Two Los Angeles murders, one week apart, have a strange "signature." A very thorough investigation leads police to a dangerous serial killer.

2,300 people are reported missing each day. Reports of missing persons have increased sixfold in the past 25 years, from roughly 150,000 in 1980 to about 900,000 this year. The increase was driven in part by the country's growing population. But the numbers also indicate that law enforcement treats the cases more seriously now, including those of marginalized citizens.

Popular Hollywood photographer is brutally murdered in his studio in a seedy part of town. Police focus on a suspect who was partying at the studio that night, but he's not the killer. A mysterious backpack eventually leads police to the real murderer.

The science of guns and how ballistics have developed over the decades with major cases in which ballistics were critical.

A unique forensic tool — one that convicted Ted Bundy

Test your investigative skills with this new interactive story and work alongside the police as they try to solve the brutal murders of peace-loving people who made the Arizona desert bloom.

Quiet Los Angeles widow is found dead in a pool of blood in blood. It appears that she was tortured in a calculated, cold-blooded sexual assault and murder. LAPD investigators hunker down on this case, promising her family that they will catch her killer, and finally, as the forensic tools evolve, they are able to bring a teen serial killer to justice.

Young girl's account of grandmother's murder, shaped by others' motives, sends a man to prison, testing his wife's unshakeable faith in his innocence.

What jurors bring to a trial is as decisive to the outcome as the evidence presented. Some experts are concerned that criminal procedural dramas like C.S.I. are affecting not only the behavior of criminals, but the jurors who determine guilt or innocence.

Forensic pathologist tackles the really tough cases with a fresh perspective: the JFK assassination, JonBenet Ramsey, Elvis Presley & Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald.

Two former lovers, both dedicated parents, met for a date in busy South Street, Philadelphia and then disappeared without a trace while driving home. Police & FBI investigation yields complex personal relationships, but very few clues.

Remarkable budding female Sherlock Holmes, Frances Glessner Lee, created engaging and shocking visual masterpieces in doll-sized crime scenes so that police could learn investigative techniques.

Lee was made an honorary captain in New Hampshire's state police and was the first woman member in the International Association of Chiefs of Police. She helped created the first Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard.

Her friend Erle Stanley Gardner wrote her obituary: "Captain Lee had a strong individuality, a unique, unforgettable character, was a fiercely competent fighter, and a practical idealist."

Beautiful white women are abducted from their homes in the Baton Rouge, La. area and panic ensues as the Baton Rouge residents realize there is a serial killer in their midst. Big city cops with a flawed FBI profile in hand, look for a white killer, but DNA finally turns them in the right direction.

Beautiful women are abducted from their homes in the Baton Rouge area and panic ensues as the residents realize there is a serial killer in their midst. Small-town investigators with sharp instincts identify Baton Rouge serial killer while big agencies are derailed with flawed FBI profile guiding their activities. DNA finally turns them in the right direction.

When Joshua Rubin disappeared on Halloween in 2011, the Brooklyn cafe owner's friends and family mounted a frantic effort to find him, and the media joined in. Worried that he was lost and needed his medication, these concerned parties revealed his private medical information; open rumors about his financial problems and alleged involvement with drugs soon followed.

DNA analysis revolutionizes crime solving.

In her 1994 novel, The Body Farm, Patricia Cornwell introduced readers to a "decay research facility" at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. It's actually called the Anthropology Research Facility, shortened to "the Facility," but Cornwell overheard a nickname that cops had adopted, and called it The Body Farm." On any given day," she wrote, "its several wooded acres held dozens of bodies in varying stages of decomposition." Given such a description, one might think this place is imaginary, but it's not. It's quite real.

Dr. Bill Bass is the founder and director of this innovative service to law enforcement that can't be found anywhere else in the world.

Dr. Katharine Ramsland adds three new chapters describing her recent brief forensic anthropology course there and what she learned getting up close and personal with skulls, decaying flesh, and other forensic treasures.

The murder and dismemberment of this prominent Bostonian by a Harvard Medical College professor creates a major trial event where expert medical testimony is used extensively for the first time in the U.S.

Interview with a giant in the field of forensics. His expertise was used in the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases.

After decades of prison for allegedly murdering his wife and daughters, he may finally get a fair shake in the courts as retired U.S. marshall comes forward to reveal the confession of major suspect Helena Stoeckley of having been at MacDonalds house to get drugs.

Profile of the innovative forensic psychiatrist, his unique cases and his contributions to the field, particularly The Depravity Scale and The Forensic Panel.

The murder of Marilyn Sheppard is one of the great murder mystery classics, like the Lizzie Borden case and the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. It has inspired three separate trials, many books, the movie and television series The Fugitive.

It seemed like the perfect marriage, Dr. Sam Sheppard, a handsome, affluent and socially prominent doctor married to his pretty high school sweetheart. But when Marilyn, 4 months pregnant, was brutally bludgeoned to death in their home while Dr. Sam allegedly slept, cracks in the perfect marriage became obvious. He had a 3-year affair going with another woman and his account of the night of the murder caused the Cleveland Press to crusade for his arrest.

Arrested he was and indicted for Marilyn's murder. But once the case was taken by celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey, "Dr. Sam," after a landmark Supreme Court decision, was acquitted in his second trial. So Dr. Sam was free, but hardly any one in Cleveland believed in his innocence except for his son, who 35 years later began a crusade to clear his father's name.

So much has been written about the murder of Marilyn Sheppard by journalists and professional authors that often the stark facts of the case are lost. McCrary's report to the court in the latest of the three Sheppard "trials," puts the emphasis back where it should be -- the scene of the crime.

Former FBI profiler, Greg McCrary, puts the case in perspective. Feature story and Crime Scene Analysis.

Daniel Williams left his Georgia home to live in LA where he believed he could live the lifestyle that he wished, but pretending to be a woman led to his death when an unsuspecting sex partner discovered the truth. Plucked from the cold case files, two detectives solve the case with new technology.

A story of extraordinary good fortune, adventure, intrigue and mystery --the missing Peking Man treasure.

How the forensic "print" technologies have developed over the years and famous cases in which they were used.

Bones and skulls, the silent evidence in high-profile cases like John Wayne Gacy that can help to catch murderers and give closure to grieving families of victims.

Drawings and artistic reconstructions of suspects, victims and criminals played a major role in solving famous cases. New chapter on forensic photography.

The famous death detective Dr. Michael Baden whose autopsy and crime scene skills have been used on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and high profile cases such as O.J. Simpson, Ted Binion and serial killer Dr. Michael Swango.

The controversy over whether courts will accept this evidence.

How this art form was used in high profile cases like Andrea Yates, Scott Peterson, and John Wayne Gacy.

The science of detecting poisons, the favorite weapon of Black Widows and women who kill. Dr. Katherine Ramsland presents the history of this science and the major cases it solved.

How an offender can be identified with voiceprint analysis.

When art and forensic science meet the results can be astounding. Frank Bender has used his artistic talents as a sculptor to help to solve crime and bring fugitives, such as John List, to justice.

Tammy Epperson broke her dependency on drugs and turned her life around, helping recovering addicts to do the same. However, one person she tried to help returned her kindness by raping and horribly murdering her.

Los Angeles forensic experts, detectives and a committed district attorney worked together to bring unthinkably cruel Troy Powell to where he sits now on death row.

An intruder's Halloween night assault kills two, but leaves third housemate unharmed.

Son of Nazi SS officer, he deals meth and operates as a contract killer. Forensic sculptor Frank Bender takes expert aim & brings him in.

A brutal murder, lots of suspects, and conflicting evidence... but the forensics was clear on one thing: The killer knew his victim. Could this small piece of the puzzle help jump start a stalled investigation?

Flamboyant Hollywood madam and phone-sex artist, June Mincher, is gunned down in an execution-style killing. The bizarre investigation ties her murder to another Hollywood homicide, the abduction and killing of Roy Radin, producer of The Cotton Club.

He has made a distinguished career of exhuming the dead, like the alleged Boston Strangler, Jesse James, Alfred Packer. Find out why he does it.

Emergency personnel found Lamb crying over his wife's body. It looked like a robbery. There was no murder weapon. But, there was an odd aspect to the crime: Police noticed that whoever had killed Cathy had also clobbered only two of three dogs in the home. Lamb's dog had been safely locked away from the crime scene.

A selection of some of the most popular stories on Crime Library. These will get your pulse racing!

Dogs are used for many different law enforcement purposes. This article looks at the tremendous contribution that K-9 teams make to saving lives and solving crimes.

Fascinating forensic investigation involving various kinds of flies finally nails a sexual predator who kills his two stepchildren and leaves their bodies in a cemetery.

A kind and generous grandfather is found murdered in his bedroom, a victim of gunshots. LAPD investigators discover that a family diamond is the key to revealing a killer close and familiar.

Richard W. Rogers finally convicted of the murder of two of his numerous gay male victims. VMD, vacuum metal deposition, technology which saves fingerprints from plastic bags, was a key factor in his trial. Rogers disposed of his victims in plastic trash bags which he dumped along the roadways in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Forensic bite marks is the only evidence in this remarkable case.

Ransom notes and hoaxes -- what can you do to figure out what's true?

Two young lovers are shot execution-style outside their home in the West Hills section of Los Angeles. One is killed instantly, but the woman barely clings to life. On her deathbed, she leads police to the mysterious killer who has targeted the couple for assassination. State-of-the art forensics brings the assassin and his conspirator to justice.

The only thing police know for sure in the case of Haleigh Cummings is that the 5-year-old has been missing since February 10, 2009, and that no one can find the precocious blond-haired, brown-eyed little girl.

Kyron Horman was last seen on June 4, 2010. Though suspicion was cast on his stepmother, no official suspects were ever named and the case remains unsolved.

An outstanding case of forensic techniques used to solve a horrifying bombing case in which two people were murdered.

A remarkable case thirty-five years in the making - four women are strangled to death, their bodies dumped with little or no evidence for investigators. The case goes cold until years later when an unlikely confessor restarts the investigation. An ingenious sting-like operation is needed to nail the killer.

Was he poisoned or did he die of stomach cancer? The controversy lives on. Dr. Russell Aiuto looks at the evidence and who may have been the murderer.

Now that the media circus has died down, the "Haunting Evidence" team looks for new evidence in the Natalee Holloway case. Dutch forensic experts are finally focused on determining what actually happened to the missing student. Exploitation made millions for the media organizations but had an unintentionally negative impact on the course of the investigation.

See Haunting Evidence Premiere Paradise Lost, Wednesday June 20 on Court TV

Bloodstain analysis from the video of his murder shows forensic irregularities that my cast doubts on events.

Nonnie Dotson, 33, was reported missing on Nov. 19, 2006, just three days after arriving in Littleton, Colo., from her home in San Antonio, Texas. The troubling disappearance of this dedicated Air Force nurse and new mother remains a mystery.

10 years after the murder of his ex-wife and her friend, the former football star continues to stir controversy. Analysis of the murder and road rage trials, forensics.

The controversial history of the lie detector test

Although skeptics decry the use of psychics, police departments have been calling on them for more than a century when all else fails. New chapter on Allison DuBois, on whose life the new TV series "Medium" is based.

When the circumstances surrounding a death can be interpreted in more than one way, psychologists can help to compile information about behavior, psychological state, and motive in ways not as available to lawyers or medical examiners.

Despite evidence against him, Roy Brown maintained his innocence in the murder of Sabina Kulakowski from his prison cell for fifteen long years.

United Flight 629 explodes in the air outside Denver, killing 44 people. Intensive FBI investigation yields the murderer who sabotaged the plane.

Two teenagers, best friends since grade school, are gunned down execution style in a Northridge sandwich shop. The community is outraged and it is up to LAPD to find the killer. Once they find him, it will take a special forensic technique to bring him to justice.

How forensic blood analysis has helped to catch even the most "clever" criminals. New chapter on bloodspatter analysis.

Forensic analysis finds the piece of cloth believed to be the shroud of Jesus is much older than medieval times. Hoax or authentic?

DNA evidence exculpates him from one rape/attempted murder, but nails him on the rape and murder of Teresa Halbach, a young photographer who visited him for business reasons. Even worse, he involves his teenage nephew in the horrible crime.

Seventeen-year-old Virginia college student disappeared without a trace, until her remains were found a month later. A former friend, Ben W. Fawley, claims he killed her accidentally. Fawley, a 38-year-old amateur photographer, faces grand jury Jan 17.

Remarkable founder Tim Miller, whose daughter was murdered, turns his life around and devotes it to using the most advanced hi-tech methods to help families find missing loved ones.

The Body Farm really exists. Here's why.

How the analysis of hair, fiber and other trace evidence can help to solve crimes.

Mary Mallon was a New York cook who unknowingly gave typhoid to the families who hired her. When health authorities realized that she was the typhoid carrier, they quarantined her for several years. Then when she agreed not to work as a cook, they let her go, but after several other typhoid outbreaks which were traced to her cooking, health authorities took more drastic measures.

Profile of famous veteran chief and investigator examines his accomplishments, his theories, and his most famous cases, including a real story that inspired the Hannibal Lector escape scene in the Silence of the Lambs.

Young man becomes obsessed with torture and murder, idolizes Charles Manson and seeks to become a "murder machine." Dr. Ramsland presents the interesting case forensics and emotional pathology.

Politics hasn't changed a bit since this corrupt, philandering president served in the early 1920s. Was he murdered for it?

Five middle-aged men have been stripped naked, tied up and found strangled. There is no blood, no struggle, no witnesses and no suspects. It appears that a serial killer has a specific prey.... and a need for ATM cards. Can investigators link a bank photo to the person before he strikes again?

A small brush fire near the LA airport reveals a horrific discovery — a burning body bound and gagged with duct tape. Near the unidentified victim are bullet casings and unusual tire tracks, but investigators are stymied. What they do next is a remarkable forensics case study.