Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
Oct 17th
900a
Fire Proof
In 1992, residents in and around Seattle were terrified that their home -- or business -- or church -- would be the next target of a serial arsonist. More than 100 fires had been set, all apparently by the same person. This was the biggest arson case in American history, and it was solved with the help of behavioral profiling, hypnosis, and a skillful sketch artist.
Oct 17th
930a
"X" Marks the Spot
The St. Louis police and the FBI didn’t need bloodhounds, lab tests, fingerprints or other standard tools of criminal investigation to help them track down a serial killer. To put an end to the string of murders, police needed only a computer – and the knowledge of how it worked.
Oct 17th
1000a
All Charged Up
The city of Philadelphia was being plagued by a serial rapist, and then the crimes stopped. They started again -- this time, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado police had fingerprints and a DNA profile, but neither matched those in their databanks. They also had a list of close to 900 names; 83 names had come from Philadelphia police, along with a composite drawing of the rapist. What they didn’t have was a suspect – until they received a tip from woman who recognized the man in drawing.
Oct 17th
1030a
Breaking the Mold
When a healthy three-year-old boy suddenly developed respiratory and neurological problems, doctors couldn’t explain why. Then his father began to exhibit signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. His mother became ill while traveling in an airplane; fortunately, the passenger seated next to her made his living by removing toxic mold from buildings. When she told him about her family’s health problems, he suspected their home might be making them sick.
Oct 19th
100p
Cold Feet
The convenience store safe was empty and the clerk, missing. Hours later, her bound, half-naked body was discovered in nearby woods. Almost two decades would pass before advances in forensic science gave police the proof they needed to convict a killer.
Oct 19th
130p
Separation Anxiety
Attempting to dispose of the body by incinerating it proved to be one of many mistakes... culminating in the killer’s grainy image in security video being brought into sharp focus by something ordinary and everywhere: a store discount card.
Oct 19th
200p
Office Visit
A respected surgeon was stabbed to death in the parking lot next to his office. The most likely suspect is seen having dinner in a restaurant at the time of the murder. But a cryptic conversation leads police to believe that, while the suspect may not have wielded the knife, he could very well have hired the man who did.
Oct 19th
230p
Shoe-In for Murder
Terrified, the young girl hid in her bedroom while her mother was attacked and stabbed to death. Investigators had a wealth of evidence: shoe impressions, distinctive blood drops, and the killer’s DNA. What they didn’t have was a basis for comparison.
Oct 19th
300p
Family Interrupted
The gunman opened fire as the family of four entered their home, killing two and wounding the others. He’d pulled open a few drawers to make it look like a robbery, but the scene was clearly staged. When police pieced together the clues, they discovered an unlikely suspect and a carefully orchestrated plot.
Oct 19th
330p
Palm Saturday
The killer obviously spent a great deal of time at the scene, wiping away his fingerprints and obscuring shoe impressions he’d tracked through blood trails on the floor. But in the process, he created new evidence which was just as incriminating.