Forensic Files Unsealed

This episode chronicles the 1985 murder of Jane Hylton and the subsequent wrongful conviction of Ricky Davis. Decades after the crime, the Northern California Innocence Project utilized advanced DNA testing to prove that Davis and a key witness were not responsible for the killing. Investigators discovered unknown male DNA on the victim's clothing and under her fingernails, which directly contradi...

After nearly four decades, Toronto police successfully utilized investigative genetic genealogy to identify and arrest a suspect in the 1983 cold case murders of Susan Tice and Erin Gilmore. Despite having DNA evidence for years, investigators lacked a matching profile until modern science allowed them to build a family tree from thousands of distant relatives to a single individual. The suspect,...

This episode review from the television program 48 Hours explores the complex investigation into the 1996 murder of Angie Dodge and the subsequent legal failures that followed. The narrative focuses on Michael Usry, a filmmaker who became a primary suspect after a familial DNA search through a public database incorrectly linked his father's genetic profile to the crime scene. While Usry was eventu...

Between 2006 and 2008, a series of violent sexual assaults along Ramsey Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina, left victims and the community in a state of constant terror. Law enforcement struggled to identify the perpetrator, dubbed the Ramsey Street Rapist, despite recovering DNA from multiple crime scenes and collecting numerous samples from the public. The investigation eventually went cold...

This source details the criminal investigation into the death of Florence Unger, who was initially thought to have died in a tragic accidental fall during a family vacation. Although her husband, Mark Unger, claimed she fell through a structurally unsound railing, advanced forensic science revealed that Florence survived the initial impact and remained on the ground for over ninety minutes before...

This source details the successful resolution of the 1998 cold case murder of Trudy Ojakowski through long-term investigative diligence and DNA breakthroughs. After the victim's body was discovered in a stream, detectives identified a local maintenance man, Brian Tuttle, as the primary suspect due to physical evidence found at a crime scene in a laundromat apartment. Although investigators gathere...

This episode details the successful resolution of a 1982 cold case involving the murder of a young girl named Kristen Sumstad in Seattle. Although police initially questioned John Athen, the investigation stalled for two decades until advancements in DNA technology allowed detectives to revisit the evidence. To link the suspect to the crime, investigators executed a creative ruse by mailing Athen...

This episode details the long-term investigation into the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie, a young Alaska Native woman killed in a university dormitory. While the case remained unsolved for decades, a major breakthrough occurred in 2018 through the innovative use of genetic genealogy. By matching crime-scene evidence with the DNA of a relative in a public database, authorities identified Steven Downs...

This episode from the true crime series "Bloodline Detectives" recounts the decades-long investigation into the 1976 double homicide of an engaged couple, David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys. The pair was found murdered at a secluded Wisconsin campground, where Schuldes was shot and Matheys was sexually assaulted before being killed. Though the case went cold for over forty years, a breakthrough occu...

The episode details the criminal history of John Eric Armstrong, a former US Navy sailor who led a deceptive double life as a prolific serial killer. While appearing to be a devoted family man in Michigan, Armstrong targeted and strangled numerous sex workers, often posing their bodies in a degrading manner. Investigations revealed that his violence likely began during his military service, with A...

This source details the cold case investigation into the 1972 murder of Jody Loomis, a young woman killed while traveling to a horse stable in Washington. Although investigators initially considered Ted Bundy as a potential suspect, the case remained unsolved for decades until a cold case unit utilized modern technology to reexamine the evidence. After original DNA samples went missing, forensic a...

This episode provides a detailed overview of the first criminal case to reach a jury trial using investigative genetic genealogy to identify a suspect. It documents the 1987 double homicide of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, a cold case that remained unsolved for over three decades until DNA evidence was uploaded to a public database. Through the genetic profile provided by a hobbyist named Che...

This episode details the resolution of the 1989 cold case murder of Mary Kelly, a beloved 78-year-old woman in Dallas. Although investigators initially found male DNA on a ligature at the scene, the case remained unsolved for decades due to the limitations of forensic technology at the time. The investigation was eventually revitalized through investigative genetic genealogy, which utilized a fami...

This episode details the investigation into the 1992 murder of Christy Mirack, a young teacher who was tragically killed inside her Pennsylvania home. Although detectives collected DNA evidence from the scene, the case eventually went cold for decades after hundreds of interviews failed to produce a suspect. The investigation was finally revitalized through the use of genetic genealogy, which allo...

This episode details how investigative genetic genealogy was used to solve a 2015 cold case involving a brutal (s) assault on an Albuquerque jogging trail. Although the survivor provided an unusually accurate sketch of her attacker and investigators collected DNA, the case stalled when the profile failed to produce a match in the federal CODIS database. Years later, a specialized unit utilized con...

This episode details the tragic 2014 murder of Sophie Collombet, a French exchange student who was attacked while walking home in Brisbane, Australia. The narrative follows the discovery of her body in a local park and the subsequent nationwide manhunt for her killer, Benjamin James Milward. It highlights the profound grief of her family and the outpouring of solidarity from the Australian public,...

This episode details the tragic wrongful arrest of Kevin Fox following the abduction and murder of his three-year-old daughter, Riley, in 2004. After police used coercive interrogation tactics and threats to extract a false confession, Fox spent eight months in jail despite his innocence. His exoneration eventually came through DNA evidence, leading to a significant civil judgment against the auth...

The episode recounts two separate, tragic true crime cases from the late 20th century involving deception and violence. The first account details the 1996 disappearance of Alicia Fay Reynolds, a doctoral student who was abducted from a Virginia highway by an unidentified predator known as the Route 29 stalker. Despite decades of investigation and the clearing of several high-profile suspects, her...

In Pensacola, Florida, investigators and legal experts recount the harrowing murder of Samira Watkins, whose body was discovered inside a locked duffel bag on a shoreline near a naval base. Initially a mystery, the case shifted from a missing person report to a homicide investigation after an autopsy revealed the young mother had been strangled and bound. Suspicion soon turned toward Zachary Littl...

This episode review documents the persistent efforts of Coroner Scott McCord to identify the unknown victims of serial killer Larry Eyler. After discovering the skeletal remains of two young men in his office, McCord spent years collaborating with the DNA Doe Project to give the victims back their names. Using revolutionary genetic genealogy techniques, investigators successfully identified "Brad...

This source provides a detailed account of the investigation and trial surrounding the 2017 murder of Taylor Wright, a Florida private investigator. The case centered on Ashley MacArthur, a friend of the victim who allegedly killed Wright to steal approximately $34,000 intended for legal fees. Investigators used cell tower data and bank records to dismantle MacArthur's alibi, eventually discoverin...

This episode details the resolution of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko, a teenager found stabbed to death in a Cedar Rapids mall parking lot. For nearly four decades, investigators struggled without eyewitnesses or a clear motive, until genetic genealogy eventually linked the crime to a man named Jerry Burns. Detectives narrowed the search down to three brothers before using covertl...

In 1996, a woman dubbed the “Christmas Tree Lady” was found deceased in a Virginia cemetery with a small decorated tree and a note requesting to remain anonymous. Despite her meticulous efforts to hide her identity, including typing her suicide note to avoid handwriting recognition, investigators refused to let the case go cold. Decades of traditional investigation yielded no results until advance...

This source analyzes the forensic and investigative details surrounding the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. It features expert commentary from a retired crime scene analyst who explains the timeline, the layout of the home, and the behavioral patterns of the accused, Bryan Kohberger. The narrative traces the path of the suspect from his alleged stalking of the victims to the for...

In 2007, the New Jersey State Police investigated the brutal and ritualistic murder of Monica Misaro in the quiet town of Bloomsbury. Detectives initially focused on the victim’s social circle, but the investigation shifted toward a stranger-on-stranger attack after finding no forensic evidence linking the crime to her acquaintances. A critical breakthrough occurred when an intruder, Adam Leroy La...