The New Detectives

Mind Hunters

Journey into the dark recesses and calculated madness present only in our worst nightmares; and in the minds of serial k

Camera Clues

Forensic photographers are amongst the first people at a crime scene, capturing vital clues on film. What do the cameras

Double Helix

With DNA analysis just a few microscopic cells found at a crime scene can be used to convict a killer. Forensic scientis

Web of Clues

Forensic Entomology: Bug have been around for millions of years. Their habits surrounding death can tell these experts w

Faces of Tragedy

Forensic Sculpting: These experts can take nothing more than their knowledge, clay, and a skull and bring the victim to

Without a Trace

Missing Person: In America nearly 1.8 million people are reported missing each year, factor in the world and that number

Burning Evidence

Identifying Burned Remains: Murder is hard to prove with no body, when the victim has been burned it is even more diffic

Short Fuse

Explosives Investigations: A woman opens a box which explodes killing her. Soon to follow are five other bombs just as d

Death Grip

Fingerprinting: The backbone to forensic science, the fingerprint is a very effective way to identify victims and crimin

Signed in Blood

Handwriting Analysis: Every pass of the pencil leaves a little of ourselves behind. Taking the time to evaluate document

Witness to Terror

Black Boxes: A plane plunges toward the ground and upon impact little remains. The only possible survivor is the flight

Trial of the Century

Forensics in the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial: The verdict is in Not Guilty of murder. O.J. Simpson emerges a free man. Wha

Deadly Target

Ballistics: A body with a gunshot wound to the head, the gun is next to the body. Was it suicide or murder? Every part o

Fatal Compulsion

Forensic psychologists delve into the minds of serial killers, explaining why, most often, they can be a friendly neighb

Bodies of Evidence

It is difficult to convict a murderer if the body can’t be found, but forensic science is finding ways to do it. A spe

Shreds of Evidence

Observing how the smallest bits of forensic evidence, such as carpet fiber or an eyelash, can seal a case. Included: how

Seeds of Destruction

Plants help provide oxygen and nutrients for existence. In criminal investigations, a simple seedpod can provide the mis

Lethal Dosage

While drugs can cure disease and ease pain, they can also be agents of murder. Toxicologists can examine blood and tissu

Tools of Death

A tool used to commit a crime can often be the same tool used to solve it. The pattern a machine leaves on an item, the

Out of the Grave

Advancement in science and technology are encouraging people to revisit the past in hopes of answering questions that ha

Infallible Witness

Investigators are always on the cutting edge of new forensic techniques that can help them solve cases more accurately.

From the Ashes

Insurance torchings, mob burnouts and arson murders: these crimes are designed to take all clues with them. But a case c

Living in Terror

Because of new technologies, terrorism is a growing international threat. With the expertise of bomb squads, chemists an

Lethal Obsessions

In the mind of an obsessive killer, raw desire replaces all reason and murder becomes an opportune means to an end. Whil

Traces of Guilt

The smallest of clues can solve even the biggest cases. Often the scales of justice are balanced by just a few milligram

Electronic Witness

As technology becomes a bigger part of our lives, it’s becoming difficult to do anything without leaving behind an ele

Dead Wrong

Often, murderers will change or stage a crime scene, turning murder into suicide, pinning blame, or hiding the body comp

Lasting Impressions

No crime scene is absent of clues. No matter how chaotic or how clean it may appear to be, the culprit is bound to leave

Women Who Kill

Men aren’t the only ones who kill. Though female killers usually choose less violent methods than their male counterpa

Deadly Dealings

Contract killings allow someone to establish the perfect alibi. By hiring someone else to do his or her dirty work, a pe

Body Count

Some people do get away with murder, at least for a while. Flush with their success, they murder again and again. But wi

A Taste of Poison

Poisoners are the most dangerous culprits in the crime world: smart assassins. They rely on their devious stealth and mu

Grave Discoveries

Some cases can’t be solved immediately. The passage of time can convince people to talk and new technologies can disco

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers were established in the 1800s to protect settlers from Native Americans. That role has evolved greatly

Bad Medicine

Forensics is not only used to solve murders. Drug trafficking has created a deadly criminal underworld and many forensic

Unlikely Sources

Some of the best clues come from the least likely places. Seemingly meaningless objects – beer bottles, insects, doorm

True Crime

Some crime writers know just as much about crime as a police officer, investigator or any criminal. Using combined persp

Coroner’s Casebook

A good coroner can deliver what is necessary to solve a crime, while a bad one can destroy an otherwise solid case. Two

Remnant of Blame

Solutions to atrocious crimes can hinge on the smallest of clues. Even with advanced technology, vision remains an impor

Partners in Crime

There’s an old saying that a burden shared is a burden halved. But when people team up to commit murder, the weight of

Scattered Clues

There’s never a good reason for murder but some killers are especially cruel – choosing their victims at random or w

Natural Witness

The great outdoors may offer clues to solving heinous crimes. Seed germination and the presence of certain insects provi

Tainted Trust

Poison is the subtlest murder weapon and poisoners are sometimes the most brutal killers, harming their victims over tim

Presumed Dead

What does it take to prove murder if the victim cannot be found? Forensic investigators must go to great lengths to catc

Broken Vow

When lovers turn on each other or marriages fail, some coldblooded spouses find a gruesome way to gain an uncontested di

Cold Cases

There’s no statute of limitations on murder, so as a case turns cold and clues become scarce, investigators must rely

Family Plots

Every family has its secrets and sometimes blood relations lead to bloodshed. When murder becomes a family affair, inves

Blood Money

Some people murder for love, others murder out of hatred. But sometimes people kill for the money. When greed is the mot

Murder by Numbers

For some killers, once is never enough. Often, cold and calculated serial killings are more difficult to solve than viol

A Federal Offense

When there’s a difficult case to crack, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms can be called in to help

Flames of Justice

Sometimes arson fires are set to cover a different, more heinous crime – such as murder. But killers are wrong to thin

False Witness

Often, the witnesses of a crime are also the main suspects. They’re able to manipulate the truth to throw off the auth

Trails of Evidence

A simple clue can provide the missing link by placing a suspect at the scene of the crime. Dirt left on shoes, tires or

Missing

Approximately 1.8 million Americans are reported missing each year. Some are runaways who eventually find their way home

In the Line of Fire

Some people don’t care who they kill; they just want to hurt innocents. Bombers, snipers and spree killers: these murd

For Love or Money

Sometimes blood relations lead to bloodshed. When money is the motive, murder can rip at the very foundation of family a

Left at the Scene

Even the most puzzling cases can be solved with the tiniest of residue left behind at the crime scene. Trace evidence an

Invisible Death

Poison is an almost invisible form of death and is often interpreted as a heart attack or underlying health issue. But w

To Kill Again

Some people do get away with murder, at least for a while. Thrilled by their success, they tend to kill again and again.

Written in Bone

At the scene of a murder, sometimes the only clues to the killer come from the victim. Forensic anthropologists use skel

Cold Blooded

Time of death is an important consideration in an investigation but when a killer destroys the body, even the best medic

Fatal Error

Accidental deaths, suicides, disappearances and fires: they’re an everyday part of an insurance investigator’s job.

Dead in the Water

Drowning deaths often look like accidents and over time water can destroy the few clues the killer may have left behind.

Scent of the Kill

A dog can be a dead man’s best friend. Some dogs have been trained by law enforcement to sniff out corpses, drugs, exp

Bloodlust

For homicide investigators, it’s a race against time when they track their deadliest foe: a serial killer who murders

Deadly Aim

When a killer turns a gun on a victim, ballistic analysis is key to cracking the case. Each shot fired leaves behind its

Stolen Identity

When theft is committed, something valuable is stolen. But when a criminal needs a new identity, theft becomes lethal.

Silent Witness

Sometimes, seemingly small and insignificant clues – three hairs, microscopic fibers, a paint chip – become a victim

Deadly Intentions

When abduction turns to murder, forensic science is a vital key to finding justice for the victims of a kidnapper’s de

Patterns of Guilt

The tread of a tire, a single shoe print or even the shape of a bruise can help investigators track down murderers.

A Deadly Smile

Investigators rely on forensic odontology – the examination of dental evidence – to identify a body from a single to

Military Justice

The law enforcement agency of the United States Navy and Marine Corps uses forensic science to solve perplexing murders

The Unforgotten

Years after a murder has been committed, investigators use modern technology and advanced DNA analysis to shed new light

Tainted Blood

Forensic scientists find clues written in blood as they investigate the murders of three women who were killed by men wh

Buried Secrets

The elements of nature can reduce a body to bones in a matter of weeks. Combining art and science, forensic anthropologi

Proof of Innocence

Sometimes, the wrong people are punished for crimes they did not commit. Forensic scientists use DNA analysis to overtur

Drawing Conclusions

A teenager is abducted on a shopping trip. Two hikers go missing on the Appalachian Trail. A grandmother never returns h

Stranger Than Fiction

A millionaire is murdered for a stash of buried treasure. A young woman dates violent men, only to be killed by her best

Predators and Parasites

For the forensic entomologist, insects that nest in corpses are like witnesses to the crime. By studying their behavior,

In the Camera’s Eye

Photography has long been a fundamental tool in homicide investigations. A single image can hold enough information to i

Wasted Youth

When teenagers are driven to kill, their victims are not the only ones to suffer from their violent crime. In three such

Collective Justice

Philadelphia’s Vidocq Society, named after an 18th century French detective, is one of the world’s most unusual crim

Murder for Hire

For some killers, murder can be a lucrative business. When a victim has been targeted for death, investigators must dig

Toxic Death

Sometimes the cause of death does coincide with the scene of the crime. When an untraceable poison is used as a murder w

Material Witness

Lies, deception and contradicting witnesses can often throw investigators off the trail of justice. But when indisputabl

Betrayed

Sometimes when a death seems to be accidental, forensics can reveal the deception just below the surface. Law enforcemen

Elements of Murder

A murdered woman is found stuffed in the boot of her car, and a routine investigation reveals a wife may not have abando

Random Targets

Most victims are meticulously chosen by their murderer because of a connection or because they match a set of criteria.

Grave Secrets

Killers often will try to cover up their crime by hiding the remains of their victims. Sometimes bodies may lay hidden f

At Close Range

When a victim is killed at point-blank range, police often suspect that a friend or acquaintance is to blame, because fo

Lethal Encounter

In most murder cases, police rely on motive to pursue a killer. But when the murderer is a stranger, the crime may go un

Crimes of Passion

When killers are driven by jealousy, rage and desire, their desperation is evident in both the crime and their efforts t

Absent Witness

When murderers hide or destroy the remains of their victims, forensic scientists must reconstruct the scenes and prove m

Marked for Death

Often killers are careful to not leave any fingerprints behind. But the methods of the murder itself can leave a lasting

Fatal Abductions

Anytime, anywhere, people disappear – and sometimes these disappearances end in tragic murder. Kidnappers always leave

Medical Examiner's Casebook

Some killers choose to hide their victims and investigators must then rely on forensics to uncover proof of murder. From

Trial by Fire

At a crime scene, anything left behind or moved out of place is considered a clue. But a fire can extinguish everything

Undaunted

Solving crimes may begin with intuition but advanced science provides investigators with irrefutable proof to uncover st

Forsaken Trust

When victims of murder knew their killers, they can be caught off guard. The killers rely on their intimate knowledge to

Coroner Investigator

Coroners play a vital role in piecing together the final moments of someone’s life. Los Angeles County coroner Julie W

Hidden Obsessions

Sometimes those closest to a victim can be the most dangerous. Beneath a layer of trust can lurk a deadly obsession. In

Blind Trust

Often, a killer will build the victim’s trust before he or she attacks. In this episode, New Mexico police search for

Shattered Vows

Marriage is one of the tightest bonds two people can have, until lies and deceit drive one of them to kill. In this epis

Fatal Impressions

Sometimes the faintest fingerprint or tire track is all investigators need to solve even the most brutal of crimes. When

Misplaced Loyalty

A house fire in California turns into a murder investigation when authorities discover that the victim’s best friend a

Killing Time

A killer will often try to disguise the victim’s body in an attempt to the hide the actual cause of death; however, fo

Silent Killers

When money is the motive, there is no limit to what a killer will do to get away with their fortune. When officers find

Out to Kill

Sometimes, cooperation from people who are not associated with a crime in any way is the only link between a criminal an

Raw Greed

Even ordinary objects, when used to kill, carry enough evidence for forensic scientists to piece together the most compl

Murderous Attractions

Broken Trust

Often, criminals misuse the trust they’ve built with their victims to commit heinous misdeeds. A family discovers the

Price of Murder

When the amount of money is substantial, a person can be motivated to do terrible things to someone they love. Police di

Stolen Youth

Murdering a child is perhaps the most heinous of crimes. But no matter how defenseless a killer believes a young child t

Loved to Death

Forensic science has advanced so much that even the oldest remains still share the clues necessary to convict a killer.

Written in Blood

Blood can be the most telling evidence of a murder and often it is the only thing investigators have to link a killer to

Critical Evidence

Whether it is a fingerprint or a single bullet, sometimes it is the smallest piece of evidence that is needed to crack t

Fatal Twist

When an unexpected crime occurs with no eyewitnesses, very few clues and the killers on the run, authorities must rely o

Vanished

Murderers will go to great lengths to keep their crimes concealed, but forensic evidence is impossible to cover up. In t