
Forensic Files
While investigating the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Knott, police use a garbage bag to connect a suspect.

While investigating the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Knott, police use a garbage bag to connect a suspect.

In little more than a month, two women who lived in the same apartment complex were brutally murdered.

An investigation into the murder of Katie Poirier is stymied by the lack of a body. Finally, investigators use a single tooth found among some charred remains to identify her.

In 1996, Virginia Beach police arrive at the Makdessi apartment to find Elise Makdessi and her lover dead.

Police charge a mentally unstable man with his wife's murder, but a medical examiner discovers that she died of natural causes.

In 1995, when off-duty Maine State Trooper Vicky Gardner is attacked by Steven Fortin during a routine stop, it triggers a chain of events which jumpstarts a stalled murder case in New Jersey.

In the 1990s, the media dubbed Richard Rogers the "Last Call Killer" because he targeted men in gay bars.

A young, attractive hairdresser was sexually assaulted and murdered in her own beauty salon. The evidence at the crime scene didn't match any of the suspects and the case went cold for ten years.

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

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 child was killed in a hit-and-run. The prosecutor has an accident reconstruction expert come to trial.

In 2004, nursing student Tamika Huston went missing from her Spartanburg, South Carolina home. A tip led detectives to her car, where they found an unknown house key that could help solve the case.

The body of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan was discovered nine months after she disappeared. Forensic scientists found clues that painted a virtual portrait of her killer.

In the mid-1980s, bodies of nude women were found on a remote hill of California. The police got a break when a known prostitute escaped an attacker and was able to identify him and his automobile.

The woman in the back of the truck was flailing her arms, screaming. They thought she was doing something dangerous for the fun of it.

The murder of an American tourist in a Mexican resort draws law enforcement resources in both countries.

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 tape.

After a street fight takes the life of a national wrestling champion, police must determine if he was killed in cold blood or in self-defense.

When Genell Plude is found dead in her bathroom, the scene points to suicide. But a coroner's inquest and a unique application of forensic science gave investigators a different explanation for her death.

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.