Forensic Files schedule

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In 1992, Laura Houghteling disappeared from her Bethesda home and was never seen again. Forensic scientists use evidence from her bedroom to direct police to a prime suspect.

The victim was a self-made man who never minced words. Perhaps he was murdered by a disgruntled client or employee. Perhaps the racy photos in his safe held the clue to solving the crime.

When police discovered the body of Douglas Beamish's estranged wife, authorities linked 20 cat hairs found on her jacket to a cat owned by Beamish's parents. It was the first time animal DNA was used to solve a criminal case.

Seattle police had no suspects in the violent murder of grunge singer Mia Zapata. More than a decade passed before evidence collected by a prescient medical examiner could be used by forensic scientists to identify the killer.

A young hairdresser was sexually assaulted and murdered in her own beauty salon. The evidence at the crime scene didn't match any of the suspects and, after the initial investigation, the case went cold for ten years.

Two men are murdered while sleeping in their beds. The next night, arson destroys a family planning clinic. Investigators wonder whether some shards of glass, paint chips and a chicken feather could link what appear to be two separate crimes.

In the search for the killer of two Texas teenagers, a behavioral profile led to suspect Jason Massey. Hard science proved the profile was correct, and Massey was executed by lethal injection on April 3, 2001.

Two different men called police to report the same murder. Apparently, neither one knew that the other had called. The investigation uncovered even more unusual circumstances.

Residents of Noel, Missouri were stunned to learn that their bank had been robbed and the bank president was missing. His body was later found floating in a lake, securely bound to a chair with duct tape.

Several suspects and conflicting evidence complicated a brutal murder investigation. But the forensics were clear on one thing: the killer knew his victim, and that alone gave investigators a head start.

When a man is gunned down in his own garage, investigators use science to unravel a twisted tale of lust, greed and deception.

The doctors at the hospital couldn't determine the cause of Bobby Curley's hallucinations and intense pain. They treated it as a neurological disorder but his condition deteriorated. He was being poisoned.

In 1986, Gary Dale Larson was stabbed to death in his Edmond, Oklahoma home. The killer then sexually assaulted Larson's girlfriend, Janet Haynes.

In 2007, Brian and Beverly Mauck were found dead in their Graham, Washington home. Using a bloody palm print and shoe prints at the scene, investigators focus their attention on Daniel Tavares, who had previously inked a tattoo on Brian's back.

When a wealthy socialite died after falling down the stairs, witness accounts contradicted evidence. To find out what really happened, investigators employed a physicist and an expert in accident reconstruction.

Police discover a bullet-riddled car, a missing driver and no witnesses. Had the victim been abducted or was she dead? The answers are found in a unique clue, so tiny it was measured in millionths of a meter.

When Leann Fletcher is found dead, investigators use blood spatter analysis and forensic computing to find a motive for her murder: her husband, a prominent lawyer, was having an affair with judge Susan Chrzanowski.

Prompted by news of a flight attendant's brutal murder, the son of a previous victim contacts police. Both murders have similar MOs, and biological evidence proves that these were serial killings.

When a woman and her daughter didn't return home from shopping, her husband directed police to a nearby mall. The child's body was found, but there was no sign of the wife.

Timothy Wilson Spencer was identified as the man who raped and strangled five young women in Virginia. With the use of DNA profiling, an innocent man is freed and the real killer is convicted.

When a college student is found dead, evidence suggests that he knew his killer. With just three hairs and some microscopic cells, police unravel a web of lies and find the motive for murder.

In 1995, the founder of American Atheists disappeared with one of her sons, her granddaughter and $500,000 in gold coins. The police investigated several suspects, including David R. Waters, who worked for American Atheists.

A young woman attends evening church services, then disappears. When her abandoned car is found, the tank is empty and a gas can she kept in her trunk for emergencies is missing.

In 1996, police received a call from Darlie Routier telling them of her two sons' murders. The police found the killer by analyzing blood spatter, doing behavioral profiling and analyzing Darlie's 911 call.

Just weeks before a witness is to testify against the man accused of sexually assaulting her, she is murdered in the front yard of her own home. Investigators immediately suspect her attacker, but they don't have enough evidence to prove his guilt.

A security guard disappeared from his post without a trace; his remains were found a year later in a remote campsite.

Avis Banks and her unborn child were brutally murdered. The body was discovered by her fiancé, Keyon Pittman. When police learned that Pittman was having affairs with other women, he became the prime suspect.

They thought the fire would cover their crime. But one tiny clue, no bigger than a thumbtack, remained. It held all the information investigators needed to put a trio of cold-blooded killers behind bars.

On May 20, 2001, Carrie Nelson was beaten to death while working alone in a park office. The case went unsolved for six years. Finally, police found a match with DNA samples gathered from the crime scene.

In 1996, Derrick Duehren returned to find his Oregon home burned to the ground. His wife's charred remains were later found in the rubble. Investigators set out to determine if it was an unfortunate accident or murder.

In 1996, 54-year-old Gayle Isleib was ambushed in her Manchester, Connecticut driveway and shot to death. Police had to determine whether obsessive love was the motive for her murder.

When more than 700 Oregonians contracted food poisoning from a unique strain of salmonella in 1984, investigators uncovered a secret plot to influence local elections.

A Colorado hunter is the victim of a well-planned crime. Investigators suspect two weapons and two killers. But forensic evidence points them in a different direction — one much closer to home.

A man disappears one year to the day after beginning an affair with his friend's wife. 15 years later, with the help of a metal detector, police find evidence that would prove what had happened and who was responsible.

A fifteen-year-old boy dies from a mysterious gunshot wound to the head while sitting in the lobby of his father's gun club. Ballistics, laser technology, made-to-scale models and the latest in forensic animation are used to find the cause.

When a young fireman died from what appeared to be serious but undiagnosed heart disease, his family and friends had no proof of foul play.

Paul Gruber's daughter suspected something was wrong when she received birthday cards addressed from her father, but written in a stranger's handwriting.

When a college student vanished without a trace, her fellow students were concerned about her safety and their own.

When a hit-and-run accident claimed the life of a high school athlete, everyone in town mourned his passing. Finding the killer was a long shot at best.

When a dry cleaner employee is raped and murdered in her store, police turn to forensic science for the answers they need.

Police are dispatched to the scene of a shooting and discover the victim's husband is one of their own: a homicide detective who says his wife accidentally shot herself in the head.

While investigating the apparent overdose suicide of Reverend Bill Guthrie's wife, detectives recover incriminating files from Bill's computer and learn of his infidelity.

At the scene of a vicious murder, the killer went to a great deal of effort to wipe away his fingerprints and obscure his shoe impressions left when he tracked blood trails on the floor.

After the suspect was convicted of arson and murder, he maintained his innocence. He turned to law books in the prison library and set out to prove his innocence.

When a young woman disappeared, police feared she was the latest victim in a string of similar crimes. A pair of bloody gloves, unique tire tracks and ordinary pine needles provided investigators with some extraordinary clues.

Time of death becomes pivotal after a pregnant woman is found murdered in her air-conditioned bedroom. A striking similarity between her death and an HBO movie gives examiners the clues they need to thaw out the alibi of a cold-blooded killer.

Police suspect Dr. John "Jack" Boyle in the disappearance of his wife, Noreen, when he signs mortgage papers for a new house with a woman pretending to be his spouse. The police later find Noreen's body in the basement of Dr. Boyle's new house.

A young woman is found dead in her apartment. With little evidence at the scene, the case turns cold — until police discover a link between their prime suspect and an unsolved murder committed six years earlier in a different state.

Doctors are puzzled when a two-year-old boy is rushed to the hospital with brain seizures and breathing difficulties. Finally, the boy's sister provides an important clue, raising the possibility of a rare syndrome.

Haunted by the disappearance of her mother, a young woman undertakes an investigation of her own. In her mother's diary, she discovers a dark family secret that might explain the disappearance.

Soon after becoming pregnant by Dr. Maynard Muntzing, firefighter Michelle Baker's health quickly deteriorates. Eventually, she raises suspicions that Muntzing is doing her harm.

In 1971, John List left a note with the bodies of his mother, wife and three children in his mansion ballroom before disappearing completely. Detectives must solve the case, despite having only an outdated photograph of List.

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