It’s just that bit unsettling to see the April 2019 shooting death of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry repackaged as midweek true crime fodder. But for those who can reconcile themselves to the idea of tragedy-as-entertainment, the first episode of The Murder Detective (Channel 4, Wednesday, 9pm) offers a fascinating deep dive into the police investigation into the killing of the 29-year-old reporter and the suspected involvement of the New IRA in Derry.The story is told from the perspective of bullish detective Jason Murphy, the Welsh-born head of major investigations at the PSNI. Because this is for British television, there is, of course, a tiresome segment at the end where he is required to explain the basics of a conflict unfolding in what is supposedly an integral part of the United Kingdom. “The Troubles were a conflict over the status of Northern Ireland,” he reveals. The grim truth is that this may well come as a news flash to at least some of the C4 audience.The most shocking element of the documentary is footage shown of a 2019 MTV series presenter Reggie Yates was making at the time about the impact of Brexit along the Border. He was spending time with republicans in the sprawling Creggan estate in Derry when reports of an incoming police raid resulted in the disturbances in which McKee was killed, struck by a bullet fired from the scrum of rioters and which ricocheted off a police van.McKee’s sister, Nichola Corner, is in little doubt that the riots were instigated for the cameras – in other words, the New IRA was doing it all just to impress the documentary makers. “The grand finale was the gunman coming out and shooting up the street,” she says. “My sister’s murder was a grand finale for MTV.”Because true crime can never just be about the crime, the programme delves into the life story of Murphy, who moved to the North after marrying an Irish woman. “People ask me what it’s like to work over here,” he says. “Once you’ve worked here, nothing will ever scare you in policing ever again.”The documentary has been endorsed by Lyra’s sister, Nichola, who hopes it will help to secure justice for her sister (in July, three men were found not guilty of her murder). Whether or not that proves the case, The Murder Detective makes for bleak viewing – and footage of a young Lyra presenting a documentary in Belfast is horribly bittersweet. Her bright future was taken from her – and the idea that she could have been the victim of a possible stunt staged for MTV is too awful to contemplate.