Real Life Monster: Ben Blakeley | The Interrogation Room hosted by Vivica A. Fox | Forensic Files

- [Vivica] Observing the signs. - It's his armor. as long as I've got this hood up, you can't harm me.
- [Vivica] Detecting changing stories. - [Vivica] Spotting when to hold back.
- [Kul] The questions that the officers posed... ...are incredibly intuitive questions.
- [Vivica] And when to close in. - I'm Vivica A. Fox. And I'm about to take you on a journey
to uncover the secrets of the interrogation room. As an award-winning actress, I know how to play a part,
and convince audiences I'm someone else. In the interrogation room, a suspect must play the role of their life
to convince detectives of their innocence, if they wanna make it out of that room
with their freedom. (dramatic music) - [Vivica] It's December, 2013, and in Reading, England,
a 22-year-old man has been brought in for questioning by Thames Valley Police.
- [Vivica] Ben Blakeley is being questioned about the disappearance of his former girlfriend.
- [Vivica] Jayden Parkinson is 17-years-old. She was seen on CCTV over a week ago,
leaving the shelter where she lives. - Jayden was very outgoing. She was funny, entertaining.
- None of Jayden's family or friends have heard from her since she left the shelter.
And detectives are growing increasingly concerned for her wellbeing. Eventually, the case finds its way
to the head of major crime, Chris Ward. - Jayden was reported missing in the early hours of the 4th of December.
- Jayden's gone missing before, but in those cases, she'd always made contact with people.
- [Vivica] Jayden had started seeing former garbage collector Ben Blakeley a year earlier.
- He's very charming, he spent money on her, he looked after her. - [Vivica] Ben also turned on the charm with Jayden's family.
- [Vivica] But it wasn't long before mom, Sam, started to notice cracks in the relationship
between her daughter, Jayden, and the dream boyfriend. - When we started to look back at the events
that happened prior to Jayden going missing, the first thing that was really clear
was that she was being completely controlled by Ben. - [Vivica] After 11-months,
and with the relationship taking a troubling turn, Jayden told Ben it was over.
Whatever a person's character, the job of the detectives in the interrogation room
is to focus on the crime. And that's just as true for the Thames Valley police detectives
interviewing Ben Blakeley. - An unwritten law, really, for British policing investigations,
when you start focusing in on the individual, you can actually create a lot of bias within the investigation.
- This person here, he could be innocent, and therefore we have to look at this with a clean slate.
- He's not a very pleasant person at all, in any regard, but that doesn't make him guilty of anything.
- In the case of a missing person, an initial line of questioning for detectives
is to talk to those who are closest to that person. In the case of a young woman,
there may be things that only her ex-partner may know. - We would always seek to speak to the person's partner,
that's part of the investigation. What you're seeking to do is establish where should they be? What have they told you?
Is there anywhere we can go and look for them? Are there any concerns? - [Vivica] Cops are hoping that
by talking to Jayden's ex, they can work out why she's gone missing, or even where she could be.
(dramatic music) - We can see with Blakeley, quite early in the interview, that this is not somebody that's a stranger to a police station.
- [Chris] I wouldn't say he was a prolific criminal. The local police knew him.
He was a suspect in quite a few theft offences on the railways, antisocial behavior.
- Blakeley is as comfortable in a police interrogation as one could be, 'cause he's been there many times before.
This is what he does, this is who he is. - [Vivica] And as the interview gets underway,
Blakeley keeps his hoodie firmly over his head. - It's his armor, if you like, it's almost saying, "As long as I've got this hood up,
you can't harm me." - To him, that's being street, that's being cool, that's being hip,
that's being, "I don't care". - [Vivica] He may seem openly defiant, but Ben Blakeley is facing some serious charges.
Former girlfriend Jayden contacted her ex eight-days ago to arrange a meetup. No one has seen her since.
- So with Blakeley, we've got a very larger-than-life character. - [Vivica] Detectives proceed to question Blakeley
on his last meeting with Jayden, although he seems to have no intention of playing ball.
- [Ciolino] These are all attempts of just taking the heat off. Anything to deflect the topic of conversation,
which is where's this missing girl? - Despite the protests and the aggressive attitude,
this is a breakthrough in Ben Blakeley's interview, he's admitted to meeting up with Jayden,
crucially, around the time she was last seen alive. Detectives now have a line of questioning
that is providing a lead. Coming up, the life-changing news that rocked Jayden's world.
- [Chris] She told him that she was pregnant, he'd been a shouting down the phone.
- [Vivica] And the body language that portrays Blakeley's mindset. - You'll notice he sits back in his chair, extends his arms,
so that's basically saying, "I have no fear." (dramatic music) (tense music) - [Vivica] 22-year-old former garbage collector Ben Blakeley
says it's over weeks since his ex-girlfriend, Jayden Parkinson, has been in touch.
- The key to any missing person inquiry is, we call it clearing the ground from under your feet.
So where should that person be? Where are they actually missing from? - Then moving on to who was the last person to see them?
What were the circumstances in which they last saw the person? - [Vivica] But far from clearing the ground,
the detectives in this case are facing obstacles at every turn, thanks to Blakeley's lack of cooperation.
- We see some very tell-tale gestures that he makes. - These are all around dominance, arrogance,
trying to undermine the process, trying to intimidate the officers. - The police have already got one of my phones.
- When we stretch our arms out, or, say, if we're standing and we spread our feet,
the more space that we occupy, psychologically, what we're saying is that the more powerful person that they believe themselves to be.
- So, often you may see stars on the red carpet, they'll put their hands on the hips,
you'll see politicians making similar gestures. So, with Blakeley you'll notice he sits back in his chair,
extend his arms. So that's basically saying, "I have no fear." - If Blakeley can remember the phone number
Jayden used to call him, detectives may be able to work out where she was at the time of the call.
- It's really important to have a timeline of events. So things that you know,
and can categorically say, particularly about where somebody was. - [Vivica] With the call failing to reveal any clues,
detectives try a different tack. CCTV recorded the moment the 17-year-old left the shelter called One Foot Forward.
- [Vivica] According to Blakeley, ex-girlfriend Jayden came straight to the point.
- Well, he had 20, and I wasn't giving her 20. Gotta eat, right? - Blakeley's recollection of the meeting is revealing.
He seems to be making suggestions as to Jayden's whereabouts. - Throughout the interview,
there's lots of moments of paranoia. He likes to think he's a super confident guy, but he's not.
I think he's riddled with self-doubt, with insecurity, and lack of self-esteem, really.
He's what we call a school-yard bully. - They do a couple of clever things, I noticed,
in the interview process, particularly the main interviewer drops from having this very professional voice,
to actually bringing out his local accent quite strongly. - And it's almost like coming down to Blakeley's level.
They were both ground-floor accents, if you like. And I think what he was trying to do was build a rapport.
- Rapport building is really important in an interview, because if you become negative or critical of the person,
or what you think they've done, that can cause the person to completely disengage.
- They don't mistreat him, they don't talk down to him, they're just trying, "Listen, we're trying to locate this girl,
"we're trying to find her." - Our main investigation objectives are to find Jayden,
and anything that he could tell us, or tell the police that would find her is obviously really useful and helpful.
- The fact that the couple met just before Jayden vanished doesn't mean that Ben Blakeley is involved.
But there is more about their history together that may have played a role in her disappearance.
The teenager had just received some life-changing news. (Sam exhales) - [Vivica] Sam arranged to meet her daughter
to discuss the situation. They went to a pub to talk through what Jayden wanted to do.
- [Vivica] Jayden had already told staff at the shelter and they were looking at a plan of action
that would support the situation. - [Vivica] Back in the interrogation room, detectives want to find out
if Jayden had shared the news of her pregnancy with her ex-boyfriend. - She'd had a conversation with him on the telephone,
and she told him that she was pregnant. - [Vivica] Cops believe Jayden and Blakeley
decided to meet up to discuss the pregnancy in person on the same day she disappeared.
- [Chris] She arranged to meet him later that day to have a conversation with him about the baby,
and what she wanted to do. - Detectives are not convinced by Blakeley's casual response to Jayden's news,
or his denials that it was ever discussed at their meeting. They decide to probe a bit deeper
into his reaction to the possible pregnancy. - His excuse is, "Hey, I'm a weed smoker, man,
you all know we don't have children." Really? - [Vivica] And when the detectives ask more about this,
Blakeley becomes defensive. - He lost all that bravado, that cockiness, that smile suddenly disappeared,
and he said, "It's none of your business." - You could see that this whole issue around children
does play with him. It is something that, for whatever reason, is something that resonates with him quite strongly.
- [Vivica] And it turns out that Blakeley is, in fact, already a father. - [Chris] He had two children with a previous partner.
He wasn't allowed to see the children, and he wasn't allowed to have anything to do with them.
- The revelation that Blakeley not only has other children, but also that he's estranged from them,
is a cause for concern, in relation to an allegedly pregnant 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson.
Not only that, but detectives are also aware that Jayden had contacted the cops
in the days before her disappearance, worried about the threats that Blakeley had made.
- [Vivica] Blakeley, however, is flat-out denying any knowledge of any threats.
- One of Blakeley's big defenses in this whole case is, "Well, I would spend money on her."
Blakeley has no concept of what a normal relationship is. This is part of the problem, right?
- [Vivica] As detectives increase the pressure on Blakeley, he becomes angrier, and starts to lose control,
lashing out with hateful, racist language. - He was being racist, he was being very disrespectful.
He was trying to antagonize the police. - [Kul] A lot of the people that we will interview
will use very similar language. So you sort of get hardened to it. But what you're also looking for
is little breaks in his accounts. You're looking for the little gaps. You're looking for the nuances,
you're looking for the little mistakes that he's making. - [Vivica] Blakeley realizes
he just admitted to knowing more about the threats after all. - There's something called the law of reversal effect in psychology.
The more that somebody wants something, the less it tends to happen. So the more he gets angry,
the more calmer the officers become, and that's not what he wants. So therefore that gets him even more angry.
- [Vivica] As the atmosphere intensifies, the layout of the interrogation room is important.
- The table's bolted to the floor, so the suspect can't throw it at the officers,
and sometimes the chairs are as well. - [Vivica] Even the seating plan is designed to help the cops.
- You'll see the officers are effectively behind a table. He's sat directly in front of them.
So it's more of a two people talking to one person. - [Vivica] But Blakeley refuses to be intimidated,
and he continues to protest his innocence. - He's wearing these things like a badge of honor,
and saying, "Look, I'm a serious criminal, "I'm a serious, career criminal, "and kidnapping is not my thing."
- [Vivica] Ben Blakeley may be working hard to convince his interrogators that he's not involved
in Jayden Parkinson's disappearance. But alarm bells are ringing. He's confirmed his former girlfriend
told him she was pregnant, but he seems to be in denial. He insists he hasn't threatened Jayden,
but he seems to know specific details about those threats. There's a growing sense of urgency
for the detective team to uncover just how much Jayden's ex-boyfriend really does know.
Coming up, try to get Blakeley to face up to reality. - His facial muscles suddenly relax,
and he looks serious for just, like, a second or two. - [Vivica] And the change of heart
that leads to an offer of help. - If you're an interrogator, what's gonna motivate this guy to tell me the truth?
- British detectives are trying to work out if 22-year-old Ben Blakeley knows anything about the disappearance
of his former girlfriend Jayden. - What's going on in the interrogation room is a dance,
we're tangoing with each other. - The questions that the officers pose towards Blakeley
might seem like innocent questions, but they're incredibly intuitive questions,
and there's a couple of points where the police officers ask some really powerful questions.
- You suddenly see Blakeley having what I call an emotional shift. You see his facial expressions just suddenly drop,
his facial muscles suddenly relax, and he looks serious for just a second or two.
So what the officers managed to do there is get Blakeley to reimagine where Jayden actually is,
and what has actually happened to Jayden before he puts this veneer on again of cockiness.
- And what they do for those officers is no more than send an alarm bell saying,
"Okay, we've touched on something here," note it, and come back to it again.
- Blakeley likes the game, he likes the chase. He likes outsmarting the authorities,
or thinking he has outsmarted them. - I do believe that to some degree he thought this was like a game of chess.
Was he going to win, or were the officers going to win? - The truth is, I believe, that he's thinking on his feet.
- He almost wants to keep talking, 'cause he's that sort of a person. He wants to be center of attention.
He wants to be right at the forefront. - [Vivica] Blakeley starts to get carried away,
seeming almost concerned about Jayden's whereabouts, even claiming he's seen a car driven by the mystery man
he thinks she's seeing. - I think that he probably, during the interview process,
in his own head, was kicking himself, because he's now having to create a whole new cover story.
- With Blakeley only willing to provide sketchy details, it seems the interview may have gone as far as it can.
But as the detectives start to wind things up, Blakeley puts a startling proposition on the table.
- He, all of a sudden, kicks into this whole, "Well I could find her right now,
"I could go out and find her easily." - Blakeley wants the detectives to believe that
his current indifference to Jayden's welfare is the reaction of a jilted boyfriend.
But cops know that even before she disappeared, their relationship was often tense.
- What we know is that when she made the initial call to Ben from One Foot Forward,
'cause she didn't have her phone, 'cause he had it, she phoned his mobile from a landline there.
- He had taken her phone, so she had no contact with other people on social media.
- [Vivica] It's becoming clear that Blakeley had a history of abusive behavior,
so much so that Jayden had recently reported some of it to the cops. - Jayden had come forward to the police,
before her disappearance, and reported the fact that Ben Blakeley had taken photographs of her on his phone
of her coming out of the shower naked. - Even though they weren't together, he would insist that she wasn't allowed to
go out into the communal areas of One Foot Forward. - [Vivica] Most worrying is the fact that
Ben had been physically violent toward Jayden. - [Chris] That she became very quiet, very insular,
didn't speak to many friends. - [Vivica] On that occasion, Jayden's mom drove to Reading,
a town west of London, to rescue her, but it was far from an isolated incident.
- There are stories there from one of the past girlfriends where she was seen talking to somebody in the street.
He went into a violent rage. - We know he'd harmed animals, he'd killed cats, and left it on his ex-girlfriend's pillow.
- [Vivica] Family had noticed a change in Jayden, but she refused to confirm Blakeley's abuse.
- [Vivica] It's because of this history that Blakeley has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap.
- This was one of the pivotal moments in the interview. - You saw on his face, momentarily fell,
he became serious. - After more than an hour in the interview room, the detectives have nowhere left to go with Blakeley.
He has failed to provide any substantial testimony that might help them find Jayden.
And they have insufficient evidence to charge him. - [Kul] I'm sure that the police officers involved
would've thought that he is guilty of something. - [Chris] I was immediately very concerned
about the circumstances, and I decided then that this would come into a major crime inquiry.
- They would've been looking to break down that interview, to look for every single thing that he said in that interview
to see whether we could prove or disprove what is being said. - After eight days,
when no one has seen or heard from vulnerable 17-year-old Jayden, detectives know that time is running out.
However, the team is about to make a breakthrough in the case, with the help of critical CCTV.
Coming up, evidence that allows detectives to track Blakeley's movements around the time that Jayden disappears.
- We see Blakeley arriving back into that train station very late at night. - [Vivica] And one breakthrough leads to another.
- [Chris] They'd gone to quite a lot of trouble to cover up the soil. On examining it, it became obvious that
that had been recently disturbed. - [Vivica] On December 11th, 2013, 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson
had already been missing for eight days when her ex-boyfriend was released from custody
because the cops didn't have enough evidence to charge him. Ben Blakeley said that he travelled by train
to nearby Oxford on December 3rd, the day Jayden disappeared, for a brief meeting with her.
Cops decided to examine CCTV from local train stations. It told a different story.
- [Chris] And what was very clear was that both Jayden and Ben Blakeley had walked through Oxford Railway Station
through the ticket barriers. - The CCTV was part of a number of pieces of evidence
that were very significant, because they just confirmed that they had both been in Oxford,
they'd both gone to Didcot. - This was the breakthrough the cops needed. But footage from Didcot Train Station later that same day
caused the cops real concern. - We saw early on in the day that Jayden, quite clearly with Blakeley,
is leaving the train station. But then we see Blakeley later on in the CCTV footage
arriving back into that train station very late at night, by himself. - Combined with Blakeley's history of abuse
and violent threats, the CCTV footage persuaded the cops to rearrest Ben Blakeley
just two-days after his first interview. Only this time, it was on suspicion of murder.
- It's quite an important and brave step for the police to take. - [Chris] It was probably 24-hours
after we'd reviewed everything that I was, sadly, but realistically, of the opinion that Jayden was dead.
- [Vivica] When cops spoke to Blakeley, there was an obvious change in his behavior.
- He wasn't as arrogant, he wasn't baiting the officers. He was simply sat there saying nothing.
- He must now be thinking, "Goodness, for them to arrest me for murder, "they must know something."
- [Chris] He's not prepared to say anything that might incriminate him, or give away any evidence of what he has done to Jayden.
- Most murder investigations begin when a body is discovered, but it's much more unusual
for somebody to be charged without this. And for a prosecution to be successful in court,
the cops know they still need compelling evidence to secure a conviction. - Crown Prosecution Services made it very clear to me
that if we hadn't found her body within a week, it was unlikely that they would pursue that case at that time.
We started doing some media appeals, and it was gaining quite a lot of traction,
particularly in Didcot. - [Vivica] Within 24-hours, an important witness contacted the cops.
- A taxi driver came forward. He was quite concerned, because he described picking up a young man
at two o'clock in the morning in a dirt track. - He had to help lift this muddy suitcase,
that was extremely heavy, into the taxi. - The guy that he took said that his wife had kicked him out of the house,
and that's why he had the suitcase. But he thought that was very suspicious, given that there was a girl missing.
- Detectives didn't recognize the name of the person who booked the cab, so they looked to identify the owner of the phone.
The call to the cab driver was made from a cell phone that belonged to none other than Ben Blakeley.
- We then went to the grandparents' house, to speak to them. And they said, "Oh, yeah, Ben came here the other day.
"He was really desperate for a suitcase." She goes, "It's in the shed." And when we went to the shed,
there was the suitcase, covered in mud. - [Vivica] Despite the evidence stacking up,
cops still don't know where Jayden is. An interview with Blakeley's younger brother, Jake,
was about to change all that. - Ben's brother was arrested, because we had CCTV of him
a week after we knew Jayden had gone missing, coming back through Didcot, and he had mud on his clothing.
- [Vivica] Jake said nothing during his interview. But afterwards, his solicitor handed the cops a note Jake had written.
- He'd written words to the effect of, "I believe the body of Jayden Parkinson
"is buried in a grave in Dicot." - [Reporter] But as officers search for clues as to what happened to Jayden,
and the excavation process continues, ultimately, it's here where the answers may lie.
- [Vivica] Meanwhile, Jake described to cops how he remembered the night. - [Chris] He said that both him and Ben
had gone to their uncle's grave at one o'clock in the morning. Ben had explained to his brother
that there were a dead cat and dog in the suitcase that he needed to dispose of.
And he said that he tipped the contents into the grave. His brother said he didn't see what that was,
and then he just helped him put the soil back on top. - Officers are securing that grave
in a certain part of the cemetery as we speak. - [Vivica] On December 18th, 2013,
two-weeks after she was first reported missing, cops discovered Jayden's body in the church graveyard.
It's the job of a specialist family liaison officer to break the devastating news to Jayden's family.
- Ben Blakeley still said nothing about Jayden's death. A court date was set for July the following year.
It wasn't until the trial was just weeks away that Blakeley decided to speak to a prison priest.
- He told the prison chaplain he had gone to an area called the Spooky Barn, which is in Didcot.
They had then walked to a bridge, where they'd had an argument. He describes grabbing Jayden around the throat,
and then her falling off a bridge. He then said he tried to help her and resuscitate her,
but he was unable to do so. He panicked, he didn't contact the police, or the emergency services,
and he subsequently dug a grave, effectively, in that field and he buried her body in there.
His story didn't stack up at all, because when you go to that bridge, it's less than a foot off the ground.
So there was no way you could fall off that bridge and give yourself a significant injury.
- [Vivica] Seven-months after Jayden was killed, Ben Blakeley was tried for her murder.
In court he appeared to have regained all of his bravado. - [Chris] I've never seen somebody behave
like Ben Blakeley behaved in court. From the moment that he arrived, he was swearing, he was shouting,
he was threatening the judge, he was threatening the prosecution barrister. - The witnesses that very bravely gave evidence
about his previous behavior had to be put behind screens, so we had to have special measures for them.
But even when they walked out of court, he would shout at them, and be very derogatory.
- The evidence provided in court all pointed to Jayden's death being anything but a crime of passion.
Blakeley deliberately lured his pregnant ex-girlfriend to a quiet barn nestled in the secluded countryside.
- I believe that Jayden was murdered in the barn. He then dragged her body across the field,
and that's where we found her bracelet in the hedge. Then he buried her body near to the bridge.
- [Vivica] Blakeley returned to the spot six-days later to move Jayden's body to his uncle's grave.
- He was worried that she would be discovered there, so I think he moved her in order to hide it in somewhere
where he thought she'd never be found. - [Vivica] There was even a suggestion that Blakeley had thought through where to hide a body
from a young age. - On July 25th, 2014, Ben Blakeley was found guilty of the murder of Jayden Parkinson,
and sentenced to life in prison. The judge ruled that he must serve a minimum of 20-years.
The following year, his brother Jake was convicted of perverting the course of justice,
and sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the crime. Thanks to the hard work of detectives,
Jayden's killer was finally brought to justice. But her family are still left with the pain
of losing a daughter and her unborn child. - She's a 17-year-old girl, she's just beginning her life.
She gained some independence. - Now all that's been taken away from her. - [Vivica] Jayden's mother
wants her daughter's story to be remembered. She hopes it may stop someone else
from suffering the domestic abuse that ended Jayden's young life. (dramatic music)

Over in the UK, when Jayden Parkinson is reported missing her family is hopeful that she will return home safely. When police question Jayden’s ex-boyfriend and storied criminal Ben Blakeley – they’re shocked to learn that Jayden is pregnant. Will they be able to find her before it’s too late? Hosted by Vivica A. Fox, THE INTERROGATION ROOM is a brand new true crime series that brings viewers behind the scenes, where real-life murderers and detectives play cat and mouse. Behind every shocking crime is a detective racing to uncover the truth, and it all comes down to the wire inside the interrogation room.

=============== Like, comment and subscribe if you’re ready for more true crime. Your favorite shows like World’s Most Evil Killers, Meet Marry Murder, Forensic Files, Unsolved Mysteries, Murdered At First Sight and Bloodline Detectives are all available to stream 24/7 for free via the FilmRise Streaming Network. You can access The FilmRise Streaming Network through most free App Platforms and Smart TV portals such as Amazon Fire TV, The Roku Channel, Android, iOS and many more.

Brief Summary

Ben Blakeley is interrogated about the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend Jayden Parkinson, revealing a history of abuse and eventual murder charges.

Key points

The Disappearance of Jayden Parkinson. 17-year-old Jayden has gone missing, raising concerns for her wellbeing.
Ben Blakeley's Charm and Control. Jayden's relationship with Ben Blakeley raises red flags as he exerts control over her.
Blakeley's Denial and Anger. As detectives press Blakeley, he becomes defensive and angry, revealing his true character.
Blakeley Rearrested for Murder. The police rearrest Ben Blakeley on suspicion of murder just two days after his first interview.
Jayden's Body Discovered. Two weeks after she was reported missing, police discover Jayden's body in a church graveyard.
Blakeley Found Guilty. Ben Blakeley is found guilty of Jayden Parkinson's murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

As long as I've got this hood up, you can't harm me.

Ben Blakeley's defiant statement during interrogation.

0:22WatchJun 22, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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