The Murder of Lorraine Benson: DNA, Danger, and a System That Didn't Listen

Sinister South

In the winter of 1988, 22-year-old Lorraine Benson left a work Christmas party in Clapham Junction and never made it home. Her murder shocked South London – not just because of its brutality, but because it exposed the serious failings in how violent offenders were being managed. In this episode, we look at the pioneering role of DNA in solving Lorraine’s case, the disturbing history of her killer John Dunn, and the wider questions her death raised about justice, parole, and whose lives are protected.

We also briefly cover bum-counting at pop concerts, kinetic sand post-cleaner rage, and an acid attack that wasn’t acid – but was still bloody scary. It’s a mix of the ridiculous and the rage-inducing, which feels about right for the world we live in.

Sources include:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDGbuKAZsW0

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/lbc/search/index.php/segment/0011800490003

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/lbc/search/index.php/segment/0011700331016

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001573689273045X

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1593254/
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/murder-south-london-novel-use-dna-profiling

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20200226/282406991384130?srsltid=AfmBOoqc1YCYaKaOymSwCHokqYOKFNTNQOiElkJHYU8mCYPzh0t0i8U5

https://imsvintagephotos.com/products/1988-wimbledon-police-have-released-thi-lorraine-benson-nionvi-death-press-vintage-photograph-2050953?srsltid=AfmBOoqJD1HEMK_tRrT9eoPC7xWvxuKtA2UtU3u6n8F1SFPLFNmJKJUZ

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/5845757/parents-blast-decision-to-free-taxi-rapist-jon-worboys-after-their-daughter-was-sexually-assaulted-and-murdered-by-convicted-teen-rapist/

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Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)