Murder trial of Ipswich's Dr Brenda Page in BBC documentary

Dr Brenda Page, a former Northgate School student, was killed by her ex-husband Christopher Harrisson in Aberdeen back in 1978.

The first episode of the two-part series Murder Trial: The Killing of Dr Brenda Page was broadcast on BBC Two on Wednesday evening.

Dr Page, a genetics expert at the University of Aberdeen, was 32 when she was found dead at her home in Allan Street in the city on July 14, 1978.

It took several decades before fellow scientist Harrisson, known as Kit, was arrested and charged with her murder, with the couple having divorced a year before her death.

Dr Page was a former Northgate School student (Image: Newsquest)

He was caught after semen found at Dr Page's flat matched his profile.

Harrisson, who claimed he was not at Dr Page's flat at the time she was killed, was found guilty of murder at the High Court in Aberdeen and jailed for life, with a minimum term of 20 years.

Murder Trial: The Killing of Dr Brenda Page features interviews with several key figures involved in the trial and details their efforts to secure a conviction.

Alex Prentice, KC, prosecuting, features prominently in the documentary – with clips from the courtroom showing him setting out the Crown's case against Harrisson.

He said the divorce "ought to have been a complete severance between the two of them, but I will need to show that it was not the case – in fact, Dr Harrisson persisted in his attempts to be with Dr Page".

Harrisson was jailed for life for murder (Image: Police Scotland)

During the trial, Mr Prentice questioned several of Dr Page's neighbours about noises they heard in the days from her flat leading up to the murder.

He also revealed how he managed to demonstrate to the jury how Harrison had subjected Dr Page to a prolonged campaign of domestic abuse that ultimately culminated in her death.

Mr Prentice said: "I needed to explain the nature of an abusive relationship. In this case, there were occasions where Dr Page appeared, on the surface at least, to be content to be in Dr Harrisson's company.

"And that, of course, brings a certain consistency in the evidence which I will have to address.

"It's always a challenge in a case like this where you have witnesses seeing Dr Page and Dr Harrisson together on friendly terms, doing things together.

"But behind closed doors, domestic abuse was taking place.

"I will suggest, in addition to the coercive control, Kit Harrisson was very jealous of any relationship that Brenda Page would have had with anyone else."

During the trial, Mr Prentice questioned a friend of Dr Page – who said the scientist had run into financial difficulties and taken part-time escort work.

DI James Callander, the senior investigating officer for the case, told the documentary about the lengths he and his team went to bring Harrisson to justice.

He revealed police had taken almost 3,500 statements and photographs had been taken over the years "in the hope that one day we would bring it to trial".

On a visit to the flat where Dr Page was found dead, DI Callander said: "She had a good job, she was young, she was living in a really vibrant city at the time.

"This should have been the start of her new life – but it didn't work out like that for her."