As the third episode of Steeltown Murders begins, Paul Bethell (Philip Glenister) receives a list of names from Colin. DSU Jackie Roberts (Karen Paullada) is told that they could be a close male relative of the killer. Paul explains that they can use the  killer’s DNA to see if his relatives are in the database. Willoughby has two sons. They’re not in the database and neither lives locally. Colin Dark won’t take any DNA evidence that is obtained unlawfully, but he’ll accept familial evidence because it is only unorthodox. Jackie hopes they know what they’re doing.

Phil Rees (Staffan Rhodri) believes she is right and questions whether there is another way to get to Willoughby. Paul asks him to stick to the plan. Jan and Paul begin spying on Willoughby from Jan’s flat. In the past, a news report talks about the police working with a Dutch psychic in the Llandarcy murders. The report says DCS Ray Allen (Oliver Ryan) denies they’re clutching at straws. Ray turns off the television and complains that the press thinks they can do the job better than them. He insists they should retrace their footsteps. Paul (Scott Arthur) speaks to Sita to see if she had been to the Top Rank with Pauline and Geraldine. Her father says she is 15 so she doesn’t go to any clubs.

He reminds Paul that Sita never made it to the bus stop. Sita’s father doesn’t want her dragged into this. In the present, Paul tells Phil how Jan says Willoughby only uses his car once a week. He wonders if there is another woman and another set of kids. Phil argues that they were supposed to focus on the 13 names. In a flashback, Phil and the others work with the psychic, Mr. Croiset. DI Tony Warren (Steve Nicolson) isn’t optimistic about their prospects with Croiset (Walter van Dyk). After checking the scene, Mr. Croiset says the killer is aged around 39 or 40 and is under six feet tall. He tells them more about the suspect who is supposedly a member of the local yacht club.

Croiset claims his home is 15 miles north of here. At home, Paul tells Karina about having to drive the psychic around. He reveals he is putting in for a transfer. Karina warns him that his card will be marked if he jumps ship now. In the present, Paul returns home where he finds Jackie with Karina. Jackie explains that they’re going to pull the plug, but they’ll know for certain by Friday. She goes on to say he has run out of money. Jackie says they need a result now. Paul asks if she fought for them as hard as she possibly could. Later, Paul admits to Karina that he knew it would end up like this. Karina knows it is hard to take that it was all for nothing. Paul says he never appreciated her, but Karina wanted a partnership instead.

Paul invites her to sit on the bed nearby. Karina knew the job came first and that having Kelly wouldn’t really make a difference. She insists they only talk about jobs, villains, and the boys at home. Karina doesn’t feel like she was included although she was just there in the room. When the boys came around, her involvement was only putting the kettle on. The way he excluded her is what got to her. Karina says his cold manner made her feel like she didn’t exist. When Paul apologizes, Karina says he didn’t even know he was doing it. It was disappointing because they were always so tight. Karina asks him if he is going to call Phil and Geraint. He doesn’t want to spoil their evenings.

When he catches up with Geraint and Phil, he is told that they might’ve found something while running down Colin’s list. They mention 26-year-old Paul Kappen who has a conviction for petty theft. Paul is the son of Joseph Kappen who is on their long list. Although they didn’t get his DNA, Joseph was interviewed in 1973 and his car was taped by South Wales’s finest. The interview was conducted by DS Vic Jenkins. The coversheet says Kappen’s car was up on bricks on the night of the murder. The interview was typed up and is missing from the file. It only says that his wife Christine gave him an alibi. Paul wonders if Vic is still around since he could give them information. They visit Vic and ask whether Joe Kappen was over on the Sandfields.

In a flashback, Vic is told Joe is in the garden. Joseph (Aneurin Barnard) says the vehicle is on bricks because he is stripping the brakes. It has been like that for over a month and possibly six weeks. Christine agrees that is about right. Joseph says Dave Hoag claims they’re interested in 1100s. Vic eventually asks where he was on the night of Saturday, September 15. Joseph says they had a quiet one and Christine agrees. Joseph says they were watching television, but Christine will have to remember what they were watching. Christine says it was The Generation Game and Columbo. Then, they watched the highlights on Match of the Day. Joseph tells Vic to ask Dale in number nine because he let him borrow the bricks.

Vic decides to leave after that. In the present, Vic says he thought Joe was okay by the time he left. Sizing up a bloke didn’t work on him. Phil and Paul mention that there was no record of the uniform follow-up on the bricks. Paul asks if he checked. He gets upset about it briefly and eventually apologizes. Vic tells Paul that he was always a pain in the backside. Vic says he thought the wife was reluctant to fetch Joe from the garden. He says times were different and better then. Vic asks for a phone call about what Kappen says. Geraint may have found something at the station. He tries to call Paul, but his call is ignored. Paul and Phil visit Christine Kappen who tells them that Joseph is dead. Once they go inside, they ask about the alibi she gave Joseph.

She doesn’t want to retract her previous statement. Catherine says they were watching television. They split up in 1980. Joseph left her for another woman so she divorced him. She asks them about the DNA and how they got a hold of Joe’s hair or blood. Paul admits they didn’t. Instead, her son’s DNA led them there. Other people have DNA very similar to this man but not many. At the station, Paul learns that Colin is going to run a direct comparison with Paul Kappen and the killer. Geraint speaks to a man who knew Joseph and suspected he could’ve killed the girls. Joseph was stopped driving his car a week after the murders so it wasn’t up on bricks. Paul tells Phil that the parents said the girls would never get into a car with a stranger.

They might’ve known him because Joseph was working as a part-time bus driver for Green Line Transport. Geraint comes back and says Kappen used to beat up the kids he’d chuck out of the Roxy. He would often use a right uppercut to the jaw. Pauline and Geraldine had the same bruising. Phil and Paul visit Christine to show her proof that Joseph was still driving his 1100 a week after the murders. They allege Joseph put the car up on bricks after the papers said they had a cast of the tires. Although it worked, Joseph needed Christine to lie for him and she did. Christine suggests it doesn’t make a difference that Joseph is dead. Paul asks if Joseph told her to lie about the car being up on bricks.

She says yes before admitting that she was asked to provide a false alibi for the night in question. Paul says they need her DNA so they can subtract it from her son’s. Christine agrees to give her DNA. In a flashback, Sita tries to get a job at a hotel. She just wants a normal job instead of having to think too much about everything. DSC Allen asks Vic to gather the team. He tells everyone that they’re nine months in and they have no new active leads. They will have to wind down the inquiry. While working at the motel, Sita hears about this on the radio. Soon, the police arrive at the bar to celebrate so Sita has to help serve them. In the present, Paul gets a call from Colin who says Joseph Kappen is very interesting.

Paul tells Jackie that there is a 75% match between the killer and their approximation to Kappen’s DNA. Jackie believes that is good and says they know Joseph Kappen did it. She isn’t sure they can ever be 100% positive when they send someone away. Paul visits the Hughes family to tell them about Joseph. Mrs. Hughes tells Paul about the time two police officers came by to get her to identify Geraldine’s clothes. She didn’t know what she was looking at because the clothes were muddy and torn. They confirmed that Geraldine’s blood was on her clothes. She breaks down and leaves the room. Paul tells Denver he should go be with her. Denver says she likes to be alone with her photos and so on. He remembers Paul being kind to him that day.

After telling Paul how it felt, he says the girls were fully dressed but 100 yards apart. Someone said Geraldine probably escaped and almost made it home but tripped. That thought flashed in Denver’s head many times. When Denver asks if that is what happened, Paul admits he can’t tell him with any certainty. He questions what it’d achieve even if he knew. Denver says he’d know and the truth can’t be worse than his fears. Paul says it seems like Geraldine did get away before Denver stops him. Outside, Paul confirms they’ve informed Pauline’s parents and they’re keeping them in close contact. Denver wonders if things would’ve been different if they had told her to stop in that night or he had fetched her.

Paul argues that only one man is responsible for what happened. Denver knows his wife won’t like not knowing for sure about Kappen. He isn’t either. Denver thanks Paul for everything he has done for them over the years. When Paul gets back, Sita is waiting for him. Paul admits to remembering her. Sita asks him about hiding in his office to avoid her the other day. She complains about the celebration at the motel and says they didn’t do the one thing they were supposed to do. Once she calms down, she admits she didn’t come to berate him. She can’t talk to her husband or daughter. Sita can’t talk to them because Pauline and Geraldine never had that. She confesses she feels guilt about leaving them.

Paul doesn’t think she left them because her dad came and took her home. He tells her in confidence that they have a strong suspect for the murders. She isn’t happy with the margin of error. Paul agrees that it isn’t good enough. Later, Paul calls Colin to find out what he needs to be 100% certain Joseph Kappen is the killer. He learns that he is going to need Kappen. Paul goes to Joseph’s grave at the end of the episode.

 

Steeltown Murders Review

Despite my previous complaints about earlier episodes of Steeltown Murders, the show is pretty enjoyable. The performances from the leads are excellent with Philip Glenister playing the somber detective exceptionally well. The show does a great job of taking viewers back in time with the gritty color scheme and carefully selected soundtrack. With that being said, I do think I would’ve enjoyed the series more with a few changes such as no fictional characters, no psychic, and more attention on the victims’ families and the wrongfully accused.

At the very least, Croiset was real and was really involved in the case to some degree. Although I am eager to see how they’ve ended the series, I also know that it’ll be difficult to find anything that matches the quality of Steeltown Murders so I do not look forward to that. The third episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Steeltown Murders can be found on Reel Mockery here.

Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.