Buried in Their Own Garden: The Wycherley Murders
True Crime with Elli Mac
02/09/26
•27m
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When 85-year-old William and 63-year-old Patricia Wycherley vanished from their home in the quiet village of Mansfield, no one seemed to notice or question their disappearance. Their bills were being paid on time, the house appeared to be looked after, and their family continued to receive postcards signed by the couple, which assured everyone they were alive and well.
Fifteen years passed without any suspicion, and eventually, the Wycherleys’ house at 2 Blenheim Close was sold to a new family, who moved in unaware of the secrets hidden beneath their feet.
It wasn’t until William Wycherley’s 100th birthday that questions began to surface. When an attempt was made to organize a congratulatory telegram from the Queen—a tradition for centenarians in the UK—there was no response from William. This prompted further investigation into the couple’s whereabouts, leading to the shocking revelation that the Wycherleys had never left their home.
Their bodies had been buried in their own back garden, where they remained hidden for over a decade and a half.
Who had murdered this elderly couple? And who was pretending to be them, sending letters out to loved ones, saying they were alive and well?
Previous Episode
The 'British Fritzl' And His 25-year Reign Of Terror
February 2
•32m
This is a difficult case to tell. To protect the victims, no names are used, and some identifying details are withheld. Even so, it is important to tell this story carefully and truthfully, because what happened did not occur in isolation. This case exposed profound failures across child protection, healthcare, and safeguarding systems—and led to significant changes in how such cases are now handled. In its aftermath, multiple independent inquiries were launched to examine how authorities missed years of warning signs.
The case became known as the Sheffield case, and was widely labelled by the media as the “British Fritzl.” The comparison was drawn to the Austrian case of Josef Fritzl, which had come to light only months earlier and shocked the world. In that case, it was revealed that Fritzl had held his own daughter, Elisabeth, captive for 24 years, resulting in the birth of seven children. The Fritzl case revealed unimaginable abuse hidden behind the façade of an ordinary family home, forcing the public to confront the reality that extreme harm can exist undetected for decades.
The similarities prompted outrage, disbelief, and urgent questions: how could something like this happen again—here, in the UK?
At the centre of this case was the conviction of a 54-year-old Englishman. For more than 25 years, he evaded detection by authorities. He fathered seven surviving children.
What makes this case particularly harrowing is not only the scale of the abuse but the number of times it could have been stopped.
This is the story of how it wasn’t.
Next Episode
The Crazy 911 Confession Of 17-Year-Old Jake Evans
February 16
•38m
When a 911 call came in at 12:34 a.m. on October 4th, 2012, from seventeen-year-old Jake Evans in Aledo, the dispatcher wasn’t met with panic. She was met with calm.
On the other end of the line, Jake, speaking clearly, admitted to the unthinkable. He told her he had just shot his mother. And his sister.
How could someone so young sound so composed after committing such violence? What could possibly lead a seventeen-year-old to turn a gun on his own family?
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