‘The Real Manhunter’ Recap: ‘The Murder of Krystal Hart’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of ‘The Real Manhunter’.

When we think of a manhunt in the United States of America, some intense concepts come to mind. Such as a powerhouse car chase through the streets of our cities, and armed officers storming into places where the criminal they’re looking for is hiding and well, those images pop into our heads simply because we’ve seen those kinds of acts take place time and time again when the police are chasing a wanted criminal. But while that’s how we handle our affairs in the good ol’ U.S. of A., it does lead one to wonder exactly how the global community handles a manhunt… since this is all we know and thankfully, the next episode of The Real Manhunter on Acorn TV takes the time to show us how dangerous criminals are hunted in the United Kingdom.

For ‘The Murder of Krystal Hart’ showcases an intense case from Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton’s past, one that came about shortly after Levi Bellfield was put behind bars and well, this particular chase for a dangerous monster… was born out of some sorrowful circumstances. For Krystal Hart, the victim in question, was living her happy life near a neighbor named Angela Brewer, who felt the need to stick her nose in everyone’s business. And to complicate matters further, Angela was friends with a man named Thomas Hughes and that’s important because Thomas was the kind of person who liked to flex up on others and show the world just how hardcore he was and well, another set of disagreements between Krystal and Angela… gave him the chance to really showcase how tough he thought he was. 

Because he saw this spat as an opportunity to solve Angela’s problems once and for all and one fine morning, he stormed toward Krystal’s door with a gun in hand and when she opened said door… he fired twice, killing Krystal and her unborn baby before quickly making a run for it and well, that’s where we came to learn what a manhunt looks like in England. Because once it was established that Thomas was indeed the man that committed this murder through video evidence and testimony, the police had to figure out his whereabouts and bring him in and as it turns out… hunting a dangerous criminal in England is handled by way of a lot of stealth. Because the last thing the police want to do, is elicit panic or give their suspect a chance to cause more harm and that led to a grand search using cell phone pinging to hunt Thomas down.

Which only took the police so far, since they were sadly, a few minutes behind each ping and when the signal went cold and when the last known whereabouts of the signal was thoroughly searched, Colin elicited the help of the general public and that oddly enough, allowed for an armed response team to help bring Thomas in when he made himself known and that in turn, led to his incarceration. Which is another sentence that should have honestly been longer since he took two lives in one fell swoop, but the plus side is… he is rotting in a cell and now the audience knows that manhunts in the United Kingdom… look vastly different than how we handle things stateside. Since they feature a low-key, low risk approach and what’s truly amazing is that they are shockingly effective since Thomas was eventually arrested and charged. 

But what matters most, is that this series continues to find new ways to explore Colin’s illustrious career and that’s a wonderful thing. Because adding angles such as this allows for us to learn as we watch and gain a better understanding of what goes into police work in countries other than our own and that really does make this quite the unique series when all is said and done. Since it refuses to simply be a download and what’s equally as impressive, is that despite lacking a thrilling chase or a dangerous stand-off… this episode still puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. Because Hughes really was a loose and dangerous individual and there was a grave risk that he might escalate the situation further and now that this case has come to an end, it will be quite interesting to see what other unique lessons and cases await us as this season rolls along. Until next time.

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