The New Detectives
Upcoming episodes
Apr 5th
500a
From the Ashes
Arson investigation: Insurance torchings, mob burnouts and arson murders: These crimes are designed to take all clues with them. But a solid case can be built from a heap of ashes. Arson investigators do everything from gathering physical evidence to mounting undercover and sting operations.
Apr 6th
500a
Living in Terror
Terrorism: Thanks to new technology and, perhaps, the approaching millennium, terrorism is a growing international threat. The oklahoma city explosion and the bombing of the world trade center are just two of the incidents of this growing problem. With the expertise of bomb squads, chemists and tool mark experts, bombs are deactivated and criminals are caught.
Apr 6th
600a
Lethal Obsessions
Some people will let nothing stand between them and their goals. In their tortured minds, raw desire replaces all reason, and homicide becomes a convenient means to an end. Blinded by love, torn by jealousy, or hungry for power, the obsessive murderer justifies his crimes and is capable of almost anything. While forensic investigators follow the physical evidence, psychologists study the muddled workings of the criminal mind.
Apr 6th
100p
Traces of Guilt
Sometimes the scales of justice are balanced by just a few milligrams of evidence – a couple of fibers, a tooth filling, or a smudge on a piece of tape. The biggest cases are often solved by the smallest clues.
Apr 7th
400a
Electronic Witness
George orwell’s concept of big brother remains in the realm of fiction. But as technology becomes more a part of our lives, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to make a move without leaving behind an electronic trace. Cell phones, surveillance cameras, and atms track virtually every move. When it comes to solving murders, this isn’t such a bad thing.
Apr 7th
500a
Dead Wrong
Hiding a body can be difficult; it’s sometimes easier to obscure or disguise the circumstances of the death, turning murder into suicide, or pinning the blame on someone else. The truth is told through subtle clues taken from the crime scene.
Apr 7th
600a
Lasting Impressions
No matter how chaotic or how clean a crime scene appears to be, the culprit is bound to leave something telling behind. Occasionally, it’s nothing more than a fingerprint or shoe tread. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.
Apr 7th
100p
Women Who Kill
Men don’t have a monopoly on murder, but it’s still extraordinary when women kill. Though female killers are as deadly as males, they choose less violent methods. They’re often more cunning, calculating; but thanks to forensics, no more likely to get away with it.
Apr 8th
400a
Deadly Dealings
For a price, anything’s possible. Contract killings arose out of the need to establish the perfect alibi. By hiring someone else to do the dirty work, a person can deflect guilt, at least in theory. Forensics is changing that, leading investigators from the killers to their employers.
Apr 8th
500a
Body Count
Some people do get away with murder, at least for a while. Flush with their success, serial killers murder again and again. But each time they kill, they leave behind a few more clues, which ultimately lead to their undoing.