Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
May 27th
1230p
Forever Hold Your Peace
When a young man confessed to the rape and murder of a woman in a restaurant, police were convinced the case was solved. Eight years later, another man imprisoned for an unrelated crime, admitted HE committed the murder. But authorities viewed that admission as unfounded. They could not understand why an innocent man would confess to a crime he did not commit, and if he were innocent, why he said nothing during his eight years in prison.
May 28th
1100a
Reel Danger
When two boys are viciously attacked while fishing in a nearby pond, authorities spring into action. They suspect a group of teenage thugs, but lack solid evidence. It would take the murky waters of a fishing hole to provide clear evidence, and help authorities reel in the boy’s attackers.
May 28th
1130a
Who's Your Daddy
The body of a young woman was found in an icy Ohio waterway. She had been strangled to death, and most of the evidence had been washed away by the rushing water. Investigators conducted a painstaking examination of the victim’s body and clothing, and discovered a tiny clue – hardly bigger than a human hair. That clue would enable police to determine where the victim had been just before she died; it would also lead them to her killer.
May 28th
1200p
The Alibi
In a small South Carolina town in 1991, 17-year-old Crystal Faye Todd, a popular high school student, was raped and murdered. With few leads, authorities asked Crystal’s male friends and acquaintances to provide a blood sample for DNA testing. Fifty-two of them agreed, including Ken Register, Crystal’s best friend. When his DNA matched semen at the crime scene, he couldn’t believe it. Neither could his mother, his girlfriend – and even Crystal’s mother. Ken had a solid alibi for the night of the murder, and he asked a question no one could answer: “If I had killed her, why would I have given blood?”
May 28th
1230p
Purr-fect Match
A woman vanished from her home on Prince Edward Island. Her abandoned car was found in a field; inside, the windows were spattered with blood. During the search for her body, police found a plastic bag containing a pair of sneakers and a bloody leather jacket. On the jacket were white hairs… hairs that investigators discovered had come from a cat. Forensic testing on a cat had never been done before – anywhere in the world. This case made history: It was the first time that animal DNA was used to solve a crime.
May 29th
1100a
Bio-Attack
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.
May 29th
1130a
A Shot in the Dark
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.
May 29th
1200p
Without a Prayer
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.
May 29th
1230p
A Clutch of Witnesses
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.
Jun 1st
1100a
Scout's Honor
Police determine that the human remains found in a discarded box belong to one Edna Posey. But to find out when the murder took place, and whether the man accused of the crime is guilty, investigators turn to insects and the forensic entomologist who can interpret their behavior.