Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
Jun 4th
1100a
The Metal Business
It looked like sixty-two-year-old Phillip Rouss, Jr. had it all: family, friends, and a new business which was the culmination of a life-long dream. Then his health began to deteriorate. Doctors couldn’t pinpoint the cause of the illness and Phil began to suspect his condition was no accident. Toxicologists and investigators identified the real problem just in time to save Phil’s life.
Jun 4th
1130a
Dressed to Kill
When six-year-old Michelle Door disappeared without a trace, her father became the prime suspect. He failed a polygraph test and even confessed to the murder of his daughter, but his confession was later discounted. Years later, police learned that a man who’d been convicted of another murder lived just two doors away from Michelle when she disappeared. This discovery, and tiny drops of blood shed a decade earlier, helped police to solve the crime.
Jun 4th
1200p
Palm Print Conviction
The discovery of a woman's naked body, covered with bruises, leaves no doubt that she was the victim of foul play. Quick-thinking investigators erected a makeshift tent around the body and used Super Glue fumes to lift the killer’s palm print from the victim’s skin. With this technique, they were able to determine who had a hand in the murder.
Jun 4th
1230p
A Vow of Silence
In 1987, Emelita Villa came to Arlington, Texas from the Philippines as a shy, impoverished, 18-year-old mail order bride for Jack Reeves, a man almost 30 years her senior. Six and a half years later, Emelita disappeared. During their investigation, detectives learned that both Reeves’ second and third wives had died amid mysterious circumstances. The death of Reeves’ second wife, Sharon, had been ruled a suicide, but blood spatter evidence in a photo indicated she might have been murdered. An autopsy, performed on Sharon’s body 14 years after her death, revealed even more.
Jun 5th
1100a
Elephant Tracks
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.
Jun 5th
1130a
A Bag of Evidence
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.
Jun 5th
1200p
Tooth or Consequences
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.
Jun 5th
1230p
Sniffing Revenge
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.
Jun 8th
1100a
Sleight of Hand
A rich elderly woman is murdered and her home ransacked. A trail of blood was visible down one side of the stairs. Though investigators were able to lift prints from the crime scene, they failed to find a match and the crime went unsolved. Sixteen years later, advances in the science of fingerprint identification, and the development of DNA profiling, enable police to identify the print – and the killer.
Jun 8th
1130a
Scratching the Surface
In Miami, Florida, a sniper opened fire from the rooftop of a manufacturing plant, killing one employee and injuring two others in the parking lot below. Police discovered spent shell casings on the roof, and the gun was found in the yard of a nearby home. The shooter had scratched the serial number off of the gun, hoping to make it untraceable. But forensic scientists had a way to make the number reappear.