:31:30
of the first
postmortem examination.
00:31:33
And it's clear that wrapping
cling film around Peter's head
00:31:36
by Jason was intended to kill
00:31:39
or at least cause serious harm.
00:31:43
- What had been thought to
have been an accidental death
00:31:45
as a result of a house fire
had now turned into something
00:31:48
much more significant.
00:31:49
This was now a
homicide investigation.
00:31:51
[dramatic music settles]
00:32:01
[suspenseful music]
00:32:04
- [Dr. Shepherd]
In January, 2013,
00:32:06
Peter Fasoli invited a man
00:32:08
calling himself
Gabriel to his home
00:32:10
after they had met
on a dating website.
00:32:15
The next morning,
Peter was found dead
00:32:17
after his house caught fire.
00:32:19
[suspenseful music continues]
00:32:23
Almost two years
after his death,
00:32:25
shocking footage was discovered
00:32:27
that revealed he had in fact
been tortured and murdered.
00:32:32
But although detectives had
the footage, they still had
00:32:35
to identify the man responsible.
00:32:39
- What really goes
through your mind then is
00:32:41
that you have an
absolute passion
00:32:43
to do the right
thing for the family.
00:32:45
The whole point of doing
my job is to find answers
00:32:48
for the family and what
becomes an absolute priority
00:32:52
and a real motivation
piece is to identify
00:32:55
who the suspect is
00:32:57
and preventing causing any
more harm to anybody else.
00:33:00
[dramatic music]
00:33:02
- [Dr. Shepherd] But just
who was this sadistic
00:33:04
internet predator?
00:33:06
[door knocking]
00:33:08
- They had an image of
this person who'd been
00:33:12
with Peter Fasoli on
the night of his death.
00:33:14
They had him on the video,
00:33:16
but obviously at that stage
they didn't know who he was.
00:33:19
They then have to follow this
trail of evidence and try
00:33:24
and find out who the person is,
00:33:27
who's clearly, you know,
00:33:28
been extremely violent.
00:33:30
[dramatic music continues]
00:33:33
- First thing that we had
to do was look through all
00:33:37
of the video to try
and identify any clues
00:33:41
or anything that would help us
00:33:43
with the identity
of this suspect.
00:33:45
So that involved hours
00:33:46
and hours of going through
minute by minute, almost frame
00:33:49
by frame at times in terms of
00:33:50
what had happened in the house.
00:33:52
Is there any telltale signs
that the suspect's giving out?
00:33:56
Is there anything that he says?
00:33:57
Any information, any use of
names, anything like that?
00:34:01
[dramatic music continues]
00:34:04
At one point during the evening,
00:34:07
the suspect had demanded
Peter's credit card,
00:34:10
had demanded the PIN
number for his bank card,
00:34:14
and had gone away from
the house for a period
00:34:17
of time and then returned.
00:34:19
This opened up the consideration
00:34:21
that the murder was
financially motivated.
00:34:24
[suspenseful music]
00:34:27
When we looked at his
finances in more detail,
00:34:29
what we identified was that
the days following his death,
00:34:34
his bank details were used
00:34:35
to purchase some
flights from an airline.
00:34:38
And then inquiries with
that airline identified
00:34:41
who had bought the tickets
00:34:43
and in what name those
tickets had been purchased.
00:34:47
We established from the airline
00:34:49
that the account had been
used to buy tickets to Italy
00:34:53
in the name of Jason Marshall.
00:34:57
- [Dr. Shepherd] So
the man Peter had met
00:34:58
who called himself Gabriel,
00:35:00
was in fact Jason Marshall.
00:35:03
Jason was already known
to the Italian police,
00:35:06
but not to the UK detectives.
00:35:10
A quick search revealed that
Jason Marshall had spent most
00:35:12
of his life on the
wrong side of the law.
00:35:16
- And when we did some
police background checks,
00:35:18
it was found that he was
known to the police for,
00:35:21
amongst other things,
impersonating a police officer.
00:35:24
So when you look back
at the investigation
00:35:26
and what we'd gathered so far,
00:35:27
the whole evening
involved role play
00:35:31
and role play in
law enforcement,
00:35:33
and here we've
identified the name
00:35:35
of a suspect who's
got convictions for
the very same thing.
00:35:41
- There'll be some
people who feel the need
00:35:45
or desire to dress up and
pretend to be a policeman
00:35:49
or an ambulance man or a
fireman, but they don't go on
00:35:52
and kill somebody
playing out that role.
00:35:55
[suspenseful music]
00:35:58
- You can probably fairly
describe Jason Marshall
00:36:01
as a lifelong fantasist.
00:36:03
You know, his life is
00:36:05
to a certain extent,
a bit of a mystery.
00:36:07
He claims that his parents
were both drug addicts
00:36:10
and he grew up in East London.
00:36:12
His obsession with
living a fantasy
00:36:18
really comes from his desire
00:36:21
to block out the harsh
realities of life
00:36:24
and also give him the kind
of status that he's craved.
00:36:29
And that's really where his
obsession with police officers
00:36:33
and anyone in a
uniform comes from.
00:36:38
Because he puts on a uniform,
00:36:40
he becomes a different person
00:36:42
and the kind of person
that people respect.
00:36:45
But in reality, his
life is quite a sad one.
00:36:50
He makes money as a male escort,
00:36:52
he becomes increasingly unhappy
00:36:55
and he's taking out his anger
00:36:58
and frustration on these
older guys that he's meeting
00:37:02
for sexual encounters.
00:37:04
And there comes a point
where he moves down a very,
00:37:07
very dark path.
00:37:09
And that's really the point
at which unfortunately,
00:37:13
his life collides
with Peter Fasoli's.
00:37:16
[suspenseful music]
00:37:19
- [Dr. Shepherd] Jason
Marshall's online profile
00:37:21
on dating apps
00:37:23
gave a chilling clue
to his state of mind.
00:37:27
When he had met up
00:37:28
with Peter Fasoli the
night before he died,
00:37:30
Jason had used the
online name Gabriel.
00:37:34
- He imagined that he
was the Archangel Gabriel
00:37:39
and he's creating
this online persona.
00:37:42
I mean, a lot of people
don't use their own names
00:37:45
on dating websites.
00:37:46
That's not unusual.
00:37:48
But the fact that
00:37:50
not only has he created
this online persona,
00:37:54
he carries it over
into real life
00:37:57
and carries it over
into this very different
00:38:00
and extreme character
that he's created.
00:38:04
So he goes from a position
where he's less powerful,
00:38:09
he's working as a male escort,
00:38:12
but because he's created
this complete alter ego
00:38:15
where he is in charge and he
is the one with the handcuffs
00:38:20
and the police radio
and making the arrests,
00:38:23
and he's a big man,
00:38:26
he's turning the
tables on people
00:38:29
who want him for his services.
00:38:35
- [Dr. Shepherd] Having
identified Jason Marshall,
00:38:37
police now had to
bring him to justice.
00:38:41
- The next challenge really was
where is Jason Marshall now?
00:38:45
And some fairly quick
research using the internet
00:38:48
and identified to my horror
00:38:51
that Jason Marshall was in
Italy serving a custodial
00:38:55
sentence, having killed a
male over there in the weeks
00:39:00
that followed the
death of Peter Fasoli.
00:39:05
It was a moment really where
I had to temper my kind
00:39:08
of enthusiasm
00:39:10
and joy that we'd identified
who this person was
00:39:13
and we were gonna make some
progress with a real kind of
00:39:16
somber moment of reflection
in terms of, you know,
00:39:19
had there been
opportunities missed,
00:39:21
what if things had
been done differently?
00:39:24
What was the consequences
00:39:25
of the delay in
identifying this offense?
00:39:29
But it was never lost on me.
00:39:30
In those kind of early
moments, the kind of
00:39:33
what if questions around
those victims in Italy.
00:39:37
- [Dr. Shepherd] The
video of Peter's murder
00:39:39
shed light on the murder
of Vincenzo Iale in Italy.
00:39:44
People are murdered in all sorts
00:39:45
of different ways,
00:39:47
and some crime scenes
are really horrific.
00:39:49
The pathologist found that
Vincenzo had been strangled
00:39:52
by a ligature, and in fact,
the crime scene showed
00:39:55
that Vincenzo had been
dragged around the flat,
00:39:58
evidence of the physicality
of the murderer.
00:40:02
But in Peter's case, the
fire had changed everything.
00:40:06
A fire means that a lot
00:40:07
of valuable evidence
will have been lost,
00:40:11
and there was evidence that
he had also been tortured.
00:40:13
The burning of the body
had obscured any evidence
00:40:16
of bruising or the
injection sites,
00:40:18
which made them
much harder to see,
00:40:20
and there was no
evidence of suspicion.
00:40:22
And it's not possible
00:40:24
to determine if death occurred
deliberately or by accident.
00:40:31
But now the evidence proved
without a shadow of a doubt
00:40:34
that something very
sinister had happened.
00:40:38
After four and a half years,
00:40:40
Jason Marshall would
finally face justice
00:40:43
for the brutal murder
of Peter Fasoli.
00:40:46
[dramatic music]
00:40:50
- And it was early 2017 when
Jason Marshall was finally
00:40:53
extradited back to the UK.
00:40:56
He was met by my officers
and arrested on UK soil.
00:41:00
And at that point, the
prosecution for the murder
00:41:03
of Peter Fasoli started
in earnest really
00:41:06
and led to the subsequent trial.
00:41:10
And that's probably the first
time that there's a real sense
00:41:13
that we are now starting
to deliver justice
00:41:15
for Peter's family.
00:41:19
Jason has to answer for his
actions and in a UK court,
00:41:22
and he can't hide
00:41:23
behind the Italian
prison cell bars anymore.
00:41:26
[dramatic music]
00:41:30
- [Dr. Shepherd] In July, 2017,
00:41:32
Jason Marshall finally stood
00:41:34
to trial in London.
00:41:37
- It was an extraordinary
trial at the Old Bailey.
00:41:42
Extraordinary because of the
material that the evidence,
00:41:45
I've done many serious cases,
00:41:48
but I have never seen
footage showing the
00:41:53
crime in such a calculated,
cold, powerful way.
00:41:58
I've never come
across that before.
00:42:00
It was very disturbing
00:42:03
and it must have been very
disturbing for the jury.
00:42:07
- [Dr. Shepherd] In court,
Jason Marshall claimed
00:42:09
he had amnesia
00:42:11
and couldn't remember
anything from that night.
00:42:14
- The purpose of the
cross-examination was to show
00:42:18
that his amnesia, as
he claimed, was a lie
00:42:24
and there was quite a
bit of material, such as
00:42:28
what he did afterwards
when he sent a text
00:42:32
to Peter's phone,
the text message
00:42:36
is so obviously purposeful
and thinking and calculated
00:42:41
and is not consistent with
amnesia of an event at all.
00:42:45
Leaving aside what he then
went to do, getting himself
00:42:48
to Italy and killing one
and trying to kill another.
00:42:55
- His behavior in the
witness box was pretty
00:42:58
strange to say the least.
00:43:01
He'd run out of excuses
and he'd run out of stories
00:43:05
and the fantasy was
quickly unraveling
00:43:08
and it just didn't hold.
00:43:10
It just didn't hold
for him anymore.
00:43:12
So there was nowhere
for him to go.
00:43:16
- [Dr. Shepherd] The evidence
on the video was damning.
00:43:19
- Having this piece
of footage meant
00:43:22
that Jason Marshall couldn't
deny that he was there.
00:43:26
He couldn't deny
what had happened
00:43:29
and it would made it extremely
hard for him to wriggle out
00:43:32
of it because it's all there,
you know, you only have
00:43:35
to watch what he did to realize
00:43:39
that this was an
extremely sadistic
00:43:42
and cruel act of violence
against a defenseless man.
00:43:47
- Marshall is an
extremely dangerous man.
00:43:51
I think he knows, he
knew what he was doing.
00:43:53
He wanted to do it.
He wanted to kill.
00:43:56
He never expressed any
true remorse at all.
00:44:02
He was determined
to do what he did
00:44:05
and he did it again
and he did it again.
00:44:08
And I don't think
he's someone who
00:44:12
is capable of remorse.
00:44:14
[gentle bright music]
00:44:17
- One of the most important
things at this moment,
00:44:19
of course, is to get back in
touch with Peter's family,
00:44:22
explain what we had found
00:44:24
and explain the process we
had made at every single stage
00:44:27
of the investigation.
00:44:28
It's critical to me,
00:44:30
and I think it's
really important that
00:44:33
the family understand what's
happening, ultimately,
00:44:36
that's what I'm there for,
is to find the answers
00:44:39
that the family are looking for.
00:44:41
And if I can find a way
to keep them up to speed
00:44:44
and up to date with
the investigation
00:44:45
and the progress that
we're making, then
00:44:47
that's really, really important.
00:44:53
- [Dr. Shepherd] The
jury took just 75 minutes
00:44:55
to reach a unanimous verdict,
00:44:57
and Jason Marshall was sentenced
to life with a minimum term
00:45:01
of 39 years.
00:45:03
- He will spend pretty much
the rest of his life in prison.
00:45:07
He tortured Peter
Fasoli for seven hours
00:45:11
before killing him,
00:45:13
and that made it an even
more serious murder.
00:45:20
He took sadistic
pleasure in it and
00:45:23
after he was caught, he
showed absolutely no remorse.
00:45:32
- Serial killer Jason Marshall
clearly had the intent
00:45:36
to kill, and if it hadn't
been for the discovery
00:45:38
of that video,
00:45:40
we'd never have known how Peter
Fasoli met his tragic end.
00:45:45
In the end, the
answers were hidden
00:45:47
in Peter's body all along,
00:45:50
but no one had asked
the right questions.
00:45:54
We must always be highly
suspicious in the autopsy room
00:45:58
and make sure we find
the cause of death,
00:46:01
not just a cause of death.
00:46:04
[dramatic music continues]
00:46:17
[dramatic music continues]
00:46:34
[dramatic music concludes]
