Hassan Al Shatanawi | World’s Most Evil Killers | Forensic Files

[audio logo] [tense music] ♪ ♪ Narrator: In July 1993, a loving mum and keen student with high hopes for the future
was reported missing by her husband. Hamish McCulloch: She was always a good attender at college, never missed anything.
Then all of a sudden, she doesn't come in. Iain Henderson: Very quickly, it was clear there
was something not right. Narrator: Hassan Al Shatanawi's story about his wife Laura's disappearance
quickly unraveled as detectives uncovered lie after lie. Andy Buckwell: He had a family that he
hadn't told the police about, a secret mistress and a child. Jane Monckton-Smith: He was one of those people where
lies are just like a language. You just open your mouth, and it's part of the language
you use to manipulate. Narrator: Decades later, the truth of what really happened to Laura Al Shatanawi
is still unknown. Rasheed Vaughan: Just tell us what happened. Tell us where she is.
Tell us what happened. Narrator: For murdering his loving wife in cold blood and depriving their son of a mother,
Hassan Al Shatanawi has proven himself to be one of the world's most evil killers.
[theme music] ♪ ♪ [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ The story of a missing mother in a seaside town
like Hartlepool made big waves in 1993. Iain Henderson: It's quite a small community.
Everybody knew what was going on. And at that time, to have a missing mother, it's quite big news.
Narrator: Detectives used every tool at their disposal searching for 36-year-old
mother Laura Al Shatanawi. Andy Buckwell: If there's a missing person, the police usually turn to the public to help.
And they do that by going through the media. Narrator: Hassan Al Shatanawi was only too keen to play the role of the concerned husband.
John Groves: He went on the local TV and appealed for help in trying to find where his wife was.
Jane Monckton-Smith: Police would have encouraged him to do that as well, get his face out there, get any witnesses who might not
know about Laura going missing, getting them to see this man on the TV. Narrator: The strategy brought in a flood of calls from Good
Samaritans, including several who exposed 37-year-old Hassan Al Shatanawi as a man with many secrets.
- That was really his downfall, when he decided to put his face into the public domain.
The more information we got, the more suspicious you got that this isn't exactly who he appears to be.
[unsettling music] ♪ ♪ Narrator: This killer's story begins in the Middle East
on the 2nd of January, 1946. - Hassan Isa Salame Shatanawi was his full name. And he was born in Jordan.
Geoffrey Wansell: We don't know very much about his early life, simply that he'd studied medicine.
Hamish McCulloch: We think he commenced medical school or some sort of medical training on two occasions,
but never actually took any exams. Narrator: By 1983, 37-year-old Hassan Al Shatanawi was
a postgraduate student in clinical biochemistry living in Cairo, Egypt. He was ready to settle down.
And he knew exactly what kind of a woman he wanted to meet. Geoffrey Wansell: He put an ad in a Lonely Hearts column,
which said, "Doctor wants to meet English princess." The lady who replied was called Laura May Vaughan.
Narrator: 26-year-old Laura was from the port town of Hartlepool in the northeast of England.
Geoffrey Wansell: She'd been to Cairo before. She liked traveling. And she replied to the ad.
Many of her friends actually did describe her as an English rose-- open-faced, warm, gentle.
Jane Monckton-Smith: And she goes out to Egypt, and they start a relationship. And it all happened quite quickly.
Iain Henderson: She was a very likeable person. Nobody had a bad word to say about Laura.
Maybe a bit naive. She wanted love. I think that's what Laura wanted, really, was love.
And she thought she'd found it with Hassan. [somber music] ♪ ♪ Narrator: Two years later, the couple
were back in Laura's hometown, living with her father, Donald. Iain Henderson: It was a terraced house
off Main Town Center Road. So it was within two minutes walk to Hartlepool town center.
Jane Monckton-Smith: Laura's father described Shatanawi as a real gentleman. It does conjure up a picture almost of this perfect man who
had a very strong moral code and perhaps a gentleman who would take control, look after their family.
It's quite an old-fashioned term to use. So we get back then to that English princess,
real gentleman. This whole relationship appears to me to be presenting as some kind of romantic fairy tale.
Narrator: The couple married. And in August 1985, Laura and Hassan Al Shatanawi
welcomed a baby son, Rasheed. Rasheed Vaughan: I was born in Hartlepool. I lived in Hartlepool with my granddad, my mum, and my dad.
Narrator: Rasheed's earliest memories betray nothing out of the ordinary about his family life.
Rasheed Vaughan: My childhood was a bit like any other childhood, really. You know, played out, went to parties,
went to friends' at school. I remember me, my mum, my uncle, and my auntie all going to Rhodes for the week.
I've got some photographs of me, my mum, my dad in Egypt. ♪ ♪ Narrator: Hassan Al Shatanawi told people he'd
been a GP in Jordan and Iraq. But once living in the UK, he did not practice medicine.
Iain Henderson: For someone that professed to be a doctor, he'd never studied, never practiced in this country.
Andy Buckwell: He may not have had the qualifications, the UK qualifications required.
But he took up property developing. I think he owned a few houses, which he rented out.
And he also bought houses to do up for renting. Narrator: Entrepreneurial Al Shatanawi had numerous money
making projects on the go. Rasheed Vaughan: He had a carpet shop. He had a garage.
He'd bought a big plot of land up Oakenshaw to plant Christmas trees on. [tense music]
♪ ♪ Narrator: Meanwhile, Rasheed's mother Laura had ambitions of her own. - She was studying travel and tourism.
And she loved traveling. John Groves: She was working for a local coop travel agency, and as a result of that,
was attending Hartlepool College of Further Education, doing tourism. - She was quite a bit of a character in the town,
particularly throughout the-- the travel agents. She would always fantasize about where
she was going on holiday. And she wanted to visit there, and she wanted to visit somewhere else.
Always very exotic places. And she came across as a very nice person who was wanting to better herself.
Narrator: In June 1993, when Laura was 36 and her son, Rasheed, just seven years old, her
hopes for the future stalled in a way no one could have foreseen. [unsettling music]
♪ ♪ Geoffrey Wansell: On June the 15th, Laura takes her son Rasheed to school and goes off
to college to take an exam. Andy Buckwell: She was due to meet her husband Hassan after the exam.
Narrator: According to Hassan Al Shatanawi, Laura never showed up. - The last time she was seen by anybody, sitting
in the exam in the college. Narrator: Though her car was found parked in its normal spot near the family home,
Laura didn't return that night. Hassan Al Shatanawi told her father she was working late.
Days passed with no sign of Laura. But when her father and brother inquired about her whereabouts,
Hassan Al Shatanawi told them not to worry. Iain Henderson: He said he was concerned she hadn't come home.
But he wasn't concerned about her safety. He believed she'd gone on holiday and would return very shortly.
Hamish McCulloch: She's gone away to Egypt or whatever or somewhere in the Middle East.
And I've never heard from her, and I don't know anything about it. Narrator: No one doubted that Laura had the travel bug.
But the idea of her taking off alone seemed unlikely. - My mum always took me, no matter where she went.
I was always with her. So it was just out of character for her supposedly going on holiday without me.
♪ ♪ Narrator: Weeks passed, and Hassan Al Shatanawi received no phone call, no postcard, no contact at all
from his wife. Jane Monckton-Smith: Laura's friends and family were very concerned about her suddenly
disappearing, even with his story about this impromptu holiday. And they were pushing him and pushing him to say,
you've got to report her missing. But he resisted that. He really, really didn't want to.
Narrator: On Thursday, the 8th of July, 1993, Hassan Al Shatanawi finally reported his wife missing.
With over three weeks having passed since she vanished, the police would have their work
cut out to follow her trail. [tense music] ♪ ♪ On Friday, the 9th of July, 1993,
detectives John Groves and Iain Henderson from Hartlepool Police visited 47-year-old Hassan Al Shatanawi
at his home to find out more about his wife Laura's disappearance. ♪ ♪ Iain Henderson: We interviewed Hassan and
took a lengthy statement of him to see what his account of Laura, her lifestyle, how they'd met.
He was very plausible, very polite. And he was never disrespectful. And he never talked badly of Laura.
John Groves: He thought that she may have gone on holiday. Although when questioned, she'd never,
ever been on holiday with anybody else before other than the family. She'd never spent a night away from home before.
Narrator: This was not the only thing that stood out for the CID officers. - It wasn't the demeanor that you would expect of somebody
whose wife was missing. He was very calm. There was no tears. There was no such sense of urgency
in what he was telling us. The alarm bells were ringing. Narrator: Detectives began the methodical process of searching
for 36-year-old Laura. John Groves: We wanted to put the bigger picture together.
Iain Henderson: You start back at the beginning. And the beginning is always where
she lived, with her husband. The house was searched with consent of Hassan and her father.
Andy Buckwell: They went to local travel agents. If you were going to buy a ticket somewhere abroad,
you would be doing it through a travel agent, most likely. And there was nothing to suggest that they could see
that Laura had gone abroad. Geoffrey Wansell: There's no evidence that her passport
has been used. There is no evidence that her bank cards have been used. There is no evidence of her leaving
any port in the British Isles. So where is she? Narrator: The police could not find anyone who could
say with certainty they had seen Laura since the 15th of June. - So all sightings or all of a normal activity
ceased on that particular day. Narrator: Very quickly, investigators realized that something was very wrong.
Hamish McCulloch: She left her son behind, which isn't normal. There's nothing to suggest that she would disappear.
Clearly, there's something untoward. And there's no doubt about it that-- that Laura Shatanawi had come to some harm.
And it was a matter of finding out what harm that was and who was responsible. ♪ ♪
Narrator: Hassan Al Shatanawi was invited to the local police station to give a full account of the circumstances
surrounding his wife's disappearance. - It was a comprehensive statement. That statement ended up nearly 50 pages.
So halfway through, Mr. Shatanawi said, I'm sorry, I've got a prior appointment.
I must leave. And I'll come straight back. Narrator: Suspicious from the start about Al Shatanawi's version of events, detectives
wondered if this was the moment he would lead them to his missing wife. Iain Henderson: Well, it was decided we'd put surveillance
on him to see where he went. John Groves: Mr. Shatanawi, he leaves the police station.
He's gone into the town center area. He's got on a local bus, which was to Seaton Carew, which was also boarded
by the surveillance team. Narrator: Seaton Carew is a small town just three miles down the coast from Hartlepool.
- He was followed to Seaton Carew, where he got off the bus, crossed the road to the bus stop,
and got on the bus and came back to Hartlepool. Narrator: It was a journey that made
no sense to the plainclothes officers following Al Shatanawi. Over the next couple of days, they
constantly kept eyes on him. Iain Henderson: It would have taken a lot of staff to do a surveillance, really, because if he's on a bus,
they'd work in pairs, and they've got to be inconspicuous. And when he's on a bus every day,
it would have to be different people. He never appeared to become suspicious or aware
of the surveillance, which continued to probably a couple of weeks. Narrator: On Monday, the 12th of July,
Hassan Al Shatanawi met with local journalists, telling them of his hopes for Laura's safe return,
claiming that he'd wanted to report her missing much sooner but had been put off by her family.
Hamish McCulloch: He was in the Hartlepool Mail, a local media, appealing for it to come forward
and say, well, I think she's gone on holiday somewhere without me. As a result of the media report,
we had an awful lot of people saying, I've seen a woman I think is Laura Shatanawi.
Any sighting that came in, we would dispatch a team to that location and try and find anybody else who can
confirm that she'd been there. And nobody could. Narrator: Increasingly sure that Laura
had met with some kind of foul play, the police kept her husband, Al Shatanawi,
firmly in their sights. Within a couple of days, the costly operation brought them a lead.
Iain Henderson: He took the surveillance team all over Durham and Cleveland whilst he
was traveling on the bus. So inquiries were made in all these locations. And whilst we were doing these inquiries,
one of the things that we found out, that he did have an allotment at Seaton Carew.
Narrator: Al Shatanawi's his green fingers were news to the police. He'd failed to mention in his lengthy statement
the existence of an allotment. Other holes were also appearing in the Jordanian's account.
Hamish McCulloch: We realized that he was living a bit of a fantasy's life. He called himself Dr. Hassan Shatanawi,
but we know that he had no medical qualifications. - We actually spoke to his doctor at the time.
And they questioned whether he had been fully medically qualified. - He would tell different stories, too,
about how he was making his living, what he'd done, where he'd been. It was just little bits of information
that came in that this person isn't all that he appears to be. [somber music] ♪ ♪
Narrator: The secret allotment seemed like a promising lead in Laura's disappearance.
Detectives thought it might explain Al Shatanawi's fleeting visit to Seaton Carew the day
they started following him. Hamish McCulloch: The surveillance team noted that he was interested in what
was going on in the allotment when he went past. John Groves: Our supposition then
was, he was there to see if there was any police activity. Narrator: But an initial search of Al Shatanawi's plot
failed to yield any clues. John Groves: We identified the allotment. A warrant was obtained.
And it was searched with a negative result at the time. Narrator: By Thursday, the 15th of July,
a month after she was last seen, the police still had no clues as to Laura Al Shatanawi's whereabouts.
That day, her husband made another emotional appeal via the media. John Groves: Mr. Shatanawi went on the local TV
and appealed for help in trying to find where his wife was. There were some tears shed on the TV.
Jane Monckton-Smith: Police would have been watching him like a hawk. We know, don't we, that a lot of killers
have gone and done press conferences and have revealed themselves in those press conferences.
Narrator: Nothing in Al Shatanawi's words or behavior gave anything away that day.
But very quickly, the calls from TV news viewers began to pour in. Hamish McCulloch: People started contacting the incident
room to say that, I know this person, but they don't call him Hassan Shatanawi. I know him as something else.
He used to say he doesn't drive. Somebody else came in and said, I've seen him driving his car.
And so the more information we got, result of him putting himself in the public domain,
the more suspicious we got that this isn't exactly who he appears to be. [tense music]
♪ ♪ Narrator: With the help of the public, the Hartlepool Police incident room
was building up a picture of a husband who was a liar and a fantasist. The next call that came in would prove
that he was also a killer. [suspenseful music] ♪ ♪ After Hassan Al Shatanawi's TV appeal for the safe return
of his missing wife Laura on the 15th of July, 1993, a local tradesman called the incident
room at Hartlepool Police. ♪ ♪ Iain Henderson: He'd been approached by Hassan Shatanawi
to get rid of a shed that he had in the allotment. John Groves: He'd said, that chap there, he
paid me an amount of money to take the shed away and burn it. Narrator: This had happened around the 21st of June,
a week or so after Laura went missing. The police quickly discovered the shed had only been
built around the 14th of June. - The shed had cost, you know, quite a sum, 250 pounds.
John Groves: The shed was brand new. It had no windows in it, just a door. Narrator: It was an astounding development.
Hassan Al Shatanawi had paid someone to build a shed the day before his wife's disappearance,
then asked someone else to destroy it just a week later. Hamish McCulloch: Who would want a shed building
immediately with no windows, and then pay somebody 50 pounds to burn it? That's just not normal.
Narrator: The existence of the shed was a significant development. But detectives knew that if it had been burned,
any forensic evidence it held would have gone up in smoke. Jane Monckton-Smith: They would have wanted that shed
back against all odds. That's what they would have been looking for. Even if it was in pieces, it wouldn't
matter because every contact leaves a trace. That's the mantra in forensics. Narrator: But in an incredible stroke of luck,
the workman hadn't carried out the job he'd been paid to do. Hamish McCulloch: When we went to see it, it was brand new.
It was far too good to burn. So I took it apart, and I sold it to a guy over in Middlesbrough.
So we found the address, and we hotfooted it to this gentleman's house in Middlesbrough.
Narrator: The shed had been rebuilt in the buyer's garden. But it would soon be on the move once more.
Piece by piece, forensic officers dismantled the shed and took it to their lab.
Investigators realized immediately it would be a crucial piece of the puzzle. [unsettling music]
♪ ♪ Hamish McCulloch: The floorboards in the center of the shed had been gouged out
quite crudely with probably a hammer and chisel to about half the depth of the wood.
Narrator: The damaged section had been painted with a thick layer of creosote.
Officers suspected the work had been done to hide something. John Groves: Further examination
by the scenes of crime revealed some head hairs and some blood between the lats on the floor of the shed.
Iain Henderson: It showed significant blood loss, not just a cut. Something very serious had happened in that shed.
♪ ♪ Narrator: Within a week, a brand new shed had been built, stained with blood, painted, and dismantled.
It was a turning point in the investigation, one which dashed any hopes of finding
Laura Al Shatanawi alive. - Our assumption from that was that this had been the murder scene, and she'd been murdered here.
And this is the remnants of the blood, and he's gouged it out to try and get rid of it.
Narrator: What investigators couldn't prove just yet was that the large quantities of blood
definitely belonged to Laura. - 1993 was quite early for DNA analysis. I think probably started using it in criminal justice
around 1986. Narrator: Attempts to extract a DNA profile from the strands of hair found in the crevices
of the shed floor were unsuccessful. But while efforts continued, detectives felt they had enough to bring Al Shatanawi into custody.
Iain Henderson: Hassan was arrested. Even then, he was very polite. There was no fear in him or anything like that.
Narrator: Al Shatanawi may have been calm. But for seven-year-old Rasheed, already missing his mother,
it was a watershed moment. - When I first really knew about it was when my mum's best friend came
to pick us up from school. That's when it really-- the alarm bells started ringing.
I knew there was something up, but I didn't know what. And we went back to my mum's friends,
and the police were there. I was feeling scared, not knowing what-- what was happening.
Narrator: While Rasheed was being sheltered by his mother's friend, his father was denying any knowledge
of Laura's whereabouts to interviewing officer John Groves. John Groves: He answered some questions.
And we decided we would produce the photographs of the shed floor. When Shatanawi saw the photographs,
he was taken aback. He was visibly shocked. You could see he didn't think for one moment
that the police would ever recover the shed floor that he'd paid a workman to dispose of
and to burn. Narrator: With Hassan Al Shatanawi refusing to answer further questions, the police
took their case to the Crown Prosecution Service. John Groves: The circumstances which
we found the shed, the fact that he hadn't reported her missing for 23 days when she'd never,
ever spent a day from home before, all circumstantial. But put it all together, and CPS thought we had enough
to charge him, which we did. [tense music] ♪ ♪ Narrator: Charged on the 19th of July
with his wife's murder, Al Shatanawi was remanded in custody. In the meantime, the search for Laura's body continued.
- Recovery of the body was obviously paramount to the investigation. John Groves: We believe that she was killed in the shed.
We don't know where her body parts or her body was disposed of. There were several avenues.
But, yes, there was a report that he had dismembered her, and he'd taken her to the skips in Stockton.
There were stories that she'd been fed to the pigs. People say, well, because he was a doctor in Jordan,
he'd be aware of how to dismember people. Hamish McCulloch: It's quite possible he knew how to dismember a body because the first years
at university, if you want to be a doctor, is you actually dissect a body. Narrator: It was one of many theories
the police worked on as they explored every line of inquiry. John Groves: I don't know whether that's true or not.
You do get people falling in with false stories. And again, you've still got to chase them to see
whether they're right or not. Narrator: Without Laura's body, the police and prosecutors
knew convicting Al Shatanawi for her murder would be much more difficult. They were also struggling
to identify a motive. - He never disclosed anything other than a normal relationship.
And as far as he was concerned, it was a happy relationship. Narrator: The answer, when it came,
was a bombshell from an unexpected source. Jane Monckton-Smith: The police found that Shatanawi was
actually living a double life. John Groves: Well, we understood from social services
that Mr. Shatanawi had been involved with another woman. Geoffrey Wansell: Hassan had started
a second relationship with a woman whom he met at a bus stop in 1988. And indeed, she becomes pregnant with Hassan's child.
[unsettling music] Narrator: In the early days of their relationship, Al Shatanawi told his new partner he was single.
Even when he admitted to being married, he insisted it was in all but name. The marriage was effectively over.
John Groves: The other woman had some health problems. And as a result, social services were involved.
And they were intent on taking the child from the other woman. Narrator: Al Shatanawi was faced
with his secret child entering the care system, something he could not accept. John Groves: There was a court case
at Leeds Family Court where Shatanawi attended and gave evidence to say that his wife knew all about the affair,
knew all about the other child. And he was willing to look after this other child.
Narrator: Neighbors of the Al Shatanawi family would later report that shortly before Laura disappeared,
they'd heard an almighty and unusual row coming from the home, something which may tally
with a memory the couple's son, Rasheed, now relives in his nightmares. Rasheed Vaughan: I just remember my dad,
like, attacking my mum. Then he set about me. So on one hand, he could be this nice, caring person.
Then on the other hand, he could be a psychopath. But luckily, I only saw him do it the once.
Narrator: In hindsight, Rasheed wonders if this was the day Hassan Al Shatanawi's two
worlds collided when Laura found out about her husband's mistress. - I think that's why my mum died
that day, because I think she might have found out what had happened. Narrator: A couple of days after the alleged fight,
Laura disappeared. Two days after that, Hassan Al Shatanawi met with his lover and a social worker
to say he was ready to move in with his second family. - The thoughts of the investigating team
were, well, what was this motive? Jane Monckton-Smith: It is quite possible that it had come to the point
where Laura had to know. And it's quite possible that she decided to leave him at that point.
[solemn music] ♪ ♪ - If he killed his wife, he's still got both his sons. Jane Monckton-Smith: It tells us an awful lot
about Shatanawi's mindset. Having custody of those boys meant more to him than anything else.
The women were expendable, disposable. These were his sons. ♪ ♪ [tense music] ♪ ♪
Narrator: It was a strong motive to take to trial. But as the court date approached,
Laura's body was still missing. In fact, detectives still couldn't prove the blood
in the shed was even hers. Would they be able to convince a jury that Hassan Al Shatanawi
was a cold-blooded killer? [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ On the 13th of October, 1994, 48-year-old Hassan Al
Shatanawi stood trial in Newcastle for his wife Laura's murder. [solemn music] ♪ ♪
Iain Henderson: The trial was at Moot Hall in the center of Newcastle. It was the old Crown Court building.
Moot Hall is a traditional, old fashioned Victorian court. It's how everybody imagines a Crown Court
to be from the olden days. It's quite daunting, really. ♪ ♪ Narrator: Sitting in the dock, the medic-turned-property
developer exhibited the same smooth plausibility he'd presented to police officers like Hamish McCulloch
from day one. - His demeanor throughout the trial was very sure of himself that he was not going to be convicted.
He didn't look concerned, he didn't look worried because he knew we didn't have a body.
And without a body, it's very hard to get a conviction. Narrator: Though 36-year-old Laura's body had not been
recovered, investigators had no doubt that her husband had killed her. Andy Buckwell: The prosecution was centered
on his character and behavior. I mean, he was a man that had not reported his wife missing initially.
She'd gone missing without apparently telling anyone where she was going. And we were relying only on him that she'd gone on holiday.
There was a suspicious nature of his visits to the allotment, then the discovery of this shed, which he bought
and disposed of very quickly. - One of the most amazing moments of the trial was when the police reconstructed
the shed in the courtroom. John Groves: To show the jury exactly what the police had found.
So it was built. And then it was taken apart and showed them the-- the wood where it had been gouged out
and where there had been creosote. Geoffrey Wansell: Can you imagine what the jury must have
thought, looking at the shed? Was this where Laura May met her end? John Groves: We said it was premeditated--
building the shed, getting the shed made ready for that particular day. He'd organize everything.
And then he thought 23 days would give him time to get rid of the shed. But I'm afraid he was wrong.
Narrator: The prosecution argued that Al Shatanawi's motive for murder was his secret partner and child,
whom he'd promised to move in with shortly after Laura went missing. Jane Monckton-Smith: The trial must
have been difficult for so many people, and especially the other woman, who could so easily
have been the victim in this. And of course, a murder trial of this type is going to bring all sorts of press and media interest,
going back into her history, putting her in the limelight and her son. It must have been absolute torture for her.
Narrator: Even worse, detectives had also discovered that even this second relationship was
not sacred to Al Shatanawi. Hamish McCulloch: He wasn't a stranger to advertising in publications to meet other women.
He put an advert in Farming Weekly or something, wanting to meet a farmer's daughter or somebody
of that nature in Ireland. Narrator: The prosecution's circumstantial case against Hassan Al Shatanawi was strong.
And they had another card to play. For over a year, forensic scientists had been trying to prove that the blood
found in the slats of the shed floor belonged to Laura. - The police had some challenges
to match forensic samples from the shed to Laura. Geoffrey Wansell: There is no conclusive DNA
from the blood in the shed. And there is no conclusive DNA from the hairs. Narrator: In September 1994, just one month
before Al Shatanawi's trial, the UK Home Office had approved a new technique for obtaining DNA.
At long last, scientists had managed to successfully extract a DNA profile from the blood.
But they had no confirmed sample of Laura's to compare it to. Andy Buckwell: What they did was take DNA from her son,
Rasheed, and her father. John Groves: Cross examined the results and came up with a positive result.
Narrator: We share around 50% of our DNA with siblings and children. So it was a strong indication that the blood in the shed
belonged to Laura. Neither Rasheed nor his grandfather had ever been inside the shed.
But the prosecution wanted to be even more sure. They asked Laura's father for mail she'd sent him.
And he found something from five years earlier. - Laura had sent a postcard home to her parents
from a holiday she'd taken in Malta. And she'd licked the postage stamp. Narrator: Once again, the new technique for analyzing
DNA was employed. - They got the postage stamp and were able to extract DNA from the gum of the stamp
that had been licked by Laura. And that gave them a much clearer match with the DNA from the blood found in the shed floor.
So this was a huge breakthrough in terms of proving Hassan Al Shatanawi's guilt.
Narrator: Incredibly, DNA from beyond the grave had given Laura a chance of justice.
But the job wasn't done just yet. Al Shatanawi's defense lawyers brought up the many well-intentioned phone calls
from citizens who insisted they'd seen Laura alive and well over the last year.
Iain Henderson: That was used by the defense to say, well, she's not dead. People have seen her.
Blood in the shed doesn't prove that she's dead. It's not for the defense to prove that he didn't kill her.
It's for the prosecution to prove that he did kill her. Narrator: After a five-week trial, on the 21st of November,
1994, it was time to find out if the prosecution had proved their case. Hamish McCulloch: The jury retired
to decide their verdict. And it took them quite some time. I remember they were out a long time.
Iain Henderson: I've been at many murder trials. And you look at the juries, and you
try to work out what way-- what way the juries are thinking. And you don't know.
Narrator: After two days of deliberation, the jury were ready to deliver their verdict.
Andy Buckwell: One member of the jury had fallen ill, and they accepted a majority verdict.
Geoffrey Wansell: They decide by a majority of 10 to 1 that Hassan is guilty of the murder
of Laura May, sentencing Hassan to life with a minimum of 16 years. The judge said, you deprived your son of his mother.
This is a wicked crime. Iain Henderson: It's a bittersweet sort of result. You're happy that we got the result.
But then underneath it all, there's always the family. You know they haven't got a result.
And they then know that their mother, daughter, sister is dead, but they've still got no answers.
They don't have any closure for what happened. Narrator: Al Shatanawi's conviction
confirmed he had killed his wife in an act of cold-blooded premeditation. Iain Henderson: On the face of it, he was quite polite.
It was all a cover. He was evil. He was a horrible man. Hamish McCulloch: He's planned to get rid of his wife, Laura.
And he's had no thought about his son and how he's going to miss out on his mother bringing him up.
Narrator: The guilty verdict ended a tumultuous time in Rasheed's young life. Aged just 9, he would have to live
his life knowing his father had murdered his mother. Rasheed Vaughan: To me, both my parents have gone.
I lost both my parents that day. Although my dad was alive and well, he couldn't do what normal fathers do.
He was locked up. Narrator: Rasheed moved to Durham to live with his great aunt.
Rasheed Vaughan: I had to, like, rebuild my life. You know, I went to a new place to live.
I had to make new friends. I had to go to a new school, fit in there. Wasn't easy.
For years and years, I was having nightmares. Narrator: The hardest thing for Rasheed
and the rest of Laura's family is that her body has never been found. Rasheed Vaughan: I just want to know where my mum is.
That's all I want. I just want to finally bury her. You know, like, my granddad went to his grave
not knowing where she is. My uncle, who passed away a couple of years ago, he-- he kept on trying.
He's gone to his grave not knowing. So I think it's only right we try and-- just try and get it done, just for all
my mum's friends as well and the rest of the family. Iain Henderson: People would visit him in jail
to ask after he was convicted, would he disclose where the body was? And he wouldn't.
He showed no remorse. He never showed any empathy to the family, to his son, who was left without a mother,
to Laura's brother, who asked and then begged him to say where it was. Narrator: Hassan Al Shatanawi continued
to protest his innocence and has never revealed where his wife's remains can be found.
Over the years, efforts have continued to locate Laura. Andy Buckwell: 2005, more than 20 years
after Laura's disappearance, the police received a tipoff that she may have been disposed of in Seaton Carew Golf Course.
John Groves: Somebody had phoned in to say, around about the time of the murder and the disappearance of Laura, somebody
was seen carrying what appeared to be a body over the golf course. The search team were brought out,
and they exhumed what they thought was the body, which transpired to be those of a dog.
Narrator: In January 2013, Rasheed got a phone call that shook his family and dashed their hopes of finding Laura.
- I'd just come in from work, and the phone was ringing. So I answered it, and it was the probation service.
And they had been notified off the police that my dad had been deported. And it just happened that quick.
Geoffrey Wansell: He was freed, even though the parole board had said he was still dangerous.
And the Home Office decided that he should be deported back to Jordan without any hesitation,
which is indeed what happened. That annoyed the family, who felt that he was dangerous
and that they still didn't know what happened to Laura May's body. Jane Monckton-Smith: Even when his son has,
you know, implored him to give some answers, he hasn't. He doesn't really want to take responsibility for this.
He still maintains his-- his innocence. And for him, I suppose, it's a way of being the victim in this rather than the killer.
Narrator: Having lost touch with his father and lacking the answers he craves,
Rasheed and his young son have their own way of remembering Laura. Rasheed Vaughan: We've got a headstone
now with her name and that on. We do go and we let a balloon off, and we put some flowers and that down.
[tense music] ♪ ♪ Narrator: In 1983, Laura Vaughan was a young woman with a passion for travel
and a desire to find the love of her life. Just 10 years later, she'd been murdered
by the man she'd fallen in love with, an arch manipulator who lied as easily as he breathed.
Hassan Al Shatanawi was finally proved to be one of the world's most evil killers.
[theme music] ♪ ♪

Laura disappeared without warning after years with Hassan, whom she met abroad. Detectives dug into her life and uncovered troubling details about her marriage, eventually revealing the devastating truth of her fate.

An in-depth look at the lives and crimes of some of the world's most evil killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, Cary Stayner, Leonard Lake, Dorothea Puente and more.

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Brief Summary

Laura Al Shatanawi was murdered by her husband, Hassan, who hid his double life and was ultimately convicted despite her body never being found.

Key points

Hassan Al Shatanawi's Lies Unraveled. Detectives uncovered multiple lies told by Hassan about his wife Laura's disappearance.
The Disappearance of Laura Al Shatanawi. In July 1993, Laura Al Shatanawi vanished, leading to a complex investigation.
The Shed of Secrets. A suspicious shed linked to Hassan Al Shatanawi becomes a key piece of evidence.
Hassan Al Shatanawi's Trial. Hassan stood trial for the murder of his wife Laura, with no body found.
DNA Breakthrough. A new DNA technique linked blood found in the shed to Laura, strengthening the case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Just tell us what happened.

Rasheed Vaughan pleading for answers about his mother.

0:57WatchJun 17, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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