If you’ve ever watched a true crime documentary, you’ll know that the genre plays on one basic fear: coming face-to-face with evil.
Most of us watch these shows hoping that we’ll never have to encounter this, or that we’ll at least be a little more prepared if we do.
For forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes though, this is an almost daily experience.
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In fact, the expert told UNILAD that she was once locked in a cell with a murderer and rapist for a ‘joke’ by prison guards.
It happened in the mid-nineties, just after the psychologist had graduated university.
Whilst most of us were enjoying the Spice Girls and Nintendo 64, Daynes spent 1996 in a maximum-security prison and was tasked with interviewing rapists-turned-killers.
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Looking back, she now admits that she was too naïve to investigate the sadistic crimes and was armed only with her degree and a questionnaire to guide her.
“There were things on that questionnaire that I'd never heard of. Things that you could do with a dead body, that I didn't know could happen,” she explained to UNILAD, adding: “I think that that experience for them must have been like having the adult chatline brought to them in a prison cell.”
The misogynistic culture was also rife among some prison staff, to with officers deciding to play a cruel prank on Daynes – locking the then-21-year-old in a cell with a notorious murderer and rapist.
"They decided that it would be funny to lock the cell door. So when it came to me, coming out, obviously, I couldn't get out," she told UNILAD, recalling the moment she discovered she was trapped.
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Desperate to defuse the dangerous situation, Daynes sat back down and tried to brush off the incident, saying: “Oh, we're gonna have to wait until an officer can hear us and unlock the door.”
Continuing, she said: "The inmate very quickly realised that I'm locked in a cell with him - realises how uncomfortable I am, which I think is entertaining to him."
Eager to have his fun, the prisoner leant across the desk and attempted to stroke her neck.
In the distance, another inmate heard what was going on, called for help and told the young psychologist that an officer was on their way.
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The Good Samaritan then shouted across the cell: “You better look after her in there, because we'll be seeing you when you come out.”
Fifteen minutes later, Daynes was free.
Despite the terrifying start to her career, the TV psychologist has gone on to examine the minds of notorious killers in Faking It.
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Airing on Discovery+, the true crime series looks at the gestures, behavioural patterns and slips that prove the criminal’s guilt long before they stand trial.
Despite the forensic psychologist nearly being involved in her own terrifying cat-and-mouse situation, she revealed that cases are rarely like this in real life.
“We don't look to break anybody…. that's not part of the job description. And we don't play cat and mouse games,” she revealed.
In the first episode, the forensic psychologist investigates Paul Hemming and Martin Corns – two men who killed women they ‘loved’ in crimes that shocked the nation.
While their crimes are incomprehensible to most of us, Daynes stated that their crimes followed models which can easily spotted by trained professionals.
You can see psychologist at work in the latest series of Faking It on Discovery+.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact RAINN via its helpline on 800 656 HOPE (4673) or its online chat, available 24/7 seven days a week.
Topics: Crime, Film and TV, UK News, True crime