BBC Cymru Wales has launched a new true-crime podcast examining the mysterious murder of 74-year-old retired lecturer Gerald Corrigan with a crossbow in 2019.
The six-episode series titled The Crossbow Killer is narrated by writer of serial killer podcast The Nobody Zone and documentary podcast Coldfront, as well as presented and produced by Meic Perry.
“When I started looking into the story, the first thing that jumped out at me was the landscape,” said Perry. “It happened in such a remote place. And then there were a set of characters that were somehow connected but we didn't know how.”
“It was weird and just got weirder. Pretty soon I realised that I was closer to the story than I could have imagined. Rather than looking for the story it felt as if the story was looking for me.”
Each episode unravels the events that led to the "medieval style execution" of Corrigan outside his remote Anglesey home and features testimony from people close to the tragedy, such as the victim’s daughter. It also includes music by Welsh band Catatonia’s Mark Roberts, and a series of specially commissioned poems by Rhys Iorwerth, one of Wales’ Chaired Bards. The podcast launched its first two episodes on 11 July and will continue to release episodes weekly on BBC Sounds.
“The podcast gets to the heart of this complex and compelling story by telling it through the voices of those closest to the tragedy - not least the daughter of the victim, whose powerful testimony throws new light on these events,” said Radio Wales commissioner Bridget Curnow.
In addition to The Crossbow Killer, BBC Cymru Wales has also recently announced the launch of a new TV documentary and Welsh-language companion podcast on the Meibion Glyndŵr firebombing campaign, presented by journalist Ioan Wyn Evans. The first two episodes of the podcast series titled Gwreichion will launch 20 July on BBC Sounds and continue to release weekly after.
“What’s most surprising and fascinating is how vivid people’s memories are from the time, and the details they remember,” said Evans. “The research was also interesting – for example, being able to find the firefighter who responded to the Pembrokeshire fires on the first night was very exciting. I felt very privileged to hear his comments as an eye witness, as he’d never spoken about it before.”
