Forensic Files

Women in a small Louisiana city live in fear of a rapist who leaves no clues to his identity. But computer technology and behavioral science combine to give police a new forensic tool: geographical profiling.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a woman is found murdered in a bar, investigators believe the best evidence is the bite mark found on the victim. A postman is convicted of murder, but he maintains his innocence. Ten years later, improved technology yields new information.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Children at a Texas hospital seem to be dying at a higher rate than at any other US hospital. Investigators look to a suspicious nurse.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A girl was found dead in her backyard. Her parents claimed she was attacked and killed by the family dogs, but police disagreed.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a mother and her child are abducted during a carjacking, the crime is reported within minutes. Police know they have a small window of opportunity to find them... and the clock is ticking.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arson is suspected when a Seattle policeman's house burns down.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a young mother and her infant son are found dead in a cornfield, the obvious suspect is the husband and father of the victims. But some insects found on the bodies reveal a vital clue, as does a long, blonde hair found on the victims.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A talented television news anchor was shot to death outsider her home; it appeared to be a crime of passion, perpetrated by an obsessed fan. A police dog tracked the scent of the killer through the adjacent woods and back to the crime scene. Could the murderer be one of the onlookers, watching the police conduct their investigation?To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When their trailer catches fire, the young husband heroically rescues his wife and infant son. A month later, his wife is beaten to death in a bedroom of his parents' home. The cut window screen points to an intruder, but the lack of supporting evidence compels investigators to look beyond the obvious.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years after a girl was murdered, a tiny drop of blood and burned bones lead police to her murderers.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Several high-powered legal officials are victims of mail bombs.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a hit-and-run boating accident caused the death of a popular young man, investigators faced the the daunting task of searching for one boat among 1,200 others. They asked anyone who had seen the accident to come forward. The man who responded did much more than witness the crash; he was a passenger in that other boat.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mother used her knowledge from murder mystery shows to determine who severely injured her young daughter in a hit-and-run accident.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fire sweeps through a mansion killing two children, and all evidence leads to the mother.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The investigation of the disappearance of a woman leads police to a suspect. But police could not find the victim's body. Finally, police discovered a charred tooth. Superimposed images and a dental filling give investigators the proof they need.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a college co-ed vanished without a trace, her fellow students were concerned about her safety... and their own. Weeks later, the body of an unknown female was discovered about 700 miles away in the ashes of a barn fire, and an alert police officer realized the two crimes might be connected.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A young woman is found dead in her apartment. there's little evidence at the scene, leads don't pan out, and the case turns cold... until police discover a link between their prime suspect and an unsolved murder committed six ears earlier in a different state.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How unlucky could one man be? His wife had taken her own life, and his college sweetheart had killed herself in much the same fashion fourteen years earlier. Investigators had to determine if this was a bizarre coincidence or an attempt to get away with murder... twice.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1984, a couple set off for a camping trip but got lost and fell asleep at a scenic overlook in Virginia.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After he got into the home, the assailant used an axe to kill the husband and critically injure his wife. Nothing was taken, so this wasn't a robbery. A DNA profile from skin cells collected hundreds of miles away would reveal the killer's identity and his motive for murder.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A chemist suddenly starts to suffer from foot pain, partial numbness, and hair loss, and eventually dies. Could he have been poisoned?To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The woman in the back of the truck was flailing her arms, screaming. They thought she was doing something dangerous for the fun of it. But when they found a jacket near a pool of blood, they knew what they'd seen wasn't a joy ride; it was an abduction.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Doctors don't know why the young scientist is gravely ill. When test finally reveal the cause, it's too late to save him. Police hope that lab analysis of his hair - showing when attempts were made on his life and what was used - will lead to the killer.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When an 11-year old girl disappeared from a small town in a remote area of Alaska, investigators wondered if she'd been attacked by a bear or become lost int he dense woods. It turned out neither was true. Her body was discovered 10 days later; she'd been shot twice at close range, and sexually assaulted. A tip from an eyewitness led police to a suspect, and trace evidence found at the crime scene convinced a jury of his guilt.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A nurse experienced flu-like symptoms. She visited the doctor for a check-up and learned she was HIV-positive. In the end, science was able to determine not only how she had been infected, but also by whom. The worst part: It wasn't an accident.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A security guard disappeared from his post without a trace; his remains were found a year later in a remote camp site. More than a decade would pass before a phone call breathed life into the cold case, a paint smear on the bottom of the victim's boot helped scientists determine what happened during the last hour of his life.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years, a woman suffered from what appeared to be the unpleasant side effects of lithium, a drug prescribed to treat bipolar disorder. When she died, investigators had to determine if her death was due to natural causes, suicide or murder.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time of death becomes pivotal after a pregnant woman is found murdered in her air-conditioned bedroom. A similarity between her death and an HBO movie gives forensic examiners the clues they need to thaw out the alibi of a cold-blooded killer.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1984, hundreds of people in The Dalles, Oregon became ill with food poisoning. Local, state, and federal disease detectives slowly unraveled the medical mystery. Along with a unique strain of bacteria, they discovered a religious cult's bizarre plot to overthrow the government...using germ warfare.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The man suffered a slow, agonizing death over a period of days. His wife maintained he killed himself, but police were skeptical... especially when they learned her first husband died when he was only 38-years old, and she refused to consent to an autopsy.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a dedicated, well-respected teacher disappeared, police had to determine if she'd gone on vacation without telling anyone or if she was the victim of foul play. Investigators turned to forensic science, hoping to find the answers they needed.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A behavioral profile is helpful in a murder investigation, but it's not a road map to the killer. One such profile caused the Baton Rouge Police Department to search for the wrong man. They might have made an arrest had it not been for a DNA picture of the suspect painted by a molecular biologist.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Arizona surgeon is found stabbed to death. All signs point to a random attack until investigators uncover an unlikely suspect. Police work to unravel the mystery in a case of jealousy, rage, and the almighty dollar.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The medical examiner ruled the death an accident, but the detectives investigating the case thought the evidence at the scene indicated otherwise. It would take three years, an exhumation, and a second autopsy to determine who was right.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The autopsy on the badly burned body of Charles "Jack" Lynch led investigators to search for a couple of killers.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A couple embarks on a holiday but never return. Police suspect drugs are the reason behind their disappearance. Days later a random burglary breaks the case wide open. Police use ballistics and DNA to capture to unusual suspects.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A family interrupts a burglary in their suburban home. The gunman kills two and wounds two more. Police suspect the crime is related to a string of thefts in the area, but a closer look at the crime scene reveals the real motive and killer.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denise Johnson was found dead in an Arizona forest with little forensic evidence around her. Could history be made in a courtroom with the utilization of plant DNA as evidence?To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Early one morning, a woman went missing on her way to work. A strand of hair in her hairbrush led investigators to unravel the mystery.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A woman is murdered on a jogging trail in the middle of the day. The leads from cell phone records and search dogs go nowhere. Nine days later, a witness tells police about a chance encounter, and cigarette butts which may contain the killer's DNA.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty-four hours after her face-to-face meeting with a man she met online, the woman and her soon-to-be-ex-husband were shot to death. Only the computer had been taken from her home, and with it, the means to identify the killer.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Police discover a decomposed body had been stuffed in a barrel 30 years earlier. An address book was found with the body.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of how a routine missing-person case became a murder inquiry involving a love triangle.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forensic scientists provide authorities with evidence that a death deemed accidental 20 years ago was actually murder.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mother was convicted for the death of her four-month-old. An explanation for his death would come from his newborn brother.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A wealthy man and his wife were attacked by three men outside their luxurious Louisiana home. He was shot dead and she was forced to open their hidden safe. The woman could not describe the men because they wore masks. To solve the case, police would have to find out who knew about the concealed safe, and who would benefit from the crime.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The investigation of an exotic dancer's disappearance led police to an isolated 75-acre site where someone had been shot and cremated. The destruction of the remains was almost complete... almost, but not quite. Soft tissue attached to a piece of a foot provided enough DNA for a genetic profile, and positive identification of the victim.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man kills two people with bombs in an effort to get investors off his back and is sentenced to life with no chance of parole.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a real estate developer is shot to death, his wife becomes the prime suspect. Police have a wealth of evidence against her, but it's circumstantial. The case will turn on a .25 caliber bullet fired 20 years ago from the now-missing murder weapon.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A woman dies suddenly at home. Investigators are unable to determine the cause of death until they receive a call from the ex-wife of the dead woman's husband. The sensitive nose of a toxicologist ends up sniffing out murder.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.