Sunderland true crime stories to be screened on Shots! TV channel

True crimes which sent shockwaves through Sunderland and the surrounding area are to feature in a new TV series on Saturday, October 14.

Shots! will feature a true crime series focusing on cases which touched Sunderland.

The episodes will be aired on Freeview channel 276 between 1.30pm and 3pm on Saturday.

Each episode has been put together by the Echo and its sister titles, featuring notorious murders and unsolved crimes.

The heartbreaking case of Nikki Allan, the Sunderland schoolgirl who was brutally murdered and whose killer evaded justice for more than 30 years, will be screened at 1pm.

The story of Sunderland hoaxster John Humble, whose twisted actions diverted police resource away from the true perpetrator of the 'Yorkshire Ripper' murders, will be told in 'Wearside Jack: A Lethal Hoax' at 1.30pm.

'The mystery of Robert Hutchinson's disappearance' will be aired at 1.50pm.

The Sunderland grandad went missing almost ten years ago in 2014. Police fear he was murdered, but no trace of him has ever been found.

The 'Motive mystery of Tipu Sultan killing' will be screened at 1.55pm. The Sunderland businessman was shot dead at his takeaway in South Tyneside in 2015.

Two men were convicted over Tipu’s killing, but no true reason for his killing was ever uncovered during a three-week trial.

A further episode at 2.10pm features the hunt for 'Noddy' Rice's killer. The family man was gunned down in a car park at Marsden, over the border in South Tyneside, in 2006.

Two men received jail sentences after the killing, but the man who pulled the trigger was never brought to justice.

A final episode at 2.30pm entitled Battling North East Knife Crime: Hope after Tragedy, includes interviews with the parents of Sunderland teenager Connor Brown, who was stabbed to death in 2019, and looks at efforts to prevent further fatalities in the region.