Friday

When killers hide or destroy the remains of their victims, it becomes the mission of forensic scientists to reconstruct the scenes and prove murder for an absent witness.

Sometimes killers are careful to leave no fingerprints behind. But methods of the murder itself can leave a lasting impression on police, especially when the tools (or weapons) of a killer’s trade leave an innocent victim marked for death.

After a multi-millionaire is shot in his own mansion and eventually succumbs to his wounds, it takes countless years until a family friend implicates the true mastermind behind the deadly plan.

The world’s top criminal investigators, forensic scientists and behavioral analysts go behind the scenes of some of their most challenging serial murder cases to reveal the cutting edge forensic science, technology, behavioral psychology and investigative techniques involved in tracking down a serial killer. The detection and apprehension of the gainesville ripper, who brutally attacked and murdered five college students in florida, provides the core narrative against which the unique forensic and investigative details of four other cases are compared and contrasted.

The wildest spring break arrests in Florida.

Dr. G works on unexplained deaths in orange and osceola counties in florida, as well as similar deaths from her previous employment as an associate medical examiner in bexar county, texas. The show features dramatic re-enactments of the events leading up to the person's death as well as the autopsies. Interviews with dr. G, family members, and other people connected to the deaths are also shown.

An elderly couple was bludgeoned to death in their home, but the crime went unsolved. Two years later, the owner of a pawn shop was looking through a stack of old newspapers and came across an article about the murders. There was a photograph of the victims, and the woman pictured was wearing an unusual elephant pendant necklace – a necklace which the owner realized was in her shop. Not only that, she still had the pawn ticket, identifying who had sold the jewelry.

When nine-year-old Jessica Knott disappeared from her home and was later found murdered, all of the tools in the arsenal of forensic scientists were brought to bear. Painstaking analysis of hairs, tiny fibers, and the plastic garbage covering her body lead police to a suspect – who turned out to be the same person who made what he thought was an anonymous 911-call, reporting where Jessica’s body could be found.

The investigation of the disappearance of a young woman leads police to a suspect with a history of sexual assault, rape, and kidnapping. But police could not find the victim’s body, making it more difficult to connect their suspect to the crime. Finally, police discover the remains of a charred tooth. Superimposed images and an analysis of the elements of a dental filling give investigators the proof they need to bring the perpetrator to justice.

A wealthy, middle-aged woman dies suddenly and unexpectedly at home. An autopsy finds no signs of foul play and investigators are unable to determine the cause of death until they receive a call from the ex-wife of the dead woman’s husband. Her claims initiate an investigation, during which the sensitive nose of a toxicologist sniffs out murder.

Anytime, anywhere, people disappear - kidnapped from their daily routines. Predators always leave clues behind, but chasing them takes time, hampering investigators’ attempts to solve these fatal abductions.

Bank robbery is a brazen yet simple crime. A mask, a gun, a note passed to a teller. But bank burglary is different. It takes skill to disable an alarm, to penetrate a locked vault.

In 1984, a tragic murder led agents into the frightening world of domestic terrorism. Law enforcement vowed to dismantle the violent faction that claimed responsibility.

Ohio v. Brian Golsby. When Ohio State senior Reagan Tokes failed to respond to messages from her parents, they feared the worst. Their nightmare became a reality when a 911 caller reported the discovery of a female body in the local park. She had been shot execution style. Knowing a brutal killer was on the loose, detectives raced to solve the crime, gathering surveillance video and photos that tracked Reagan's last moments. Brian Golsby, a previously convicted sex offender, was arrested. Golsby confessed to abducting Tokes, admitting he forced her to withdraw money from ATM accounts, but he adamantly denied killing her, insisting an accomplice he called "TJ" committed the murder. At trial Golsby continued to maintain his innocence; but even his highly regarded defense team couldn't produce TJ.

Texas officers respond to what looks like a murder-suicide between a mother and her teenage son. Forensic testing of gunshot residue, body temperatures, and toxicology will decide whether this was a family tragedy or a staged scene.

While her 10-year-old daughter listens upstairs, failed self-help guru Derek Medina shoots his wife during an argument, then casually posts pictures of her dead body on Facebook.

After a night of drinking, 45-year-old Ana Trujillo bludgeons her on-again-off-again lover Stefan Andersson to death with a blue suede stiletto shoe.

Christine and Jo Ann are neighbours caught up in a bitter feud. When one of them is gunned down in the driveway of her own home, the vicious crime is caught on home surveillance video. But there's no way to identify the shooter – until he brags to one too many people about his crime.

A young Jackson, Michigan police officer investigates a missing woman and finds that her husband has just had brain surgery and is acting strangely. When the officer follows his instincts and inspects the couple’s restaurant, he finds their kitchen has a become a slaughterhouse. But who could be responsible for such atrocity?

At the bottom of a steep ravine, joggers discover a body mutilated beyond recognition. To catch a ruthless maniac, Lt. Joe Kenda must first solve the puzzle of the victim’s identity, then piece together the ill-fated love triangle that led to his demise.

In november 1986, a snowstorm rips through connecticut, leaving wife and mother helle crafts missing. Her husband, airline pilot richard crafts, evades suspicion for weeks by claiming that helle had left the country to visit her sick mother. Groundbreaking forensic work and an eyewitness to a gruesome scene involving an industrial-sized woodchipper, results in a conviction that shocks a community.

In December of 1990, young Navy wife and mother Dina Kichler is found brutalized and strangled in her Mayport, Florida, apartment. Investigators work through a list of the victim’s admirers before closing in on the killer.

Linda is a teacher that has attempted to help Todd for years, but now at 17-years-old, Todd begins to have feelings for her that turn into an obsession.