Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
Sep 8th
100p
The Disappearance of Helle Crafts
A Connecticut flight attendant went missing and was never seen again. Police suspected her husband was guilty of murder and they were able to prove it – even though they never found the woman’s body.
Sep 8th
130p
The Magic Bullet
A fifteen-year-old boy died from a mysterious gunshot wound to his head while he was sitting in the lobby of his father’s gun club. Ballistics, laser technology, made-to-scale models and the latest in forensic animation showed that bullet had followed a tragic course after a misfire at the outdoor range.
Sep 8th
200p
The House that Roared
A woman disappeared and her husband became the prime suspect -- especially after police found a huge bloodstain on the carpet of their bedroom. When they sprayed the bedroom with Luminol, they discovered it was awash with blood spatter. Complex DNA testing proved it was the wife’s blood. Now all they had to do was find her body.
Sep 8th
230p
The Footpath Murders
British detectives worked with a pioneering scientist to solve crimes of sexual assault and serial murder. This 1986 case marked the first time DNA was used as evidence in a court of law.
Sep 8th
300p
Planted Evidence
Early one morning in a deserted area outside of Phoenix, a motorcyclist discovered the body of a young woman. She had been beaten, bound, strangled and possibly raped. The nearby plants would tell investigators more about the killer than any other single piece of evidence.
Sep 8th
330p
Southside Strangler
Shortly after Thanksgiving in 1987, an intruder broke into a residence in Arlington, Virginia. That crime launched a new era in police investigations: DNA evidence and psychological profiling helped catch a serial killer and free an innocent man.
Sep 9th
700a
Deadly Formula
When four-month-old Ryan Stallings died under suspicious circumstances, his mother was arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of his murder. An explanation for Ryan’s death would come five months later from the most unlikely of sources: his newborn brother.
Sep 9th
730a
Beaten by a Hair
Early one fall morning, Laura Houghteling left her Bethesda home and walked to the station to take a train to work. She was never seen again. A peculiar strand of hair found in Laura’s hairbrush enabled investigators to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
Sep 9th
800a
Crime Seen
On the strength of eyewitness testimony, 34-year-old Edward Honaker was arrested, charged, and convicted of rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual battery; he was sentenced to three life terms in prison. Honaker steadfastly maintained his innocence. After spending years in prison and writing countless letters, he finally found someone who believed him, and was willing to pay for DNA testing which could prove he was telling the truth.
Sep 9th
830a
Speck of Evidence
On September 17, 1984, in a suburb of Tucson, Arizona, eight-year-old Vicki Hoskins left home on her pink bicycle to mail a letter for her mother. She never returned, but her slightly damaged bicycle was found nearby. Investigators turned to forensic science, in the hope it would tell them not only what happened to Vicki, but also who was responsible.