True crime fans left 'flabbergasted' by UK murder case doc on Netflix

A true crime documentary has people ‘flabbergasted’ after it arrived on Netflix this week.

It’s called Conviction: Murder at the Station and you can check out a clip below:

The short documentary series tells the tale of 40-year-old Paula Poolton, who was found in the boot of a car outside Swanwick train station in 2008, having been stabbed to death.

The documentary series, initially released back in 2016, has become one of the most watched things on the streaming platform this week, sitting behind mystery crime drama Bodies, documentary Get Gotti, and the Beckham documentary about the former Manchester United and England footballer David Beckham.

Family Handout

As for the case of Paula Poolton, Roger Kearney was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years for her death in the summer of 2010, although he denied murder.

Campaigners have been further investigating the case for years, having discovered that some of the evidence was ‘lost, contaminated, or destroyed’ by Hampshire Police.

The police force has always maintained that an officer destroyed those items without first consulting the senior investigating officer.

Kearney knew Poolton through work and the pair started an extra-marital affair.

But a charity called Inside Justice has claimed that ‘people close’ to Poolton said she might have been in a ‘relationship or friendship’ with someone else before her death.

Louise Shorter, the Inside Justice chief investigator, said: “There has been further speculation of this on social media and if true, could be highly relevant to the case.

“We need to know one way or the other, so I am appealing to anyone who has information about a relationship or friendship to come forward, speaking in confidence if need be.”

Hampshire Police

People who have watched the show are clearly taken aback, with one person writing: “Has anybody watched Murder at the Station on Netflix?? I’m absolutely flabbergasted.”

A response read: “Me too wtaf?”

Poolton’s mother told the documentary: “He’s not innocent. Twelve jurors all agreed he was guilty.”

Roger, who remains in prison, said in a recent statement Hello magazine: "I did not kill Paula. I want the truth to come out."

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said in a statement: “Hampshire Constabulary has co-operated fully with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and all records relating to our investigation into the murder of Paula Poolton have been shared with them upon request.

“We have confirmed to the CCRC that some forensic exhibits have been disposed of since Roger Kearney’s unsuccessful applications to appeal.

"These items did not become actual court exhibits during Roger Kearney’s trial and were not used as part of the criminal proceedings or the evidence that led to his conviction for Paula’s murder."

BBC

“The exhibits and disclosure officer in this case disposed of the exhibits because they had either been forensically tested to the point of destruction, were deemed a health hazard or had not become actual court exhibits and because Roger Kearney had exhausted all legal avenues to appeal his conviction.

“These exhibits were available to the court at the time of Roger Kearney’s trial and were not used. Their subsequent destruction has no bearing on the investigation into Paula’s murder or Roger Kearney’s conviction in 2010.

“As a force we constantly seek to ensure we uphold best practice and although we don’t believe the destruction of these exhibits has had a detrimental effect on this case, we acknowledge that the senior investigating officer was not consulted before their destruction.

“We have reviewed our management of forensic exhibits and changed our policy and working practices to make sure the retention and destruction of forensic exhibits is appropriately managed.”

Conviction: Murder at the Station is available to watch on Netflix now.