Forensic Files

Explore how a hit single from 1966 foreshadowed the demise of the group's lead singer, Walter Scott.

An unusual case involving the 1988 rape and murder of Nancy DePriest. After Chris Ochoa confessed, the case was closed. Eight years later, Achim Marino was admitted to the same crime, and DNA evidence proved that Marino was the perpetrator.

The investigation into a brutal attack on two boys near a pond relied on evidence fished out of the murky water. It was the first case where diatom evidence was used to place a suspect at the scene of the crime.

In a groundbreaking case using animal DNA, investigators use forensic testing on a cat to help them solve the case of a woman who vanished from her home on Prince Edward Island.

1995-1997-A series of unsolved kidnappings and sexual assaults occur in California. A victim says that she left something behind in the assailants vehicle which may send investigators in the right direction.

An examination of the first time animal DNA was used to solve a criminal case. When the body of Douglas Beamish's estranged wife, Shirley Duguay, was discovered, authorities linked 20 cat hairs found on her jacket to a cat owned by Beamish's parents.

The story of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. Investigators uncover a plot to overthrow the government after a unique strain of Salmonella makes people ill.

A woman was shot to death. But was it a homicide or a suicide? It would take the expertise of forensic experts and two jury trials to determine the fate of the accused killer.

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

Two eyewitnesses may hold the key to the death of a motorcycle gang member.

In Pennsylvania, a passerby finds the torso of a woman in a cardboard box. Investigators rely on insect activity analysis by a forensic entomologist to determine when the murder victim was killed.

The investigation into the kidnapping and rape of an 18-year-old Ohio woman is aided when the victim returns hours after the incident occurred. With her help, the police can track the assailant, Craig Bailey, to his front door.

The police investigate when a severed leg is discovered in the garbage. Conventional means of identifying the victim are impossible, leading investigators to rely on DNA, forensic anthropology, and toxicology to identify the victim.

The story of how scientists solved a 1992 murder case involving cremation. It takes a long time and a fire to cremate a human body and destroy evidence of foul play. But the coroner who performed the autopsy on the body found telltale clues.

A look back at the case of the "River Park Rapist," who assaulted four women in South Bend, Indiana, in 1996. Law enforcement officers arrested Richard Alexander, who was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 70 years in prison.

The 1996 Seattle murder of suburban couple Raquel Rivera and Jay Johnson is detailed. Evidence from the couple's dog, Chief, eventually ties one of the murderers to the scene. This is one of the first cases where dog DNA was used to convict.

The story of firefighter Michelle Baker is related. After meeting Dr. Maynard Muntzing, she became pregnant with him. After this news, she was ill whenever they were together. The coincidences led her to suspect that he was doing her harm.

A look back at a trio of unsolved murders that occurred in Wichita Falls, Texas, during the 1980s details how a fourth murder from the same time period provided the police with more than they realized.

The disappearance of Philadelphia college athlete Aimee Willard is investigated after her car was found on the roadside. When her body is found, the police find unusual marks on her body and DNA evidence that eventually leads to her killer.

The apparent overdose suicide of Reverend Bill Guthrie's wife, Sharon, is investigated, and detectives recover incriminating files from Bill's computer and learn of his infidelity.

A woman disappeared along a California highway in 1991. Three years later, the case was solved when a man's refrigerated truck was looked upon with suspicion.

The 1987 disappearance of Houston resident Tracy Jo Shine is recalled. The investigation went cold until 2000, when a "cold case squad" learned that the woman's ex-boyfriend, Michael Neal, had bragged about killing her.

Doctors cannot pinpoint the source of a businessman's illness.

A child's father was suspected when she was killed, but years later, police learned a convicted murderer lived nearby. Tiny drops of blood helped police solve the crime.