A true crime documentary which aired last night looked into a horrifying murder in which a two-word Facebook comment, as well as a listing on Facebook marketplace, helped to solve the crime.
The documentary, which aired on Channel 5 last night (24 August), was the newest episode of the show Killer at the Crime Scene.
This follows scientific and forensic experts examining the evidence found in murder cases, presenting these crimes and how they were solved.
In the show’s most recent episode, they covered the horrifying murder of Connor Lyons, a 17-year-old who was brutally murdered in January of 2021.
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Connor was strangled and drowned on January 18, 2021, before his body was discovered washed up on the banks of the River Hull the very next day.
When the young boy’s body was initially found, investigators felt he might have simply fallen into the river and drowned.
Jim Dickie, a retired police detective, recalls in the documentary how there were no ‘obvious’ signs of murder, and there were no signs of a struggle.
Continuing in the true crime documentary, Jason Pitter KC, a prosecuting barrister, speaks about how Connor had a beloved dog named Callie, and that she was found abandoned alone.
In addition to this, Connor was missing a gold bracelet, a bicycle, and his mobile phone, leading investigators to suspect that there was foul play involved.
The next major step forward in the investigation came when the 17-year-old’s bike was found on Facebook Marketplace.
This was being sold by Cole Jarvis, an older boy who was 21 at the time and was known to hang out with a lot of younger boys.
Speaking in a separate documentary for Sky, Killer in my Village: Connor Lyons, his mother Kelly Lyons spoke about a Facebook comment left by Jarvis on a post saying that he had been found on a riverbank.
She said: “When it was seen about Connor, that he’d been found on the river bank, Jarvis had actually commented on the photo of Connor on his pushbike saying ‘RIP Connor', which is disgusting."
Though Jarvis had initially claimed he barely knew Connor, and he was merely an acquaintance, this was later disproven by digital records, which proved the two were quite close.
This had frayed in the months leading up to Connor’s death, in particular when the pair got into an argument over Jarvis selling a dirtbike belonging to Connor.
Jarvis has been bullying Connor during this period and even assaulted him.
Though Jarvis was found guilty of murdering Connor, he has never offered a motive as to why he did it and offered no evidence during his trial.
He was sentenced to 21 years in prison, with Connor's family issuing a statement after his trial and guilty verdict.
They said: “We cannot celebrate [his 18th Birthday, which took place shortly after the trial] with Connor. Connor was a cheeky, happy go lucky, kind-hearted and sweet boy full of potential.
“He never got the chance to fulfil this potential as an adult. He will never get married and never do any of the things that we dream of doing as adults.
“All we can do is grieve and still live the nightmare of Connor’s last moments before Cole Jarvis stole his life.”
Topics: True Crime, Channel 5, Facebook, TV and Film, TV, Documentaries
Michael Slavin