The Murder of Jamie Lavis (Part 1)

In June 1997, eight-year-old Jamie Lavis vanished on his way home
in Manchester. As his family launched a desperate search, a local
bus driver — Darren Vickers — led appeals, comforted Jamie's
mother, and walked the same streets where, days earlier, he had
killed the boy. Forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes profiles a
manipulative predator who weaponises trust and proximity to
deflect suspicion: a killer who didn't run, but moved closer.
This is the story of how the search for Jamie was, quietly, being
steered by the man who already knew where he was. Listen now to
The Profiler, with Kerry Daynes.




Key psychological themes

This episode explores: manipulative predators • hiding in plain
sight • staged grief and performative empathy • the psychology of
proximity to an investigation • how communities mis-read
familiarity as safety




Contributors featured in this episode

•       Kerry
Daynes — Forensic psychologist, presenter, and
author of Dark Side of the Mind and What Lies
Buried.


•       Roy
Rainford — former detective who led the
investigation into Jamie’s disappearance.


•       Asif
Hussain – former police family liaison officer who
first raised suspicions about Vickers.


•       Jeff
Anderson, former Head of News, ITV Granada


•       David Ward
— former Guardian journalist who interviewed
Vickers before he became the prime suspect.




What you'll learn in this episode

•       Why some predators
move toward an investigation rather than away from it — and what
that behaviour reveals about their psychology


•       How Vickerss used
everyday roles — bus driver, neighbour, helper — to gain access
to the Lavis family


•       What Kerry Daynes
calls "performative empathy": the way manipulative offenders
mimic grief to disarm suspicion


•       Why the small town
familiarity that should have protected Jamie became the cover
that allowed his killer to operate


•       How the case changed
the way Greater Manchester Police thought about volunteers in
missing-child investigations




Relevant links and further reading

•       Kerry Daynes
— Dark Side of the Mind (Endeavour, 2019)


•       Kerry Daynes
— What Lies Buried (Endeavour, 2021)


•       http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/326657.stm  —
BBC News archive: contemporary coverage of the Jamie Lavis case


•       https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/disturbing-picture-shows-how-evil-15392826  —
Manchester Evening News: "The Disturbing Picture Which Shoes How
An Evil Child Killer Wormed His way Into His Victim’s Family”


•       Support for families
of missing or murdered children — Missing People
(UK) • Victim Support




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Visit theprofiler.co.uk

For an exclusive filmed interview with Kerry
Daynes on the cases behind the series — including
untold detail on the Jamie Lavis investigation —
visit theprofiler.co.uk. Subscribe to the newsletter for
case updates, parole-hearing alerts, and early access to new
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Credits

•       Presented by Kerry
Daynes


•       Produced by Shearwater
Media


•       Executive producers:
Jeff Anderson and Steve Anderson


•       Editing and Music by
Rob Warner




Content note

This episode contains descriptions of the abduction and murder of
a child. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you have
been affected by the issues raised, support is available from the
NSPCC (0808 800 5000) and Victim Support (0808 168 9111).


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