Killer Cases

Dec 21st

900p

The Butterfly Keeper

When Jade Janks discovered her beloved stepfather, Thomas Merriman, had secretly downloaded nude photos of her onto his computer, she set out to put an end to the abuse.

Dec 21st

1000p

The School Teacher Murder

Kay Baker, a school teacher and mom, was found lying in her neighbor’s yard bleeding to death. Soon after discovering her body, police spotted a wounded man on the run in the woods, leading to a suspenseful chase, arrest, and a possible suspect.

Dec 25th

700a

Murder on the Panhandle

Florida v. Russell Holbrook. The quiet community of Crestview, Florida was shaken following the vicious murder of beautiful 33 year old nurse Melissa Howard, described as a caring angel, found with her throat slashed in her own living room. Friends were immediately suspicious of Melissa’s ex-husband who had just lost a nasty custody battle over their son Taylor but he had a strong alibi. The case remained unsolved for ten years, until Florida State Agent Detective Meaghan Palumbo, newly assigned to the homicide squad, took a personal interest in the cold case. Using modern day forensics, Palumbo re-tested Melissa’s sweatshirt preserved all those years and found clues to lead them to the DNA of her ex-husband’s best friend, Russell Holbrook, and a dramatic trial as witnesses recounted the true story of Melissa’s last days.

Dec 25th

800a

The New Year’s Eve Murder

Michigan v. Kemia Hassel. New Year’s Eve and a seemingly random murder, in the small town of Benton Harbor , on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Police body cam video captured the heartbroken cries of young Army Sergeant Kemia Hessel as she cradled her handsome, dying young husband in her arms, as he was loaded into an ambulance. But despite the happy outward appearance of the attractive young military couple, investigators soon accused Kemia of directing a murder-for-hire plot with the help of a lover she met while deployed in Korea. Her boyfriend quickly confessed and in a dramatic, videotaped jail house phone call, laid out the murder plot to the victim’s father. Kemia at first denied involvement and despite admissions in a lie detector exam, strongly defended her innocence, claiming her comments to police came from exhaustion and grief. She pointed the finger of blame at her jealous boyfriend who she said acted alone.

Dec 28th

900p

The Boyfriend

When Sadie Beacham didn’t receive a good night call from her boyfriend, she was alarmed. She found his front door open and blood on the floor and walls. Detectives could not locate his body, but DNA evidence pointed to someone Sadie knew well.

Dec 28th

1000p

The Last Meal

Attorney Richard Merritt, had a last home cooked meal with his mother before he was set to report to jail for embezzlement. But when Merritt didn’t show up on time investigators found his mother dead in the living room. Merritt claimed an intruder had attacked them both and he had fled for his life.

Jan 1st

700a

Murder and the Missing Mom

Wisconsin v. Prokopovitz. When Victoria Prokopovitz went missing in 2013, her three grown children were beside themselves with worry. Her husband, James Prokopovitz, seemed oddly unconcerned about his wife’s disappearance, telling police she often wandered off and had twice tried to commit suicide. Despite a massive search, Victoria was never found. But a private detective who saw news reports of the missing woman offered his help to Victoria’s eldest daughter Marsha who kept up a Facebook campaign over the years hoping for clues about her mother’s disappearance.

Jan 1st

800a

Murder in Tallahassee

Florida v. Henry Segura. When Brandi Peters and her three children were found murdered in Tallahassee in 2010, prosecutors pointed the finger at her ex-boyfriend, Henry Segura, who owed her more than $20,000 in child support. But as the trial got underway, an imprisoned drug dealer came forward, saying he had ordered the murders from prison saying Peters had worked as a drug mule and helped herself to more than $90,000 worth of drugs and cash. It sounded like an outlandish claim but DNA evidence found in her bedroom came back as a possible match to a Colombian cocaine trafficker.

Jan 3rd

500p

The Sex Therapist

Shortly after midnight on Valentine’s Day, police found Amie Harwick, a prominent sex therapist and Drew Carey’s former fiancé, dying on the patio under the balcony of her Hollywood Hills apartment. Detectives began to investigate — did she fall, or was she murdered?

Jan 3rd

600p

Murder In The Family

When Ilene Gowan, a popular waitress at a local bar in Council Bluffs, Iowa, was found dead by the side of the road, her family called in famous forensic examiner Dr. Michael Baden to help solve the case.