A Metropolitan Police detective solved an attempted murder case while still on a graduate programme, using a key piece of evidence: a 30-second voicemail recording of the attack.
The Attack and Initial Investigation
Brandon Ruck was found guilty of attempted murder after stabbing a former friend 16 times at a property in Lewisham, south east London, last year. The victim suffered 'very significant injuries' including a stab wound to his face that went through his cheekbone and damaged nerves, leading to a 'high chance' of future complications such as inability to move his tongue or swallow.
The victim was initially reluctant to cooperate with police, but the detective—who cannot be named due to his counter-terror role—built a rapport with him. Both were in their 30s and bonded over a love of sport. 'Building trust was a key part of this case,' the detective said. 'The victim had a few troubles with the police in the past, so he wasn’t overly keen to speak to us about what had happened.'
The Crucial Voicemail Evidence
The victim called a friend and threw his phone just before the attack, capturing the audio. The detective described listening to the voicemail: 'The first time I listened to it, I had to take my headphones off after 10 seconds. The victim was screaming for help and for the defendant to get off him. He repeatedly shouts “please”, “help” and “what is wrong with you?”'
By the time of the trial, the detective had heard the recording about 400 times. 'It’s traumatic to listen to but in terms of impact for the jury, it was probably the most key piece of evidence we had, along with the medical report of the victim’s wounds.'
Detective's Background and Reflections
The detective studied a criminal investigation course at a university in the Midlands and joined the Police Now graduate programme. 'This is definitely one of the largest cases I’ve worked on in a sole capacity. It’s scary when you haven’t dealt with something like this before. But I think my age and newness actually helped me. I went into everything with very open eyes.'
Ruck will be sentenced on July 14.
