Forensic Files

A police officer accused of killing his estranged wife insists she committed suicide. Investigators say it was murder - that it was physically impossible for the woman to have shot herself. The crime scene evidence is interpreted differently by the defense and prosecution, and the jury must decide if the victim's death was suicide or cold-blooded murder. Originally aired as Season 8, Episode 15.

When an 11-year-old girl disappeared from a small town in a remote area of Alaska, investigators wondered if she'd been attacked by a bear or become lost in the dense woods. Her body was discovered 10 days later; she'd been shot twice at close range, and sexually assaulted. An eyewitness led police to a suspect and trace evidence found at the crime scene. Originally aired as Season 8, Episode 23.

For six years, a serial killer prowled the streets of New York City. He wrote letters to police and "The New York Post," indicating he would kill twelve people, one for each astrological sign. Forensic astronomy, handwriting analysis and DNA extracted from the flap of an envelope gave investigators a profile of the killer. Originally aired as Season 8, Episode 25.

Bruce Miller was shot to death in the office of the junkyard business he owned. The crime scene was almost pristine. In the office there should have been footprints, fingerprints, foreign hairs or fibers - but there weren't. A computer forensics expert examined the computers owned by the victim's wife and by her lover; he found all the evidence he needed. Originally aired as Season 8, Episode 34.

A young woman suddenly becomes critically ill; her symptoms worsen over time, eventually leaving her unable to walk. Then a bone marrow test reveals the cause: arsenic. Investigators now had to determine if the poisoning was caused by groundwater contamination, or something much more sinister. Originally aired as Season 9, Episode 8.

California police had several suspects in the robbery and brutal murder of an elderly couple. Unfortunately, the forensic evidence was inconclusive, and the crime went unsolved. Ten years later, a determined forensic scientist used material from a dentist's office to uncover ballistic evidence which had been overlooked. Originally aired as Season 9, Episode 14.

When the wife of a serviceman was brutally murdered in the Philippines, the Air Force Office of Special Investigators swung into action. Clues led to the victim's husband, but he insisted he was innocent. Investigators would have to do something unprecedented: Reassemble a 5-1/4-inch computer disk which had been cut to pieces with pinking shears. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 9.

A highway patrolman was dispatched to what he thought would be a routine traffic accident. While he had no formal training in forensic science, he had seen hundreds of accidents, but none had had as much blood as this. He was shocked by the coroner's ruling of accidental death. Then, an anonymous phone call breathed new life into his investigation. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 13.

A behavioral profile is helpful in a murder investigation, but it's not a road map to the killer. One such profile caused the Baton Rouge Police Department to search for the wrong man. They might not have made an arrest, had it not been for a DNA picture of the suspect, painted by a molecular biologist. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 15.

A brilliant young architect became ill and died just before she was to testify in a criminal trial. The autopsy revealed she'd been poisoned with arsenic; it was a slow and painful death, so suicide was unlikely. Investigators had to determine who among her family, friends and business associates had a motive for murder. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 21.

When a woman's husband was gunned down in his own garage by intruders, investigators worked tirelessly to find the assassins. But when they discovered that a wound sustained by the grieving widow during the attack may have been self-inflicted, they turned to science to help them unravel a twisted tale of lust, greed and deception. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 32.

Three seemingly unrelated deaths proved to be serial murders. The killer had been careful - he used poison which had no taste or odour. Fortunately for investigators, it also had a unique chemical signature. Originally aired as Season 10, Episode 33.

The woman could have lost control of her SUV on the icy road and plunged down an embankment into a shallow creek. But there were footprints in the snow leading away. Originally aired as Season 11, Episode 1.

After moving with her family from Sudan to the United States, a little girl becomes ill and dies; authorities must determine how and why it happened. Originally aired as Season 11, Episode 4.