Julie MacKay

Julie Mackay joined the police in 1988 at a time when women weren’t permitted to work alone on nights and a Detective Superintendent felt like an impossible ambition. She retired having achieved exactly that - leading a tri-force murder team across the Southwest. Her career was defined by homicide investigation, and a lifelong fascination with the cases she worked, and one she could never fully explain, ultimately led her with Robert Murphy to write To Hunt a Killer. She describes herself as someone who simply told the story. It won the True Crime Award, inspired the acclaimed ITV drama Gone, and her podcast To Catch a Killer has exceeded one million downloads.

Since retirement she has worked as an expert witness, independent Domestic Homicide Review Chair and author, and Home Office statutory reviewer. She also serves as a trustee with a number of charities. Away from work, she has a passion for horses and wild swimming.