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 w…

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…

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…

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…

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 a…

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 profilin…

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 Phila…

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…

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…

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 r…

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…

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, …

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 th…

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…

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 thre…

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…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 mo…

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 wh…

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 …

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 investigat…

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 h…

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 …

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 evid…

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…

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 Calif…

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 eviden…

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-we…

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 ena…

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 wr…

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…

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 importan…

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, unt…

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…

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 …

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 he…

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…

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 …

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 pre…

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 r…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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: geograp…

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 re…

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…

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 …

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 l…

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…

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 desi…

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, u…

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 seld…

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 o…

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 thin…

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. I…

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 …

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 fr…

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 fi…

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 wit…

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 …

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. …

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, …

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 s…

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 investi…

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…

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 kno…

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 produc…

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 …

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 th…

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 …

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 appear…

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…

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 photogr…

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 init…

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…

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 auctio…

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 p…

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 perp…

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 t…

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 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, murde…

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 …

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 inj…

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 …

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 u…

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 disapp…

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, wit…

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, …

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 di…

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 1…

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 yea…

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 an…

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, author…

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 le…

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 o…

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 c…

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 …

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 kille…

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 tox…

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…

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 s…

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 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,…

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…

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 bod…

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 i…

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 …

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 a…

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 le…

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 sus…

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 evidenc…

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 t…

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 …

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 identi…

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 otherwis…

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…

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 …

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 tha…

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 sim…

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…

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 ki…

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 pr…

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 exhaus…

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 appe…

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 video…

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 …

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…

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 somet…

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 t…

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 s…

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,…

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 el…

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 …

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 …

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 secr…

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 …

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 …

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…

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 mai…

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…

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 stainles…

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 …

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 the…

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 …

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 i…

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 car…

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 …

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 se…

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 enabl…

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 …

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 e…

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 forensi…

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. …

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…

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…

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. …

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…

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…

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 …

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 careful…

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... unt…

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…

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 discove…

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 adj…

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…

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:E…

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 i…

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 t…

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…

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 s…

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 …

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 det…

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…

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 sev…

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…

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…

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 yea…

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 sh…

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 o…

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 initiall…

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 circums…

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…

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 t…

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 captai…

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 vi…

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 analys…

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 b…

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 onl…

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 c…

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…

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 o…

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 fil…

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 wo…

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 san…

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 – …

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 …

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 …

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 suffo…

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,…

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 accid…

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; t…

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 …

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 cloth…

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. [al…

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 coa…

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 f…

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…

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 w…

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 pr…

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 investigato…

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…

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 i…

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 t…

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 m…

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.…

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 lin…

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…

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 clu…

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 rea…

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 g…

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 sign…

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 …

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 wo…

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 uncove…

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…

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 …

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 co…

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 skil…

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 nev…

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…

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 extra…

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 t…

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…

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 b…

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 n…

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 geologis…

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 check…

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. Polic…

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…

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 accid…

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 k…

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 devas…

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 inves…

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 clue…

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 becaus…

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…

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 …

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…

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 sec…

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 ba…

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 differe…

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 t…

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 everythi…

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 …

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 lette…

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 mur…

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 pi…

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, sh…