World's Most Evil Killers - Season 5, Episode 3 - Jason Marshall - Full Episode | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: Northolt, London, England, a man arrives at the home of 58-year-old Peter Fasoli
for a prearranged meeting. In less than six hours time, the house will be on fire with Peter Fasoli trapped inside.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: The fire brigade managed to extinguish the blaze. But when they did so, they found Peter's body
inside the bungalow. This isn't a suspicious death. This is a tragic accident. NARRATOR: For almost two years, it
was believed that Peter Fasoli's death was caused by the fire, until this footage recovered from his hard drive
revealed that Peter had been murdered by his 24-year-old visitor, Jason Marshall.
EMILY PENNINK: Jason Marshall is wrapping clingfilm around Peter's head. And he's clearly terrified for his life.
That's an image that's very hard to forget. NARRATOR: By the time investigators had discovered that Peter had been
murdered, Marshall had fled to Italy, where he'd killed again. EDWARD BROWN QC: Some people sometimes use the word evil.
It's not something I'm an expert to decide what is evil or not. He was most certainly one of the most dangerous men
that I've seen in the [INAUDIBLE].. NARRATOR: Jason Marshall had been caught on camera
and revealed as one of the world's most evil killers. [MUSIC PLAYING] On the 26th of September 2017, 29-year-old Jason Marshall
was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Peter Fasoli. The killing took place over six harrowing hours
in which Marshall bound, gagged, and tortured his victim. And all of it was caught on camera.
By the time British authorities had been handed the footage, Jason Marshall was already serving 16 years
in an Italian psychiatric hospital for the murder of Vincenzo Iale and the attempted
murder of Umberto Gismondi. Court reporter Emily Pennink was at the Old Bailey to witness
the 2017 trial of the deranged killer. EMILY PENNINK: I think Jason Marshall tried to pick people
who were living by themselves because that in itself makes them vulnerable and really makes
them easy pickings for somebody like Jason Marshall. NARRATOR: Marshall had a history of impersonating police
officers, which Metropolitan Police detectives discovered during the investigation
into the murder of Peter Fasoli. ANDY BAKER: How would I describe Jason Marshall?
Someone that's fixated with authority, someone that likes to have a position of power,
someone that picks his victims carefully, weakening him. And if challenged by them, fights back, gets violent.
EMILY PENNINK: Jason Marshall was an actor. He put on persona. And he pretended to be somebody else.
But when you strip all that away, he showed absolutely no empathy towards any of his victims and no remorse.
NARRATOR: This killer story begins in Southeast London. Jason Marshall was born in Greenwich
on the 11th of August 1988. His childhood was far from ideal. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Marshall had three siblings.
He was one of four children. And his childhood was quite turbulence because age three
or four, he goes into foster care when his parents go to prison for fraud. EMILY PENNINK: His parents were both drug
addicts, addicted to heroin. And he said that the most happy time he ever spent was when he was in foster care.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: So you have this pattern of an extraordinarily dysfunctional family that took over his life.
It's as though it's a Petri dish for the creation of a man who has to go on to become a killer.
As he grew up, life dealt another harsh blow to the troubled youngster. ANDY BAKER: When Marshall was about eight,
his paternal grandfather was murdered by a neighbor. He was stabbed several times.
And this must have had an effect on Marshall. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Marshall's grandfather was killed.
And Marshall later says that he was killed by the IRA. So here, we've got a tendency to exaggerate and to embellish.
It's not bad enough that your grandfather has been killed. It has to be dressed up to be more dramatic.
And that is an inherently narcissistic trait, feeling that needs to exaggerate things, to make
them more than they are, to get more attention for yourself. NARRATOR: During adolescence, the tormented teen
suffered in silence. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Marshall had quite a few mental health issues.
And they really did start to come out during his teenage years. He was really struggling.
And some of the behaviors that he exhibited I think marginalized him from people that could
have potentially helped him. And I do think some of this behavior was a cry for help.
Somewhere in those teenage years, he begins to develop delusions, very severe delusions.
He sees himself as an archangel, a messenger from God. And those delusions stalk the rest of his life.
But at the age of 17, he tries to commit suicide by jumping off a car park in Stratford in East London.
He doesn't succeed in killing himself, but he's clearly dreadfully disturbed. NARRATOR: As the troubled teenager matured into an adult,
Marshall found a new form of escapism. He was arrested on a number of occasions for masquerading as figures of authority,
including an MI5 officer. And in August 2011, the 22-year-old was convicted on two counts of impersonating a police
officer, for which he received an eight-month suspended prison sentence. EMILY PENNINK: I think Jason Marshall naturally
had a real theatrical flair. He liked dressing up. He liked playing a part. He liked acting.
But it seems that he enjoyed playing the role of a police officer or any authority figure because he felt that it gave
him more authority and respect. And he didn't like the person that he was and the way that people saw him so he tried
on this new persona, which he thought would get him what he needed. ANDY BAKER: There's evidence of him impersonating police,
even making up his own warrant cards, going into police stations, Kentish Town and Suffolk Police
Station, where he was able to hold his own as a police officer and breeze through, managed
to steal some equipment radios. NARRATOR: Marshall struggled to hold down a job,
but he soon found a way of making money by advertising his services via social networking site.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So he sets himself up as a male escort. And he presents himself as a specialist in S&M.
And he goes by the name Gabriel. And I think this is testament to his grandiosity
because he's thinking archangel Gabriel here. So this is a very narcissistic individual.
And this is not going to end well. NARRATOR: In December 2012, Marshall befriended a 58-year-old man who he'd met on the dating app.
EMILY PENNINK: Peter Fasoli was-- he was described as a vulnerable middle aged man, living by himself in Northolt.
He worked as a IT technician. But he mainly worked from home so he didn't see a lot of people day-to-day.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think because he's of a certain age, he's in his late 50s, he would have
grown up during a time when homosexuality was quite stigmatized. So that part of his life, those intimate relationships,
it was something his family didn't know an awful lot about. He kept quite a lot of detail to himself.
So that kind of secrecy is the sort of thing that a predator like Marshall preys on.
NARRATOR: The pair met up just before New Year's Eve and decided to see each other again the following week.
ANDY BAKER: So Marshall arranged to go around to pieces address in Northolt. But he arranged that he would bring a friend,
and that they could have a threesome. Obviously, Peter was interested in this. That actually didn't materialize.
EMILY PENNINK: Jason Marshall arrived at Peter Fasoli's home in Northolt on the 6th of January 2013 at about 7:00 PM.
NARRATOR: Six hours later, Peter Fasoli's bungalow was ablaze. The fire brigade managed to extinguish the blaze,
but they discover Peter's body inside the bungalow. And at that point, they believe that Peter has died from smoke
inhalation from the fire. This isn't a suspicious death. This is a tragic accident.
NARRATOR: Early indications suggested that a faulty light may have fallen from the ceiling onto Peter's bed
and accidentally started the fire. EMILY PENNINK: There's a post-mortem examination done
on Peter Fasoli's body and that seems to confirm that he died during the fire because the pathologist found some evidence
of smoke inhalation. And from there, the police take the cue from the fire brigade
and they don't take the investigation, any further. NARRATOR: The truth of what happened inside Peter Fasoli's
home was much more sinister. The 58-year-old had been tortured and murdered by Jason Marshall.
But the police had no idea. EMILY PENNINK: He seems to have covered his tracks quite well,
although maybe if the police had cause to delve a little bit deeper at the time, they would have discovered that somebody
was taking out money from Peter Fasoli's bank account after he was already dead.
So maybe if they had looked into his financial affairs, it would have become quite obvious
quite quickly that something was amiss. NARRATOR: On the 11th of January, using money stolen
from his victim, Jason Marshall headed to the airport and boarded a plane to Italy.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: He believes he's got away with murder. He's left a body in a bungalow in Northolt. He's in Rome.
No one's come after him. As far as he knows, no one suspects a thing. NARRATOR: To cover his tracks, Marshall
made sure he left a digital footprint on the social networking site where he'd met his victim.
ANDY BAKER: Marshall, even though he knew that Peter was dead, he started sending emails and messages to Peter
as if he was still alive. Eventually, ending with a, I guess you don't want to speak to me anymore.
That's it then. NARRATOR: By late January, Marshall was back on the app and searching for potential partners in Italy.
EMILY PENNINK: Vincenzo Iale was a 67-year-old gay man living in Rome. He clearly met people online.
And that's how he came across a Jason Marshall, who almost straightaway set about doing what
he'd always done to get by. On the 26th of January 2013, the two men met up for the first time.
ANDY BAKER: They go to Vincenzo's home, which is about 15 kilometers away from Rome.
And they're there the nights we don't know the detail what happened in their interaction, but what
we do know is that Vincenzo didn't materialize for about seven days after that meeting with Marshall
and going to the house. So his neighbors were concerned, contacted the police. NARRATOR: On the 3rd of February,
police discovered the lifeless body of 67-year-old Vincenzo Iale. STUART HAMILTON: The scene that the police
were faced with Vincenzo would have been deeply unpleasant. We have a man who's been stabbed.
He has an electrical flex wrapped around his neck, giving a very good clue as to how
he ultimately may have died. And of course, this is about a week later, his body is going to have started to decompose as well
as that visual distress that the police will receive there would be the unmistakable odor of somebody
starting to decompose. NARRATOR: Detectives immediately began the hunt for Vincenzo's killer.
ANDY BAKER: When Vincenzo's body was found, the police started straightaway looking into his background.
So remnants of victimology, understand your victim, understand part of what happened.
The police started looking, so they struck up a relationship with a Brit, who Jason Marshall, found
Jason Marshall's phone number, identified who he was, found where he was. And they surveyed him.
Not having enough evidence for the murder, but certainly that he was in a relationship
with him or he had seen him recently. EMILY PENNINK: But also, Mr. Iale's bank cards were missing.
And an investigation of his financial affairs showed that Mr. Iale's bank cards were still being
used even after he was dead. They managed to track down an occasion where cash was
withdrawn from his bank account from a hole in the wall cash dispenser, which had a camera on it, which captured
Jason Marshall's image on it. NARRATOR: Italian investigators began surveillance on Jason Marshall.
And on the 21st of February 2013, they followed him to the apartment of 55-year-old Umberto Gismondi, another man Marshall had met
via the social networking app. ANDY BAKER: They went to Umberto's home and we know this for sure that Marshall,
when he took off his jacket, Umberto saw that he had a firearm. And he had his some form of utility
belt. Umberto challenged Marshall about why he got a gun and he said, well, I worked for MI5 for the British embassy.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think most of us realize that people who work in the intelligence services
don't go around telling people that that's what they do, especially random people that they hook up with.
So I think Umberto possibly challenged Marshall about this and said I don't actually believe you.
And Marshall wouldn't have reacted well to this or he doesn't like being challenged,
he doesn't like being questioned. So this would not have gone well. NARRATOR: Just after midnight, the police surveillance
was called off for the night. Little did they know, Jason Marshall was about to try and claim a third victim.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: He flies into a rage and proceeds to attack Umberto. He binds him and gags him with the DCF tape.
He punches him repeatedly in the back and uses the pepper spray. But this time, the neighbors hear the screams
and call the police. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So this was a really, really close call.
And I think Umberto was very lucky to have escaped with his life. Just after 2:00 AM, the police returned to the address
they'd left just hours previously. But Marshall had fled the scene. Investigators were now certain he
was responsible for the murder of Vincenzo Iale. GEOFFREY WANSELL: The police know
perfectly well who went into the building because they'd watched him go in. And thankfully, Umberto is alive.
And he can tell them that it is indeed, Jason Marshall, the man, they've been tracking all this time.
NARRATOR: By tracing Marshall's phone, the police were able to intercept him just four hours
after the attack on Umberto. The 24-year-old was found on a bus, heading out of town.
EMILY PENNINK: Well, the fact that Jason Marshall was caught red-handed meant that Italian police were on to him
pretty quickly. So they managed to apprehend him and take him into custody. And whereas before, his victims couldn't speak for themselves
because they were dead, this time, there was a live witness who could identify him,
who was able to say what had happened. And there was really nothing that Jason Marshall could
do to talk his way out of it. NARRATOR: Unbelievably, he did try to talk his way out of it.
Marshall came up with another elaborate story. He told detectives he worked for the British embassy,
and therefore, had diplomatic immunity. But the fantasy world of Jason Marshall was falling apart.
He was arrested, charged. And just over a year later in March 2014, the 25-year-old was in an Italian courtroom.
EMILY PENNINK: Jason Marshall went on trial in Italy for killing Mr. Iale and also the attempted
murder of Mr. Gismondi. He denied having anything to do with Mr. Iale's death and says someone else must have done it.
And he named a suspect called Michael, who he said was responsible. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think this serves a real purpose for him.
It's enabling him to describe the murder. It's enabling him to relive it and to enjoy
those feelings of reliving it. But at the same time, he's trying to pin it on somebody else by doing this.
So this is a very dangerous game to play when you try and pin your offenses on an imaginary person.
EMILY PENNINK: He wasn't able to do that, obviously, in the case of Mr. Gismondi.
So instead, he claimed that Mr. Gismondi had actually attacked him and he was a victim.
And he was acting in some sort of self-defense. NARRATOR: Marshall's delusional claims
were scrutinized by psychiatrist during the proceedings. GEOFFREY WANSELL: It was asked at his trial was
he sane enough to stand trial. The answer was yes. And I would say, indeed, he was.
After all, he had premeditatedly chosen his victims. He did cover his tracks. He'd stolen their bank cards.
And he'd stolen their money. These are not the actions of a madman consumed by fantasies.
But they are the actions of a man who is a cold-hearted, cold-blooded premeditated killer, someone
who is consumed by his fantasies. ANDY BAKER: He put up loads of different defenses.
He did say that he was working for the government. He did say he was Gabriel, the archangel for gold.
He did challenge a judge saying you can't judge me, only God can judge me because I'm the angel Gabriel.
And he was found guilty of murder of Vincenzo Iale and attempted murder of Umberto Gismondi.
NARRATOR: In July 2014, Jason Marshall was sentenced to 22 years for his crimes.
But due to a psychiatric report about his mental health, his sentence was soon reduced to 16 years.
Meanwhile, in November 2014, over 1,000 miles away from Rome, a startling discovery
was made in Britain. REPORTER: The bungalow, which was across the road was destroyed in the fire.
But police did manage to save a few items, including a computer hard drive, which was given to the victim's nephew.
EMILY PENNINK: And what was really an incredible twist, Peter Fasoli's nephew stumbled across a key piece of evidence,
which was to change the whole investigation and made police realize, for the first time,
that no, it wasn't an accident and something terrible has gone on. His nephew picked up his old computer.
And because he thought there might be some interesting research on there about their family history, he decided to have
a look at the hard drive. Rather than finding interesting trivia about the family,
he stumbled across something that was truly, truly horrifying. NARRATOR: Unbeknown to anyone, Peter Fasoli's webcam
had captured his final moments. His nephew couldn't believe what he was seeing. ANDY BAKER: And he watches this coming
into Uncle Peter's bungalow, making out he's from MI5. He's got the gun, doing the radio,
play-acting, handcuffing, tying up, torturing, burning, stealing, then killing his uncle.
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: If it's not traumatic enough to lose your uncle, it's even worse
when you come across this footage and you see how he lost his life. So this would have been a very harrowing thing
to have to witness. NARRATOR: The shocking new evidence was immediately given to the police.
EMILY PENNINK: So Peter Fasoli's nephew is clearly horrified by what he's seen and deeply disturbed by it
because up until this point, he, like everybody else, had thought that Peter had just died
in a terrible accidental fire. So he hands over this crucial piece of evidence to the police.
NARRATOR: For the first time, the truth of what happened to Peter Fasoli had come to light.
Investigators sat down to watch the entire ordeal from start to finish. The footage showed that the 58-year-old's death in January
2013, which had been believed to be accidental was anything but. EMILY PENNINK: It seems as if Peter Fasoli had switched
his webcam on the computer. And his computer was angled towards the living area in his front room.
And it captured all the events of the night of his murder. NARRATOR: The footage is so graphic,
that only a handful of people have been allowed to view the unedited seven-hour long video.
EMILY PENNINK: The video footage of Peter Fasoli's murder was truly, truly horrific to watch.
I mean, it was one of the most disturbing things I think I've seen. ANDY BAKER: Marshall turns up in Peter's bungalow.
Marshall takes his jacket off. And he's got a kind of lanyard around his neck with what looks like a quick look, a police warrant card.
Pretty badly made up. But it could actually dupe someone to think it is a warrant card.
NARRATOR: Just as he'd done in the past, Marshall was impersonating an officer. He even spoke into a phony police radio
to help in his cover up. ANDY BAKER: Marshall then starts talking to Peter about his work.
Peter says that he fixes computers. Marshall then accuses him of criminality. And he's working for terrorists and fixing their computers.
He then says I'm going to take you to a police station. I'm going to arrest you.
EMILY PENNINK: To begin with, Peter Fasoli probably thought that it was all a bit of a game
and a little bit of role play. But there comes a point where Marshall handcuffs him, and gags him, and it's no longer a game.
And it becomes very serious to him. ANDY BAKER: You can see Peter gets a bit distressed.
This is all caught on camera and audio. EMILY PENNINK: He's gagged, but he's trying to shout out,
and scream for help. And he's trying to get him to stop. In a way, it seems as if Jason Marshall at this point
was enjoying Peter Fasoli's distress. It only encouraged him to carry on and become even more violent
and aggressive towards him. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think he gradually becomes more and more frightened as Marshall
continues to do this role play. And it would become quite clear to him that Marshall has crossed that line
between fantasy and reality. And he's not coming back from it. So this would have been really, really scary.
And I think the points at which Marshall gets the so-called truth serum out is something that
makes Peter incredibly afraid. NARRATOR: The 24-year-old injected Peter with an unidentified liquid substance.
Marshall then began to reveal his true intentions. GEOFFREY WANSELL: He eventually threatens again.
Out of the blue producing a knife, and saying that he's going to cut Fasoli's tongue
out unless he gives him the pin numbers. Not surprisingly, Fasoli gives in. ANDY BAKER: He takes Peter's bankcards.
But Peter challenges him again. And he hits Peter. And he burns him with a cigarette on his chest.
GEOFFREY WANSELL: He may not have originally have gone there determined to kill him.
But I think the power that he had over this man had become intoxicating. He was bound up in his own fantasy,
this extraordinary fantasy of godlike power. And by the end of the evening, he had decided that Fasoli
was not going to survive. NARRATOR: At 9:30 PM, Marshall left the house to visit
an ATM with Peter's bank cards. Before returning to finish the job he'd started,
he injected Peter with the unknown substance a further three times. EMILY PENNINK: And what was quite a chilling moment,
he sort of leans into his police radio and says, "Suspect detained." ANDY BAKER: And then it takes a very disturbing twist
when Marshall-- and this is much later on that's getting close to midnight on the 6th to the 7th of January.
He goes and gets some clingfilm. And you can see him unravel the clingfilm. And quite clearly, they've gone now behind a sofa
and then there's a bed beyond. So you can see the activity on the bed. But When he puts Peter on the floor,
he's wrapping the clingfilm. And you can hear the breathing that's getting faint from Peter.
EMILY PENNINK: The point at which Jason Marshall is wrapping clingfilm around Peter's head
and he's clearly, extremely distressed, clearly terrified for his life. That's an image that it's very hard to forget.
NARRATOR: It's difficult to imagine what must have been going through the mind of Peter
Fasoli. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think seeing your killer come towards you with that role of clingfilm
would be absolutely terrifying because you know exactly what's going to happen here.
You know it's going to be slow. You know it's going to be incredibly unpleasant.
And the worst thing is you know that there's nothing that you can do about it. So this really is the worst form of torture.
It's psychological as well as physical. And Peter, sort of muffled voice, saying I can't breathe,
and he's clearly, extremely distressed, and then he stops moving. ANDY BAKER: And he checks his pulse.
But then he's using the radio and putting out these obviously to no one these messages of we
need an ambulance now. He's taking a turn for the worse, and he obviously thinks that he's killed Peter.
NARRATOR: Marshall lit a cigarette and calmly smoked it before backing away his equipment.
He then turned his attention to cleaning up the crime scene. Peter's laid out, tied up, handcuffed.
And Marshall goes over the computer and he starts pulling out wires. He manages to disarm the camera.
But unbeknownst to him, the audio is still on, So you can hear everything going on.
You can hear the sound of the lighter being flicked and then this is sort of whoosh as a fire being started.
And you can hear Jason Marshall just calmly walking away. It's very, very cold and calculated.
And it's a disturbing-- it's a disturbing image that it's not on camera, but it's quite vivid.
NARRATOR: Jason Marshall assumed he had killed Peter Fasoli. And in an effort to hide all the evidence,
he set fire to the bungalow before leaving the scene. The original pathology report from 2013
ruled that Peter Fasoli had died solely due to smoke inhalation. The new video evidence of Marshall's
suffocating Peter with clingfilm cast doubt over that conclusion. The asphyxia imposed by Jason Marshall
was what led Peter to be unconscious, and that is what prevented him from having
any chance of extracting himself from that flat when the fire was set. ANDY BAKER: The original forensic pathologist
was asked to look again. He looked at the video, heard the audio, and concluded the cause of death was now suspicious.
That it was a murder. NARRATOR: The police began the search for Jason Marshall. So he could finally face justice for the murder of Peter Fasoli.
And a deeper delve into Peter's finances revealed a motive for the murder. ANDY BAKER: The police were piecing together the evidence.
They identified Jason Marshall. They saw that he stole 780 pounds from Peter's accounts.
NARRATOR: Detectives finally tracked down Marshall, but the 26-year-old killer was 1,000 miles away in Rome.
They found that he's in Italy, serving 16 years. And a European arrest warrant was
issued for the arrest of Jason Marshall for murder Peter Fasoli. EMILY PENNINK: They had to negotiate
with the Italian police and the Italian authorities, to bring him back to Britain, to face trial.
It's quite difficult because he's already serving a sentence in Italy. But in the end, the Italians allow him to be
extradited back to Britain. So he can go on trial at the old Bailey. NARRATOR: Marshall wasn't extradited until February 2017.
His trial was set for July. The prosecution led by Edward Brown QC was armed with the horrific, yet compelling video evidence.
EDWARD BROWN QC: It's within the work of a criminal barrister that you see the results of a dreadful crime.
It was very disturbing footage, very disturbing footage you can imagine. For all of the time, there was a classical radio
station playing. And this developing violence and domination of Peter, it was completely in contrast with the music that was quietly
playing all of the time. It was as if there were two utterly different worlds going
on, one calm, one coming out of the radio of gentle classical music, and then the developing violence
and domination of this extremely vulnerable man by now completely vulnerable. NARRATOR: The prosecution had to prove that Jason Marshall
and not the fire had been the main contributor to Peter Fasoli's death. STUART HAMILTON: If Peter had not been unconscious,
then it is possible that the fire could have overcome him. But of course, if he had not been unconscious,
he is able to rescue himself. He is able to get to the door. He is able to get out of the property.
He may still have been affected by the fire, but an unconscious person cannot save themselves.
And that is key to his death. EDWARD BROWN QC: You also have to prove that the person
intended to kill or intended to do really serious harm to their victim. Now, the actions of Marshall, particularly the smothering
and the clingfilm around his face proved beyond doubt that Marshall intended to kill.
NARRATOR: During the eight day trial, the entire seven hours of webcam evidence was played to the courtroom.
Journalist Emily Pennink was at the Old Bailey. EMILY PENNINK: It's very frustrating when you see
someone from the beginning, sort of, you know, playing along with a role play and has no idea
what's about to happen to him. And there's a point in the video where you can see that the penny has dropped
and he's really terrified. It's an incredibly upsetting thing for anyone to have to watch.
And you can see on the faces of the jurors that they were deeply upset by it as well.
For 12 ordinary members of the public to have to sit through this, they've never seen
anything of this magnitude. It's incredibly sadistic and violent. They're watching this film and they know
exactly how it's going to end. This man is going to lose his life. But this is reality.
This isn't just a movie that they can switch off and detach from. But at the same time, it's really compelling evidence.
It's really damning evidence. It's evidence that a jury has to say and the evidence speaks for itself.
NARRATOR: Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Jason Marshall told the jury
that he had a mental blackout from Christmas 2012 until he woke up in an Italian psychiatric hospital
in February 2013. EDWARD BROWN QC: I've never had such extraordinary evidence available in a trial.
There was no question that it was him and he had to accept that it was him. He just said I don't remember.
EMILY PENNINK: He claims that he had no memory of any of it. In cross-examination, he was challenged
on how he could be suffering from amnesia in Britain. And yet in Italy, he remembered everything and gave a very
different version of events. ANDY BAKER: I think he learned from that experience
of trying to pin a murder on an imaginary third person. There's a lot of detail you have to remember.
It's very complex. So this time, he keeps it simple. He says I don't know. He says nothing.
And that is a much simpler narrative to stick to. And when he's challenged about it,
why is this version different from the previous version that you've given? He said, well, in the Italian court, I wasn't under oath.
And I'm under oath now. And I wouldn't lie under oath. So he's making himself out to be some kind of moral character.
EMILY PENNINK: And the prosecutor said to him, you just can't get away from it, can you?
And Marshall by this point, he's almost cracking and he said I'm not trying to get away from it.
There's this sort of pivotal point where under cross-examination, his lie start to crumble away.
And the jury who'd spent hours watching the absolutely horrific webcam footage of Marshall
clearly torturing Peter Fasoli for over a very extended period of time, they realized that he was clearly
lying to them at this point. NARRATOR: Despite Marshall's claims of amnesia, the 28-year-old was scrutinized by prosecutors about the night
of Peter Fasoli's death. EDWARD BROWN QC: We took him through all of his actions one
by one by one and pointed out that any observer would conclude that he was seeking to kill, an exercise really
in pointing out the obvious to him and getting him to accept it. It wasn't a traumatic time for Marshall
because he was so calm and determined in what he was doing. It wasn't as if he was under attack.
Because very, very rarely, some people genuinely do not remember something that's very, very traumatic.
The mind puts it out of the mind. But this could never have been the case here because of his actions that we could all see.
EMILY PENNINK: It's very hard to run a mental health defense when you've planned and executed killing so cold
and calculated as that. And also, the fact that he cleaned up afterwards and planned his getaway.
And it was clearly, you know, if you strip it all down aside from, you know, the role play, the acting,
and the fake police officers, at the end of the day, he killed Peter Fasoli because he wanted his money.
NARRATOR: On the 9th of August 2017, the jury reached a verdict. Mr. Marshall has been found guilty
of the murder of Peter Fasoli and also of setting fire to his home address in an attempt
to cover up his terrible crime. EDWARD BROWN QC: He was found guilty of murder by the jury.
He was sentenced after a lot of careful thought by the judge, who plainly knew and decided that Marshall was
exceptionally dangerous, something that was confirmed by the psychiatric reports.
EMILY PENNINK: And he was sentenced to a mandatory life imprisonment. He was also given a minimum term that he had to spend in prison
of a staggering 39 years, which is a very, very, very, very long sentence for any kind of murder,
partly because the judge said it was sadistic. And he had tortured his victim and also because it
was a murder for gain. NARRATOR: Over 4 and 1/2 years after the death of Peter Fasoli, justice had finally
caught up with Jason Marshall. He was possibly the most dangerous man I've either prosecuted or defended.
He had no empathy, whatsoever, with his victims. And a person who has no empathy for his victims, who
he plans attacks and kills, is truly dangerous. NARRATOR: Marshall is not due for release until 2056.
But he came very close to escaping justice entirely. ANDY BAKER: If Peter's nephew had never
been given that hard drive, if he had decided not to plug it into his own computer, if he hadn't looked at that,
Marshall would never have been found out for the murder he committed of Peter Fasoli.
And the records would have shown forever that Peter Fasoli had died from an accidental death caused
by a fire. He would have got away with it. EMILY PENNINK: And if he hadn't have been stopped,
he would have been a serial killer. He would have carried on. And he wouldn't have stopped until the police
had caught him. NARRATOR: Marshall was a fantasist with a troubled childhood. And his desperate need to be respected
led him down a deadly path. He often envisioned himself as a police officer. But in the end, Marshall's entire act
was caught on camera, which led real detectives to his door. By using torture and fear to control his innocent victims,
Jason Marshall will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the "World's Most Evil Killers."
[MUSIC PLAYING]

A look into the case of a sadistic killer, who posed as an MI5 agent in order to torture and murder his victim during a bondage sex session.

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

Brief Summary

Jason Marshall murdered Peter Fasoli, staged it as an accident, and was caught due to webcam footage revealing the truth.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Peter Fasoli. Initially believed to be an accident, Peter Fasoli's death was later revealed to be a murder caught on camera.
Jason Marshall: A Dangerous Man. Described as one of the most dangerous men, Jason Marshall's actions led to multiple murders.
Horrifying Discovery. Peter Fasoli's nephew discovers a shocking video that reveals the truth about his uncle's death.
The Disturbing Role Play. Marshall's impersonation escalates from a game to a terrifying reality for Peter.
Chilling Moments of Torture. Marshall's actions become increasingly violent, leading to Peter's distress and fear.
The Verdict. Marshall is found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This isn't a suspicious death. This is a tragic accident.

NARRATOR: Initial belief about Peter Fasoli's death.

0:26WatchAug 19, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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