Channel 4 fans were left speechless over one of the "grimmest" episodes of cop documentary 24 Hours in Police Custody of all time. During a two-part special of the true crime series, a simple missing person case turned into a grisly murder investigation from an unlikely suspect. This article will contain spoilers for the 2025 episode.

Last year, 24 Hours in Police Custody followed Bedfordshire Police as they looked into the disappearance of 74-year-old Annette Smith. Annette had last been seen by her lodger, who reported she had headed off "for a few days" with a friend but reported her missing when she failed to return or answer his calls.

Said lodger, Scott Paterson, was described as being "like a son" to Annette after living with her for 15 years and caring for her after she suffered a stroke.

Before long, it became clear that Paterson was responsible for more than he was letting on, and viewers didn't take long to put the pieces together.

When it came to his confession, however, Paterson said it was simply getting too difficult to continue caring for Annette. He told police he had suffocated her after she became "very demanding" - and claimed he broke down after thinking about the killing for weeks.

However, a twist was just around the corner as cops did some more digging. It soon became clear that Paterson had lied about his motives, which appeared to be financial. He had been stealing jewellery from Annette and pawning it - with cops speculating this could have been his motive for killing her.

Things got even darker when Paterson - who worked as a butcher, giving him the nickname the Butcher of Suburbia - admitted he dismembered Annette's body and placed the pieces in public rubbish bins around town.

Though Paterson had no prior convictions and was described positively by friends, when police asked if he had ever killed anyone else, his response was chilling - but you'll have to watch the episode to find out more.

Paterson pleaded guilty to Annette's murder in November 2024 and was sentenced to a minimum term of 20 years in prison.