IN the hours after Carl Hopkins was found dead in the shadow of Colchester Castle, the area was filled with people.

Police officers, paramedics, journalists and more were crowded into the narrow roads between the High Street and Castle Park.

The 49-year-old rough sleeper was discovered slumped up against a fence in Ryegate Road by a dog walker and a mum on the school run.

He had been stabbed to death.

Within minutes, detectives had launched a murder investigation and forensics were on the scene.

Tonight, viewers will get to go behind the scenes as BBC Two documentary Murder 24/7 shows how officers unravelled the chain of events which led to his death.

Expectation Factual made the series after spending months with major crime teams.

Executive producer Ruth Kelly said: “We wanted to produce a police documentary series with a unique approach, rooted in what really happens when someone is murdered.

“The result is Murder 24/7, made possible by the privileged access Essex Police gave us to their Major Crime Teams.

“We hope that the series shines a light on the extraordinary team of detectives, forensic investigators and specialists who come together, working round the clock, to solve murder cases.

“We were drawn to Essex as a possible location from the outset.

“It’s a fascinating place with its own unique identity, but it also has a busy Major Crime Team dealing with a wide range of cases.

“Essex Police gave us privileged and unfiltered access to those teams without which the series would not have been possible.”

It emerged that Mr Hopkins and a group of other homeless people had concocted a plan to score Class A drugs from a runner in the hours before he died.

Gazette:

After texting a hotline with their order - a worryingly widespread way dealers now work - a meeting was arranged for a location nicknamed Graffiti Alley near where he was found.

But the group had no intention of paying and set about attempting to rob the teenage boy sent to run the drugs.

He was armed with a knife and, during the scuffle, Mr Hopkins and another man, Jon Birch, were stabbed.

Mr Hopkins staggered to where he was later found dead, while his pal made it to George Street where he sought help from a nearby snooker club.

The area outside was cordoned off as police looked into the double stabbing.

Using what CCTV there was in the area and phone records, police were able to trace the suspect within days to an address in London where he was arrested.

The boy was later charged with murder and wounding with intent.

But a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court decided he was acting in self defence and cleared him of the two charges.

Gazette:

His solicitor Sasha Wass QC, said the boy had learned a lesson around the events of that fateful night 13 months and would not be getting involved in drug running again.

Det Supt Morgan Cronin, Essex Police’s Head of major, economic and cyber crime, said: “Murder 24/7 captures in real time, the dedication and commitment of all of our officers as well as the complexity of an investigation and the painstaking work that goes into gathering evidence - from trawling CCTV to intricate forensic work and mobile phone analysis – which is often frustrated by those seeking to avoid capture and justice.”

“We hope this programme gives the public and the residents of Essex a greater understanding of the challenges of these investigations but also reassures them.”

  • Murder 24/7 is on BBC Two concludes tonight at 9pm.