The three Lancashire murders taking centre stage in new ITV true crime series

Called Britain’s Countryside Killers, it is a true crime documentary series exploring notorious murder cases that transformed idyllic UK rural landscapes into crime scenes.

It revisits cases that shocked communities and includes contributions from retired police detectives, forensic psychologists and local journalists, who provide detailed analysis of the investigative process behind each case.

Among the 10 cases you can stream on ITVX are three from Lancashire - the murders of Alex Davies in Parbold, Katie Kenyon in Gisburn Forest, and Sadie Hartley in Helmshore.

Alex Davies

Teenager Brian Healless, formerly of Rylands Road, Chorley, murdered Skelmersdale 18-year-old Alex Davies, on April 29, 2019, at a secluded area of Parbold Hill known as Alder Covert, after they met online and then arranged - via private social media messages - to meet up in person. Alex’s body was found at around 5.20pm on May 1st by a gamekeeper who was walking his dog in the area. He had been stabbed more than 100 times and his body had been hidden under a blanket.

The murder weapon – a kitchen knife – was located a short way from the body hidden in the ground. A postmortem examination also showed Alex had suffered two breaks to his nose, black eyes and bruising to his head.

Detectives carried out a painstakinginvestigation, analysing DNA found at the crime scene and at Healless’s address; mobile phone records belonging to both Healless and Alex; Healless’s internet search history and CCTV. They were able to place both Healless and Alex at Parbold Hill at the same time, with CCTV showing Healless arriving in the area empty-handed and then leaving the area a short time later in possession of Alex’s backpack.

At Healless’s address officers found clothing that had traces of Alex’s blood on it and Alex’s mobile phone, which had been stolen from the murder scene by Healless. They also found evidence that the knife used to kill Alex had come from Healless’s house. Detectives later discovered that following Alex’s death, Healless had begun making plans to meet up with another teenager, but was arrested before the meeting could take place.

In court Healless admitted killing Alex, but claimed he had been suffering mental health problems which meant he had not been in control of his actions. But jurors rejected his claim that the killing was manslaughter, and he was found guilty of murder. He was jailed for a minimum term of 24 years.

Katie Kenyon

Andrew Burfield killed 33-year-old mum-of-two, Katie Kenyon, in the Forest of Bowland on April 22, 2022, before burying her body in a grave he had dug the day before.

Burfield, of Todmorden Road, Burnley, later told police he had taken Miss Kenyon, who he had been in a relationship with since 2019, to Gisburn Forest for a picnic. The 51-year-old struck Miss Kenyon with an axe at least 12 times in a “ferocious and cruel” attack.

His story was that she “bet” him he could not hit her can of Coke with his axe. The court heard he told police: “I went for the tree at the side of her and it hit her head.” He claimed she had been hit with the back of the axe and she had no other injuries, but the jury heard a post-mortem examination showed she was struck an estimated 12 times.

A Home Office forensic pathologist, Dr Jamie Robinson, found due to the nature of the injuries, Burfield’s account of accidentally hitting Miss Kenyon with the axe was “completely implausible”.

After the killing, he pretended to be her in text messages to her family, and dumped her clothing in a bin near his home. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison in November 2022.

Sadie Hartley

Mum-of-three Sadie Hartley was found stabbed to death at her home in Sunny Bank Road, Helmshore. It transpired that the 60-year-old businesswoman had first been shot with a 500,000-volt stun gun and then stabbed 41 times by love rival Sarah Williams, a ski instructor.

Williams had become obsessed with Ms Hartley's partner, 57-year-old former fireman Ian Johnston, with whom she had a brief fling. Even though Mr Johnston had ended the relationship, the pair had still exchanged text messages. Williams wanted him back and saw Ms Hartley as the obstacle.

She recruited friend Katrina Walsh and set about planning the murder. The pair travelled to Germany together to buy the stun gun. Walsh bought the knife. A week before the murder they were captured on CCTV carrying out a trial run. They bought a bunch of flowers and delivered them to Ms Hartley.

Sarah Williams sentenced to minimum of 30 years and Katrina Walsh to at least 25 years.