Catching Killers

Arson used to be the ideal way for a crook to make evidence go up in smoke. Not anymore. Today, fire investigators are using new techniques and modern science to catch deadly arsonists red-handed. Go back to one of the biggest turning points in fire investigation: a 1990 Jacksonville, Florida fire that left a family dead and the only adult survivor accused of murder. Then revisit a recent case in which state-of-the-art forensics led investigators to an arsonist honor student.

A spy uncovering government secrets from home. A serial killer hunting female escorts online. Two dangerous criminals, both of whom played a vital role in the evolution of digital forensics. We track two investigations, decades apart, detailing how cyber sleuthing was first used to snare a West German hacker in 1986, and how, years later, technical advances helped the Boston Police capture the Craigslist Killer. See how this ever-evolving science has become a major player in catching killers and keeping us safe - online and in the real world.

They've been called the "voodoo police" by some detectives, but criminal profilers are often the law's only hope of putting killers behind bars. See how these specialized agents bring felons to justice by gathering evidence, studying motives, and getting inside some very troubled minds. Then witness two landmark cases: the hunt for the Mad Bomber of New York, when profiling got its trial run, and a 1982 investigation in which traditional methods failed, but psychological insights brought down one of the deadliest serial killers in history.

For over 50 years, crime investigators have been playing a grisly game of connect the dots, linking blood spatter at violent crime scenes to ruthless killers. Join two investigations and see how the ever-evolving forensic science of bloodstain pattern analysis helped investigators solve both the 1954 murder of the wife of a prominent doctor and the death of a Las Vegas playboy 40 years later. Both deaths made headlines and led to scandalous accusations, but it was the blood on the walls that told the true story.

Hair, skin cells, fibers, residue, and specs of dust. Sherlock Holmes and his magnifying glass made the analysis of trace evidence famous, but French scientist Edmond Locard made it a movement. Discover how his bold theories on using microscopic evidence to solve crimes helped crack a high profile murder case in 1912. Then travel forward nearly 80 years to discover the trace evidence that was the only hope of catching California's notorious "I-5 Strangler." Two big cases, each solved by evidence barely visible to the naked eye.

When a death looks suspicious, forensic pathologists take a closer look. By thoroughly examining a corpse, they can determine the cause of death and whether or not a crime has taken place. See how this forensic science first gained notoriety 100 years ago in England, when a pathologist, though autopsies and wildly unconventional research methods, linked one man to two suspicious honeymoon deaths. Then, discover how a postmortem examination in Cincinnati in 1987 led detectives to one of the most prolific serial killers in American history.

The son of Charles Lindbergh, America's favorite aviator, is kidnapped and murdered in 1932. The crime grips the nation and baffles police. It also catches the attention of a mild mannered wood expert from Wisconsin whose expertise will blow the case wide open and establish the science of forensic botany. Discover how a simple slat of wood helped catch the man who killed "The Eaglet." Then see how, 60 years later, plant evidence in a man's truck is used to link him to an Arizona woman found murdered by a cluster of Palo Verde trees.