‘We were all terrified’: How a horrific murder can haunt a town

A brutal killing in the community seeps into the psychology of a place and its people, writes James Rampton, as a new series explores how 10 British towns coped with tragedy

Wishaw in Scotland is known for two things: the snooker player John Higgins, and the murder of 17-year-old Zoe Nelson (PA)

The towns of Soham, Dunblane, Hungerford and Lockerbie all have one very sad fact in common: many years after the event, they are all still best known as the scenes of heinous crimes.

How does a horrific murder affect a tight-knit community? Is the town where it took place forever scarred? In the aftermath, are neighbours perpetually mistrustful of each other? And do people always see the location in a darker light?

These are the profound questions explored in Murdertown, a new TV series which starts on Monday. It offers an in-depth investigation into the far-reaching ramifications of a single murder in ten different British towns: Milton Keynes, Wakefield, Wigan, Wishaw, Southampton, Oxford, Lichfield, Leicester, Bath and Whitby.