Forensic Files
Upcoming episodes
Mar 10th
900a
"Sim"ilar Circumstances
Robert Sims returned home after working the night shift, and found his wife, Paula, unconscious on the kitchen floor. Their two-year-old son, Randy, was asleep in an upstairs bedroom, but their six-week-old daughter, Heather, was missing. Paula Sims was the only witness to a crime that baffles investigators to this very day.
Mar 10th
930a
Grave Evidence
Stephen Scher and Martin Dillon went skeet shooting in rural Pennsylvania on a beautiful Spring day in 1976. Martin was shot dead that day, and Scher maintained a freak accident had cost his friend his life. It would take more than 20 years for the truth to be revealed, and for the jury to rule on who was responsible for the death of Martin Dillon.
Mar 10th
1000a
Deadly Formula
When four-month-old Ryan Stallings died under suspicious circumstances, his mother was arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of his murder. An explanation for Ryan’s death would come five months later from the most unlikely of sources: his newborn brother.
Mar 10th
1030a
Beaten by a Hair
Early one fall morning, Laura Houghteling left her Bethesda home and walked to the station to take a train to work. She was never seen again. A peculiar strand of hair found in Laura’s hairbrush enabled investigators to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
Mar 10th
1100a
Crime Seen
On the strength of eyewitness testimony, 34-year-old Edward Honaker was arrested, charged, and convicted of rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual battery; he was sentenced to three life terms in prison. Honaker steadfastly maintained his innocence. After spending years in prison and writing countless letters, he finally found someone who believed him, and was willing to pay for DNA testing which could prove he was telling the truth.
Mar 10th
1130a
Speck of Evidence
On September 17, 1984, in a suburb of Tucson, Arizona, eight-year-old Vicki Hoskins left home on her pink bicycle to mail a letter for her mother. She never returned, but her slightly damaged bicycle was found nearby. Investigators turned to forensic science, in the hope it would tell them not only what happened to Vicki, but also who was responsible.
Mar 10th
900p
When the Dust Settled
A union official was executed in his home not long after a strike by the union membership. Neither his wife, who was sleeping in the adjacent bedroom, nor anyone in the neighborhood heard any gunshots. It would take a forensic sound test, an electron microscope, and a nightgown to explain why.
Mar 10th
930p
A Welcome Intrusion
A man tells police he shot an intruder who had attacked and murdered his wife. The husband paints a tragic picture of harassment, stalking and revenge, and is dubbed a hero for his valiant attempt to save his wife. Four years later, new forensic evidence leads police to re-examine the motives of this so-called “hero.”
Mar 10th
1000p
Within Arm's Reach
A man accused of killing his estranged wife insisted she had committed suicide. Investigators said it was murder – that it was physically impossible for the woman to have shot herself. The crime scene evidence was interpreted differently by the defense and prosecution. It was up to the jury to decide if the woman killed herself or was the victim of a cold-blooded murder.
Mar 10th
1030p
Private Thoughts
Firefighters find an entire family dead inside their burned-out home, and at first glance, it appears to be a case of murder-suicide. But clues found at the scene soon lead investigators to believe otherwise.