Robert Black was convicted of the kidnap, rape, sexual assault and murder of four girls aged between 5 and 11 in a series of killings committed between 1981 and 1986 in the United Kingdom. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 35 years.
I was lead scientist in the Black investigation and gave evidence at his trial in Newcastle Crown Court.
In 2011, Black was convicted of the 1981 sexual assault and murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy in Northern Ireland. Black died in custody in January 2016. At the time of his death, he was regarded as the prime suspect in the 1978 disappearance and murder of 13-year-old Genette Tate.
Black was believed to have been responsible for several other unsolved child murders.