The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science

- Season 9

(2003)

The Great Miami River washes up a torso leaving investigators baffled by where the remaining body parts might be or if the person was male or female. Also, a passer-by stumbles upon a human finger in a dumpster behind a local pet store and calls 911.

Often, a killer will build the victim's trust before he or she attacks. In this episode, New Mexico police search for a missing teenager who disappeared from a local skating rink. Authorities suspect the two friends she was last seen with.

A car crashes down an embankment in Northern California. Rescue workers scramble to save a couple trapped inside. Susan Moyer lay motionless while passenger Mitch McLees is barely conscious. An unexpected twist is revealed during a routine investigation.

Sometimes the faintest fingerprint or tire track is all investigators need to solve even the most brutal of crimes. When a woman's body is discovered in a field, detectives employ a rarely used technique to lift fingerprints from her corpse and bring her killer to justice.

A house fire in California turns into a murder investigation when authorities discover that the victim's best friend and personal manager had recently cleaned out her bank account.

Police search for a 22-year-old college student whose car was found abandoned outside Philadelphia; 10-year-old boy missing in Illinois.

Sometimes, cooperation from people who are not associated with a crime in any way is the only link between a criminal and the clues left behind for forensic experts. This episode examines cases in which good Samaritans provide tips to investigators to help solve these puzzling crimes.

Even ordinary objects, when used to kill, carry enough evidence for forensic scientists to piece together the most complicated murders. In this episode, criminals who killed for money are brought to justice with evidence found on mundane, household objects.

A car plunged down an embankment in Jellico, TN and was engulfed in flames. When the fire was extinguished, investigators found a victim charred beyond recognition. But when coroners examine the DNA more closely, will they find a victim, or a look-a-like?

When several patients in a small ICU facility die, investigators turn to forensics to solve the mystery. One nurse is suspected of using a deadly dose of medicine to take patients' lives.

A killer will often try to disguise the victim's body in an attempt to the hide the actual cause of death; however, forensics cannot be fooled. In this episode, authorities use reverse DNA testing to identify remains and solve an old crime.

When the amount of money is substantial enough, a person can be motivated to do terrible things to someone they love. Police discover that a large life insurance policy was motive for a man's murder. A woman hires outside help to cover up her husband's death with claims of a brutal home invasion.

A 10-year-old girl is reported missing after she failed to show up at a friend's house after school. With few clues to work with, investigators turn to forensics to fill in the blanks and help them solve the case.

A Russian woman is killed in her home; police search for a box whose contents may prove a man guilty of his wife's murder.

Blood can be the most telling evidence of a murder and often it is the only thing investigators have to link a killer to his or her victim. Forensic scientists and medical examiners can look at blood spatter patterns and the amount of blood lost to determine how someone was killed.

Whether it is a fingerprint or a single bullet, sometimes it is the smallest piece of evidence that is needed to crack the biggest cases. In this episode, detectives use an ingenious technique to find the bullet that killed an elderly man.

A Virginia real estate agent misses an appointment and is never seen again. It's up to forensic experts to piece together evidence and find the answer to this story's Fatal Twist.

Murderers will often go to great lengths to keep their crimes concealed, but forensic evidence is impossible to cover up. In this episode, medical examiners and authorities rush to identify bodies found in drum barrels and locate several missing women linked to the killer.