Wednesday

The body of a prominent Atlanta lawyer was found burned beyond recognition on his Georgia farm. It seemed at first like a tragic accident but detectives uncovered a shocking tale of family greed and betrayal.

It is difficult to convict a murderer if the body can't be found. But forensic science is finding ways to do it. Devious killers can think up many was to dispose of their victim's remains, but they are often no matches for creative and devoted investigators. A speck of blood, a piece of a fingernail or a strand of hair may now be enough evidence to prove a murder and capture a killer.

Hairs and fibers: The tiniest filament can become a mark of distinction in the most singular and intimate of ways. Investigators have come to rely on forensic evidence as fine as a carpet fiber or as innocent as an eyelash to crack difficult cases.

Forensic botany & geology: Plants help provide oxygen and nutrients for existence. Soil is the fertilizer of life. Yet both can yield clues to the time and location of a person's death. In criminal investigations, a simple seedpod can provide the missing link by placing a suspect at a crime scene. Dirt left on shoes, tires or clothes can pinpoint a crime scene.

A promising young man, a brutal attack on a quiet sidewalk, and a case that went cold for decades. Lies, fear, and silence kept the truth buried—until witnesses finally spoke, unraveling a mystery that haunted a family and a city for 25 years.

A series of over sixty spectacular fires rips through california’s san joaquin valley, killing four people and devastating the landscape. An extensive investigation by the atf, police and forensic scientists reveals a common pattern among all the blazes, and to their horror, authorities soon realize that a serial arsonist is on the loose. As they painstakingly study the evidence from each crime scene, a single fingerprint leads them to one suspect. He is john leonard orr, a respected arson investigator for the glendale fire department in southern california and one of the worst serial arsonists of the 20th century.

Mixologists arrested for DUI after allegedly drinking on the job.

In the small community of Gormania WV, a young female resident, Cathy Ford, receives a mysterious phone call on February 17, 1988. She is reported missing that evening when she doesn’t return home. No one has seen Cathy since but a burnt car, blood soaked trailer and a secret affair all lead to the idea that Cathy Ford did not disappear willingly.

In november 1996, raymond collin went missing in his hometown of timmins, ontario. The discovery of his body days later in a snow-covered truck in downtown timmins led police to an assortment of possible suspects. However, police picked up the trail of the killers following another murder in southern ontario. The co-operation of two ontario police departments led to the arrest and conviction of robin graves and wayne jones.

Toxicology: While drugs can cure disease and ease pain, they can also be agents of murder. Toxicologists can examine blood and tissue to uncover cases where death is not as natural as it may seem--from slow arsenic poisoning to quick cocaine overdoses.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, a legitimate Puerto Rican independence movement took hold in the United States. But a splinter terrorist group known as the FALN was suspected of executing hundreds of bombings in major US cities.

New couple Leon and Valerie have one unfortunate thing in common – they both hate their exes. When Leon's ex-wife and Valerie's ex-husband are targeted for murder, it becomes a case of he said/she said. Who hired a hitman?

An unidentified body is found lifeless on the side of a road… Now, it’s up to Dr. G to figure out who this woman is and exactly how she died. Then… a routine boat ride, turns deadly. And each new discovery only deepens the mystery…

Ohio v. Brian Golsby. When Ohio State senior Reagan Tokes failed to respond to messages from her parents, they feared the worst. Their nightmare became a reality when a 911 caller reported the discovery of a female body in the local park. She had been shot execution style. Knowing a brutal killer was on the loose, detectives raced to solve the crime, gathering surveillance video and photos that tracked Reagan's last moments. Brian Golsby, a previously convicted sex offender, was arrested. Golsby confessed to abducting Tokes, admitting he forced her to withdraw money from ATM accounts, but he adamantly denied killing her, insisting an accomplice he called "TJ" committed the murder. At trial Golsby continued to maintain his innocence; but even his highly regarded defense team couldn't produce TJ.

Karyn slover is a pretty small town dreamer who’s finally got her big break: She’s been offered work as a model by an agency in los angeles. Now she can move away with her three-year old son, kolten, leaving her ex-husband, friends, and current boyfriend behind. She leaves her desk at the local newspaper at 5 pm, and is never heard from again.

Law student Adrienne Hickson fatally stabs her boyfriend Shawn Washington with the knife for her birthday cake when he helps his friends move instead of spending the day with her.

Applebee's waitress Rachel Wade, 19, stabs 18-year-old Sarah Ludemann to death in a vicious teen-girl cat fight over shared bad boy boyfriend Josh Camacho.

Successful dentist Kendra Hatcher is ambushed and executed in the car park of her luxury apartment complex. Detectives uncover an extraordinary murder-for-hire conspiracy orchestrated by a jealous rival, leading to an international manhunt and one of Dallas’s most notorious murder cases.

Just outside the sleepy town of Athens, WI., Kenneth Kunz returns to his family farm to find four of his family members murdered and one missing.

Ohio v. Brian Golsby. When Ohio State senior Reagan Tokes failed to respond to messages from her parents, they feared the worst. Their nightmare became a reality when a 911 caller reported the discovery of a female body in the local park. She had been shot execution style. Knowing a brutal killer was on the loose, detectives raced to solve the crime, gathering surveillance video and photos that tracked Reagan's last moments. Brian Golsby, a previously convicted sex offender, was arrested. Golsby confessed to abducting Tokes, admitting he forced her to withdraw money from ATM accounts, but he adamantly denied killing her, insisting an accomplice he called "TJ" committed the murder. At trial Golsby continued to maintain his innocence; but even his highly regarded defense team couldn't produce TJ.

In 1974, a man identifying himself as the btk (bind, torture, kill) strangler started a killing spree in kansas spanning the next two decades. He managed to kill ten people while eluding an intense manhunt by police. After a 13-year lull, he reemerged in 2004 through a disturbing letter to the media, that ultimately lead to his capture a year later.

John Gotti was ambitious, powerful and ruthless. He ruled with flash and conspicuous style, playing celebrity with the media and cat and mouse with the FBI. They called John Gotti the Teflon Don. Serious charges just wouldn’t stick.

A female moves into a home, but notices her privacy is invaded by a man who films her through the window causing her to consider a violent showdown.

When an 18-year-old woman disappears after finishing her shift, her car is later found abandoned, but it's still running and the woman is nowhere to be found.

Police found the body of a man stabbed to death in the ruins of his home after a blazing fire. Security cameras showed two figures driving away from the scene. Detectives identified two female lovers as the suspects, each telling very different stories.