Tuesday

No matter how chaotic or how clean a crime scene appears to be, the culprit is bound to leave something telling behind. Occasionally, it’s nothing more than a fingerprint or shoe tread. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.

High profile politician Kathy Augustine married nurse Chaz Higgs after a whirlwind romance. They were an unlikely match: she was wildly ambitious, while he hated politics. When their marriage hit the rocks, Chaz decided to use his medical training to commit an undetectable crime.

Denise Williams was devastated when her husband Mike disappeared on a duck hunting trip. He was feared drowned, perhaps even eaten by alligators. But Mike’s mother Cheryl didn’t buy it, and after years of relentless campaigning, she finally uncovered the devastating truth about her son’s death.

The double homicide of a gay couple leads investigators into the twisted world of White Supremacists. Shell casings, paint chips and an analysis of glass shards help authorities link their prime suspects to a string of hate crimes in California.

Police discover a man shot dead in his home after they receive a call from his worried mother. The search for the killer would lead them on a two-year investigation spanning several states. Because many of the witnesses were admitted drug users, investigators would need hard physical evidence to prove their case; it came in the form of a rare gun and the victim’s beloved dog.

A young TV news producer is raped and murdered in her apartment. Police identify two suspects, but both are cleared of any wrongdoing. The case stalls for more than a year, and then investigators turn to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s DNA Databank which houses profiles of more than 8,000 convicted felons, and is the first of its kind in the nation. A comparison of the crime scene evidence with the Databank profiles results in Virginia’s first “cold hit” in a homicide investigation, and reveals the identity of the killer.

Police are dispatched to the scene of a shooting, and discover the victim’s husband is one of their own: a homicide detective who says his wife accidentally shot herself in the head. The detective maintains he called 911 immediately, but the evidence seems to indicate otherwise. Investigators turn to a forensic scientist and a ballistics expert to learn what really happened, and who was responsible.

For years, a woman suffered from what appeared to be the unpleasant side effects of lithium, a drug prescribed to treat bipolar disorder. Her search for help led her to numerous doctors and hospitals, and resulted in a 4,000-page medical file. When she died, investigators had to determine if her death was due to natural causes, suicide, or murder.

A woman is found dead in a ravine near a jogging path. Crucial crime scene evidence had been washed away by severe thunderstorms. Twice, the trail turned cold. Then, almost 20 years later, an old hat and a chip of stainless steel no longer than a fingernail brought the killer to justice.

Men don’t have a monopoly on murder, but it’s still extraordinary when women kill. Though female killers are as deadly as males, they choose less violent methods. They’re often more cunning, calculating; but thanks to forensics, no more likely to get away with it.

For a price, anything’s possible. Contract killings arose out of the need to establish the perfect alibi. By hiring someone else to do the dirty work, a person can deflect guilt, at least in theory. Forensics is changing that, leading investigators from the killers to their employers.

Colorado V Mark Redwine. 13 year old Dylan wasn’t eager to fly to Colorado for the court ordered long distance visit with his dad Mark who tried to placate his son with a visit to McDonald’s and shopping at Walmart straight from the airport. But when the boy didn’t show up for a playdate the next morning, he was reported missing, setting off a manhunt in the rough Colorado wilderness terrain. Mark Redwine and his ex-wife took to the airwaves to plead for their son’s return but to no avail. Then in a stunning twist in a national television interview Dylan’s brother Cory accused Mark of being responsible for his brother’s disappearance, a charge the father vigorously denied. But three years later when Dylan’s badly decomposed remains were found by hikers , prosecutors did indeed charge Mark Redwine with his murder, saying he killed his son out of anger and shame after Dylan confronted him with compromising photos of his sexual deviancy.

Ohio v. Stanley Ford. Firefighters made a desperate effort to save a young family from a blazing fire, but rescuers were too late. Police declared the fire was no accident and began an arson investigation, which included another unexplained fire a few blocks away that killed a beloved elderly couple. Detectives found their first clue in surveillance footage from neighborhood security cameras — a hooded figure, dressed in white, with no face visible — seen dousing both homes with lighter fluid, igniting the flames and running away. Who was the mystery man?

In 2011, Dalene Carlson goes missing, just weeks after relocating to Stockton, California. As investigators search for the missing 23-year-old, a shocking discovery in a nearby cornfield sets them on the trail of a vicious killer.

In 1988, a nine-year-old girl goes missing in Great Falls, Montana. Years after the case goes cold, a chance bus stop encounter breathes new life into the investigation, leading detectives to the horrifying truth behind the girl’s disappearance.

After an all-night study session in a university lab, math student Deborah Wilson is found strangled, missing her shoes and socks. Years later, Philadelphia investigators unearth the shocking obsession that drove a killer to take her life.

When a well-liked teenage boy is found stabbed to death in his Salt Lake City, Utah home, detectives leave no stone unturned in their quest to solve the murder that rocked this normally tranquil town.

When a popular young woman turns up murdered in Lancaster County, PA, investigators must piece together the last few moments of her life to determine who killed her.

In 1984, hundreds of people in The Dalles, Oregon became ill with food poisoning. Local, state and federal disease detectives slowly unraveled the medical mystery. Along with a unique strain of bacteria, they discovered a religious cult's bizarre plot to overthrow the government -- using germ warfare.

When a woman is found dead of a gunshot wound, police conclude that she was murdered by her husband. Investigators theorized the couple had argued, and during the ensuing struggle, the husband shot his wife in the back and then staged the scene to make it look like a suicide. Forensic scientists were able to piece together the clues and determine what really happened. In doing so, they proved once again that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the head of the American Atheists group – and she was once called “America’s most hated woman.” When she and her two top lieutenants disappeared, there was no shortage of suspects. The full story of her abduction and the hatred and revenge which fueled it might never have been told, had it not been for the discovery of a headless, handless body, and the serial number on an artificial hip.

While standing outside of a motorcycle gang’s clubhouse, two witnesses watched in horror as a truck intentionally ran over an unconscious man – not once, but twice. Fearing for their safety, the witnesses ran into the clubhouse; when they looked outside, both the truck and the victim were gone. The truck was finally located, but the forensics lab could not find a single speck of evidence in it. And the body didn’t turn up either.

A single mother of two believes that she's found her romantic partner when she runs into a former schoolmate, but his charming ways hides his true character.