Forensic Files

This episode covers the 1993 disappearance and murder of twenty-year-old Bobby Kent in Weston, Florida, whose death was the work of seven people. The case, which became well known, is also the subject of a book and a movie.

A young sailor named Billy Bosko married his high school sweetheart, Michelle Moore Bosko. When he returns to his home port of Norfolk, Virginia on July 8, 1997, he finds his 19-year-old bride lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She…

Beginning in December 1990, police uncover a string of murdered prostitutes. Each victim has had her eyes carved out. Charles Albright was eventually convicted of murder in 1991.

Several monks are massacred at a Buddhist temple in Arizona in 1991. Four men from Tucson, referred to as the "Tucson Four", were initially charged with the crime and gave confessions under controversial conditions, including the actual…

Over 40 years after the 1963 assassination of president John F. Kennedy, a majority of Americans still believe that there was a cover-up. Was Lee Harvey Oswald the sole gunman? Could one bullet pass through both the president and governor…

The 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. is reviewed.

A look back on 25 years of Forensic Files/Medical Detectives, featuring interviews with key figures behind the scenes as well as highlights of favored episodes and scenes.

The case of missing stewardess Helle Craft is recounted. Although her body was never recovered, police used forensic evidence to charge her husband with murder. It became the first murder conviction without a body in Connecticut.

At the Dallas 'Pistol & Revolver' club in 1991, Trey Cooley, a young spectator, was watching a shooting competition, seated behind an air gun range. He was struck and killed by a stray bullet. See how ballistics, lasers, and forensic…

Caren Campano disappeared and her husband, Chris became the prime suspect -- especially after police found a huge bloodstain on the Campano's bedroom carpet. When they sprayed the bedroom with Luminol, they discovered it was awash with…

The first case to use DNA evidence is detailed. In 1983 Leicester, England, police were stymied by a rape/murder of a 15-year-old girl; three years later, faced with a similar crime, they turned to Dr. Alec Jeffreys, a molecular biologist…

Single mother Denise Johnson is found dead in a deserted area outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Local investigators ask a molecular geneticist to pick out a tree in a 'lineup' when unidentified seed pods are found in suspect Mark Bogan's…

The U.S. criminal justice system's first use of DNA profiling in a serial murder case frees an innocent man after he spent two years in prison, and convicts the real killer. FBI psychological profiling and DNA evidence identify the man…

Legionnaires' disease is one of the most famous medical detective stories, especially irritating for its missteps and frustrations. When 180 Legionnaires contract pneumonia-like symptoms after a Philadelphia Convention and 29 of them die,…

On the night of May 22, 1992, Betty Wilson returned home after a meeting. She walked up the stairs to the bedroom and discovered her husband, Eye doctor Jack Wilson, beaten and stabbed to death, lying in a pool of blood with a baseball…

Troubling clusters of deadly cancer cases strike concerned communities across the country. In a Phoenix suburb, too many children are fatally stricken with leukemia and, on a Connecticut street, there is a disproportionate amount of…

Between 1985 and 1988, 18 people were choked, molested and left for dead in the remote desert mountains of California. The only witnesses were the insects – and they also proved to play an important role in solving the crimes.

Alarmingly high levels of thyroid hormones pump through the systems of South Dakota residents. Investigators study one family who all got sick, except their 12-year-old son who is a vegetarian.

In 1971, John List left a note with the bodies of his mother, wife, and three children in his mansion ballroom, funeral organ music blaring from a central sound system, and disappeared. Eighteen years later, all detectives had to work…

Escherichia coli (E-coli) bacteria can be found in meats, milk and in water. When food is properly processed, prepared and stored, E-Coli are harmless. But in the absence of these simple precautions, E-Coli can have deadly consequences.…

The year was 1984, and a serial killer was on the loose in Florida. Eight women had been found dead. At each crime scene, investigators found tiny red fibers, fibers they hoped would lead them to the killer.

In this classic episode of Forensic Files, the longest running true crime series in television history, Eileen and Derrick Severs disappeared from their home in the small village of Hambleton in Great Britain, and police found evidence…

It was the single, most deadly automobile accident in American history. Almost a hundred vehicles were involved, twelve people died, and more than fifty people were injured. It happened along a three mile stretch of highway long known…

While Earl Morris was vacationing in California, he learned his wife had gone missing from their home in Arizona. The search for Ruby Morris involved dozens of investigators and scientists, even the coast guard. And the results of that…

The flu-like symptoms of a mother and her children proved to be indicative something much more serious: thallium poisoning. Investigators had to find the source of the poison... and when the mother died, to determine if the exposure was…

In a quiet village in Great Britain, a farmer came upon a chilling sight. Impaled on his fence post was a severed lamb’s head along with a note which read, “You next.” The author of the note didn’t elaborate on why the farmer had been…

An infant was rushed to a Cleveland emergency room with serious breathing problems. The baby’s lungs were bleeding, a life threatening, extremely rare condition. Within months, there were more than 30 cases – an incidence more than a…

Shortly after daybreak in Vancouver, British Columbia, a fire was set in a dumpster. No one saw either the arsonist or the fire, and it burned for hours in the deserted parking lot. But there was more than garbage in the container, and…

Two people in Seattle, Washington died after taking an over-the-counter pain reliever; lab analysis of the pills showed they were tainted with a lethal concentration of cyanide. The investigation which followed led police to a suspect…

For more than a year, angry, hateful letters were sent to a first grade school teacher in a small town in Pennsylvania. When scientists analyzed the letters, they found evidence that the stalker knew a lot about the victim - more, in…

On October 15, 1985, two bomb explosions rocked Salt Lake City and resulted in two deaths. A third explosion occurred the next day; this time, the victim was injured but survived. As the investigation progressed, police came to believe…

After a day of fishing in a small, quiet village in Switzerland, a teenage boy did not return home as planned. The investigation revealed some important microscopic evidence in the water near where he was last seen. It was the only…

In the spring of 1993, an unexplained illness struck the residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Four hundred thousand people developed a serious gastrointestinal illness, 4,000 were hospitalized and, by the time the epidemic was under…

In Omaha, the deaths of a child and a truck driver in the same hospital on the same day are investigated to see if there is a link between them.

In the mid-1980s, bodies of nude woman were found in remote hill of California. The killer gags and molests prostitutes, cuts their clothes in random patterns and cuts off their hair; microscopic evidence helps solve the case.

In 1987, a human skull and some bones were discovered at a Boy Scout Camp near Farmington, Missouri. A facial reconstruction aided the investigators in this case. Once the victim was identified as Bun Chee Nyhuis, her husband Richard H.…

Between 1986 and 1989, a disease swept through British cattle herds, which came to be known as Mad Cow disease. Scientists began to suspect that this was somehow related to some human illness. A California neurologist said both humans and…

A serial bomber was waging a vendetta against the legal profession: a judge, two attorneys, and even a courthouse had been targeted. Employing a range of forensic techniques, investigators used evidence from the bombs to lead them to the…

Robert Sims returned home after working the night shift, and found his wife, Paula, unconscious on the kitchen floor. Their two-year-old son, Randy, was asleep in an upstairs bedroom, but their six-week-old daughter, Heather, was missing.…

The shooting of a man during a hunting trip is reopened years after the incident, and the victim's hunting partner becomes a suspect.

A possible case of Munchhausen syndrome is investigated after an infant dies of what appears to be toxic levels of antifreeze in his system.

Early one fall morning, Laura Houghteling left her Bethesda home and walked to the station to take a train to work. She was never seen again. A peculiar strand of hair found in Laura’s hairbrush enabled investigators to unravel the…

Edward Honaker was convicted of rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual battery; he was sentenced to three life terms in prison. Honaker steadfastly maintained his innocence. After years in prison and writing countless letters, he finally…

On September 17, 1984, in a suburb of Tucson, Arizona, eight-year-old Vicki Hoskins left home on her pink bicycle to mail a letter for her mother. She never returned, but her slightly damaged bicycle was found nearby. Investigators…

When a two-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital suffering from brain seizures and breathing difficulties, doctors could not find the cause of his illness. Then the boy’s sister provided an important clue, and raised the possibility of…

On a cold December night in 1993, Rose Larner stopped in a convenience store on her way to her boyfriend’s house. She was never seen or heard from again. Rose’s disappearance remained a mystery, until a tiny clue found years later…

In 1996, police received a call from Darlie Routier telling them of her two sons' murders. However, investigators were not certain about the validity of Darlie's story and began an intensive search of the crime scene. The police found out…

Scott Dunn was missing and when the police sprayed his bedroom with Luminol, a scene of horrific violence emerged. Now investigators faced a daunting task: to prove Scott Dunn had been murdered, even though they had no body, no weapon,…

A 1995 fire razes the mansion of Kansas doctor Debora Green, killing two of her three children; disturbing accounts from her ex-husband, Mike Farrar, lead investigators to believe she set the blaze herself.

In 1990, Shirley Andronowich's body was found one morning after she was murdered and mutilated. Eyewitnesses told police Shirley and her husband Ed were seen fighting in a bar the night before. Police first suspected Ed and even arrested…

Sometime during a neighborhood Christmas party, five-year-old Melissa Brannen disappeared. No one saw where she went or noticed anything unusual. Investigators turned to forensic science to help them see what the witnesses missed. The…

When a Pennsylvania man checks into a hospital for leg pain and later dies of thallium poisoning, police investigate his wife and find her in the process of collecting an insurance payment for her previous husband's death.

When a sexual predator murders two young boys in Nebraska within three months of each other, an obscure style of rope and forensic analysis lead to his arrest and conviction.

Mark Fair left for work and his fiancée Karla Brown stayed home. Later, Mark found Karla dead. Karla's body told police that she was a victim of sexual assault. During the autopsy, they were able to re-examine bite marks on her body. A…

Clayton Johnson, a Nova Scotia schoolteacher, left for work on the morning of February 20, 1989. At 7.40 AM, the school bus arrived to pick up the Johnson children. At 7.51 Mrs. Molloy arrived to drop off her child at the Johnson home.…

In 1996, more than a dozen children in Seattle, Washington, were fighting for their lives. Each one of them had contracted a serious illness, and no one knew what it was. When one of the children died, investigators knew the clock was…

Lori Keidel, her two sisters and her brother were left home alone while their father went to a nearby laundromat. Suddenly, a large fire engulfed their brick ranch home. Only a few months earlier, the children's mother had disappeared and…

Young Navajos on a reservation in the Southwest were dying at an alarming rate. CDC officials had never seen anything like it; the mysterious illness had claimed the lives of more than 20 people. The tribe's medicine men provided…

Edward Post left the Omni Hotel and went for a forty minute run. Before leaving, he said that he drew a bath for his wife. When he returned, he found her in the bathtub, not breathing. She was dead by the time emergency response arrived.…

For more than a decade, women in a small Louisiana city lived in fear of a serial rapist. Fortunately, computer technology and behavioral science combined to give police a new forensic tool: geographical profiling. Police narrow their…

When the wife of a well-known dentist is found dead, police are unsure who killed her. Some fibers and a study of the weather patterns on the night of the murder break the case open and reveal the real killer.

When a young mother and her infant son are found dead in a cornfield, the obvious suspect is the husband and father of the victims. But some insects found on the bodies reveal a vital clue, as does a long, blonde hair found on the victims.

When a decomposed body is discovered inside a barrel, police immediately suspect foul play. But the body had been placed there 30 years earlier. One of the few clues was an address book found along with the body but years of moisture…

In this classic episode of Forensic Files, the longest running true crime series in television history, a Seattle policeman’s home is destroyed by an arsonist. One month later, the officer arrests a low-level drug dealer, who confesses to…

Dianna Green was just 20 years-old and pregnant when she was brutally raped and beaten in her apartment. The assault caused the death of her unborn baby. When Dianna came out of a coma 3 weeks later, she told police she knew the…

A mother and her two young daughters are found brutally murdered. The crime scene yielded a good deal of evidence, but no conclusive link to the prime suspect. To solve the puzzle, an FBI analyst designs a unique experiment.

A young girl is found dead, the victim of an apparent sex-killer. Authorities are intrigued by unusual orange fibers embedded in clothing found near the victim. Months pass and the case goes cold, until a van turns up with what appear…

In the back woods of Georgia, in a dilapidated house, a 49 year old recluse named Virginia Ridley was found dead. A medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. But who would murder someone who seldom ventured out of her home?…

Why do children at a Texas hospital seem to be dying at a higher rate than at any other hospital in the country? Medical investigators have no answers until they discover that one nurse seems to be on-duty in almost all the fatal cases.…

When the decomposed body of a young girl is discovered, police have no clues to her identity. But days earlier, a stabbing victim told them she thought she might have witnessed a murder. Police think the cases might be related, and to…

At the age of 12, a boy's testimony helped convict the man who murdered his mother. Five years later, discrepancies in the autopsy lead him to question if the murdered woman really was his mother. If it wasn't, an innocent man had been…

Some of the refugees who sought asylum in the United States after World War II lied about the atrocities in which they’d participated. Years later, when a high-ranking religious figure was suspected of war crimes, there seemed to be no…

When 23-year-old college co-ed Tina Biggar goes missing, her boyfriend and family fear she has been murdered. A police investigation reveals details about her past that no one, not even her closest friends, suspected: She was a student by…

When Russ Stager, a popular gym teacher, is found dead of what appears to be an accidental gunshot wound, his family becomes suspicious. They think his wife may have planned his murder. When police find that her previous husband died in…

A Canadian financier assumed the name of a co-worker as part of a money-laundering scheme. The man turned up dead in the ocean, with an anchor tied around his torso. Police hoped to identify him with a tattoo and the watch he was…

Cincinnati heart surgeon Dr. Darryl Sutorius had a second chance at love when he married a pretty, young divorcee, but happiness is sometimes elusive. Dr. Sutoruis fell into a serious depression and apparently commited suicide with a…

When a prosecutor discovers evidence linking a habitual drunk driver to a hit-and-run in which a child is killed, he combines the talents of an accident reconstruction expert with a video specialist. This case was the first in which…

In 1998, a convience store clerk in Lansing, Michigan, was shot to death during a robbery. No one else was in the store at the time. But there was an eye witness, a security camera. Unfortunately, the story it told was far from clear.

A young woman was reported missing after a fight with her husband. She was presumed to be dead and her husband was the prime suspect. Police were suspicious of a secondary suspect when he reported a suspicious fire in his car. Two tiny…

In 1991, Maine resident Pearl Smith is missing after an argument with her husband, Bill Bruns. Despite pleas from her children, police treat it as a routine missing person's case. But, when an investigation turns up a blood trail that…

In 1989, 4-year-old April Loveless was found dead in the backyard of her Texas home. Her mother Debbie Loveless and step-father John Miller told police that she was attacked and killed by neighborhood dogs, but the injuries on her body…

In 1995, police in San Diego, CA, are baffled by a pair of hands found in a dumpster. Through further investigation, they determine that the hands are those of missing person Don Hardin. With this knowledge, the police focus on local…

In 1993, 16-year-old Marie Robards suffered the devastating loss of her father Steve Robards. The death was ruled the result of cardiac arrest. One year later, she won a part in her high school production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The…

In 1996, 17-month-old Josh Hinson died in a fire in his North Carolina home. A federal agency ruled that a fire was intentionally set and Josh's mother Terri Strickland was charged with murder. Using the then-emerging resources of the…

In 1988, when a patient, later identified as Gene Hanson, dies unexpectedly in the office of California neurologist Richard Boggs, police begin what they think will be a routine investigation. What they find throws doubt on the time of…

In 1992, two masked gunmen enter the Canadian home of Ward and Diana Maracle to rob them, but Ward was shot in the head. If a perpetrator leaves a shoe print in the mud, investigators use established techniques to make a mold of the shoe…

In 1992, 22-year-old Dawn Bruce was brutally raped and murdered in her Virginia apartment. The killer left very little evidence, but investigators did notice a blood smear on a pillow case that appeared to have been made by one of the…

In 1981, six-year-old Cassie Hansen disappeared from her St. Paul, Minnesota church during a Sunday evening service. After a tip from a witness that an older man was seen carrying a small body, Cassie's body was found in a dumpster. The…

In 1995, California model Linda Sobek goes missing. A park employee discovers photographs and some vital pieces of information in a dumpster, which eventually led investigators to professional photographer Charles Rathbun. Rathbun claims…

In 1998, an evening out at a Maryland murder mystery theatre performance turns into a real life whodunit when the badly burned body of Stephen Hricko is found in his hotel room after a fire. Upon initial investigation, it appeared to be…

In 1980, Michigan resident Shannon Mohr died tragically in what was reported by her new husband, David Davis, as a horseback riding accident. Upon deeper investigation, police uncover a thread of lies in Davis' background after his…

For 15 months, a serial killer in Tampa, FL, taunts police by strangling prostitutes and leaving their bodies in plain sight, but tire marks and fibers lead to the culprit.

When Missouri police in the Great Plains were called to retrieve a dead body, they did a background check on the victim. The trail guided them into a strange thread of homeless drifters, cattle auctions and bad checks.

In 1994, a human skull found in an Ohio pond uncovers a ghastly crime. Markings on the skull indicate that the victim had been stabbed many times and that the teeth had been removed with needle-nose pliers in an attempt to keep the…

In 1996, when a fundamentalist group is accused of robbing banks in the Spokane, WA area, authorities know immediately they are dealing with experienced criminals. A tip leads them to the alleged perpetrators and the evidence found at…

In 1992, in a rural Canadian community, Dr. John Schneeberger is accused of sedating and sexually assaulting two of his female patients. DNA tests show him to be innocent, but the women persist with their claims; 7 years later, a private…

Creating a “profile” of a serial killer is part science and part intuition. The science involves studying criminals who have committed similar crimes, to see what characteristics they have in common. In a search for the killer of two…

In 1981, Charlotte Grabbe, the estranged wife of prominent Illinois farmer Fred Grabbe, disappeared from her farm without a trace. His former lover comes forward with an outlandish tale of rage, murder, mutilation and cremation. The tests…

In 1987, Susie Mowbray was charged for her husband Bill Mowbray's death, which had the appearance of suicide. Her son was so convinced of her innocence that he enrolled in law school to try and clear her name.

In 1994, 67-year-old grandmother Rhoda Nathan was found murdered in a Cincinnati hotel room. When a patient in a hospital emergency room said he cut his hand on a dumpster, the doctor treating the injury recognizes it as something else --…

In 1991, San Francisco pornographer Artie Mitchell was murdered in his home. His brother and business partner Jim is found near the scene carrying a rifle and, later, confesses to shooting Artie. The question for investigators is whether…

In 1981, New York correctional officer Donna Payant disappeared and her body was later found in a landfill; investigators suspect the prisoners in the facility where she worked. The medical examiner uses a "signature" clue to link her…

In 1999, 9-year-old Valiree Jackson vanishes on her way to school near Spokane, WA. The entire community helps with the search; detectives believe her long-lost mother might be connected to the disappearance. The Secret Service finds a…

The investigation of a murder case in New Jersey is stalled until a strikingly similar attack occurs in 1995, to off-duty Maine State Trooper Vicky Gardner during a routine stop.

In 1989, 19-year-old mother Lori Auker left her Pennsylvania home for work, but never arrived. It takes space-age technology, cat hairs and insects to help build an image of the woman's abductor.

In 1999, expectant mother Leann Fletcher is reported dead in her Michigan home of an accidental gunshot wound to the head. Was the wound self-inflicted, and if it was, why would this young mother, with so much to live for, kill herself?…

In 1980, 4-year-old Vicky Lyons is found unconscious in a parking lot with severe head trauma. Police concluded it was a hit-and-run vehicle accident and closed the case. But Vicky's mother, Crystal, suspected there was more to the story…

Lisa Manderach and her daughter Devon left their home to go shopping, but didn't come back home at the expected time. Lisa's husband Jimmy called police in a panic to report their disappearance and directed them to a nearby shopping…

Exploring how an American hit single from 1966 -- the cheater by Bob Kuban And The In-man -- foreshadowed the demise of the group's lead singer, Walter Scott (Walter Notheis Jr.), who disappeared in 1983.

In Texas 1988, Nancy DePriest was raped and murdered while working at Pizza Hut. After a suspect confessed and implicated another, they were both imprisoned; the case was considered closed. Eight years later, another man claims that he…

Although a group of teenage thugs are suspected of attacking two boys on a fishing trip, there is no solid evidence until a murky fishing hole provides some answers.

In 1988, when a young prostitute's body turns up in an Ohio waterway under ice, authorities have one tiny clue which could point to her killer, but face huge challenges due to her policemen clients and DNA evidence being washed away.

In a small South Carolina town in 1991, 17-year-old Crystal Faye Todd, a popular high school student, is raped, murdered and dumped in a deserted field, after attending a party. With few leads, authorities test the DNA of several friends…

In 1997, two years after a series of unsolved kidnappings and sexual assaults in California. One of the victims suddenly recalled an important detail of the crime which she had not told police. She left some forensic evidence in the…

In 1994, on Canada's Prince Edward Island, the body of Douglas Beamish's estranged wife, Shirley Duguay, was discovered. In a groundbreaking case using animal dna, investigators use forensic testing on a cat to help them solve the case.

A look into the 1984 Oregon food poisonings, we're detectives track down the outbreak to a cult which aims to use germ warfare to take down the government. [also marked as S7:E16]

A woman is found dead from a gunshot wound and police suspect her husband; however, forensic teams prove what really happened and the truth is stranger than fiction. [also marked as S7:E17]

In 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, disappears along with one of her sons, her granddaughter, and $500,000 in gold coins. The discovery of a mutilated body helps police catch the culprit.

In January 2001, in Duluth, MN, two people witness a truck driving over an unconscious man twice, and they flee into a nearby bar. When the police turn up, the truck, the victim and the witnesses are gone. The eyewitnesses may hold the…

In Pennsylvania 1984, a passer-by finds the torso of a woman in a cardboard box. Investigators rely on insect activity analysis by a forensic entomologist to determine when the murder victim was killed. She remained unknown until a year…

An 18-year-old Ohio woman, who is abducted and then released soon afterwards, uses her knowledge of forensics to lead police to the kidnapper.

The police investigate when a severed leg is discovered in the garbage. Conventional means of identifying the victim are impossible, leading investigators to rely on DNA, forensic anthropology and toxicology to identify the victim. The…

How Illinois scientists solved a 1992 murder case involving cremation. It takes a long time and a very hot fire to cremate a human body, and thus destroy all evidence of foul play, but the coroner who performed the autopsy on the badly…

A look back at the case of the River Park Rapist, who sexually assaulted four women in South Bend, IN, during 1996. Law enforcement officers arrested Richard Alexander, who was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 70 years in prison. In…

The 1996 Seattle murder of suburban couple Raquel Rivera and Jay Johnson is detailed. Investigators first believe the slayings were the result of a drug deal gone bad. However, no drugs are found in the house and the victims' blood isn't…

Firefighter Michelle Baker became pregnant by her lover, Dr. Maynard Muntzing. After this news, she was ill whenever they were together. The coincidences led her to suspect that he was doing her harm, so she set out to prove it.

A look back at a trio of unsolved murders that occurred in Wichita Falls, Texas during the 1980s, details how a fourth murder from the same time period provided the police with more than they realized. John Little, an investigator for the…

The disappearance of Philadelphia college athlete Aimee Willard is investigated after her car was found, still running on the roadside. When her body is found, the police find unusual marks on her body and DNA evidence that eventually…

The investigation into the apparent overdose suicide of Reverend Bill Guthrie's wife Sharon. Detectives suspect foul play after they recover incriminating files from Bill's computer and learn of his infidelity.

The 1991 disappearance of Newport Beach, CA, resident Denise Huber stumps investigators. Three years later, Arizona residents call police to report John Famalaro, who has kept a Ryder rental truck in his driveway, which they suspect is…

The 1987 disappearance of Houston resident Tracy Jo Shine is recalled. The investigation went cold until 2000, when a "cold case squad" learned that the woman's ex-boyfriend Michael Neal had bragged about killing her.

When a 62-year-old man opens a car restoration business and becomes seriously ill, his doctors cannot find the cause, but forensics can; identification of a highly toxic metal in the victim's blood leads to his poisoner.

The disappearance of 6-year-old Michelle Lee Dorr is detailed. Although her father confessed to murdering her, the police soon poked holes in his story, leaving the case unsolved for 14 years. New suspect Hadden Clark was heard talking to…

The 1996 investigation into 48-year-old Martha Hansen's murder in Anchorage is helped by a legal requirement that bars have video cameras installed on the premises. Using video, hair and blood evidence, investigators determine who her…

n 1994, friends reported that Jack Reeves' mail-order bride Emelita Villa had disappeared. The police centered their suspicions on Reeves and, while pursuing leads, uncovered information linking him to the deaths of two former wives.

The murders of an elderly couple, Edward Kowalzck and Gertrude Thompson, leave detectives stumped until, two years later, they receive a major break. A jeweler looking through old newspaper clippings recognizes a necklace the female…

The tragic murder of 9-year-old Jessica Knott is investigated; a garbage bag leads investigators to her killer. [also marked as S7:E34]

An investigation into the disappearance of Katie Poirier is stymied, but they find a few charred remains including a tooth. The unique properties of the filling in the tooth helps investigators identify her remains.

The investigation into a suspicious death hits a dead end when the autopsy indicates that no foul play was involved. But a telephone tip and the sensitive nose of a forensic examiner indicate otherwise. [also marked as S7:E38]

On March 13, 1981, 86-year-old Enid Whittlesey is found murdered in her Los Angeles home. The suspect eludes arrest for 16 years but that changes; however, when investigators learn the culprit is left-handed, putting a new spin on old…

Forensic scientists work with the only clue recovered from a multiple-victim shooting: a 12-gauge shotgun. Scientists use unique methods to lift the serial number from the weapon in order to trace it to its owner. [also marked as S7:E40]

A serial arsonist is responsible for numerous fires that caused millions of dollars worth of property damage and the deaths of three people - described as the worst arson spree in US history. More than 75 Seattle-area arsons are probed…

The use of the computers by law enforcement is detailed in this look at a series of crimes in St. Louis that stumped the local police and the FBI. (also marked as S7:E44)

Using an anonymous letter and geographic profiling, investigators in Philadelphia close in on a serial rapist who attacks victims who live on upper floors of apartment buildings. When they hear of similar cases in Colorado, a cleverly…

In Dripping Springs, TX, March 1999, a 3-year-old boy develops serious respiratory problems and then his father later shows signs of early Alzheimer's disease. A chance encounter with a stranger kicks off an investigation into the cause.…

A murder investigation in St. Petersburg, Florida, crosses jurisdictions from New York to Jamaica. The police use cell phone mapping, wiretapping and a host of forensic evidence to find a surgeon's killer. [also marked as S7:E47]

After a man's body is discovered a few miles from his home, authorities trace the crime back to his house and question his wife. (also shown as S7:E48)

Details the case of the Beltway sniper attacks, a 3-week shooting spree which left 10 people dead in the Washington, D.C. area.

Georgia resident Sheila Bryan, who was convicted of killing her mother in a car fire, is granted a new trial. An expert fire witness shares an opinion on how the fire ignited which differs from the prosecution's theory and, if verified,…

Authorities are able to apprehend a kidnapper because he allowed his victim, 17-year-old Shari Smith, to write a will on a telltale pad of paper. [also marked as S7:E52]

A man died in his home after a long history of heart disease. It was assumed that this was the cause of his death. A few weeks after the funeral, rumors surfaced that the death was no accident.

In 1999, a 12-year-old was found murdered in her home and it changed the feeling of security residents had in the small town of Waseca, Minnesota. Despite a meticulous search of the home and an exhaustive investigation, police had no…

In 1962, the people of the small town of Hanford, CA lost their sense of peace when one of their own, 15-year-old Marlene Miller, was murdered. Booker T. Hillery was convicted and after countless appeals, Hillery received a re-trial in…

A mother of two vanishes after a shopping trip. Her body is discovered a month later. Witnesses say they saw the victim being forced into a car by an unknown person.

A woman is shot to death in her store just one day before she is to testify against the man accused of robbing her. The robber becomes the prime suspect, but he has a solid alibi: a time-stamped videotape of his activities on the day of…

In 1993, the state of Florida was known for more than just Disney World. Worldwide attention focused on a rash of robberies which targeted tourists. Some vacationers were killed in these attacks, but some fought and survived, despite…

At a murder scene, investigators find a shoe-print, several foreign hairs, and unknown fingerprints. But they believe the most telling piece of evidence is the bite mark on the victim's chest.

A woman's death in Pennsylvania triggers a homicide investigation into another woman's death in North Carolina. The similarities in the cases were striking, and examiners must determine if the suspect's story about accidental drowning is…

A 34-year-old nurse experiences a variety of flu-like symptoms. None of her doctors are able to discover the cause, until she visits the gynecologist for a routine check-up. Then she learns it's something far worse than the flu.

Time of death becomes pivotal after a pregnant woman is found murdered in her air-conditioned bedroom. A striking similarity between her death and an HBO movie gives examiners the clues they need to thaw out the alibi of a cold-blooded…

Police were puzzled by an obscure print found at a crime scene where one man had been killed and two teenage girls were seriously injured. Neither of the girls could identify their attacker. But one simple clue helped track the footsteps…

A man is found dead in his home, and his ex-wife has a perfect alibi. To determine time of death, investigators need to know when the victim ate his last meal. An endocrinologist, a forensic botanist, and a short-order cook answer their…

A union official is executed in his home not long after a strike by the union membership. Neither his wife nor anyone in the neighborhood heard any gunshots. It would take a forensic sound test, an electron microscope, and a nightgown to…

A man tells police he shot an intruder who had attacked and murdered his wife. The husband paints a tragic picture and is dubbed a hero. Four years later, forensic evidence leads police to re-examine the motives of this so-called hero.

A police officer accused of killing his estranged wife insists she committed suicide. Investigators say it was murder – that it was physically impossible for the woman to have shot herself. The crime scene evidence is interpreted…

When Firefighters found an entire family dead, inside their home, it looked like a murder-suicide, but there were several inconsistent clues in the rubble. Could ballistics, a time card, and some secret audiotapes unravel the mystery?

Two men were murdered, while sleeping in their bed. One night later, an arson fire destroyed a family planning clinic. Investigators wondered, wherether some shards of glass, paintchips and a chicken feather, could link for what appeared…

With no forensic evidence inside a murder scene, investigators were baffled. But they suspected that the victim's dog had witnessed the crime. If she had, forensic scientists would have to find a way to find out what the dog had seen.

A young TV news producer is raped and murdered in her apartment. Police identify two suspects, but both are cleared of any wrongdoing. The case stalls for more than a year, and then investigators turn to the Commonwealth of Virginia's DNA…

Police are dispatched to the scene of a shooting, and discover the victim's husband is one of their own: a homicide detective who says his wife accidentally shot herself in the head. The detective maintains he called 911 immediately, but…

For years, a woman suffered from what appeared to be the unpleasant side effects of lithium, a drug prescribed to treat bipolar disorder. When she died, investigators had to determine if her death was due to natural causes, suicide, or…

A woman is found dead in a ravine, but crucial crime scene evidence had been washed away by severe thunderstorms. Twice, the trail turned cold. Almost 20 years later, an old hat and a chip of stainless steel brought the killer to justice.

When an 11-year-old girl disappeared from a small town in a remote area of Alaska, investigators wondered if she'd been attacked by a bear or become lost in the dense woods. It turned out neither was true.

Just weeks before a witness is to testify against the man accused of sexually assaulting her, she is murdered in the front yard of her own home. Investigators immediately suspect her attacker, but they don't have enough evidence to prove…

For six years, a serial killer prowled the streets of New York City. He wrote letters to police and The New York Post, indicating he would kill twelve people, one for each astrological sign.

A healthy young man dies mysteriously in his sleep. There are no signs of trauma or injury, but toxicology tests reveal a lethal dose of lidocaine in his blood. Investigators find a suicide note, and presume he killed himself until a…

In the summer of 1986, Kathleen Lipscomb's body was found on a deserted road outside of San Antonio. Months passed, then years, and the crime was never solved. Then Kathleen's family hired a private investigator, who discovered her diary.

A retired police officer is discovered in his bed, dead of a single gunshot wound to the head. His wife first says the motive was robbery; then she tells police he committed suicide. It would take careful examination of the evidence at…

A suspicious fire swept through an apartment killing two young women. The cause of the fire and the identity of the victims were unclear. But a closer look at the fire scene revealed something hidden in the ashes.

Two different men called police to report the same murder. Apparently, neither one knew that the other had called. The investigation uncovered even more unusual circumstances.

The body of a wealthy American businessman was found in his rental car. Teeth and bone fragments were the only remains. When the victim's wife files an insurance claim for $7 million, investigators seek the help of a renowned forensic…

A pipe bomb rips through a rural home killing a young man and seriously injuring his mother. A lot number on a 9-volt battery and the remnants of a mailing label found on a computer's hard drive enabled investigators to determine who sent…

No one in a quiet residential community saw or heard anything unusual the day one of their elderly neighbors was brutally attacked and murdered. Fingerprints found at the crime scene and surveillance video from a security camera help…

On November 8, 1999, Bruce Miller was found shot to death in the office of the Michigan auto-salvage shop he owned. There were no clues or forensic evidence found at the scene. But computer forensic experts found evidence of a crime that…

A drive-by shooting leaves one man dead and another seriously wounded. Cell phone calls and shell casings point to a suspect, but authorities are unable to place him at the crime scene. When a forensic geologist compared soil from the…

When teenager Rosemary Anderson is found dead on the side of the road, her boyfriend eventually confesses to her murder, but in a strange twist, so does another man – serial killer, Eric Edgar Cooke. It would take the passage of another…

A high school gym teacher mysteriously left town, without saying goodbye to anyone. He later sent letters to explain why. But a closer forensic look at those letters, and a microscopic piece of tissue, gave investigators an entirely…

A sixteen-year-old girl is killed in her own home by her mother and father. Her parents said they acted in self-defense, but the forensic evidence indicates otherwise. Definitive proof would come from an unlikely source: a recording made…

A mysterious computer crash pushed a thriving manufacturing company to the brink of collapse, jeopardizing the jobs of hundreds of employees. There was no apparent cause; there were no obvious clues. Forensic investigators had to…

It was supposed to be a routine motorcade for the Queen of England. But on the way to Yosemite National Park, a car carrying three Secret Service agents collided with a car driven by a deputy from the local sheriff's office.

In 1993, the Amtrak Railroad experienced the deadliest train crash in United States history when the Sunset Limited derailed while crossing Alabama's Big Bayou Canot bridge. Forty-seven passengers and crew were killed; scores more were…

A fire erupted in Kings Cross Station in London, killing 31 people and injuring dozens more. Investigators pinpointed the cause of the fire, but it took state-of-the-art technology and fluid dynamics experts to explain why it became a…

The investigation of a discarded sleeping bag, containing bloody sneakers and a purse, leads police to the body of a young woman, Carrie Love. Evidence from the autopsy and the crime scene was carefully collected and analyzed, but it…

On the last day of deer hunting season, a woman is killed while walking her dogs in the woods. The victim has no enemies and her husband has an alibi, so police assume it was a hunting accident... until a strange letter turns up,…

An Alaskan police officer found a woman's body while on routine patrol of a public park. The victim had been stabbed to death and, during the autopsy, the medical examiner preserved the portion of her rib cage which sustained the fatal…

A woman disappears without a trace; even though foul play is suspected, the leads don't pan out and the trail turns cold. Twenty years would pass before police are able to link a clump of hair discovered in an isolated area with the…

A talented television news anchor was shot to death outside her home; it appeared to be a crime of passion, perpetrated by an obsessed fan. A police dog tracked the scent of the killer through the adjacent woods and back to the crime…

Investigators sifted through the ashes of a fire, which had killed a 40-year-old woman, the estranged wife of a police officer. At first glance, the fire appeared to have been started by an unattended cigarette, but when forensic…

For seven years, a trio of men robbed one bank after another leaving no evidence behind. But forensic scientists help catch them by looking at the criminals' posture and clothing. [also marked as S9:E9]

A young woman suddenly becomes critically ill; her symptoms worsen over time, eventually leaving her unable to walk. Then a bone marrow test reveals arsenic poisoning. Investigators had to determine if it is due to groundwater…

Residents of Noel, Missouri were stunned to learn that their bank had been robbed and the bank president was missing. His body was later found floating in a lake, securely bound to a chair with duct tape. When the tape was carefully…

A young couple decided to celebrate their first wedding anniversary with a camping trip to Mount Hood. During the trip, the husband was shot and killed, and his wife told two different versions of the events which led to his death.…

The body of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan is discovered nine months after she disappeared. Forensic scientists find clues that paint a virtual portrait of her killer. [also marked as S9:E13]

A vibrant young woman falls to her death from a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean In what appears to be a tragic accident; a forensic examination of photographs taken at the scene tell a different story. [also marked as S9:E14]

Haunted by the disappearance of her mother some twenty years earlier, a young woman undertook an investigation of her own. Her mother's diary was in the now cold case file; there, in her mother's own handwriting, she discovered a dark…

California police had several suspects in the robbery and brutal murder of an elderly couple. Unfortunately, the forensic evidence was inconclusive, and the crime went unsolved. Ten years later, a determined forensic scientist used…

After a street fight took the life of a national wrestling champion, police had to determine if he was killed in cold blood, or in self-defense. A jury decided it was murder, and sentenced the accused to a minimum of twenty years in…

A 19-year-old woman was found dead in her car; the scene had been staged to appear to be suicide. During their investigation, police discovered the victim was involved in a love quadrangle, giving several people motive to kill. The…

A man disappears one year to the day after beginning an affair with his friend's wife. 15 years later, with the help of a metal detector, police found evidence which would prove what had happened, and who was responsible.

The body of a young California co-ed was found under an isolated ramp of the Interstate, and San Diego police had no idea who would want this girl dead. But their questions would be answered when they discovered a tiny, unique fiber on…

A go-go dancer told her family she needed to get away for a while, and then she simply disappeared. Investigators were suspicious, because she took neither her car nor her clothes. The next twenty years passed slowly, and the family began…

A Colorado hunter who'd been shot three times and killed was the victim of a well planned crime, not an accidental shooting. Investigators found a .243 calibre bullet in his lung and a .308 calibre shell casing near his body, and…

In 1984, California firefighters had battled ten arson fires in three weeks. When cigarettes and a scrap of paper connected the southern California fires to several fires further north, the hunt was on for a dangerous pyromaniac.…

In 2002, a small community in upstate New York was devastated when Patty Wlasiuk died when their truck went into a lake, from which her husband Peter stated he narrowly escaped. Investigators initially thought alcohol was to blame, but…

When a woman disappeared without a trace, there were two possible explanations: kidnapping or murder. Concern was heightened when police learned that two other women had vanished under similar circumstances. Careful investigation, the…

Hikers near Anchorage, Alaska discovered a body wrapped in sheets edged in orange stitching. Authorities hydrated the fingers and obtained a fingerprint, enabling them to identify the victim. Clinging to the sheet, they also discovered a…

The news of a flight attendant's brutal murder prompted the son of a victim who had been killed five years earlier to contact police. The M.O. of both murders was remarkably similar, and analysis of the biological evidence from the crime…

A two-man shrimp boat sank when a fast-moving, violent storm struck the Louisiana coast. The captain drowned, and the deckhand was rescued fourteen hours later. He told the Coast Guard that the captain's foot had become entangled in the…

When a wealthy real estate tycoon went missing, it appeared to be foul play. He had been aware that he was in danger. In his will, he left instructions regarding what was to happen if he died under violent circumstances – instructions…

The cold-blooded murder of an American tourist in a Mexican resort focused law enforcement resources on both sides of the border. At first glance, the motive appeared to be robbery, but careful analysis of the forensic evidence pointed to…

The investigation of the kidnapping of a prominent banker's wife led police on a wild goose chase, tracking down disgruntled bank customers and examining computer fonts. An unexpected discovery made by an entomologist resulted in a new…

In the middle of the night, a neighbor watched in horror as a man stabbed his wife, pushed her into the swimming pool, and held her head under water. When questioned by the police, the husband not only had no explanation for his actions,…

A house erupted in flames on a cold January night, killing one person and injuring another. The survivor blamed a kerosene heater but the evidence at the scene did not support her story, and she was charged with arson and murder. It would…

In 1957, California police searched for a man who had committed several crimes in one night – including murder, but after following thousands of leads, eventually, the case turns cold. Almost 50 years later, with advances in computer…

A man riding a bicycle was fatally injured, the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Tiny clues found at the scene created a picture of the vehicle which struck him and led police to its driver.

When an elderly couple died in a suspicious house fire, their son became the prime suspect. The son insisted he was innocent; he said he tried to extinguish the fire by pouring water on it, but that only made it worse. Investigators…

A mother of two young children went missing and, less than a day later, her body was found. The evidence was little better than circumstantial, and the crime drifted to the bottom of the cold case files. Twenty years later, advances in…

When hunters reported finding a skull in a Texas canyon, police find bits of clothing, a woman's shoe, some small bones and a strand of hair. An anthropologist determined the victim was a Caucasian woman, and that she'd been stabbed…

A married couple decided to escape the cold of winter with a mini-vacation in Key West. The wife went missing, and police searched every square inch of the island; they found nothing but a pair of sandals which might have belonged to her.…

A mother of two young children was found dead in her bedroom. It appeared she had killed herself: There were suicide notes near her body, and a pistol was in her hand. Her death was ruled a suicide – but when investigators learned she had…

In 1991, when the wife of a serviceman was brutally murdered in the Philippines, the Air Force Office of Special Investigators swung into action. Clues led to the victim's husband, but he insisted he was innocent. To find out if he was…

Bombings are difficult to solve, because the perpetrator isn't usually at the scene, and the evidence goes up in smoke. But there are clues if investigators know where to look. In this case pieces of plastic the size of grains of sand,…

The wife of an Air Force officer was found dead in her bed, with a plastic laundry bag near her face. At first glance, it appeared she'd been doing laundry, fell asleep, rolled onto the bag, and suffocated. But further investigation…

When a fire destroyed most of a home and a young boy went missing, police organized the largest search in the history of their small town. First the boy's backpack was discovered five miles from home, and then his body was found 50 miles…

A highway patrolman was dispatched to what he thought would be a routine traffic accident until he looked in the car. While he had no formal training in forensic science, he had seen hundreds of accidents – but never as much blood as…

The decomposed body of a young woman was discovered in a Bakersfield irrigation canal. If there was trace evidence, it had been washed away. Another victim was found in that same canal a year later; this time, the perpetrator had been…

A behavioral profile is helpful in a murder investigation, but it's not a road map to the killer. One such profile caused the Baton Rouge Police Department to search for the wrong man. They might not have made an arrest, had it not been…

An obstetrician returned home from the hospital and found his wife on the floor of the bathroom. She was covered with blood and not breathing. He tried unsuccessfully to revive her, staining his clothes with her blood in the process, and…

A Modesto, CA, teenager went missing. There was no sign of a struggle in her home, and police suspected she'd simply run away until her naked, bruised body was discovered in a ditch 20 miles away. [also marked as S7:E18]

When police recovered the submerged car of a man reported missing, they expected to find his body – but it wasn't there. His broken eyeglasses were on the floor of the vehicle and the interior was coated with motor oil. The investigation…

Emergency dispatch received a call from a man who said his girlfriend shot and killed herself. Police found the victim in the caller's house, lying in a pool of blood with the gun next to her on the floor. The autopsy revealed that the…

A Native American woman was brutally killed in the desert of New Mexico, and the crime scene was rich in forensic evidence: tyre tracks, shoe impressions and even the murder weapons. The site was less than 10 miles from another crime…

A brilliant young architect became ill and died just before she was to testify in a criminal trial. The autopsy revealed she'd been poisoned with arsenic; it was a slow and painful death, so suicide was unlikely. Investigators had to…

An employee of a dry cleaner was raped and murdered in the store, and investigators thought themselves fortunate to have two eyewitnesses. Their descriptions were similar but not identical, and the prime suspect didn't come close to…

The murder of an eccentric millionaire was not entirely unexpected; he flaunted his wealth and cared little for personal security. The evidence at the crime seemed to indicate robbery, but investigators wondered if there was something more.

When a young woman disappeared, police feared she was the latest victim in a string of similar crimes but the MO wasn't quite right. A pair of bloody gloves, unique tire tracks, and ordinary grass and pine needles provided investigators…

Two men were convicted of intentionally shooting and killing a passenger in a moving car, their friend was granted immunity for testifying against them, and the case was closed. Then a bomb exploded in the family home of the state's…

Police initially suspect that the death of a gay student is a hate crime, until just three strands of hair and some microscopic cells help them unravel a web of lies, and to find the real motive for the murder.

In an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, police were called to the scene of what appeared to be an accidental drowning. The investigation gradually focused on one person, a suspect who had more than a million reasons to want the victim dead.

Kansas City attorney Richard Armitage was brutally murdered in his office in broad daylight. The first prime suspect was Lou Campbell, who had previously threatened Armitage, but he was later cleared. Police turn their suspicions to…

When two women from the same town were murdered in the same way, police feared a serial killer was on the loose. At first they thought the victims had nothing in common until they found tiny clues linking them to the same man.

A young woman was found dead on a golf course in the Bahamas. The grass on that course was so distinctive, it had evidentiary value. The evidence led police to two suspects. Each blamed the other, and they had to find out who the killer…

A teenager went missing after an evening of horseback riding. Her body was found a month later, three miles from her home. The killer unknowingly left trace evidence behind – tiny but unmistakable clues which pointed to him and him alone.

When a popular disc jockey was found murdered in a community garden, police swung into action. A sniffer dog and a blood spatter expert led police to the killer and he'd been much closer than they realized.

When a woman's husband was gunned down in his own garage by intruders, investigators worked tirelessly to find the assassins. But when they discovered that a wound sustained during the attack by the grieving widow may have been…

Three seemingly unrelated deaths proved to be serial murders. The killer had been careful – he used poison which had no taste or odor. Fortunately for investigators, it also had a unique chemical signature.

The crime scene was awash with blood. The victim had been brutally murdered as he slept in his own bed. There were no foreign fingerprints in his home, but investigators did find a shoe impression in the mud outside physical evidence they…

Now it's not only a fingerprint which can link a killer to a crime; a shoe print can be just as telling. Armed with little else, police hoped the shoe impressions found at a Lansing, MI crime scene would put their investigation of Audrey…

When the head chef of a historic Philadelphia restaurant was found dead, investigators interviewed the usual suspects: family, friends and coworkers. As they sifted through the evidence, police uncovered a chilling tale of debt and deceit.

A serial arsonist was on the loose in Washington, DC. Each of the fires was started with the same type of incendiary device. The perpetrator was very careful and seemed to leave no evidence behind but there were clues in the ashes and it…

When Genell Plude was found dead in her bathroom, the scene pointed to suicide. But a coroner's inquest and a unique application of forensic science gave investigators a different explanation for her death. It was a theory which, if true,…

Three homicides on two continents looked like professional executions. Investigators on both sides of the Atlantic needed to find out if they were related and, if they were, who or what they had in common.

A 29-year-old woman was killed instantly when a bomb exploded in her home. The device was so powerful that shrapnel was embedded in houses across the street. The bomber had not only knowledge and skill, but also a motive for murder.

A killer tried to incinerate and destroy everything that could link him to his crime. But in doing so, he inadvertently created new forensic evidence, evidence which came to light with a technique never before used in a criminal…

The woman could have lost control of her SUV on the icy road, and plunged down an embankment into a shallow creek. But there were footprints in the snow leading away.

A successful stockbroker told his wife he'd be working late, and when he didn't come home, she reported him missing. Investigators found his car a few blocks from his office and, two days later, proof that he had been murdered.

The prime suspect had a criminal record, and his driver's license was found at the scene of a brutal, double homicide. That physical evidence seemed damning, but it wasn't the only evidence. DNA extracted from a discarded spoon would…

When a little girl got sick and died, investigators were stumped. Was it an accident, an unexplained illness, or murder? Scientists would travel halfway around the world before finding the answer in two unlikely places: a shredded legal…

A car was found in a drainage ditch and the bodies of a man and woman were inside; both had been shot to death. The car windows were broken and shattered glass should have been everywhere, but it wasn't. A fingertip torn from a latex…

A World War II veteran was found dead in his home, and the investigation ground to a halt when the prime suspect had a solid an alibi. But a lucky break led to a shady character who wore distinctive boots and had a sweet tooth.

A woman who was known to have suffered from depression apparently took her own life. But her sister told police that, a year before her death, she said if anything were to happen to her, there was a note in the china cabinet.…

An aspiring model turned up dead, and the prime suspect was her boyfriend. When he was eventually cleared, investigators had to dig deeper to find the perpetrator. With the help of a forensic geologist, they identified the most unlikely…

When an off-duty policeman was shot dead, his fellow officers were determined to solve the crime. They needed clues to find the killer, and they discovered them in tiny fibres and an asthma inhaler.

One warm summer afternoon, the town of Verona, Wisconsin, faced its first triple homicide. To solve the case, investigators had to delve into the world of high rollers and offshore betting.

The body of a young girl was discovered on isolated farmland near Delano, California. She had no ID, but police found mailbox and house keys in the pocket of her jeans. With no other clues, they checked the mailboxes of every apartment…

The driver said he couldn't have hit and killed a pedestrian on a Harrisburg street. The Jeep Grand Cherokee he was leasing around that time had been sold months ago to a buyer in another state. Police were able to find the vehicle. They…

The medical examiner ruled the death an accident, but the detectives investigating the case thought the evidence at the scene indicated otherwise. It would take three years, an exhumation and a second autopsy to determine who was right.

When a hit-and-run boating accident caused the death of a popular young man, investigators faced the daunting task of searching for one boat among 1200 others. They asked anyone who had seen the accident to come forward. The man who…

A woman was found dead on the bedroom floor of her apartment. The crime scene yielded little of value, and investigators wondered if they would find enough evidence to make a case, much less catch a killer. But a bloodstained sheet and a…

A young man was killed in a mysterious car crash, but the evidence at the scene led investigators to believe it was not an accident. Forensic science revealed what really happened, and the truth devastated three families.

When a woman went missing, friends and family were determined to find her. Their worst fears were confirmed weeks later when her body was discovered. Blood evidence and computer forensics helped investigators to catch the killer, and…

In 1993, 82-year-old Kathryn Bishop was found dead in her Pennsylvania home. The evidence at the scene indicated that the perpetrator had been running out of the house, not breaking into it. Tiny clues on the victim's body would tell…

A wealthy man and his wife were attacked by three men outside their luxurious Louisiana home. He was shot dead and she was forced to open their hidden safe. The woman could not describe the men because they wore masks. To solve the case,…

The bomb was constructed to cause as much damage as possible..and it did, killing the victim with deadly force and flame. A painstaking search yielded tiny clues, which identified the killer as surely as if he'd signed them.

A twelve-year-old girl claimed she had been abducted and sexually assaulted. She recounted what happened in such a flat, unemotional voice that police found it difficult to believe her. Fibers on her clothing would prove she was telling…

In 2001, paramedics in Durham, NC received a frantic call from Michael Peterson who said his wife Kathleen had fallen down the stairs and that she was unconscious, but still breathing. When paramedics arrived, they could do little more…

The wife of a respected police officer was murdered in her own home. The crime went unsolved for more than a decade, and then a newly formed Cold Case Unit took a fresh look at the evidence. A few seconds of a 911 call enabled them to…

The victim had ingested a massive amount of cyanide. An unlikely clue – a flaw on a mailing envelope – exposed a murderer who was willing to kill innocent

They thought the fire would cover their crime. But one tiny clue, no bigger than a thumbtack, remained. It held all the information investigators needed to put a trio of cold-blooded killers behind bars.

In 1994, 19-year-old college co-ed Shannon Melendi disappeared while at Emory University in Atlanta. For ten years, her disappearance of remained a mystery, until new scientific testing cast a different light on someone who had been a…

In 1987, the death of Crystal Purcell was considered an accident. Then in 2001, Barbara Purcell called police to suggest that her estranged husband Willard had killed Crystal, who was her husband at the time of her death. Before that…

In 1994, Paul Gruber's daughter suspected something was wrong when she received birthday cards addressed from Gruber, on which the handwriting wasn't Gruber's. When she then learned virtually everything had been removed from her father's…

The woman was dead. The man had been shot four times but he survived. When the man's version of events was at variance with the evidence, investigators turned to forensic science, hoping to determine if this was a botched robbery, or…

How did a stalker obtain the security system code for his victim's home? How did he steal her personal photographs? Police needed answers, and they found them in the most unlikely of places: the letters he wrote to frighten the victim and…

After inspecting storm damage to a home in Tampa, FL, the insurance assessor simply disappeared. Thirty hours later, her body was found in a nearby river. But the killer had been careless, using a murder weapon so unique and leaving…

When a hit-and-run accident claimed the life of a high school athlete, everyone in town mourned his passing. Finding the killer was a long shot at best, but investigators hoped tiny paint chips and pieces of plastic found at the scene…

In 1996, Shannon Sanderson goes the casino without her husband Robert and wins $5,000 at the Blackjack tables. Three hours later, she is abducted by a man driving a Chevy Beretta and a month later, she was found dead. The trail turned…

In 1991, Grand Junction, Colorado is on edge after a series of deadly bombings which has killed 2 and injured one more and police race to find the culprit before he strikes again. Ultimately, it was the bombs themselves, along with the…

Lives changed in the 20 years following an unsolved murder, and so did forensic science. In time, a high-powered microscope and DNA profiling revealed not only a clue no one had seen before but also the identity of the killer.

A lifelong resident of the tiny town of Lefroy, Tasmania was murdered outside his own home. Robbery appeared to be the motive, but with no suspects, the investigation came to a halt. Then the victim's autopsy turned the investigation into…

When a wealthy socialite died after falling down the stairs, the eye witnesses said one thing and the evidence seemed to indicate another. To find out what really happened, investigators turned to forensic science, a physicist and an…

In 1997, Kelly Eckart's car was found with her belongings still in it, after working the late shift in Franklin, Indiana. Days later, her body was found in an isolated ravine. Tiny clues told police a great deal about the killer: he would…

In 1996, when Derrick Duehren returned to his Oregon home, it had burned to the ground and his wife Roxanne's charred remains were found in the rubble. Investigators set out to determine if it was an unfortunate accident or arson and…

A millionaire and his family were executed in their own home. For three years, the murders went unsolved and then a 30-year-old box of ammunition and some fluorescent fibers revealed the ultimate betrayal.

It was one of the most brazen crimes of the 20th century. Adolph Coors, chairman of the Coors Brewing Company, was kidnapped and held for ransom prompting one of the most intense manhunts in United States history.

For twelve years, the murder of a young woman went unsolved, but with the passage of time came the development of technology. Would a used tissue found at the crime scene give police the evidence they needed to crack the case and bring a…

When a young girl was found dead, police quickly arrested the most likely suspect. But cutting-edge technology from NASA enabled a forensic odontologist to prove the wrong man was behind bars. With the killer still on the loose, the…

It's usually easy to determine how a criminal entered the crime scene. But in this case, it was far from clear. It looked like the killer vanished into thin air...and perhaps he had.

When a young fireman died from what appeared to be serious but undiagnosed heart disease, his family and friends were devastated but they had no proof of foul play. Then they learned that, six years earlier in a nearby town, a young…

Security cameras in a casino tracked a young woman's movements until shortly before she disappeared. She was never seen again, but through the evidence she left behind, she was able to tell investigators what happened to her and who was…

It was one of the most unusual cases in forensic history. Investigators had to find a way to solve a murder case with evidence which consisted of a squashed tomato found at the crime scene, and tiny, pinpoint reflections of light in a…

When a dedicated, well-respected teacher disappeared, police had to determine if she'd gone on vacation without telling anyone, or if she was the victim of foul play. Investigators turned to forensic science, hoping to find the answers…

Seattle police had no suspects in the violent murder of post-grunge singer, Mia Zapata. More than a decade would pass before the evidence collected by an extraordinarily prescient medical examiner could be used by forensic scientists to…

A Michigan State University grad student disappeared and was presumed dead. With the help of a professor of geological sciences, police hoped to get the "dirt" on her killer.

How unlucky could one man be? His wife had taken her own life, and his college sweetheart had killed herself in much the same fashion fourteen years earlier. Investigators had to determine if this was a bizarre coincidence, or an attempt…

In 1996, 54-year-old Gayle Isleib was ambushed in her Manchester, Connecticut driveway and shot to death. During their investigation, police learned that her 25-year-old co-worker Tyrone Montgomery was in love with her and that she had…

The victim had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death on the beach, just ten yards from the hotel where she was staying. A pair of men's tennis shoes was discovered near her body. Police were sure that if they found the man who fit…

A 13-year-old girl went missing from her Colorado home, and the only evidence the kidnapper left behind was three fingerprints on a window screen. Two years later, a latent print examiner, new to the county and the crime lab, changed the…

A brutal murder, lots of suspects, and conflicting evidence but the forensics were clear on one thing - the killer knew his victim and that alone gave investigators a head start.

A serial killer was on the loose and police had to find him before he struck again. Their most promising lead was an unusual one: a bloody fingerprint on the body of one of the victims.

On Halloween night 2004, Adriane Insogna and Leslie Mazzara were brutally murdered in their Napa, CA, home. The killer was not seen by their downstairs roommate, but he left his DNA behind in some cigarette butts and a groundbreaking test…

After the suspect was convicted of arson and murder, he steadfastly maintained he did not commit the crimes, but he was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. He had no money, no lawyer and only a fifth grade education, but he…

A woman was brutally murdered in her home, and the only witnesses to the crime were the family dogs. An expert in canine behavior was convinced the killer knew both the victim and the animals, and he was determined find out exactly what…

The killer probably hoped to cover his tracks by staging the crime scene. But investigators saw through the attempt almost immediately, and they turned to forensic science to learn what really happened that night. [also marked as S12:E19]

A 6-year-old girl ran and hid when she saw her grandmother being beaten to death, but the man followed her, beat her and assaulted her. The girl said he was her Uncle Clarence, and he was convicted because of her identification. She…

In 1984, the body of college co-ed Laura Salmon was found on a Georgia farm, covered with her own denim jeans as well as the jeans of the killer. Investigators had plenty of suspects, including former boyfriend David Kyle Gilley, but no…

The body of an attractive young woman was found a mile from her abandoned car. Police were especially concerned when they realised the victim had come to them for protection just two weeks earlier, after a road rage incident. Concern…

In 1969, 25-year-old phone operator Diane Maxwell is raped and murdered by a black man. Her brother promised he'd find out who was responsible and bring the killer to justice. It would take more than thirty years, but the young man kept…

The crime scene was especially violent: A husband and wife had been shot to death in their bedroom. At first, investigators thought their 16-year-old daughter was lucky to have escaped unharmed... but after a while, they wondered if the…

A young, attractive hairdresser was sexually assaulted and murdered in her own beauty salon. The evidence at the crime scene didn't match any of the suspects and, after the initial investigation, the case went cold for ten years. Then a…

When two women went missing and were later found brutally murdered, police wondered if they were victims of a hate crime; the women lived together and were politically active, outspoken advocates of gay rights. But the motive turned out…

A human skeleton was discovered in the North Carolina marshlands and, when investigators learned she'd been dead for 18 months, they knew it would be difficult to find out who she was, much less who killed her. A forensic anthropologist…

After shooting his victims in the head, the killer staged the scene, placed the incriminating evidence into a plastic bag and tossed it into the river. Instead of floating downstream, it became entangled in overhanging branches. Days…

In a tragic twist of fate, just days after the woman sold her home and moved to a modest trailer, a fire took both the trailer and her life. But the autopsy proved this was no accident. It was arson and murder. Investigators had to…

A security guard disappeared from his post without a trace; his remains were found a year later in a remote camp site. More than a decade would pass before a phone call breathed life into the cold case, and a paint smear on the bottom of…

A college senior was found raped and murdered near an unpaved footpath used by students to walk from one side of campus to the other. Five years earlier, a student was assaulted and killed in her off-campus apartment and, a year after…

In 2004, Mary Ann Clibbery was found brutally murdered in her Illinois business and investigators had to determine if this was a robbery gone wrong or a calculated murder. The evidence at the scene told police what happened and they got a…

In 2006, Texas real estate agent Sarah Anne Walker was found brutally murdered in a model home. Weeks later, a witness came forward who may have seen the killer and police used forensic hypnosis to help him recall every detail of the…

In 2003, St. Cloud teenager Jason MacLennan returned home after a night out with friends and discovered his father Ken's body lying in a pool of blood. There were shoe impressions outside in the new-fallen snow; because the victim's…

In 2006, Nevada politician Kathy Augustine died mysteriously during a hard-fought re-election campaign and the medical examiner could neither isolate the cause of death, nor explain the tiny puncture wounds discovered during the autopsy.…

In 1996, Virginia Beach police arrive at the Makdessi apartment to find Elise Makdessi and her lover Quincy Brown dead. Elise's husband Eddie had reported that he killed Quincy Brown in self defense after Brown had murdered Elise. Eddie…

In 1999, Patrick McRae was found dead in his Des Moines home and the crime scene was awash with blood. Analysis showed it had come from two people, one of whom was female. The male DNA was McRae's, which meant the killer was a woman.…

In 2000, the body of exotic dancer Rachel Siani was found beneath a New Jersey bridge and investigators wondered if she had committed suicide. Evidence at the scene proved not only that she'd been carried to the bridge and thrown over the…

In 2000, construction manager Darrell North was found dead in his work trailer in Ft. Worth, Texas. When investigators arrived, they found that he had been stabbed 46 times, described as overkill and indicating a personal relationship…

In 2000, Judy Southern arrived home from work and was shot by a gunman waiting within. Her husband Allen arrived shortly afterwards, called 911 to report his wife had been shot and drove her to the hospital. She died on arrival and the…

In 1986, Gary Dale Larson was stabbed to death in his Edmond, OK, home and then the killer sexually assaulted Larson's girlfriend Janet Haynes. Hayne's story seemed farfetched: The perpetrator was wearing only underwear and gloves broke…

In 1991, Dorothy Donovan was murdered in her Dover, DE home and police are skeptical when her son Charles Holden stated that she was murdered by a hitchhiker he had picked up. Their suspicions were heightened when he refused to take a…

In 2001, Ginger Hayes and her infant son Nicholas were abducted during a carjacking and the crime had been reported by a witness within minutes of occurrence. 45 minutes after the kidnapping, When Ginger and Nicholas were found 50 miles…

In the early hours of a morning just before Christmas, a college co-ed was abducted from the parking lot of her apartment. Her body was found later that day; she'd been sexually assaulted and then shot at point blank range. Eight long…

A young woman is found dead in her apartment. There's little evidence at the scene, leads don't pan out and the case turns cold... until police discover a link between their prime suspect and an unsolved murder committed six years earlier…

When a college student is reported missing, police believe their investigation will be like countless others, and she'd turn-up a few days later. But when they discover blood spatter in her boyfriend's bedroom, blood spatter someone had…

A serial rapist is on the loose in a Texas town. No one knew where he'd strike next, but the audacity of his attacks and the escalation of violence against his victims made finding him imperative.

The victim has been stabbed more than thirty times, and the crime scene is awash with her blood. Near her head, police discover a distinctive button with strands of thread still attached. If they can find the owner of the shirt the button…

A young woman attends evening church services... then disappears. When her abandoned car is found, the tank is empty and a gas can she kept in her trunk for emergencies is missing. Eyewitnesses place her at a nearby gas station, getting…

When a nine-year-old girl goes missing, police and volunteers spend weeks searching for her. A psychic's vision leads to a field where her body is discovered, along with what investigators hope is enough evidence to help them to also find…

Digital enhancement of security camera video shows that what appears to be a casual encounter is actually a forced abduction, leading to murder. The perpetrator's M.O. is remarkably similar to another murder which occurred five months…

The woman had been sexually assaulted, stabbed repeatedly, and left for dead. She survived, and gave police a detailed description of her attacker. When someone who fit that description practically turned himself in, police were sure they…

The victim was a self-made man who never minced words. Perhaps he was murdered by a disgruntled client or employee. Perhaps the racy photos in his safe held the clue to solving the crime. Or perhaps with the help of the IRS, investigators…

A family vacation turns into a nightmare when the wife is found face-down in the lake. There are no witnesses and little conclusive evidence to help police determine if they're dealing with a suicide, an accident, or something more…

The woman in the back of the truck was flailing her arms, screaming. They thought she was doing something dangerous for the fun of it. But when they found a jacket near a pool of blood, they knew what they'd seen wasn't a joy ride; it was…

When court clerk Peter Porco doesn't report to his work in November 2004, a courts officer is ordered to the Porcos' family home in Bethlehem, NY. Inside the home, he finds murdered Peter Porco and his barely alive wife Joan who had both…

Detectives think they've solved a murder when they find the weapon and victim's blood in a man's flat, but the evidence may have been planted.

A serial bomber was on the loose in Illinois. Two churches had been bombed and one person was killed. Investigators had to capture the criminal before he struck again and they hoped to catch him by following a thin copper wire.

There was no clear reason for a young, healthy college student to be dead. But when the medical examiner discovered the tiniest of clues during the autopsy, investigators were able to uncover the mystery filled with betrayal and revenge.

The victim had been stabbed more than a hundred times, leaving her bedroom soaked with blood. Even though her body was positioned in a suggestive way, she hadn't been sexually attacked. Was this a sex crime, or was it a random act of…

On Christmas eve 2005, the corpse of a black male is found burning near Baltimore. He's eventually identified as 26-year-old Wesley Person. Distinctive building materials from the 1930s found near the body play a crucial role in solving…

Doctors don't know why a young scientist is gravely ill. When tests finally reveal the cause, it's too late to save him. Police hope that lab analysis of his hair, showing when attempts were made on his life and what was used, will lead…

A bullet-riddled car, a missing driver, and no witnesses. Was this an ambush or a random attack? Had the victim been abducted or was she dead? The answers lay in a unique clue so tiny it was measured in millionths of a meter.

Even though their daughter had run away before, she'd always come back. Her parents were sure this time would be no different, but they were wrong. Workers discovered the teen's half-naked body on the side of the road; her throat had been…

In little more than a month, two women who lived in the same apartment complex were brutally murdered. The similarities of the crime scenes led police to conclude they were dealing with a serial killer who harbored an intense hatred of…

When a college co-ed vanished without a trace, her fellow students were concerned about her safety and their own. Weeks later, the body of an unknown female was discovered 700 miles away in the ashes of a barn fire, and an alert police…

The victim was well liked and successful, which made the brutality of the crime even harder to understand. In the final moments of her life, she'd written a name on the wall, presumably that of the killer – in her own blood. But this…

An assistant manager of a Florida steakhouse is stabbed to death. It appears to be a robbery gone wrong, but a bloody fingerprint reveals that he knew his killer.

In 1985, Julie Estes, then 21, was abducted from her late-night job at the Southside convenience store. Her body was found the next day, she had been raped and strangled. Her murder went unsolved until 2003 when it was reopened by the new…

In April 2002, a wild fire in a secluded parking lot leads police to discover the dreadful homicide of David Nixon, with the suspect's image caught by security cameras.

Respected surgeon Brian Stidham was stabbed to death in the parking lot next to his office. The most likely suspect is seen having dinner in a restaurant at the time of the murder. But a cryptic conversation leads police to believe that,…

In 2007, Brian & Beverly Mauck were found dead in their Graham, WA home. The killer obviously spent a great deal of time at the scene, wiping away his fingerprints and obscuring shoe impressions he’d tracked through blood trails on the…

Terrified, the young girl hid in her bedroom while her mother, Crystal Perry, was attacked and stabbed to death in her home in Bridgton, ME, on May 12, 1994. Investigators had a wealth of evidence: shoe impressions, distinctive blood…

On December 10, 2003, a gunman opened fire as a family of four entered their home, killing two and wounding the others. He’d pulled open a few drawers to make it look like a robbery, but the scene was clearly staged. When police pieced…

It was classic “overkill.” Barbara Mullenix, found floating in the harbor of an upscale yacht club in Newport Bay on September 13, 2006, had been stabbed more than 50 times. Her ex-husband and daughter are missing, and investigators turn…

On May 20, 2001, 20-year-old state park employee Carrie Nelson was beaten to death in the park office while working alone in the middle of the afternoon. There’s a wealth of evidence at the scene, but it doesn’t implicate the prime…

Foul play is suspected when Fort Worth factory worker Glenda Furch disappears in September 2007 after completing her shift. Evidence suggested she had been bound, sexually assaulted and murdered. Afterwards, the killer spent hours at the…

Joshua Ford and Martha Crutchley spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach, and then they simply vanished. A week later, police would get an unexpected lead from a robbery in progress, and the evidence they found helped solve a crime of…

Whoever stabbed a young Texas mother to death had also savagely beaten her 4-year-old daughter. Police had a suspect, but not enough evidence to tie him to the crimes. It would take 15 years and advances in DNA technology to bring the…

In 1995, Palm Beach waitress Denise O'Neill is abducted and murdered. Her neighbor, Luis Caballero, arouses suspicions by his odd behaviour towards TV crews covering the crime.

In 2007, Shamaia Smith disappeared from the strip club she worked at in East Hartford, CT. Police look at various customers of the strip club, but focus on local businessman Kenneth Otto when there were inconsistencies with his story.…

A young mother is murdered after years of domestic abuse. There are clues at the scene: bloody footprints and DNA from the victim’s rape kit.

Threatening emails, a missing person and an abandoned truck lead police to a home where they believe a murder was committed. The evidence is overwhelming and investigators are sure they have the killer. What they don’t have is the body of…

In 2000, Kristine Fitzhugh failed to show up for her music class and her husband Ken found her dead at the bottom of the stairs of their Palo Alto home. Upon further investigation, luminol reveals evidence of murder in the kitchen. As…

As she left choir practice, a woman was gunned down in the church parking lot. Her husband became the prime suspect – particularly when police learned he found out just a month earlier that his wife had been cheating on him for three years.

In 2008, Illinois emergency response came upon a garage fire and a man was found crushed beneath a truck. Upon first glance, the victim was the homeowner Ari Squire. Investigators turned to forensic science to determine if they were…

In 2007, the Florida mobile home of Effie and Michael Ratley catches fire and Michael heroically rescues his wife and infant son. A month later, his wife is found beaten to death in a bedroom of his parents' home. The cut window screen…

In 2005, David Castor suffered a slow, agonizing death over a period of days. His wife Stacey maintained it was suicide, even though it was done with antifreeze. Police were skeptical, especially when they learned Stacey's first husband…

In the 1990s, a dismembered body is dumped on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike and before police realize it, bodies are turning up between two states. The killer's methods involved dismembering the bodies and wrapping the parts in…

In 2006, Jackson, MS, resident Avis Banks and her unborn child were brutally murdered in her garage and discovered by her fiancé Keyon Pittman. Police learn Pittman was having affairs with other women and he became the prime suspect...…

In 2000, when teenager Tara Munsey goes missing after a work shift at a Virginia restaurant, it is unknown if she ran away or if she was the victim of foul play. Everyone's worst fears are confirmed when a body is found at the bottom of…

In 1989, the bodies of Joan Rogers and her two teenage daughters were found floating in Tampa Bay. The water washed away any evidence, but police hoped a handwritten note found in the victims' car would lead to the killer, so they posted…

In 2003, Tiffany Rowell and three of her friends were brutally murdered in their affluent Clear Lake, TX, neighborhood and the crime scene yielded little evidence. The next-door neighbors had seen two young people dressed in black walking…

In 2008, college co-ed Jenna Verhaalen was found dead in her Bryan, Texas apartment and petechial hemorrhages in her eyes indicated that she was strangled. The victim's boyfriend, a neighbor and the apartment maintenance man are all…

In 2003, Rebecca Barney and her soon-to-be ex-husband Fred were found shot to death in their Tulsa, OK, home, which had been set on fire. After the fire was extinguished, Kenneth Maxwell, who was the man who had called 911 to report the…

In 2003, Kathy Lorick was raped and murdered on a Concord, California jogging trail in the middle of the day while talking to her husband on her mobile phone. The leads from Kathy's cell phone records and search dogs go nowhere. Nine days…

In 2008, Colorado real estate developer Alan Helmick was found shot to death at home. His wife Miriam became the prime suspect. Police had a wealth of evidence against her, but it is circumstantial. The case will turn on a .25 caliber…

In 2005, the body of young mother Summer Baldwin was found in a suitcase in a Texas landfill. The suitcase leads investigators to a suspect, Rosendo Rodriguez, and the forensic evidence against him was formidable. Further evidence leads…

In 2001, Michelle Harris went missing from her Owego, NY home. Since they were going through a contentious divorce, her husband Cal was a suspect, as well as several other men that Michele had been in contact with before her…

In 2004, nursing student Tamika Huston went missing from her Spartanburg, SC home. A tip led detectives to her car and they find an unknown house key that could help solve the case. Further investigation leads to the only other clues: a…

In 2002, funeral director Lonnie Turner, Sr. was found shot to death in his Navasota, TX home. His son Lonnie Jr. became the prime suspect, particularly after it was discovered that the murder was committed with his gun. However, he had…

In 1993, young mother Tammy Tatum was found sexually assaulted and murdered in her Longmont, CO apartment. Police initially suspect her estranged husband, but did not have enough evidence to charge him and the case went cold. Three years…