A bomb, constructed to cause as much damage as possible, kills a victim with deadly force and flame. When a search yields some tiny clues, police are able to identify the killer.
A woman appears to have lost control of her SUV and plunged down an embankment into a shallow creek. But investigators suspect foul play when they find snowy footprints leading from the crime scene.
Volunteers and police spend weeks searching for a missing girl. A psychic later leads them to a field where the body was found.
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.
In 1999, Patrick McRae was found dead in his Des Moines home and the crime scene was awash with blood.
An assistant manager of a Florida steakhouse is stabbed to death. It appears to be a robbery gone wrong.
The killer probably hoped to cover his tracks by staging the crime scene. But investigators saw through the attempt almost immediately.
In 1999, Susan Fassett was gunned down as she left her church choir practice in Poughkeepsie, NY. After clearing her husband, police turned their attention to Fred Andros, with whom Susan had an affair.
A Russian immigrant is found dead and a strange phone call to his office is the only lead investigators have.
In 1996, Virginia Beach police arrive at the Makdessi apartment to find Elise Makdessi and her lover dead.
In 2006, Nevada politician Kathy Augustine died mysteriously during a hard-fought re-election campaign and the medical examiner could neither isolate the cause of death.
A woman was found dead on the bedroom floor of her apartment. The crime scene yielded little of value and investigators wondered if they would find enough evidence to make a case.
In 2000, Judy Southern arrived home from work and was shot by a gunman waiting within. Her husband Allen arrived shortly afterwards, called 911 to report his wife had been shot.
Responding to a 2008 garage fire, Illinois emergency response discovered a man crushed beneath a truck.
After the suspect was convicted of murder, he maintained his innocence through his 25 years in prison.
A college senior was found raped and murdered near an unpaved footpath used by students to walk from one side of campus to the other.
In 2006, Texas real estate agent Sarah Anne Walker was found brutally murdered in a model home.
In 1994, Shannon Melendi disappeared while at Emory University. Her disappearance remained a mystery for ten years, until new scientific testing cast a different light on Colvin "Butch" Hinton.
In 2000, construction manager Darrell North was found dead in his work trailer in Ft. Worth, Texas. When investigators arrived, they found that he had been stabbed 46 times.
A skeleton was discovered in the North Carolina marshlands. Investigators learned she'd been dead for months.