Body In The Snow on Channel 5 explores the horrific murder of 25-year-old Joanna Yeates in Bristol in 2010 – but where is her killer Vincent Tabak now?
For eight days, Joanna was missing, having vanished from her flat leaving her wallet, keys and phone behind.
She was discovered on Christmas morning in the snow by a couple walking their dog. There were 43 injuries on Joanna’s body, and she had been strangled.
So why did Tabak kill her, how was he caught and how did he manage to evade police for so long?
Here are the facts about the man who murdered the landscape architect Joanna Yeates.
Read more: What happened to Joanna Yeates’ boyfriend Greg?
Who is Vincent Tabak?
Vincent Tabak was born on February 10, 1978 in the Netherlands.
A Dutch engineer, he had lived and worked in the UK since 2007.
Those who met him say he was a very quiet, introverted loner.
He met his first steady girlfriend Tanja Elisabeth Morson in 2008, via The Guardian’s dating site Soulmates.
The couple moved to a flat in Canynge Road, Bristol, in June 2009.
Joanna Yeates and her partner Greg Reardon lived in the same block of flats.
Why and how did Vincent Tabak kill Joanna Yeates?
Vincent Tabak strangled Joanna Yeates to death on December 17, 2010 in Clifton, Bristol.
A couple walking their dogs found her body on Christmas Day 2010 in Failand, Somerset.
The pathologist who carried out the autopsy found no evidence that Joanna was sexually assaulted.
After killing Joanna, Tabak put her body in the boot of his car and drove to a country road just outside Bristol, where he left her body on a verge near a quarry.
Only Tabak knows why he killed Joanna Yeates.
However, the judge accused Tabak of having committed the attack based on sexual thrills.
In the months leading up to Joanna’s death, Tabak had used his computer to research escort agencies during business trips in the United Kingdom and United States, and contacted several sex workers by phone.
He also watched violent internet pornography that depicted women being controlled by men, showing images of them being bound and gagged, held by the neck and choked.
It emerged that Joanna had sustained 43 injuries in the lead-up to her death – including cuts, bruises and a fractured nose.
Tabak initially maintained he was not responsible for Joanna Yeates’ death, claiming that any evidence linking him to the crime had been fabricated by corrupt officials.
However, he later told Peter Brotherton, a prison chaplain, that he had killed her and intended to plead guilty.
On May 5 2011, Vincent Tabak pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Joanna Yeates, but denied murdering her.
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How did Vincent Tabak evade capture for so long?
At first, Vincent Tabak stayed under the radar as the police questioned their prime suspect – Joanna Yeates’ landlord Christopher Jefferies.
Police arrested Christopher Jefferies – who lived in another flat in the same building as Joanna – on December 30, 2010 on suspicion of her murder.
He was taken to a local police station for questioning while forensic investigators inspected his flat.
Investigators detained him as a suspect for two days, and eventually released him on bail.
On March 2011, police released him from bail and stated he was no longer a suspect.
Tabak had been instrumental in framing Christopher, by telling police that Jefferies had been using his car on the night of December 17, 2010.
How did Vincent Tabak get caught?
The Avon and Somerset Constabulary arrested Vincent Tabak, then 32, on January 20, 2011.
He lived with his girlfriend in the flat next door to Joanna.
This followed an anonymous tip from a female caller, shortly after a televised appeal by Yeates’ parents on Crimewatch.
Police had previously ruled Tabak out as a suspect during an earlier stage of the investigation, and he was able to visit his family in the Netherlands.
DNA tests linked Tabak to Joanna Yeates’ body.
Police charged Tabak with Joanna’s murder after two days of questioning.
Where is Vincent Tabak now?
Vincent Tabak is, at the time of writing, 44 years old.
The judge found Tabak guilty of murder on October 28, 2011, and sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Field referred to a “sexual element” to the killing.
Tabak was moved from Bristol Prison because of fears for his safety, and was placed under suicide watch at Long Lartin Prison near Evesham.
After the trial it emerged that pornographic images of children had been found on Tabak’s laptop.
On March 2 2015, Tabak pleaded guilty to possessing more than 100 indecent images of children.
A judge subsequently sentenced Tabak to 10 months in prison, to run concurrently with his existing life sentence for murder.
He is reportedly now in HMP Winchester, having been moved from maximum security Wakefield prison, but his demands to be sent back to the Netherlands have so far been refused.
What is Body in the Snow: The Murder of Joanna Yeates?
Body in the Snow: The Murder of Joanna Yeates is a true-crime documentary from Channel 5 which examines the murder of Joanna Yeates and the subsequent hunt for killer, Vincent Tabak.
The programme explores the police investigation and the events that surrounded it in forensic detail, including powerful testimony from key witnesses, detectives and those at the heart of the case.
The documentary – originally entitled Body in the Snow: Joanna Yeates – first aired in two parts last year.
Documentary Body in the Snow: The Murder of Joanna Yeates is on Tuesday, October 18 at 10pm and available to watch on My5.
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