It is difficult to convict a murderer if the body can't be found. But forensic science is finding ways to do it. Devious killers can think up many was to dispose of their victim's remains, but they are often no matches for investigators.
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These cases took a decade or more to solve. There's no statute of limitations on murder. As a case turns cold, the clues become scarce, investigators must rely on science to close cold cases.
A dog can be a dead man's best friend. Dogs have been trained to sniff out corpses, drugs, explosives, and missing persons. They're often the first to find the essential clue that sets an investigation in motion.
Investigators are always on the cutting edge of new forensic techniques that can help them solve cases more accurately. An experimental brain fingerprinting technique has already won the acquittal of a police officer accused of a drug charge.
Accidental deaths, suicides, disappearances, and fires they're an everyday part of an insurance investigator's life. But cases shouldn't be taken at face value. Forensics has become a tool for exposing insurance fraud.
In most homicides, police rely on motive to pursue a murderer. But when the killer is a stranger the crime may go unsolved for years. It takes a full arsenal of forensic techniques to trace a lethal encounter.
For some killers, murder can be a profitable business. And the scene of the crime can be both a source for clues, and puzzling questions. When a victim has been targeted for death, investigators must look beyond the obvious to uncover a murder for hire.
Poison is the subtlest form of death, and investigators must see through unusual circumstances to bring these murders to light.
The forces of nature can reduce a body to bones in a matter of weeks. Using a unique combination of art and science, forensic anthropologists give victims a face long after they have been forgotten.
Ballistic analysis is the key to finding killers who turn guns on their victims. Each shot fired leaves its own fingerprint, allowing scientists to target murderers with deadly aim.
Bombers, snipers, spree killers: some people don't care who they kill, they just want to hurt innocent people.
When abduction turns to murder, forensic science is the only key to finding justice for the victims of a kidnapper's deadly intentions.
Missing Person: Approximately 1.8 million Americans are reported missing each year. Worldwide, the number of missing persons nearly triples.
It is difficult to convict a murderer if the body can't be found. But forensic science is finding ways to do it. Devious killers can think up many was to dispose of their victim's remains, but they are often no matches for investigators.
When lovers turn on each other, or marriages fail, some ruthless spouses find a grisly way to gain an uncontested divorce with no paperwork. When murder tears lovers apart, forensic science must put piece together the mystery to catch the killer.
Terrorism: Thanks to new technology and, perhaps, the approaching millennium, terrorism is a growing international threat. The Oklahoma City explosion and the bombing of the World Trade Center are just two of the incidents of this growing problem.
When a theft is committed, something valuable is stolen. But when a criminal needs a new identity, theft becomes a matter of life and death.
Hiding a body can be difficult it's sometimes easier to obscure or disguise the circumstances of the death, turning murder into suicide, or pinning the blame on someone else. The truth is told through subtle clues taken from the crime scene.
When teenagers are driven to kill, their victims are but the first to fall. In three such cases, the families of the killers, as well as their communities, become the victims of violent crime.
When victims of murder know their killers, they are often caught off guard. But even the best-laid plans leave traces of the forsaken trust.
Arson fires are set for their own sake, or to cover a different crime, such as murder. Think fire consumes all vital clues? Think again. Arson investigators can glean important clues from scorched rubble and ignite the unquenchable flames of justice.
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