Forensic Files

A phone number helps police to find an abductor.

Time of death becomes pivotal when a pregnant woman is found murdered in her air-conditioned bedroom.

A woman wins her release after being imprisoned for allegedly killing her mother in a car fire.

A random serial sniper is plaguing Virginia and Maryland, with no profile of their victims.

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.

Phone mapping, wiretapping and other forensic evidence help to solve a complicated crime.

When a nurse starts experiencing a variety of flu-like symptoms, she discovers that she is HIV-positive; she learns that her infection was not accidental.

Technology able to analyze human bite-marks yields information on a woman's death.

Computers aid the police and FBI in solving a string of crimes.

A bite mark is all the evidence needed to convict a suspect who was robbing tourists in Florida.

Authorities track a kidnapper who allowed his victim, 17-year-old Shari Smith, to write a last will on a notepad and then informed the family of her murder, as well as the later murder of a 10-year-old, Debra May Helmick.

Sheila Bryan, who was convicted of killing her mother in a car fire, is granted a new trial. A fire expert witness's opinion on how the fire ignited differs from the prosecution's theory. If verified, it would clear Bryan of any culpability.

In 2002, the eyes of the world were on Virginia and Maryland. A serial sniper was on the loose, killing innocent, unsuspecting citizens. Just how was he caught?

The wife of a murdered horse rancher explains that the last time she saw her husband was when he was leaving the house to go jogging. Police become suspicious when forensic evidence eventually leads investigators back to the ranch.

A murder investigation in Florida crosses jurisdictions from New York and Jamaica. The police rely on cell phone mapping, wiretapping, and a host of forensic evidence to link a suspect to a murder.

When the mail-order bride of a former army sergeant goes missing, investigators look into the deaths of the man's previous two wives.

In the case of the Center City Rapist and the murder of Shannon Schieber, Philadelphia authorities use an anonymous letter and geographic profiling to hone in on a suspect.

Detectives use a forged signature to find a woman's abductor.

A serial arsonist starts several fires that cause millions of dollars worth of damage and the deaths of three people. He is discovered partly through the use of forensic hypnosis.

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 to trace it to its owner.

In 1981, an 86-year-old California woman was murdered, and her house was ransacked. The crime would remain unsolved for sixteen years, until DNA profiling and new fingerprint technology helped identify the killer.

Janet Overton died suspiciously in 1988, and the investigation hit a dead end when the autopsy indicated no foul play was involved. A telephone tip and the sensitive nose of a forensic examiner indicated otherwise.

A murder investigation is stymied by the lack of a body, but police find a few charred remains, including a tooth whose filling contains properties that help investigators identify the corpse.

The murder of 9-year-old Jessica Knott is investigated. Investigators use a garbage bag to connect suspect James Edward Crow Jr. to the crime.

The murders of an elderly couple leave police stumped until, two years later, they receive a major break. A jeweler looking through old newspaper clippings recognizes a necklace the female victim wore as having been pawned in her own shop.

When the mail-order bride of a former army sergeant goes missing, investigators look into the deaths of the man's previous two wives.

A murder investigation is helped by a legal requirement that bars have video cameras installed on the premises. Video, hair, and blood lead to the murderer.

A child's father was suspected when she was killed, but years later, police learned a convicted murderer lived nearby. Tiny drops of blood helped police solve the crime.

Doctors cannot pinpoint the source of a businessman's illness.

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.

A woman disappeared along a California highway in 1991. Three years later, the case was solved when a man's refrigerated truck was looked upon with suspicion.

The apparent overdose suicide of Reverend Bill Guthrie's wife, Sharon, is investigated, and detectives recover incriminating files from Bill's computer and learn of his infidelity.

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

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 story of firefighter Michelle Baker is related. After meeting Dr. Maynard Muntzing, she became pregnant with him. After this news, she was ill whenever they were together. The coincidences led her to suspect that he was doing her harm.

The 1996 Seattle murder of suburban couple Raquel Rivera and Jay Johnson is detailed. Evidence from the couple's dog, Chief, eventually ties one of the murderers to the scene. This is one of the first cases where dog DNA was used to convict.

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

The story of how scientists solved a 1992 murder case involving cremation. It takes a long time and a fire to cremate a human body and destroy evidence of foul play. But the coroner who performed the autopsy on the body found telltale clues.

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 investigation into the kidnapping and rape of an 18-year-old Ohio woman is aided when the victim returns hours after the incident occurred. With her help, the police can track the assailant, Craig Bailey, to his front door.

In Pennsylvania, a passerby 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.

Two eyewitnesses may hold the key to the death of a motorcycle gang member.

The founder of American Atheists disappeared in 1995 along with one of her sons, a granddaughter, and $500,000 in gold coins. The police homed in on several suspects, including David R. Waters, who worked for American Atheists.

A woman was shot to death. But was it a homicide or a suicide? It would take the expertise of forensic experts and two jury trials to determine the fate of the accused killer.

The story of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. Investigators uncover a plot to overthrow the government after a unique strain of Salmonella makes people ill.

An examination of the first time animal DNA was used to solve a criminal case. When the body of Douglas Beamish's estranged wife, Shirley Duguay, was discovered, authorities linked 20 cat hairs found on her jacket to a cat owned by Beamish's parents.

1995-1997-A series of unsolved kidnappings and sexual assaults occur in California. A victim says that she left something behind in the assailants vehicle which may send investigators in the right direction.

Cat hairs found in evidence lead to the first testing of animal DNA to solve a crime.

The investigation into a brutal attack on two boys near a pond relied on evidence fished out of the murky water. It was the first case where diatom evidence was used to place a suspect at the scene of the crime.

An unusual case involving the 1988 rape and murder of Nancy DePriest. After Chris Ochoa confessed, the case was closed. Eight years later, Achim Marino was admitted to the same crime, and DNA evidence proved that Marino was the perpetrator.

Explore how a hit single from 1966 foreshadowed the demise of the group's lead singer, Walter Scott.