Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
Jun 19th
1100a
Letter Perfect
A healthy young man dies mysteriously in his sleep. There are no signs of trauma or injury, but toxicology tests reveal a lethal dose of lidocaine in his blood. Investigators find a suicide note, and presume he killed himself -- until a forensic linguist examines the note and determines that what the victim said is less important than how he said it.
Jun 19th
1130a
True Lies
In the summer of 1986, Kathleen Lipscomb’s body was found on a deserted road outside of San Antonio. Months passed, then years, and the crime was never solved. Then Kathleen’s family hired a private investigator, who discovered a diary among her personal effects. Two of the diary entries helped police to piece together what had happened to Kathleen Lipscomb, and why.
Jun 19th
1200p
Bed of Deceit
A retired police officer is discovered in his bed, dead of a single gunshot wound to the head. His wife first says the motive was robbery; then she tells police he committed suicide. It would take careful examination of the evidence at the crime scene, the tape from a bank surveillance camera, and forensic textbooks found in the victim’s home to write the final chapter of this real-life whodunit.
Jun 19th
1230p
Smoke in Your Eyes
The bodies of two young women are found in the ashes of an apartment fire, which appeared to have been set deliberately. Evidence found in the debris leads investigators to a suspect, but it would take a tiny blood stain, no bigger than the head of a pin, to convict him.
Jun 23rd
1100a
Flower Power
Two different men telephoned 911 to report a woman had been murdered; neither knew the other had called. The victim’s ex-husband was a gun collector, so police had three viable suspects. Careful examination of bloodstains, a discarded candy wrapper and a few tiny seeds enabled forensic scientists to determine who committed the crime.
Jun 23rd
1130a
Past Lives
The body of a wealthy American businessman was found in his rental car. The car had swerved off the road into a ravine, and caught fire. Teeth and bone fragments were all that remained of the body; miraculously, an engraved wristwatch and medic alert bracelet had escaped the inferno and were found in the ashes. When the victim’s wife filed a claim for $7 million of life insurance, investigators sought the help of a renowned forensic anthropologist. His findings and the work of other forensic scientists uncovered a chilling scheme of fraud and deceit.
Jun 23rd
1200p
Over and Out
When a pipe bomb ripped through a rural home, killing a young man and seriously injuring his mother, police had no idea who was responsible. A lot number on a 9-volt battery and the remnants of a mailing label found on a computer’s hard drive enabled investigators to determine who sent the bomb, and why.
Jun 23rd
1230p
Death by a Salesman
No one in a quiet residential community saw or heard anything unusual the day one of their neighbors was brutally attacked and murdered. Fingerprints found at the crime scene and surveillance video from a security camera helped investigators to apprehend the presumed killer within twelve hours – even though he’d already left the state and was on a bus, headed for New York City.
Jun 24th
1100a
Web of Seduction
Bruce Miller was shot to death in the office of the junkyard business he owned. The crime scene was almost pristine. In the untidy office which hadn’t been cleaned for years, there should have been footprints, or fingerprints, or foreign hairs and fibers… but there weren’t. When a computer forensics expert examined the computers owned by the victim’s wife and by her lover, he found all the evidence needed to convict the person most responsible for the crime.
Jun 24th
1130a
Grounds for Indictment
A drive-by shooting leaves one man dead and another seriously wounded. Cell phone calls and shell casings point to a suspect, but authorities are unable to place him at the crime scene. When a forensic geologist compared soil from the crime scene with soil found in the wheel wells of the suspect’s car, he proved that dirt is anything but dumb.