24 Hours in Police Custody is back with a new series, kicking off with two-parter The Butcher of Suburbia – reexamining the “sickening” murder of pensioner Annette Smith.

The Channel 4 series continues to be one of the best documentaries on TV, as it follows the Bedfordshire Police around the clock. Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen police officers investigating murders, domestic abuse, child abuse, drug use, assault, and stalking.

This week, the UK’s biggest and most successful true crime documentary series returns with a two-part special… It reveals the inside story of Annette Smith’s murder, and the macabre lengths her killer Scott Paterson went to conceal her death.

Here’s everything you need to know about 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Butcher of Suburbia on Channel 4, and the brutal murder of “infirm” Annette Smith.

Annette Smith’s murder is featured on 24 Hours in Police Custody [Credit: Channel 4]

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Butcher of Suburbia on Channel 4

Award-winning Channel 4 documentary series 24 Hours in Police Custody returns with a two-parter entitled The Butcher of Suburbia (Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 9pm).

The special reveals the inside story of Annette Smith’s murder. Her lodger and so-called friend Scott Paterson killed the 74-year-old pensioner while she slept. He then went to macabre lengths to conceal her death.

After he killed her, Annette Smith’s lodger reported her missing. He told police she’d been missing for several weeks. He also said that, the last time he’d seen her, she’d packed a suitcase and was collected from her house by a mystery woman…

However, the Missing Persons Unit found no trace of either Annette or the woman… Detectives from the Major Crime Unit were then called in to investigate “a gripping and disturbing case that shocked detectives”.

The second episode (Monday, June 30, 2025) sees the investigation step up a gear as police search for a murder victim and probe a possible suspect. A synopsis explains: “Detectives from the Major Crime Unit at Bedfordshire Police have a suspect in custody for Annette Smith’s murder. When they ask him if he is responsible, he replies, ‘Yes’.

“For DCI Katie Dounias, who is leading the murder investigation, this confession is only the beginning of a case that will bring a series of deeply disturbing twists and turns in a tale that shocks and surprises the experienced police team. Cameras follow as the police continue to probe the suspect and the interview becomes more and more chilling.”

Who was Annette Smith?

Annette Smith was a 74-year-old pensioner who lived in Fairfield Park near Stotfold, Bedfordshire, with her lodger Scott Paterson, 44. Residents usually left their doors open, as Fairfield was considered relatively crime-free. Neighbours, friends, and family called Annette the “Queen of Fairfield”. She was social, and often threw dinner parties – until she became ill.

She lived in a former asylum that had been converted into a number of flats. While she owned 80% of this property, her estranged husband Peter owned 20%. However, Peter paid the bills.

In court documents, Annette was described as “a loving stepmother”, who was a “kind and caring person”. Following her stroke, which happened a couple of years before she died, Annette Smith had became “a more frail and vulnerable person”.

A police appeal for information about Annette Smith’s disappearance [Credit: Channel 4]

How did she meet Scott Paterson?

Annette Smith met Scott Paterson 14 or 15 years before her death when he was working in a bar and restaurant. They subsequently became “close friends”, and he later became her carer. She “thought the world” of Scott, and they were described as like “mother and son”.

Annette’s stepson Jason revealed Scott was a “caring guy”, who was like a “family friend”. One family friend even said Scott and Annette slept in the same bed during holidays. Scott wasn’t just Annette’s friend, he was a “friend to so many” in the community. This makes what he did to her even more shocking.

In 2012, Scott moved in with Annette Smith when he split with his girlfriend and had nowhere else to stay. Although he was only supposed to stay a few months, the arrangement ultimately lasted many years. Scott lived there rent-free in Annette’s spare room in return for companionship.

The Honourable Mr Justice Murray said: “Friends of Ms Smith describe how, in the early years, you and Ms Smith were close friends. You would go on holiday together and have regular dinner parties at home. They described Ms Smith as always immaculately turned out. She was the life and soul of the party.”

However, in 2018, she suffered a small stroke. This was followed two years later by the pandemic. Annette Smith’s mobility declined, and she suffered from depression. In early 2023, Annette’s estranged husband Peter wanted to sell their jointly-owned flat – which she did not want to do as she believed she was “too young to be put into residential care”.

Nonetheless, she eventually allowed the property to be put into the hands of estate agents. It was about to go on the market at the time she was murdered. But what was the motive?

24 Hours in Police Custody: How did Scott Paterson kill Annette Smith?

Scott Paterson murdered Annette Smith in cold blood on November 08, 2023. During his trial, he admitted he’d been thinking of killing her for a couple of weeks. At the time, he was regularly drinking. On the day he killed Annette, Scott had drunk a bottle of wine during the day. Sickenly, he had another bottle after he killed her.

On the day of her death, Scott waited until Annette was asleep. He then walked into her bedroom, and held a pillow over her face. He held it there for a few minutes until she had been suffocated to death.

At the time, Scott was a farm shop butcher, hence the name of the latest 24 Hours in Police Custody on Channel 4 – “The Butcher of Suburbia”. He was not a qualified butcher, and admits he also used his love of horror movies as a reference. Scott told his employers he had cancer and needed a tumour removed in order to get time off work ahead of killing Annette.

Scott subsequently reported Annette missing.

Killer Scott Paterson being questioned on 24 Hours in Police Custody after killing Annette Smith [Credit: Channel 4]

What did he do with her body?

In 24 Hours in Police Custody, Scott admits he dismembered Annette Smith’s body. The day after killing her, Scott moved his victim’s body. He rolled the dead body up in a large blanket, and left it in the bathroom for a few days. He then moved the body to the cupboard under the stairs as a photographer was due to visit the house to take marketing photographs for the estate agents.

Several weeks later, in early January, Scott moved her body again – this time into the hallway. This is where it became especially gruesome. He then cut off both of her feet with a kitchen knife. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, he removed more parts of the body, including both legs, forearms, and her head. There were 10 body parts in total by the time he had finished.

He subsequently wrapped each body part in plastic and disposed of them gradually at different times and in different public bins. Scott even placed Annette’s head in a public bin. One location was the supermarket Lidl in Letchworth.

Having found the torso “too difficult to dismember”, he left it intact and eventually wrapped it in plastic, put it in a suitcase, wrapped the suitcase in a tarpaulin, and put it in a lock-up with some of his other belongings.

The police found it there after he was arrested.

What did Scott tell Annette’s family and friends?

After Scott killed ‘friend’ Annette Smith, he would make up elaborate lies about her when family or friends asked where she was. He told them she had decided to go on a trip with a mysterious female friend… He also used her email account to send her loved ones email messages and Christmas cards to create the illusion that she was alive and well. These included messages to her estranged husband, Peter, and her stepson, Jason.

Scott even went so far as to arrange for cuddly toys to be delivered to Jason’s daughters in December 2023. The police were subsequently able to track two Moonpig cards he had sent from Annette’s address pretending to be from her. They discovered that the cards had been ordered from Annette’s house – where Scott was still living. This was one of the first red flags that alerted the police to Scott’s involvement.

Scott Paterson’s mugshot [Credit: Bedfordshire Police]

How was Scott Paterson caught?

Despite Scott’s attempts to mislead Annette’s family and friends, her estranged husband Peter became very concerned. On January 10, 2024, he reported her missing to the Bedfordshire Police.

At the time, the police concluded that there was not enough evidence. So Peter Smith hired a private investigator to try to trace her but without success.

His concerns remained, and he eventually rang Bedfordshire Police again on April 08, 2024, to report her missing. He explained to the police that he had found her passport, mobile, and other personal belongings inside her home. As a result, the Bedfordshire Police opened a “high-risk missing person investigation”. They soon honed in on her lodger and ‘friend’ Scott.

Twenty-three weeks after Annette’s ‘disappearance’, police pulled Scott over in his car because he’d been driving whilst drunk. They arrested him. On April 30, 2024, they arrested him again. This time, at an address in Stotfold. At the property, police found Annette Smith’s wallet and bank card.

As well as the Moonpig cards sent after her disappearance, police also found Annette’s red leather shoes during a search of her house. These were the exact shoes Scott said she’d been wearing when she left.

During his police interview under caution, a police officer asked: “Are you responsible for the death of Annette Smith?” To which Scott  immediately answered “yes”. Ever since his first police interview, Scott never denied that he intended to and subsequently did kill Annette Smith. A far cry from the usual “no comment”.

When police asked him where Annette was, he responded: “There isn’t a full body.”

24 Hours in Police Custody: Why did Scott Paterson kill Annette Smith?

During his police interviews, Scott Paterson admitted that money was the motive for killing Annette Smith. Before he killed her, he had begun stealing jewellery from her and selling it for cash using a service called Cash4Gold. He also stole a sovereign coin from her and sold it.

He told the police that he had “entered into an individual voluntary arrangement with your creditors due to having run up about £30,000 of credit card debt”. Before Annette Smith’s death, Scott had started stealing her jewellery from her room while she was sleeping in order to sell it for cash. He continued to do so after she died.

Initially, Scott said he had sold some of her jewellery because he was annoyed at how much shopping he was buying for the household – including cigarettes and brandy. However, he later admitted to police that he simply needed and wanted the money.

Officers in 24 Hours in Police Custody described Scott as having a “parasitic” relationship with Annette Smith. She “funded his lifestyle”.

Forensic investigators examining Scott Paterson’s storage unit [Credit: Channel 4]

Had Scott Paterson killed before?

Although Scott had no “police footprint” or previous convictions, officers on 24 Hours in Police Custody suspect that Scott Paterson HAD killed someone before targeting Annette Smith. Perhaps even her own elderly father.

Scott saw Annette’s father the day before he died. The following morning, his carers found him deceased – his head was in the bed bars. Was that an indication of a struggle prior to his death?

Despite police suspicions, no evidence linking Scott to other deaths has emerged.

Where is Annette Smith’s killer Scott Paterson now?

On September 09, 2024, Scott Paterson pleaded guilty to the murder of Annette Smith.

A jury subsequently found him guilty of murder, and the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment – the fixed term for murder. He was jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

Sentencing him to life in prison, Mr Justice Murray said Paterson had told “an elaborate lie” to Annette Smith’s friends and family to try to cover up his crime.

Although Scott had no prior convictions, the judge showed no mercy due to the nature of the crime. He said there was “significant premeditation”, as well as “an abuse of trust”.

He continued: “Your concealment, destruction, and dismemberment of Ms Smith’s body is another substantial aggravating factor.

“You stole and sold for cash some of Ms Smith’s jewellery, both before and after you murdered her. And a particularly callous aspect of your conduct after you murdered Ms Smith, is that you misused her email account on several occasions, sending messages and even Christmas cards purporting to be from her to members of her family and her friends, in order to mislead them into believing that she was still alive.”

Scott is still in jail, and will not be released for many years to come, if ever…

Read more: Plot, cast, and start date of gripping new crime thriller In Flight starring Katherine Kelly on Channel 4

The new series of 24 Hours in Police Custody starts on Sunday 29 June at 9pm on Channel 4.