There was no clear reason for a young, healthy college student to be dead. But when the coroner discovered a tiny clue during the autopsy, investigators were able to uncover a mystery.
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In 2006, Darlene VanderGiesen received threatening emails and then disappeared. Tracking the source of the emails led police to the home of Daphne Wright, where they believe a murder was committed.
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 people.
A woman who was known to have suffered from depression took her own life. But her sister told police that she said if anything were to happen to her there would be a note in the china cabinet.
An investigation into the murder of a World War II veteran slowed to a halt when the prime suspect had a solid alibi. But a lucky break led to a shady character who wore distinctive boots.
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.
Two suspects are linked to a murder by bloodstained boots and a gun, but the owner of the items says he has never met the victim.
In 1989, the dead bodies of Joan Rogers and her two teenage daughters were found floating in Tampa Bay.
When a wealthy socialite died after falling down the stairs, witness accounts contradicted evidence. Investigators employed a physicist and an expert in accident reconstruction.
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.
A man's wife took her own life and his college sweetheart killed herself the same way. Was it coincidence?
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, a college co-ed was abducted from the parking lot of her apartment.
In 1969, phone operator Diane Maxwell is murdered. Her brother promised he'd find out who was responsible.
A surgeon is stabbed to death, and the most likely suspect is seen in a restaurant at the time of the murder.
In 2007, the Florida mobile home of Effie and Michael Ratley catches fire. 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.
When a college student is reported missing, police believe their investigation will be like countless others.
In 1987, the death of Crystal Purcell was considered an accident. Then in 2001, Barbara Purcell called police to suggest that her estranged husband had killed Crystal.
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.
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.
Police get a clue about a couple who disappeared on Memorial Day weekend during an in-progress robbery.
When a college co-ed vanished without a trace, her fellow students were concerned about her safety and their own.
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