The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science

Often, the witnesses of a crime are also the main suspects. They're able to manipulate the truth to throw off the authorities.

A simple clue can provide the missing link by placing a suspect at the scene of the crime. Dirt left on shoes, tires or clothes can pinpoint where the crime occurred.

Approximately 1.8 million Americans are reported missing each year. Some are runaways who eventually find their way home, but others simply disappear without a trace.

Some people don't care who they kill. They just want to hurt innocents.

Sometimes blood relations lead to bloodshed. When money is the motive, murder can rip at the very foundation of family and marriage.

Even the most puzzling cases can be solved with the tiniest residue left behind at the crime scene.

Poison is an almost invisible form of death and is often interpreted as a heart attack or underlying health issue.

Some people do get away with murder, at least for a while. Thrilled by their success, they tend to kill again and again.

At the scene of a murder, sometimes the only clues to the killer come from the victim.

Time of death is an important consideration in an investigation but when a killer destroys the body, even the best medical examiner would be at a loss about how to calculate death's time frame.

Accidental deaths, suicides, disappearances and fires: they're an everyday part of an insurance investigator's job.

Drowning deaths often look like accidents and over time water can destroy the few clues the killer may have left behind.

A dog can be a dead man's best friend. Some dogs have been trained by law enforcement to sniff out corpses, drugs, explosives and missing persons.