The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science

For some killers, murder can be a lucrative business. When a victim has been targeted for death, investigators must dig deep and go beyond the obvious to uncover a murder for hire.

When an untraceable poison is used as a murder weapon, investigators rely on forensic toxicologists to follow a killer's tracks and expose a toxic death.

When indisputable evidence refutes a killer's story, police must use the clues to piece together the truth.

Sometimes when a death seems to be accidental, forensics can reveal the deception just below the surface.

When everyday substances reveal hidden clues that break a homicide case, those substances become the elements of murder.

Most victims are meticulously chosen by their murderer because of a connection or because they match a set of criteria.

Killers often will try to cover up their crime by hiding the remains of their victims. Sometimes bodies may lay hidden for years before they are discovered.

When a victim is killed at point-blank range, police often suspect that a friend or acquaintance is to blame, because for a stranger it would otherwise prove too difficult.

In most murder cases, police rely on motive to pursue a killer. But when the murderer is a stranger, the crime may go unsolved for years.

When killers are driven by jealousy, rage and desire, their desperation is evident in both the crime and their efforts to cover their tracks.

When murderers hide or destroy the remains of their victims, forensic scientists must reconstruct the scenes and prove murder for an absent witness.

The methods of a murder itself can leave a lasting impression on authorities, especially when the tools of a killer's trade leave a victim marked for death.

Anytime, anywhere, people disappear...and sometimes these disappearances end in tragic murder. Kidnappers always leave clues behind, but chasing them takes time.

Some killers choose to hide their victims and investigators must then rely on forensics to uncover proof of murder.

At a crime scene, anything left behind or moved out of place is considered a clue. But a fire can extinguish everything in its path, challenging forensic investigators at every turn.

Solving crimes may begin with intuition but advanced science provides investigators with irrefutable proof to uncover staged accidents.

When victims of murder knew their killers, they can be caught off guard. The killers rely on their intimate knowledge to pull off the perfect crime.

Coroners play a vital role in piecing together the final moments of someone's life. Los Angeles County coroner Julie Wilson provides an in-depth look into the science of death.