Tragic Murder of Michelle Gunshon | Murdered at First Sight | Forensic Files

[SOFT PIANO MUSIC] STACY HERBERT: Michelle was fun, lively, like a big child. It's like she never grew up.
The female Peter Pan. MARIE HERBERT: She was my best friend. Yeah, she's the only one that's ever stuck there.
Always been there. TRACY RICHARDSON: Mine and my mom's relationship was a good relationship.
We didn't hide anything. Growing up as a teenager, we got on really close. She was always there for us, no matter what.
The last time I seen my mom alive was my 21st birthday. We went to my auntie Marie's to celebrate.
MAN 1: It's going real quick. [FIREWORKS CRACKLING] MAN 2: Oh, that's so cute. MAN 1: Yeah, that's a good place to be.
MAN 2: Where's your camera? TRACY RICHARDSON: December 4, 2004. Phoned up about ten o'clock at night.
She seemed tired, so I said, I'll let you go and I'll speak to you tomorrow. - Within 24 hours, I had a phone call from mom asking,
have you seen Michelle? Have you heard from Michelle? Tracy called. I can't get hold of her.
MARIE HERBERT: And I was starting to get worried. This gut feeling. But I thought, nah, she's gone off.
She'll be back. And-- [INTRIGUING MUSIC] [SIREN WAILING] - I first heard the name Michelle Gunshon
on the morning of the eight of December, when the phone went from the crime manager.
Michelle's car wasn't parked where it should have been, and there was blood. - When we heard that they had found blood in her car,
my stomach just sunk. STACY HERBERT: It's like watching this storm brew, this big gray cloud in the background.
You're looking at it going, please don't rain. Please don't rain. ALAN CROUCH: At a very early stage,
we recognized that Michelle's disappearance was more than just a missing person.
It was, in fact, a homicide. - Michelle's family had to wait seven long years before her killer could face justice.
TRACY RICHARDSON: You watch many programs and documentaries on TV. You just don't think something's going
to happen to your own family. [SOFT PIANO MUSIC] My mom was born in Islington in the 19th of August 1966.
She grew up in London. STACY HERBERT: I always called Michelle Auntie Michelle because she's always been there.
I couldn't think of any other title that I could give her. [GENTLE MUSIC] I remember she'd come in and it would be like, kids!
Get your coats! And you knew you were going on an adventure or something fun was going to happen.
With Tracy, it was like having another sister. We were all just family. All the kids were always together,
doing something, laughing, running around, rolling down hills. Michelle brought out the child in all of us
and making sure that we all had fun. TRACY RICHARDSON: He was a good person. He was a good man.
He treated my mom well. [SOFT MUSIC] [OMINOUS MUSIC] - In December 2004, I was living in Manchester.
My mom was working at the NEC clothes shop. Sometime on the 5th of December I received
a phone call from a manager. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] Your mom's gone missing. STACY HERBERT: I think I said to mom,
she'll probably turn up at yours with some fireworks and a-- and a drink, you know.
TRACY RICHARDSON: I phoned all the hospitals in and around Birmingham and I was sat there
till three in the morning. There was no sightings of my mom at all. NEAL KEELING: Michelle was working as a security guard,
and on the 3rd of December and the 4th, she did a shift at the new Exhibition Center.
After a shift, she was having a drink with friends at The Dubliner in Birmingham.
She'd had to stay there because her original hotel, the premises, had been flooded.
- Today the Dubliner still exists, but it is in a different format. So now it is a rock venue.
The Dubliner was a popular Irish pub, but it was known for being quite lively for having live music.
[INTRIGUING MUSIC] At the time of Michelle's disappearance, there were rooms upstairs in the pub
that were available to rent on a B&B basis. ANDY HOUGH: Michelle's two colleagues
agreed that they would meet up later in the evening for a drink in the bar. They went to their rooms.
Just before 9:30, Michelle hadn't joined. So one of them went to see her and saw her in her room.
That's the last time anybody saw Michelle alive other than a killer. About an hour later, 10:30-ish time,
we know she speaks to her partner and her daughter on the phone. Again, that's the last time anybody
spoke to her, other than a killer that, we know of. ALAN CROUCH: The following morning, two of her colleagues
went to her room to see whether she was ready to go to carry out a further shift,
but they could find no trace of her. Some of her personal belongings, including her mobile telephone, were in her room.
She'd had 27 missed calls. - 20 years ago, this was a bedroom and there was a bed, where I'm standing.
On it was Michelle's belongings, including the mobile phone with the 27 missed phone calls.
However, at five o'clock, when they came back to check the room, her belongings had gone.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] At about 9:30 on the Sunday, her colleagues went out onto Mill Lane, which is where she'd parked her blue Ford Escort,
and it wasn't there. So they had to make a decision, and that was need to formally report Michelle
missing to the police. - I didn't sleep for about three days. I tried to be normal for my younger brother.
I tried to hold things together. Now it was a blur. We spoke every day on the phone many times through the day,
having daily chats. I was scared doing that press conference. Mom was fun loving and would talk to anyone.
I know my mom loves me and my family and that she would never left us on our own free will.
No recall of doing it. STACY HERBERT: The police came to interview all of us, asking standard question.
Any reason for her to go missing, any suspicions. All the usual easy stuff. ANDY HOUGH: When somebody is reported missing to the police,
you make an assessment. Is it high, medium, or standard risk? And that will determine the investigative focus.
ALAN CROUCH: We're all creatures of habit, to a greater or lesser degree. And that means that we frequent places,
we use mobile telephones, we access our bank accounts, we meet people. And in Michelle's case, all those things
came to an abrupt end. [INTRIGUING MUSIC] STACY HERBERT: When the car was found on the seventh,
that was when that cloud really hit. ANDY HOUGH: Michelle initially parked her car next to the Dubliner pub in Mill Lane.
Mill Lane runs between the Dubliner and the coach station. When it was found abandoned on the seventh, it was about half
a mile away on Rea Street. We are about five minutes, walking distance, from the Dubliner pub, where this car is parked is roughly
where Michelle's blue Ford Escort was discovered at about 2:15 on the seven of December, which is the day after
she was reported missing. What was readily apparent to the officer that found the car was its status.
It had got thick mud deposited on the wheels, the wheel arches, the wing, the door frame, the under panel.
This is an inner city area. We haven't got muddy rural lanes. There isn't any way where you could drive-through, and
capture so much mud on a car. That was unusual. ALAN CROUCH: A cursory and initial examination of the car
revealed that there were blood stains, and also in the boot was what was believed
to be Michelle's fluorescent work jacket, which also bore blood stains on the inner surface.
When you find the car with blood stains, that is very, very indicative of something sinister
having occurred to Michelle. Andy Hough Huff was assigned as the senior investigating
officer, and he made all the initial inquiries, began to a CCTV trawl, and then quarries were
also commenced at the pub. DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: Phone records are incredibly important.
It shows the movements of the individual on the day of their murder. It shows who they might have been in contact with,
and all of these things can provide clues as to where the individual ended up meeting their death.
ANDY HOUGH: It was the case of identifying, tracking her movements on the third, the fourth, the fifth as best
we could. ALAN CROUCH: There was a history of missed calls, predominantly from Tracy, but there
was nothing of any significant nature that at that stage would move the inquiry on.
DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: Statistically, women are more likely to be murdered by somebody
that is known to them a partner. It might be a sibling, it could be a friend, it could be an ex-partner.
ANDY HOUGH: Michelle's estranged husband was spoken to by officers. He, by default, is a person of interest to the inquiry
because they are estranged. He's also the father of one of the children, so it is important.
But we quickly identified that he wasn't in Birmingham at the time, and we could formally eliminate him as being
involved in a disappearance. [TENSE MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: On the ninth of December,
images were recovered from two speed cameras, one on the Hagley Road and one on the Bristol Road.
Those depicted Michelle's car being driven in excess of the speed limit through or beyond those cameras.
ANDY HOUGH: This is 8:30 in the morning. You can see Michelle's car quite clearly.
It's clean and there isn't any mud deposits on the wheels, or on the wheel arches or the side of the car.
If you look at the driver's seat, there is a clear image of the back of a male. And if you look in the nearside mirror,
you can see an outline of their face and you can see the seat belt. So somebody sat in that seat
with the seat belt on. You could see a mop of black hair by the headrest. And we believe that's Michelle seat belted
into the passenger seat. TRACY RICHARDSON: I remember being shown the CCTV of someone
driving my mom's car. At the time, we just wanted answers. Who was it? [OMINOUS MUSIC]
ALAN CROUCH: Further footage of Michelle's car recovered on the 10th of December was very grainy,
it was very unclear, but seemed to show what might have been described as potentially some frenetic
activity by Michelle's car. ANDY HOUGH: We see Michelle's car leaving Mill Lane just
after o'clock in the morning. There is an image of something or somebody going to the car.
We can't determine who it is, whether it's one or two people, but we've got enough to say that's her car
coming out of race street and driving away. ALAN CROUCH: I think when you see those images,
it really just adds to the fear that Michelle has been subject of very serious assault
and indeed worse. Controlled circumstances, the licensee of the Dubliner pub was shown the images, and he was
able to say with almost certainty that the person depicted driving the vehicle was in fact Martin Stafford.
- Martin Stafford was working at the Dublin hotel. He had a job collecting glasses at the time.
DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: Martin Stafford was a 44-year-old man who didn't really have a fixed abode.
Quite possibly due to the number of criminal offenses that he had in his history.
NEAL KEELING: Stafford had already got 23 offenses committed in Ireland, including sexual offenses.
ANDY HOUGH: He is fitting the profile of somebody who is of real interest to me.
Martin Stafford was actually stopping in the same set of flats as Michelle. He left the Dubliner either on the Monday
or the Tuesday of that week, so he's now gone without reason. DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: Serial sex offenders
are unable to control their urges, so sex offenses can increase in severity in order to get the same response and the same pleasure.
He needs to find his victims. He may need to increase the intensity and the frequency
of these crimes as well. And that means that this person is a highly dangerous individual.
- In Ireland, he basically burgled a factory and indecently assaulted and stripped
the two cleaners who were female, and he locked them in a cabinet overnight. DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: He's a glass collector in a pub,
it's unlikely they'd be doing criminal record checks or security checks on him. He has very easy access to victims.
He has an opportunity as a perpetrator to stand and observe, work out which individuals might be alone, who might be vulnerable.
And that position gave him an opportunity to do that, and to ultimately identify his next victim.
[INTRIGUING MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: Stafford stayed with an associate man that ultimately we were able to trace.
And during the course of his staying with the man, they spoke about if they had a body to dispose
of how they would do it? And Stafford actually told him, I would dump it in some building footings somewhere around Birmingham,
knowing that the workmen would come and cover the-- the remains in concrete. ANDY HOUGH: Having identified Stafford in the car,
I can declare him a suspect. That enables me to get a search warrant. So I can do a forensic sweep of his room
for any material that may be relevant. We took the bed sheet in because we know he's got
sexual offenses in his past. Could he have sexually assaulted Michelle in his room
before he's taken her in the car? So we took the bed linen and we prioritized that
to the scientists at the lab. The picture that I'm looking at now is a photograph of Michelle's fluorescent jacket
that was taken from her car. You can see on the inner lining of the back, there is blood staining here and then up
the central spine of the coat. It's contact blood, which means it's been in contact with her body when she's been bleeding.
[SOMBER MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: On the 13th of December, we had confirmation that the blood found
on the car and on her fluorescent jacket was that of Michelle's. And it really just added to our worst fears
that Michelle had been subject of a very, very serious attack and was possibly deceased.
REPORTER: Michelle was last seen alive here at the Dubliner pub in Digbeth at 9:30
PM on the 4th of December. Michelle's car triggered two speed cameras the following Tuesday on the Hagley Road
in Birmingham and here, on the Bristol Road. The driver of that car has been identified as Martin Stafford.
The following day, he caught a coach to Dublin from here at Digbeth Coach Station.
Now, he'd been staying just two doors away from Michelle in a Dublin pub at the time
of her disappearance. [MELANCHOLY MUSIC] - Within 24 hours of my mom's disappearance,
I knew mom was dead. I had a gut instinct. I just knew, and I had to hide that away from family.
STACY HERBERT: With Michelle, I was used to having gaps with her not being there.
She'd go back to Manchester or she'd be working away. But within 24 hours, I think we all
had this kind of niggling at the back like, it's not right. Something's not right.
She would have got in contact or she would have turned up at mom's or here. - I didn't sleep for about three days.
The media ended up outside my mom's front door, so I literally opened the door, told them to go away,
shut the door. - I just convinced myself that she'd just walked off and nothing had happened.
But when they found the car and the jacket in the back and there was blood on it and mud on the car--
DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: The murder of an individual, it destroys the family and the friends of that victim,
to know that someone has hurt somebody that you love in unthinkable ways. I would argue that people quite possibly never come to terms
with it, unfortunately. [OMINOUS MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: The Ford Escort was subjected to a very, very
thorough forensic examination. There were semen stains that were found on the front passenger seats
of Michelle's car, which were obviously very, very significant. ANDY HOUGH: On the 17th of December,
we got the result that we were hoping for, which was semen staining on the car seat,
matched Stafford's bed linen. On the same day as the semen stain result, we also identified that he's wanted for two matters
by the Metropolitan Police, an allegation of rape, and he's also on bail for a case of indecent assault
against a man. [INTRIGUING MUSIC] We got confirmation from CCTV at Holyhead that Stafford
had boarded the ferry. So we now know he's gone to Dublin. ALAN CROUCH: When Stafford arrived at Dublin,
he relocated to a local coach company to make his next move. He was throwing another passenger's cases about that
were in the hold of the coach. Whilst this was taking place, a woman intervened to say,
will you stop throwing my luggage around? And to which a reply from Stafford was, you want to be careful of, I've already put one woman
down, you will be the next. ANDY HOUGH: I sent my deputy SIO over to meet the police in Ireland to talk
about what enquiries can they make on our behalf and identify where Stafford is, and also
for them to manage any risk that he may pose to other individuals, particularly women.
TRACY RICHARDSON: It was a torture wondering when we'd be able to catch him and bring him back to answer
the police's questions. STACY HERBERT: I think when I first heard his name, that's
when it really hit home. I thought something horrific could had happened. He had a history of keeping women against their will
and locking them in cupboards or something. You try to hold on to hope, but you just knew this--
this was it. - With offenders like this, what we're seeing is that the crimes are escalating in severity
now, resulting in a murder. I would expect that he will lie low for a short period of time,
probably enjoying the feeling and processing that feeling. And then he would look at acting again.
So for the police, it's really important that they catch him now before he has the chance
to do this to any other woman. [SOMBER MUSIC] ANDY HOUGH: In the new year, the paleontologist
contacted me to say that she had found pollen debris within the soil deposits around the wheels.
That was indicative of being from the Frankley area of Birmingham. ALAN CROUCH: A paleontologist can
examine the soil for fibers and plants and other things that will make it potentially unique to a particular location.
ANDY HOUGH: Frankley is on the Western side of Birmingham, the north-eastern side
of Worcestershire. You've got the busy motorway, rolling hills, lots of country lanes, a reservoir.
It looked like an obvious place to look. - It's a wide open space, lots of greenery.
The sort of place where one could understand an offender wanting to dispose of a body.
There were searches conducted, but unfortunately, they proved to be fruitless and sadly,
we found no trace of Michelle Gunshon's body. [INTRIGUING MUSIC] ANDY HOUGH: In the middle of January,
we know Stafford is in Ireland, and we're preparing a file for extradition back to the UK.
I also started a proof of life investigation, which was, can we prove that Michelle is still alive?
We had to go through her yearly routine to establish. On this day she would have sent a birthday card, for example.
She hasn't been to the hairdressers. She hasn't been to the dentist. You know, everything she would do on a day to day basis
hasn't happened. The presumption is she is dead. ALAN CROUCH: Every investigator's fear
is when they investigate a no-body murder, wants to do their utmost to find the missing body
or remains. And it's a matter of frustration, regret, upset and when that can't be achieved.
ANDY HOUGH: In early March of 2005, we get the call from the police in Ireland. Stafford has committed a new offense.
He's abducted a girl and he's kept her prisoner in a railway carriage. She managed to escape, but he's been arrested.
We now know that he is likely to go to trial and if found guilty, is going to receive
a lengthy custodial sentence, which he did. It was important to know that Stafford would face justice.
He wasn't going to present a risk to anybody else, but it was a waiting game. ALAN CROUCH: When Stafford was sentenced,
the case came to a natural end in the sense that there was nothing else left to do.
We had to wait until we could get Stafford back to the UK. - So it was a case get your ducks lined up and we wait.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] [SOFT PIANO MUSIC] MARIE HERBERT: So that was the bike ride day.
We just crashed out, basking in the sun. - Hat. - With that stupid hat on inside out.
STACY HERBERT: [LAUGHS] [CLICKING] MARIE HERBERT: We would go on bike rides, climb trees,
you know, not-- not girly things. We weren't girly or anything, you know. Don't-- don't sit there, put on makeup.
None of that. Just tie your hair back or just let it go wild. You know, we were wild, I suppose.
You know, free. We liked to be free. [MELANCHOLY MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: Michelle's family were aware
that we had a strong suspect and sufficient evidence for the matter to go to trial, but
we were not able to make her promise that we would be able to find Michelle's body.
That would remain something that we would have to continually try and progress. - I started having nightmares of my mom rotting in a house
and other nightmares as well. I found out I was pregnant in May 2005, but I wanted my mom.
[SOBS] I just didn't have my mom to tell. My mom was very family-orientated. She kept all the family together.
In 2008, I did a Memorial service for my mom. Family attended, police attended, friends.
My son, Reece, also attended when he was two years old. My grandad, David, wrote a letter
just for what my mom was like. My daughter Michelle, she was always a happy child
and a good wanting-- I can't. - It just made us all choke up because it just hit home
and it's like a funeral, but it's without the body. It's as close as we're going to get to putting her to rest.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC] - The police contacted me to say that Martin Stafford was getting extradited.
I asked the police, was my mom raped? The police responded, we are charging Martin Stafford with rape.
That was the hardest thing I ever had to understand. [INTRIGUING MUSIC] ANDY HOUGH: Stafford is eventually
extradited back to the UK on Tuesday the 13th of December 2011. He appears before the magistrates in Birmingham
the following day. All we are permitted to do is to take a sample to test his DNA so that we have an evidential sample
to match to the bed linen and the semen stain in the car. We are not permitted to interview him.
That is the legislation. That is the law. He can volunteer to talk to us, but we
can't start that conversation. So we never interviewed him. All we were able to do was get a swab for the DNA,
charge him, put him before the court. TRACY RICHARDSON: When I knew he was going to face charges for my mom,
I felt relieved in a way. My questions may be answered. ANDY HOUGH: On the 17th of July, 2012,
the trial of Stafford for the murder and rape of Michelle Gunshon began. ALAN CROUCH: When I first saw Martin Stafford,
I found him impossible to read. I gained the impression that he was an individual
that had a lifestyle of abuse. Clearly, drink and drugs had taken its toll. And really, he was a man with no authority in the courtroom.
TRACY RICHARDSON: I attended the court every day for 10 days. The trial was hard, but I also wanted
to listen to everything what they had against Martin Stafford. STACY HERBERT: He denied it all at first when he was in court.
And it just made you angry. DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: Stafford seemingly has nothing
to lose with his behaviors. If he ends up in prison, he ends up in prison. If he doesn't, he doesn't.
I mean, he doesn't have a lot in the outside world to live for. The fact that he's gone to court
and just denied it, to me, just says that he doesn't actually really care about this system whatsoever.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: I was in the court when the jury returned their verdict.
And of all the times in your professional career, when you want something to go, well, that is the time.
When the jury returned a guilty verdict, I felt a great deal of relief, a great deal of relief.
On the 31 of July, 2012, following his conviction, Martin Stafford was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment.
[SOMBER MUSIC] TRACY RICHARDSON: I couldn't stop crying. I was like, yes, we've found him guilty.
STACY HERBERT: Her memory still wouldn't tell us where she was, and I just found that very inhumane.
Like, the one thing that you can do to make yourself look a bit more human and he couldn't even give us that.
DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: When the body isn't found, it really has an impact on the grieving process
because even in animals, the animals need to see the body of their, say, dead mate
in order to be able to grieve and process and move on. Without that, the grieving process is affected.
There's always going to be that question of, are they dead? What if they turn up?
It's very hard to have closure. Something that hangs over them for the rest of their lives.
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC] ALAN CROUCH: In 2015, I was notified that Martin Stafford had passed away in prison,
and the knowledge that there was no way of ever getting to Stafford to actually establish what he had done
with Michelle's body left, really left a void and a feeling of just major upset and disappointment.
STACY HERBERT: Mom found and told us that Martin Stafford had passed away. And your first thought is, good, rot in hell.
And then it kind of dawns like, but he knows-- he knows where she is. Definitely aren't going to be able to get them answers now.
TRACY RICHARDSON: I felt angry. I mean, I was like, what about my mom now? All I think about when I go to Birmingham or anything
is, where is she? It's cold. She's never liked the cold. DR. CHARLOTTE ARMITAGE: I think the issue with Stafford
all along has been about power and control. And this is him not telling them where the body is, is his one last attempt
at some semblance of control and power in his life. And by keeping this information,
he's able to keep some control over that crime. [INTRIGUING MUSIC] NEAL KEELING: I think after 20 years,
it's highly unlikely that Michelle will be found. I hope that I'm wrong for the sake of Tracy
and the rest of the family, but experience tells me that she won't be. ALAN CROUCH: I go back to the conversation
to Martin Stafford had about if he had a body to dispose of he would put it in some building footings
somewhere, and that may be the case. ANDY HOUGH: Michelle's remains will only be found by accident, unless there is a prisoner who
served time with Stafford, and he told them he let slip where she was. We know she was killed, we know she was raped,
but she's still a missing person. And that hasn't changed. That bothers me. [EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
MARIE HERBERT: I miss her. I do miss her. I'll never have a friend like her, ever.
You know, friends that come and go. She was one of those friends that would be there forever because somebody took her away.
So yeah. TRACY RICHARDSON: 20 years on, it still really hurts because of the not knowing.
We don't have anywhere to go. And obviously, this is the place where she was last seen.
Part of me feels like a little bit closer to my mom when I come and lay flowers.
My mom was spontaneous, funny, outgoing. My mom means everything. She's the world.
I love my mom very much and I miss her every day. Hopefully, one day she'll come home.
[THEME MUSIC] [AUDIO LOGO]

After a long day's work, mother-of-three Michelle Gunshon disappears in Birmingham, England. Police find her abandoned car — with traces of unidentified blood and semen.

Murdered At First Sight is a true crime documentary series that tells the first-hand stories of the most complex and hard-to-solve homicide cases: murders committed by strangers.

Brief Summary

Michelle Gunshon's disappearance leads to a murder investigation, revealing deep emotional scars for her family and unresolved questions about her fate.

Key points

The Disappearance of Michelle Gunshon. Michelle Gunshon goes missing, leading to a frantic search by her family and police.
The Discovery of Blood. Blood is found in Michelle's car, indicating something sinister has occurred.
Identifying a Suspect. Martin Stafford, a man with a criminal history, is identified as a suspect in Michelle's case.
The Forensic Evidence. Semen stains found in Michelle's car match those from Stafford's bed linen, linking him to the crime.
Stafford's Arrest in Ireland. Martin Stafford is arrested in Ireland for abducting another girl, revealing his dangerous nature.
Trial Begins for Martin Stafford. The trial for Martin Stafford, accused of murder and rape, begins on July 17, 2012.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's like watching this storm brew, this big gray cloud in the background.

Stacy Herbert describes the feeling of impending doom regarding Michelle's disappearance.

2:06WatchOct 5, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Files

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.