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Detectives and forensic experts recount the most extraordinary cold cases that were solved using the revolutionary technique of familial DNA testing.
2022
Niles, Michigan 1987, Terry Wood comes home to find his wife Roxanne lying dead in a pool of blood.
2001, Greeley, Colorado, a 7-year-old girl is walking to school with her 8-year-old brother when an unknown assailant snatches her off the street and bundles her into his car.
Fort Worth Texas 1974. 17-year old Carla Walker is kissing her boyfriend Rodney in his car when suddenly the door is ripped open by an unknown assailant.
High school student Kim Bryant is last seen outside a Dairy Queen restaurant. Three weeks later, her body is discovered by three teenage boys hiking on the outskirts of town.
On the morning of September 4th, 1981, mom of two, Linda Slaten was found murdered in her bedroom in her Lakeland Florida apartment.
December 30th 1983. 22-year-old Diana Hanson fails to return home from jogging in Las Vegas.
In 1996, the body of a woman in her 60s is found in a cemetery in Annandale, Virginia (US), surrounded by empty alcohol and pill bottles, with a plastic bag fastened over her head.
The body of a little girl is found in the Arizona desert. Detectives are unable to identify her so the local community lays her to rest with the name “Little Miss Nobody”.
Arapahoe County, Colorado, 1983. The body of Sylvia Quayle is discovered by her distraught father in her Cherry Hills home.
Florida Keys, 1991. A young woman is last seen alive hitchhiking on Valentine’s Day. The next day her body is discovered along a deserted road
Tacoma, Washington State, 1986. 12-year-old Michella Welch goes missing in Puget Park.
Sanford, Florida, 1984. The bruised and bloodied body of 25-year-old naval recruit Pamela Cahanes is found in an abandoned lot near the Naval Training Center.
San Diego 1969. 23-year-old Mary Scott is visited by a friend when she fails to show up for work.
Las Vegas, Nevada, June 1 1989. Stephanie Isaacson sets off on her morning walk to school; she never makes it.
Pensacola, Florida, New Year’s Day 1985. The body of Tonya McKinley is found lying on the side of a city street.
Colorado Springs, Colorado, St. Patrick’s Day 1987. The naked body of Darlene Krashoc is discovered by two patrol officers at 5.20am behind a restaurant.
A 17-year old girl arrives home in McCleary Washington and honks her car-horn. Her dad finds her distraught with duct tape around her mouth and her feet zip tied together.
December 5 1982. Deputies from Jackson County Sheriff’s Department discover the body of a female toddler along the Escatawpa River in Mississippi.
March 6 1959. 9-year-old Candy Rogers leaves home to sell girl scout mints in Spokane Washington, she never returns.
October 9 1980, Santee, San Diego. The neighbours of 20 year old college student Michelle Wyatt hear screams coming from her condo but fail to investigate.
2020
In March 2003, a lorry driver was found dead behind the wheel in Camberley, England. Police gambled on the revolutionary technique of familial DNA analysis.
In 1976, a woman was left for dead in her home in southern California. Despite a major manhunt, the violent killer avoided detection for over four decades.
On Valentines' Day 2007, police in Southern California were called to a particularly violent murder scene. Advances in forensic genealogy finally solved the case.
In 2018, two paralegals were shot dead whilst at work in Scottsdale, Arizona. Four more victims were linked to the killing - who was the serial killer?
In 1984, a young woman's body was discovered in a lane close to her home in Bath, England. How did police eventually track down the perpetrator of this heinous attack?
After being reported missing, a young couple's bodies were discovered more than 60 miles apart. Dedicated investigators set out to find their killer.
In 1979, two young boys came home from school to find their mother's dead body in the living room. Investigators set out to track down the killer with no firm leads.
After a young woman was found beaten to death in Wisconsin in 1984, the killer evaded detection for decades. However, a revolutionary DNA method later revealed his identity.
The murder of a respected teacher brutally attacked in her Pennsylvania home. Her death shocked the community, though it took 27 years for dedicated investigators trace her killer.
In 1973, two schoolgirls were found murdered in the Welsh village of Llandarcy. The killer's identity would remain a mystery until 2002.
In 1982, a woman is found shot to death near Lake Tahoe. 37 years later, ground-breaking technology would help identify both the victim and the killer.
In 1988, police discover the mutilated body of Lynette White. 25 years later, a ground-breaking DNA technique would finally lead detectives to the killer.
In 1994, 42-year-old Le Bich-Thuy is found dead next to her home. Decades later, DNA and genealogy technology allow detectives to track down the killer.
69-year-old Evelynne Derricott is found brutally murdered in 2011. After the case goes cold, new DNA technology eventually leads detectives to the truth.
In 1986, in Kent, a teenage girl is on her way to the shops when she is attacked and sexually assaulted. Decades later, new DNA technology reveals the perpetrator.
In 2001, a young couple were brutally assaulted in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Over a decade later, new DNA technology helped lead investigators to the attacker.
In Colorado, in 1996, a young woman's body was found in an alley. After the case goes cold, advancements in genetic technology lead police to the killer.
In 2001, a student is attacked in Williamsburg, Virginia and months later the attacker strikes again. Finally, new DNA technology reveals the perpetrator.
In 1980, a young woman disappears and her body is discovered shortly after. Almost 40 years later, new DNA technology reveals the attacker.
A series of brutal and terrifying sexual assaults occur across northern Utah and Wyoming. 17 years later, new DNA technology reveals the perpetrator.
2021
In 1999, hospital worker Jennifer Watkins was sexually assaulted and murdered. Two decades later, revolutionary DNA testing helps to solve this cold case.
In 1992, a woman is sexually assaulted in Sacramento, California by a man wearing a ski mask. This sexual predator continues to commit heinous crimes until new evidence exposes his identity.
When two teens are found dead in Montana, detectives suspect an infamous gangster might be responsible. But it will take 65 years to find the true culprit.
A small community in Utah is shocked when an elderly woman is brutally attacked in her own home. Detectives use innovative techniques to solve the case.
After decades of searching, Ohio detectives use ground-breaking technology to hunt down the man who abducted and sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman.
In 1997, two women are sexually assaulted in separate attacks. Forensic evidence suggests the crimes are linked, but it takes over two decades to find the perpetrator.
On 24th December 1984, a body is discovered in a shallow grave. When another dead body is discovered police fear a serial killer is at work. The victims remained unidentified for decades before a new DNA technology gave them justice.
When a woman takes a genealogy test to learn what happened to her estranged mother, she is shocked to learn that her DNA has helped law enforcement identify a Jane Doe and identify the murderer of 4 other victims.
In 1981, a female high school student is found dead on the side of a road. Police work tirelessly on the case until new DNA technology exposes the killer.
In 1995, a masked man commits a series of sexual assaults at knifepoint. It takes more than 20 years for this serial rapist to be identified and then brought to justice.
In Alexandria, Virginia in 2016 a young female lifeguard is raped while working at a local pool. Police learn of a similar incident in Fairfax, Virginia 2 years earlier. It takes ground-breaking genealogy tools to find the perpetrator.
In 1977, the body of a young woman is discovered by blackberry pickers in Everett, Washington. The body is covered in flies and maggots. Police officers fail to identify the victim until revolutionary technology breaks open the case.
In 1968, 60-year-old Gwen Miller is brutally raped and murdered inside her own home. A devastating flood then halts the police investigation until ground-breaking science offers some new hope.
In 1998, a woman and her daughter are found brutally murdered, both shot in the head several times. The case goes cold for over a decade until genetic genealogy uncovers the perpetrator.
In 1976, a young woman is found dead at a military base in Orange County, California. Using forensic genealogy, experts break open the 40-year-old cold case.
In December 1987, the nude body of a 17-year-old girl was dumped on the side of a rural road in Ohio. She had been raped and strangled to death. Genetic genealogy is called upon to help solve this violent murder.
In 1988, Janet Tinsley reports her 8-year-old daughter April missing after she fails to return home. Three days later, a man out jogging makes a gruesome discovery in a nearby ditch.
In 1963, the body of a toddler is discovered in the Keene Creek reservoir in Ashland County, Oregon, wrapped in a bundle of bedding. The child is determined to a white male, possibly having Down Syndrome. Despite the limitations of forensic science at the time, investigators are determined to find out who the so-called "Boy in the Bundle" is, and how he ended up in the water. After nearly six decades, developments in technology provide a major break in the case.
2024
In 1996, two workers report that they found a body rolled up in a blanket on the side of the road near Grand Rapids, Michigan. Detectives quickly identify the victim as Sharon Kay Hammack, but her killer identity remains unknown for years
In 2015, a woman is viciously assaulted while running in an Albuquerque, New Mexico park. Investigators unable the find the perpetrator, until they learn about a new forensic technic that could break this case.
In 2010, a great-grandma Sherry Black is found murdered in her own bookstore in South Salt Lake, Utah. It took 11 years for police to find evidence to charge and convict her killer.
Wisconsin 1976. 25-year-old David Schuldes and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys are murdered in a park. The case goes cold until 2015 when new DNA science is found.
The 1994 murder of Clare Holman in Borrego Springs, California went unsolved for decades. Determined investigators got their breakthrough when new advancements in DNA technology have arrived.
In 1976, 19-year-old Janet Stallcup goes missing in Garden Grove, California while on her way to a party. Eight days later, her body is found in her car. The case runs cold until 2020 when genetic genealogy solves her murder.
In 1978, the body of 16-year-old Krisann Baxter is found in Washington. Investigators try to find Krisann's killer, but don't find any answers.
In 1989, 20-year-old Krista Martin’s life is tragically cut short when an intruder interrupts her dinner, leading to an investigation spanning four decades.
In Chandler, Arizona in 1991, an intruder viciously sexually assaults a woman in her own home. The case goes unsolved for decades until revolutionary science connects the dots.
In 1995 in Beaumont, Texas, the parents of Catherine Edwards find her body in her bathroom. The killer evades justice, that is, until forensic science catches up with him.
Will a new forensic science tool find the killer of Cathy Sposito, murdered on an Arizona hiking trail in 1987?
Susan Eads is found murdered in Texas in 1983. Decades later, can modern forensics finally find the perpetrator?
2023
A fugitive has at least 9 victims known to police over the course of 15 years. They had his DNA even, but still no suspect. That is until new advances in familial DNA is compared 27 years after the first known attack in 1991.
In the summer of 1976, the body of 16-year-old Carol Sue Klaber is found in a roadside ditch in Kentucky. Fast forward to 2022, cutting-edge DNA science is employed to finally name her killer.
In July 1987, Donna Hyatt's daughter finds her mother brutally murdered at home in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Donna Sue Hyatt's murder is unsolved for decades until modern forensic science catches up.
In 2003, the skeletal remains of a young woman are found.
When the body of a young woman is discovered in 1970, her family never loses hope that one day her killer will be identified; after 52 years, genetic genealogy provides the truth.
Dade County police in Georgia work to uncover the identity of a Jane Doe and locate the perpetrator responsible for her murder.
In 1968, the remains of an unidentified woman are discovered; detectives work for nearly half a century to identify the Jane Doe and the murderer who evaded law enforcement for 50 years.
In 1964, the body of a young girl is discovered in Hazleton, Pa. The community lives in fear that a child predator is hiding in plain sight. Over 50 years later, the truth is finally revealed.
Two unsolved murders from the late 1970s near Tahoe, Calif., stump investigators for decades.
40 years after the sexual assault and murder of 20-year-old Robin Brooks in Sacramento, California, determined cold case detectives collaborate with scientists using revolutionary forensic techniques to put her killer behind bars.
Cutting-edge DNA science finally names the Phoenix Canal Killer who terrorized the city in the early 90s.
Investigative genetic genealogy is used to resolve the 1988 murder of a mother killed in front of her toddler
Investigative genetic genealogy reveals the killer of a young mother murdered in her own home 34 years prior.
A young woman is found beaten, raped and strangled in Garden Grove, California in 1987. Two years pass until a woman in a neighboring jurisdiction meets the same fate. It will take years before forensics identify this serial killer.
In 1990 Mississippi, a woman is kidnapped at knife-point. Police are unable to identify the perpetrator. It'll take forward-thinking investigators, state-of-the-art science and brave survivors to put this man behind bars.
DNA science unveils a predator who sexually assaulted a 20-year-old before shooting her in Washington in 1972.
In Willoughby, Ohio, Mark Madger comes home to find his wife Nadine lying in a pool of her own blood, stabbed to death. Four decades later, cutting-edge DNA science provides answers the Madger family have been waiting a lifetime for.
A woman who was sexually assaulted at gunpoint in the 1980s contacts a genetic genealogist to solve her case.
Investigative genetic genealogy unmasks the sexual deviant who raped and killed Christina Castiglione in 1983
The 1972 rape and murder of 9-year-old Debbie Lynn Randall is solved thanks to new science 50 years later.
