There is a lot going on in the latest episode of Silent Witness, "To Brighton, To Brighton."

Advertisement

The most complicated storyline of 2019 so far began with a collection of heavily-tattooed body parts scattered around a rubbish tip, continued with a second ink-covered body chopped up at the recycling centre, and ended with a plot so fiendishly convoluted that we're still getting our heads around it all.

Whether you saw through the fog or are still confused about exactly what happened at the end, it probably pays to try unpick how the case played out.

Check out our run-down of how the crime unfolded below...


What was the solution to the murder in Silent Witness's Brighton episodes?

Silent Witness XXII

A bloke called Guy Brewster (who we only ever saw in flashbacks) was pretty upset because his wife Carola (Leona Walker) had recently been tattooed by a friend-of-a-friend called MK, only to be left lying in hospital dying from sepsis. Her new Japanese Irezumi tattoo was meant to match her husband's own body art and mark the start of their round-the-world journey on their boat Carola's Dream. Now that would never happen; who should he blame?

More like this

Guy (wrongly) thought Carola has been poisoned by MK's ink. That's why he wanted to kill MK, but also hurt the mutual friend who had introduced them to the tattoo artist: heavily-tattooed lettings agent Stephen Fraser (Max Cavenham).

First, Guy went to find Stephen at work, but he wasn't there: he only spoke to Stephen's colleague and lover Andrew (Fisayo Akinade). However, he was finally able to contact his unsuspecting friend Stephen and invite him over to his boat.

When Stephen arrived, Guy beat him up a bit and forced him to tell him where MK was (Apartment 3 in Church Street, which Stephen had been illegally sub-letting). He then left his 'friend' unconscious and tied up on the floor of the boat, where he remained for several miserable days.

Guy planned to avenge Carola's death by killing MK that same night. Coincidentally, a pizza delivery driver called Akito Emon (Haruka Abe) was nearby, collecting illegal drugs at the harbour to sell to other students and fund her gambling habit. Guy stole her moped and helmet, sped to Church Street, went to Apartment 3, stabbed MK in the chest then dismembered him in the bath.

(For her part, Akito wasn't meant to be there with the pizza restaurant's moped, so she made up a story about being attacked elsewhere.)

Silent Witness XXII

Guy then wrapped up the body parts and threw them in a wheelie bin in Church Street, ready for collection first thing in the morning. But he kept MK's severed hands and passport (perhaps as some kind of trophy?) and stashed them in the takeaway box on the back of the moped (where Akito had also stored her drugs and rolls of cash).

Guy got back on the bike and drove off, carrying the knife. Unfortunately for him, he collided with a van driven by a man called Mick (Samuel Edward-Cook), rolled over the bonnet, and managed to stab himself in the chest by falling on the knife. Karma in action!

Van driver Mick wasn't meant to be there that night: he was in Church Street after a night out, having sex with his ex and drinking and taking drugs while his girlfriend was giving birth, and to make matters worse he was over the limit. He got Guy into the back of his van with a vague plan to get to hospital, but the van wouldn't start and Guy was bleeding badly.

Desperate to avoid trouble with both the police and his girlfriend, Mick dragged Guy's dead (or nearly dead) body out of the van and dumped him in a recycling bin. He then drove off.

Hours later, MK's dismembered body was collected and taken to a landfill site, where our episode began. Another lorry soon collected Guy's body and sent it off to a recycling centre, where it was (ironically) also dismembered – this time by the recycling machine.

Terrified of the consequences, Mick then did a truly appalling job of covering his tracks. He cleaned his van, patched up the broken headlight, ditched the moped in a field and burned the incriminating contents of the box – but not before pocketing Akito's drugs and cash. It was not very subtle and he was quickly caught.

In conclusion: it was Guy who killed MK (on purpose), and Mick who killed Guy (by mistake).

All clear?

Advertisement

Silent Witness returns on Monday 28th January on BBC1


Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter


Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement