Killer Of My Four Children Could Be Released

What happens when a controlling partner cuts off all contact and completely vanishes with your children? In this devastating episode of 'Aftermath', Daisy Maskell sits down with Michael Tranter, a grieving father breaking his silence for the first time in a long-form video interview to uncover the dark reality behind one of Britain's most shocking family massacres.   In 1995, Michael arrived at his ex-partner Lesley’s house for a weekend visit, only to discover she and his four young children: Sarah Jane, Anne Marie, Stephen Paul, and Craig Jonathan; had vanished overnight without a trace. In an era before social media and mobile phones, they completely fell off the face of the earth. For five agonizing years, Michael frantically searched for his kids, unaware that Lesley had remarried a highly manipulative, controlling man named Lee Ford.   The horrifying truth finally unraveled in October 2000. Following a missing person's report, a grim police forensic search exposed a monstrous crime hidden on a Cornwall property. Lee Ford had brutally murdered his wife and systematically drugged and strangled his four stepchildren, hiding their bodies under a pile of logs in a woodshed and buried deep inside a potato field.   Now, with Lee Ford approaching parole eligibility and the very real threat of him walking free, Michael shares his ongoing torment, the catastrophic failures of social services safeguarding, and the public petition fighting to keep an evil predator behind bars for life. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: The Shocking Murder of the Ford Family 01:24 The Nightmare of Separated Parents 02:22 How Michael and Lesley Met in Telford 03:40 The New Man Steps In 04:31 Disappearing Without a Trace 07:06 A Voice at the End of the Line 09:00 The Caretaker's Dark Lies 10:24 The Official Missing Persons Report & The Arrest 11:42 The Woodshed & Potato Field 13:48 How the Killings Happened 16:20 Guilty Plea 17:15 The Failed Social Services Call 18:19 Michael’s Active Petition 21:21 Facing Unanswered Questions 22:23 Fond Memories: Remembering Lesley and the Children Help Michael keep his family's killer behind bars. Sign the official public petition here:https://www.change.org/p/government-ensure-a-killer-stays-inside-never-comes-out If you have been affected by any of the themes in this video, confidential support is available. Please search online and find what will work best for you. Some archive material used in this episode is included under fair dealing for the purposes of criticism/review and / or quotations (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988). All sources are credited below:  Video Police videos from crime scene ITV News https://www.itv.com/news/central/2021-11-15/he-took-five-lives-family-of-murder-victims-say-killer-should-not-be-released Image 2x photos of Lesley with Lee The Cinemaholic https://thecinemaholic.com/lesley-ford/ image Photos of Leslie by herself and photos of kids The Sun/Triangle News https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16818959/husband-killed-wife-four-children-release-prison/ image Wedding photo The Mirror https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-tranter-dad-of-four-children-1484091 #LeeFord #TrueCrime #KeyWitness #DaisyMaskell #Aftermath #TrueCrimeDocumentary #UKCrime #BristolCrownCourt #Cornwall #JusticeForFamilies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices