Suvechha Sarkar
Catherine Alice Marlow, affectionately known as Mouse, was a loving daughter and a compassionate friend. The 28-year-old had built an impressive life for herself in South London, England, but she never imagined that it would come to an abrupt halt. On January 13, 2007, she was found dead in one of her office shower cubicles. The episode titled ‘Overtime Overkill’ of HLN’s ‘Vengeance: Killer Coworkers’ revisits the case, which raised serious questions about workplace relationships. The episode further unpacks the investigative insights through in-depth interviews with the law enforcement officials who helped solve the crime.
Catherine Marlow Was Working in Her London Office When She Was Killed
Catherine Alice Marlow, lovingly known as Mouse, arrived in the world as a bundle of joy on July 28, 1978. She received immeasurable love from her parents, Bernard and Claire Marlow. Catherine grew up playing and developing an incredible bond with her brother, Brendan, and sister, Debbie, in New Zealand. According to her loved ones, Catherine was known for her hardworking nature and energetic personality. She was excelling academically at Naenae College before she and her family moved to Hawke’s Bay. Following that, Catherine continued her education at the Taradale High School. Eventually, she entered the workforce by joining an accounting firm. Simultaneously, Catherine was studying part-time at the Eastern Institute of Technology.
Around 2004, Catherine’s love of travel and new experiences led her to move to South London. Shortly after, she joined Research Now, a market research company, as a Finance Manager. Besides her professional engagements, Catherine often took memorable trips to different corners around the world, including Italy and Greece. By January 2007, she made her way to the historical land of Egypt. After returning, Catherine left her apartment around 9 am on January 13, 2007, and went to her office on South Lambeth Road in South London to clear her work backlog due to the holiday. Throughout the day, she spoke with her friends on the phone and over the internet. Around 1:30 pm, Catherine spoke on the phone with her flatmate, Rachel Warren, and planned to meet her at the nearby supermarket.
Rachel grew concerned when Catherine didn’t show up for their 2 pm appointment and couldn’t be reached. It prompted Rachel, Catherine’s co-workers, and friends to search for her. Unfortunately, they discovered Catherine’s remains in one of the shower cubicles of her office, with her scarf tightened around her neck. After authorities were alerted, they rushed to the scene to find a significant amount of blood on the walls and floors. Officials reportedly found that her remains had been moved to the shower cubicle in an attempt to conceal the crime. The autopsy report revealed that she suffered blunt force injuries to her arms, head, and legs. They also recovered DNA evidence from her scarf and under her fingernails. Her cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to a ligature compression to the neck using her scarf.
CCTV Footage and DNA Match Helped Investigators Solve Catherine’s Murder
Initially, authorities spoke with witnesses who saw a “disheveled” man that afternoon, who dumped Catherine’s leather purse into a nearby bin. Her handbag was reportedly recovered by them from Vauxhall Street in Kennington. According to reports, officials learned that the man was approximately 5 feet tall and was white. In the meantime, they arrested one of the colleagues who called the police after discovering Catherine’s remains, but he was fully cleared of suspicion and released. Law enforcement soon tracked another man who stole her credit card, and he pleaded guilty to the theft. Reports state that although another man was arrested on January 19, 2007, he was eventually released on bail. None of those men could be connected to the murder of Catherine.
A breakthrough came when forensic experts recovered DNA evidence under Catherine’s fingernails, which reportedly came from her struggle during the attack. When the DNA was entered into the national database, it matched a man named Matthew Fagan. According to court testimonies, the DNA was present in the database from a November 2005 arrest for a minor public order offense. According to investigative records, detectives also found CCTV footage from the office that captured him leaving with Catherine’s handbag and a bag containing laptops. They soon learned that Matthew had previously lived in Washington and Canada before shifting to Britain in 2000. Furthermore, he was reportedly fired from Research Now on the grounds of incompetence in April 2006.
Reports state that Matthew was heavily in debt and unemployed at the time. When he was brought in for questioning, he reportedly confessed to the burglary of six Dell laptops from the office but claimed that he didn’t kill Catherine. In his statements, Matthew claimed that after the burglary, he had left Catherine with two of his accomplices, John and Gregor. According to records, Matthew told the investigators that when he had entered the office, Catherine recognized him and had fought with him before he claimed to have only tied her up.. He insisted that when he left the office, she was still alive. Despite an intensive investigation, detectives were unable to find any John or Gregor related to the crime. Ultimately, Matthew was arrested in late January 2007 and charged with Catherine’s murder.
Matthew Fagan is Seemingly Incarcerated in a London Prison Today
Following his arrest, Matthew had pleaded not guilty to murder. Hence, the case proceeded to a jury trial in September 2008, during which the prosecution presented several pieces of forensic evidence. They pointed out that the DNA recovered from under Catherine’s office table and fingernails matched the defendant. The prosecution argued that when Matthew was caught on that fateful day, he strangled Catherine with her own scarf and concealed her remains in the shower cubicle. On the other hand, the defense acknowledged his guilt in the burglary of the laptops but claimed that Matthew didn’t commit murder.
The defense alleged that two purported accomplices were responsible for the murder. After a few hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found Matthew guilty of murder on September 30, 2008. After the verdict, the judge noted, “Against a man of your size and strength, she would have stood no chance.” Matthew was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment, with the recommendation of serving a minimum 26-year term before he can be considered eligible for parole, in September 2008. As of writing, Matthew appears to be serving his sentence at a Correctional Facility in London, England.
