It is 10.02am on a hazy Sunday morning in June, and a packed room of eager faces stares intently at the crime expert in front of them. ‘The number of children with murder convictions has increased 300% in eight years,’ she states.
The hundreds of people – mainly women – she is speaking to, sit on neatly lined-up black chairs in a windowless presentation room within a nondescript London exhibition centre. And they barely react to the statistic; there’s every chance they were already aware.
Among attendees is a teenager with a cardigan embroidered with smiley faces, an older lady with grey hair elegantly styled into a low bun, who has a notebook resting on her lap, and a middle-aged woman in a practical cream fleece.
The unlikely bunch are some of the country’s most hardcore true crime enthusiasts, who have paid between £230 and £765 (the most expensive VIP ticket includes extras like bar access and time with guest speakers) to learn more about the worst parts of humanity at the London true crime convention, CrimeCon.
It’s my first time attending the conference, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
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Sitting nervously in the audience of my first session, I listen to the heartbreaking case of Samantha Madgin, who was killed at 18 in a random knife attack. Sharing her story are the teenager’s sister, Carly, and mother, Alison, who share their unimaginable pain. At one point, Alison takes a moment to compose herself, and the room hangs in silence aside from the fizz-click of a Diet Coke can being opened in the audience.
After the talk, the group politely files out of the double doors and move onto their next chosen activity. There are seven 45-minute sessions, with around three options for each time slot on both Saturday and Sunday. The choices can be viewed by waving a phone over the QR code displayed on the laminated cardboard hanging from the black lanyards that are part of the attendee uniform.
Choosing the 11:15am – 12pm activity is a difficult decision, I am told by Amy, a university student, who is here with her mum, Samantha, on their annual bonding day.
People are scrambling between Walking into Your Own Murder, led by Natalie Queiroz MBE, who describes being attacked by her disguised partner when heavily pregnant (the session ends up achieving one of the only standing ovations of the weekend), or Killers, Cults and Queens: The Darkest Cults, which has RuPaul’s Drag Race star Cheryl (formerly Cheryl Hole), on the stage.
The final option, The Truth About True Crime and Crime News: What are YOUR ethical responsibilities? isn’t quite as popular. Despite around a thousand people gathering at the event held at 133 Houndsditch across two days, around 20 have chosen to listen.
Fearing that this unusual and fun day out might be at other people’s expense, I opt for the less popular session to see if it could ease my guilt.
A few rows from the front is accountant Cheryl, whose hand points high into the air when Dr. Bethany Usher asks for the crowd’s thoughts. A man in black runs through the aisle to deliver a microphone, and she quickly launches into a passionate speech: ‘People think being a true crime fan is about glorifying killers or cannibals, but that’s not what this is about.
‘I’m hearing stories from victims and how they’ve influenced changes. That’s what we’re interested in. It’s so nice to be here among like-minded people today.’
This message is echoed by Nancy Baughen, who founded the UK event in 2020, following the success of the American counterpart, which launched three years earlier.
‘When I started CrimeCon, I was a bit concerned,’ she tells Metro, acknowledging that true crime can be a bit of a dirty word.
‘I worried that people were going to say they love serial killers, and they’d be looking to find out more about the blood and gore in a sensationalist way. But I’m delighted with the direction that we’ve taken CrimeCon and our ethics.’
Nancy highlights that having victims and their families willingly participate is one of the biggest pieces of evidence of how respectful they are. ‘They are so grateful for the opportunity to share their story in a live environment with an audience who are sympathetic and want to make change,’ she explains.
One of the event’s past speakers is Ann Ming, who lobbied for a change to the double jeopardy law after juries twice failed to reach a verdict on her daughter Julie Hogg’s killer, William Dunlop. When he bragged to a prison officer about killing her while inside for another crime, she campaigned tirelessly to abolish the law that meant a person could only be tried twice for the same crime. She spoke about her important work at last year’s CrimeCon.
‘I was on the phone to Ann just this morning,’ adds Nancy. ‘I’m still very close to her.’
Although the event messaging is clear on being ‘respectful’ and ‘not sensationalist’, the question remains – can a group of strangers gathering to talk about ‘the worst day of someone’s life’, as Nancy puts it, ever be completely unproblematic? I questioned this further when I spot one of the few men walking across the grey patterned carpet in a dark top that has ‘Scottish murders’ written on it. I’m relieved when I discover it is linked to a podcast of the same name that relentlessly seeks justice for murder victims.
Dr Julia Shaw – who presented the Murder in Mind talk, which delved into the psychological triggers behind some of the most horrific crimes at 10:15am on Saturday morning, then went on to World’s Most Evil Killers: Does the Time Fit the Crime? (self-explanatory) at 12:35pm – argues that there are strong benefits to the fans and experts meeting.
‘Criminologists spend all our time in labs and talking to offenders, and what we ideally want to do is to distribute that knowledge to people so it’s not just sort of stuck in an ivory tower,’ she tells Metro. ‘Fans have real knowledge too, so they can help us see things in different ways.’
Adding to the list of positives, she explains that it’s ‘valuable’ to understand why people become murderous. ‘It is easy for people to consider criminals as monsters, but that is both untrue and harmful. Evil empathy, as I call it, is crucial for a functioning society. It pushes you to think, “Could I do something like this?” When you’re thinking through the steps that might get you to this darkness, you can backtrack and go, “Oh, I should avoid this”.
‘More men should become involved in the true crime industry for this reason. It’s currently around 65% women, 35% men when it comes to consumption. Women tend to be drawn to it more as we like to know why, and because true crime is seen as a female thing, it’s not respected as much as it should be.
‘CrimeCon is also just a good time,’ she adds with a smile ahead of her debut.
In the afternoon, I head to Stalking: The Hidden Threat, followed by the Pitcairn Trials, which recounts the case that saw seven men on the island, around one-third of the whole male population, face 55 charges related to sexual offences against children and young adults.
The continual dark subject matter and repeated reminders that anyone can be a victim lead me to start worrying that someone could walk into the room, march right past the wheel that you can spin to win prizes (such as 10% off next year’s tickets), and hurt me.
Mid-spiral, I meet besties Beth and Janelle, and share my concern. Mental health nurse Janelle assures me that her heavy consumption of true crime means that she’s confident in being able to ‘de-escalate’ the situation. She is certainly putting in the hours – the pair were late to day two of the conference, as they stayed up past midnight listening to true crime podcasts.
At the afternoon breaktime, I spot packed lunches being pulled from rucksacks, but due to my lack of meal prep, I am fueled solely by the free lattes, Fruittellas and mini Tony’s Chocolate bars.
CrimeConers knew to bring in their own food, as for many, this isn’t their first time, and it certainly won’t be their last. During the day, I speak to at least twenty people, and nobody has been less than three times.
People have travelled far and wide today too; the furthest is perhaps Christie, who extended a trip from Australia so she could meet other people who are also part of a private fan group for criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards. She later begins her session on coercive control by saying: ‘I’m sure a lot of you know who I am’.
Visitors can spend extra money buying books by criminology experts and then queue to get them signed, often using their time together to express their adoration. They can also part with money at a merch stand, where black hoodies with the CrimeCon fingerprint logo hang off a lone rail. It is positioned directly in front of the elevators where people initially enter the space.
During my final session, The Reality of Lethal Crime, leading criminologist Professor David Wilson presents his murderous facts like the kitchen being the most likely room where someone is going to be murdered with pizazz. ‘The kitchen block is the AK-47,’ he remarks.
He also makes an effort to appreciate his audience. ‘Nicola Bulley’s body was found because of a psychic. Armchair detectives are important,’ he says, the room nodding in agreement. ‘Thank you for the work that you’re doing to make the world a better place.’
I find that speakers want to highlight societal issues to lower crime rates, while fans have a desire to learn and help. It’s not about celebrating criminals, it’s about doing better. For instance, in the stalking seminar, I’m told how joking, ‘Have you been stalking me?’ if you bump into someone you know is trivialising a very serious issue. It’s not something I’d given thought to before, but I certainly will not be using it ever again.
After thunderous applause for David Wilson, I stand up to leave and spot that my cardboard CrimeCon pass has become detached from my lanyard and now lies discarded on the floor.
Metharophical, perhaps, indicating it’s time to move on. As I head to the Algate tube station, I leave behind this unique world, wondering if I’ll return… but I do check over my shoulder a few times.
Tickets are available here for CrimeCon Manchester, which is taking place on September 27 2025 and CrimeCon London on October 3 and 4, 2026.
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