Arthur Hutchinson: Who is the Sheffield triple murderer who featured on Forensics: Catching the Killer?

Arthur Hutchinson, who murdered three people in Dore in 1983, was featured in the third episode of Forensics: Catching the Killer.

The programme aired on Sky Crime on Wednesday, December 15, at 9pm.

It will explore the case which saw Hutchinson kill a husband, wife and son at their Sheffield home.

The series, created by Yorkshire production company True North, puts the spotlight on a different killer each week and examines the scientific evidence which led to their arrest and conviction.

Here is everything you need to know about the murders and what was included in the documentary.

Who is Arthur Hutchinson and who did he kill?

Arthur Hutchinson was 42 when he broke into the Laitner family home on Dore Road in October 1983 and murdered 59-year-old Basil, his wife Avril, 55, and their 28-year-old son, Richard.

He had entered the property through a patio window hours after the family had hosted a wedding reception for their daughter Suzanne and went on to stab the three family members.

He also raped their then 18-year-old daughter, Nicola, at least twice.

At the time of committing the offences, Hutchinson – originally from Hartlepool – had escaped from a police station in Selby, where he faced charges of theft, burglary and rape, by climbing through a toilet window.

He had been on the run for three and a half weeks, and had already served five years in prison for attempting to murder his brother-in-law.

What happened to Arthur Hutchinson and how was he caught?

Hutchinson – who was nicknamed ‘The Fox’ – is believed to have been planning to commit an armed robbery when he entered the property, although his motives have never been properly established.

He fled the scene and travelled around the country on the run, taunting the police and public through a series of letters to the press, before a description of the attacker by Nicola Laitner led to him being arrested.

He was finally apprehended at a farmhouse close to where he grew up on November 5, 1983.

Hutchinson was found guilty of triple murder and rape at his trial in September 1984 and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 18 years - meaning he could have been released in 2002.

However, then Home Secretary Leon Brittan intervened and made Hutchinson subject to a whole life order, meaning he will never be set free.

Despite a number of appeals, it was ruled in 2017 that the courts were within their rights to keep Hutchinson caged until his dying day.

When is Forensics: Catching a Killer on TV, what channel is it on and how can I watch?

Viewers tuning into this week’s episode of Forensics: Catching a Killer got to hear from detectives and scientists who worked on the Hutchinson case.

They also saw how evidence from him cutting his leg on barbed wire when escaping from custody proved crucial in securing his conviction for the triple murder and rape in Sheffield.

The programme was broadcast on Wednesday, December 15 – from 9pm to 10pm on Sky Crime, channel 122 on Sky, and is now available on Sky Catch Up and On Demand services.