A money launderer is found dead in the ocean and the only obvious clues to his identity are a Rolex watch and a tattoo; the anchor with which he is weighed down proves most helpful in solving the crime.
The 1992 hit-and-run death of 6-year-old Nicole Rae Walker leads to a groundbreaking trial as experts submit a video reconstruction of the incident, implicating a drunk driver and demonstrating the viability of video testimony.
Specialists including a NASA vendor help police reconstruct a damaged surveillance video to catch the murderer of convenience store employee Wanda Mason in Lansing, Mich.
When a young woman goes missing, the police investigation reveals that she led a double life -- student by day, call-girl by night -- but when her body is discovered, even more strange truths are uncovered.
When 4-year-old April Renee Tucker is found dead in her backyard, her parents tell the police that neighborhood dogs attacked and killed her, but the injuries on her body don't match their account of what happened.
San Diego police investigate the murder of a missing person whose hands turn up in a dumpster; an anonymous letter, containing details only the killer would know, offers clues to solving the case.
One year after her father's death, a teen's role in a high school production of "Hamlet" causes her to reveal the chilling truth behind her family's tragedy.
A mother puts her hope on the internet and an independent investigation to clear her name after authorities charge her with murdering her 17-month-old son in a fire considered to be intentionally set.
When a man dies unexpectedly in the office of a noted California doctor, police begin what they think will be a routine investigation, but discoveries of false identities and insurance fraud raise questions about the doctor's role.
A forensic scientist uses his skills to preserve a footprint left in snow to help authorities nab two men suspected of robbing an Ontario couple and shooting the husband in the head.
The FBI profiles a suspect in the kidnapping and murder of a 6-year-old girl during an evening church service; a witness leads authorities to the likely killer, but then becomes a victim herself.
Photographs found in a dumpster lead to the killer of Los Angeles model Linda Sobek; the man claims he did not intentionally kill her despite evidence to the contrary.
When a woman dies in a horseback riding accident, police uncover a web of lies in her husband's background after his suspicious behavior prompts a closer look.
A serial killer in Tampa, Fla., taunts police by strangling prostitutes and leaving their bodies in plain sight, but tire marks and fibers lead to the culprit.
A killer wants to outwit the police and keep the identity of his victim secret so he removes the teeth; however, lab tests on the skull reveal not just the horrific nature of the murder, but the identity of the victim too.
The pornography empire cultivated by brothers Artie and Jim Mitchell crumbles when one turns up dead and his brother confesses to shooting him; investigators question whether the shooting was premeditated.
When prison guard Donna Payant's body is discovered at a landfill, a medical examiner uses a "signature" clue to link her death to a murder the same examiner investigated 10 years earlier.
A young woman goes missing without leaving many clues, but the advanced technology on offer makes it possible for cat hairs and insects to help build an image of the abductor.
Exploring how an American hit single from 1966 -- "The Cheater" by Bob Kuban and the In-Men -- foreshadowed the demise of the group's lead singer, Walter Scott.
Eight years after a man confessed to the murder of a young woman, another man claims that he committed the crime, and investigators must use forensic evidence to determine the true killer.
Although a group of teenage thugs are suspected of attacking two boys on a fishing trip, there is no solid evidence until a murky fishing hole provides some answers.
When young prostitute's body turns up in an Ohio waterway, authorities have one tiny clue which could point to her killer, but face huge challenges due to her policemen clients and DNA evidence being washed away.
In a small South Carolina town in 1991, 17-year-old Crystal Faye Todd, a popular high school student, is raped, murdered and dumped in a deserted field; with few leads, authorities test the DNA of several friends, and one match shocks everyone.
A look into the 1984 Oregon food poisonings, where detectives track down the outbreak to a cult which aims to use germ warfare to take down the government.
A woman is found dead from a gunshot wound and police suspect her husband, however, forensic teams prove what really happened, and the truth is stranger than fiction.
Two people witness a truck driving over an unconscious man and flee into a nearby bar, but when the police turn up, the truck, the man and the witnesses are gone.
A handsome young doctor's fiancée experiences severe illness after revealing that she is pregnant, and launches her own investigation to determine if the doctor is somehow responsible.
When a 62-year-old man opens a car restoration business and becomes seriously ill, his doctors cannot find the cause, but forensics can; identification of a highly toxic metal in the victim's blood leads to his poisoner.
When a 6-year-old disappears, her father becomes the prime suspect; he fails a polygraph test and even confesses, but 10 years later, the investigation gets turned on its head.
The disappearance of a mail-order bride proves suspicious when detectives learn that two of the Texas husband's previous wives had died in mysterious circumstances.