Forensic Tales
248 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 hours ago - ★★★★ - 301 ratingsNot all stories have happy endings... A weekly true crime podcast with a forensic twist. Each episode features real stories highlighting how forensic science was used. From fingerprinting to criminal profiling to familial DNA, we have every investigative angle covered.
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Episodes
Kim Bryant
August 22, 2022 07:00 - 49 minutes#138 - On January 26, 1979, Las Vegas teenager, Kim Bryant, hung out in a Dairy Queen parking lot with a friend. But when it came time for Kim's boyfriend to pick her up and take her home, Kim was nowhere to be found. She had mysteriously disappeared from a busy Las Vegas street without a trace. Initially, the police treated Kim like a runaway. But her family and friends didn't think Kim would do that. For the next four decades, the police and Kim's family worked tiredly to find out what happ...
Stephen Lawrence
August 15, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutes#137 - In April 1993, 18-year-old British teenager Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racially motived stabbing while waiting for a bus near London, England. Within days of the murder, the police received an anonymous letter naming five suspects. But the police failed to make any arrests despite the letter, and Stephen's murder turned cold. Stephen's unsolved murder led to public outcries for changes to be made in policing practices and officer attitudes towards race. Support My Work If you...
Miracle Mile Murders
August 08, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes#136 - In May 2003, three people were brutally murdered inside an upscale apartment in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. The murders became an instant media sensation for their brutality and apparent lack of motive. Without any solid leads, the case turned cold until March 2009, when DNA evidence turned up a possible suspect. Support My Work If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family ...
Replay: Karina Vetrano
August 01, 2022 07:00 - 49 minutes#135 - *Replay* Karina Vetrano went missing on August 2, 2016, after leaving the house to jog in Spring Creek Park, New York. A few hours later, her brutally murdered body was discovered along the running path. The NYPD and the Vetrano family are desperate to find the person responsible for murdering the beautiful, intelligent, 30-year-old Karina. Medical examiners recovered a DNA profile underneath Karina's fingernails, her back, and her cell phone. But the DNA profile doesn't lead to an imm...
Santae Tribble
July 25, 2022 07:00 - 47 minutes#134 - In July 1978, two middle-aged white men were gunned down in their Washington D.C neighborhood. A few weeks after their murders, two men were arrested in connection with the shootings, 17-year-old Santae Tribble and his friend, 20-year-old Cleveland Wright. Although both men denied involvement in the crimes, Washington D.C. police and prosecutors believed they had enough forensic evidence to secure convictions. Tribble and Wright were convicted in the shootings after hair analysis testi...
Mary London
July 18, 2022 07:00 - 50 minutes#133 - In 1981, 17-year-old high school student, Mary London, was last seen alive getting off a city bus in downtown Sacramento, California. The following day her lifeless body was discovered off a remote road. Initially, the Sacramento police received countless tips and leads about who might be Mary's killer. But when the leads dried up, so did the investigation. For the next four decades, Mary London's case remained cold until the use of forensic genetic genealogy gave the police new hope o...
George Smith IV
July 11, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes#132 - In July 2005, 26-year-old George Smith IV and his new wife, Jennifer, boarded the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas to celebrate their honeymoon. They planned to cruise around the Mediterranean sea for the next two weeks. But only a few days into their honeymoon, tragedy struck. After a long night of drinking, gambling, and cruise ship fun, George mysteriously fell overboard. The accident prompted a quick investigation by local Turkish police and cruise s...
Scottsdale Shootings
July 04, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes#131 - In 2018, a spree killer shot and killed six people in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona. The victims included a famous forensic psychiatrist, two paralegals, a counselor, and an elderly couple inside their home. Over 96 hours, the residents of Scottsdale were terrified that they would be next. It wasn’t until the police received a tip that turned their investigation upside. But even with a promising lead, detectives weren’t sure they had enough evidence to make an arrest. Support My Wor...
Jennifer Watkins
June 27, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes#130 - In 1999, Jennifer Watkins was found dead underneath a stairwell inside Colorado Spring's Memorial Hospital. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. The location of her body underneath the staircase was interesting to investigators because only a few people had access to that area of the hospital. For years, the police investigated Jennifer's murder but couldn't identify a suspect. It wasn't until decades later that the police decided to try forensic genetic genealogy to tr...
Pamela Shelley
June 20, 2022 07:00 - 52 minutes#129 - In January 2001, 911 dispatchers received a tragic phone call that a young mother, Pamela Shelley, had shot and killed herself. Following the autopsy, the forensic pathologist ruled Pamela's death a suicide. But the ruling didn't sit well with Pamela's family or the police. After years of doubting Pamela's apparent suicide, one persistent detective vowed to continue investigating the case. The case was reopened with a bit of help from a true-crime television show. Support My Work If...
Brittanee Drexel
June 13, 2022 07:00 - 51 minutes#128 - In April 2009, 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a spring break trip with friends without her parent's permission. During the trip, Brittanee walked to another hotel located a short distance from her hotel on Ocean Boulevard. The hotel's security cameras captured her entering and leaving the hotel alone. Shortly after walking out of the hotel, Brittanee texted her boyfriend that she was headed back to her hotel. After sending that text message, ...
Edward Shin and Chris Smith
June 06, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour#127 - Business partners and friends Edward Shin and Chris Smith formed a successful business together, 800 Exchange, in 2009. Within months, the company was turning over a massive profit. But Edward and Chris's relationship was tested after Edward and Chris were sued for embezzling money from Edward's previous employer. Just before the lawsuit settled, Chris Smith suddenly disappeared. He cashed out his interest in 800 Exchange and told his family he was leaving to sail around the world. For...
Stephanie Isaacson
May 30, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes#126 - In June 1989, 14-year-old high school student, Stephanie Isaacson, walked to El Dorado High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. On her way to school, she took a shortcut through a vacant lot so she wouldn't be late for her first class. After school let out, Stephanie's father became worried when his daughter didn't return home. He called the school and found out she never made it to class that morning. Later that night, her body was found at a sandlot just off the path she usually took to sc...
Carla Walker
May 23, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes#125 - After a high school dance in February 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted from her boyfriend's car at gunpoint in Fort Worth, Texas. Three days later, the police found her body in a ditch just a few miles away from her home. Although forensic science was still in t's infancy, the first responding investigators were careful to preserve as much of the crime scene surrounding Carla's body as possible. For nearly five decades, Carla's killer remained unidentified. Even after all o...
Tina Watson
May 16, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes#124 - In October 2003, Tina Watson and her husband, Gabe Watson, boarded a plane headed to Australia. The newlyweds were excited to spend the next two weeks celebrating their honeymoon. Tina and Gabe planned to scuba dive a historic shipwreck in Queensland. But within minutes after entering the water, one of them experienced trouble. And only one of them ever made it out of the water. Support My Work If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rat...
Cindy James
May 09, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes#123 - For seven years, 44-year-old pediatric nurse Cindy James from British Columbia reported over 100 incidents of violence and harassment. Five of the incidents were physical attacks on Cindy. Over time, the police began doubting Cindy's stories. Every time the police came around, the harassment stopped. And when the police disappeared, so did the threats and violence. Almost seven years after the harassment started, Cindy James's body was found lying in the yard of an abandoned house on ...
Daniel Wozniak
May 02, 2022 07:00 - 47 minutes#122 - In May 2010, 23-year-old college student Julie Kibuishi was found shot dead inside 26-year-old Samuel Herr's apartment in Costa Mesa, California. The police quickly found out that Herr had an extensive military combat background and had been previously charged in another murder case. Herr quickly became the number one suspect in Julie's brutal murder. But Samuel Herr was nowhere to be found. The more the police dug into the case, the more twist and turns they encountered. What started...
Lindsay Buziak
April 25, 2022 07:00 - 42 minutes#121 - In January 2008, 24-year-old Canadian real estate agent, Lindsay Buziak, received a call of a lifetime. The caller told Lindsay that she needed to purchase a home as soon as possible and had a $1 million budget. Although the call seemed strange, Lindsay agreed to help the woman find the perfect home. Once Lindsay found the perfect property, the woman and her husband agreed to meet Lindsay to view the house. But after the showing, only two people made it out of the house alive. Who ki...
Heather Mack
April 18, 2022 07:00 - 52 minutes#120 - In August 2014, a Bali taxi driver parked outside the St. Regis Hotel in Nasu Dua, Bali, noticed a red substance that looked like blood coming out from the trunk of his taxi. When he drove to the police station, police officers opened the trunk and found a bloody suitcase. Inside the suitcase was the body of a dead adult female. She had been badly beaten to death and then stuffed inside a suitcase. Bali police quickly zeroed on a potential suspect. Someone very close to the victim. Bu...
Elijah Snow
April 11, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes#119 - In July 2021, Elijah Snow and his wife, Jamie, boarded an early morning flight in Arlington, Texas. They traveled to Cancún, Mexico, to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. The first day of the trip went just as planned. They spent the day by the beach and had a nice dinner at one of the all-inclusive resort restaurants. But sometime after dinner, this dream vacation turned into a real-life nightmare. On the second day of the trip, 35-year-old firefighter, Elijah, was found stuck ...
Anne and Robin Korkki
April 04, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutes#118 - In September 2016, two sisters from Minnesota, Anne and Robin Korkki, set out on a trip of a lifetime to Africa. They spent the first two weeks in Kenya, Zanzibar, and Tanzania. But tragedy struck when they arrived at the Maia Luxury Resort in Mahe, an island in the Indian Ocean 900 miles off Africa's eastern coast. On September 22nd, 2016, the sisters were found unresponsive in their $2,000 a night private villa. Their sudden and tragic deaths triggered months of high-profile speculat...
Koh Tao Murders
March 28, 2022 07:00 - 46 minutes#117 - In September 2014, two European backpackers, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found murdered on Sairee Beach on Thailand's island of Koh Tao. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. While collecting forensic evidence, tourists and locals were allowed to walk on the beach. A mistake that many forensic experts say jeopardized the entire investigation. Throughout...
Laurie Wolfe
March 21, 2022 07:00 - 54 minutes#116 - Oakland, California resident, Laurie Wolfe, lived the kind of life many people strive for. At 57-years-old, she had become a successful business and property owner. She was a wife, daughter, and good friend. But everything came crashing down on July 6, 2014, when her husband, Joseph Bontempo, discovered her lifeless body at the bottom of the couple's staircase. When the police arrived at the house, Joseph told the first responders his wife must have accidentally slipped down the stairs...
Jennifer Fairgate
March 14, 2022 07:00 - 51 minutes#115 - In 1995, a woman died inside the Plaza Hotel in Oslo, Norway, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. When the police attempted to identify the woman, they discovered she checked into the hotel three days earlier with a fake name. The police initially thought the woman had committed suicide. But as they got deeper into the investigation, they realized there could be much more to this woman's death. Who is the real Jennifer Fairgate? And how did she end up dead inside the Plaza Hotel? ...
Classified Ad Rapist
March 07, 2022 08:00 - 47 minutes#114 - Between 1981 and 1983, women in Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Miami, and Dade County, Florida, were terrorized by a serial rapist. In his terror, the Classified Ad Rapist assaulted over 50 women. The rapist targeted women through the Penny Saver, who placed classified ads. In 1984, the suspect graduated from rape to murder. Over eight months, the Classified Ad Rapist brutally murdered at least 10 women in the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Throughout the investigation, the police recovered one c...
Guy Heinze Jr
February 28, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour#113 - On August 29, 2009, Glynn County, Georgia police received a 911 call from 22-year-old Guy Heinze Jr. He told them his entire family had been beaten to death inside their trailer home. Once authorities arrived at the trailer park, they found eight people dead. The police quickly suspected Guy Jr murdered his entire family over money and painkillers. But not everyone believes Guy Jr is guilty. After listening to the forensic evidence, you can decide for yourself if you think he's innocen...
Candice Rogers
February 21, 2022 08:00 - 41 minutes#112 - On March 6, 1959, nine-year-old Candice "Candy" Rogers disappeared while selling Camp Fire mints around her Spokane, Washington, neighborhood. Two weeks later, the police discovered her body buried in the woods. The gruesome discovery revealed that her killer kidnapped and sexually assaulted her before murdering her. Initially, the police received thousands of tips that led to several possible suspects. But as the months turned to years, the murder of Candice Rogers became known as the...
Lil Miss Murder
February 14, 2022 08:00 - 50 minutes#111 - Lisa Marie Kimmel, 18-years-old, disappeared while driving from Denver, Colorado, to her parent's house in Billings, Montana in March 1988. On her way home, she drove her black 1988 Honda CR-X with its personalized Montana license plate, "LILMISS." One week later, a fisherman discovered her body floating in the North Platte River near Casper, Wyoming. Based on the autopsy findings, investigators believed someone killed Lisa on March 26th. However, during their investigation, the police...
Jennifer Kesse
February 07, 2022 08:00 - 55 minutes#110- In January 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse disappeared from her condo in Orlando, Florida. Two days after she disappeared, her car was found abandoned in a nearby apartment complex. Security footage installed at the complex captured an individual seen driving and parking Jennifer's car on the day she went missing. Unfortunately, the camera didn't record a continuous video and only captured an image every three seconds. Every three seconds this individual was somehow able to obscure the...
Amy Lynn Bradley
January 31, 2022 08:00 - 52 minutes#109 - In March 1998, the Bradley family embarked on a trip of a lifetime on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. Just a few days into the trip, 23-year-old Amy Bradley mysteriously went missing from the ship. Years after her disappearance, the Bradley family received photographs of a woman posted to an escort website that closely resembled their daughter. Despite many possible sightings of Amy over the years, she has still never been found. Was she killed on the cruise ship an...
Jamison Family Deaths
January 24, 2022 08:00 - 49 minutes#108 - In October 2009, Bobby Jamison, his wife Sherilynn and daughter Madyson mysteriously disappeared. They left their home in Eufaula, Oklahoma to look at a 40-acre plot of land near Red Oak they considered buying. When the police were notified about their disappearance, they found the family's abandoned truck in the woods with their dog still inside. Their skeletal remains were found four years later in November 2013. After a lengthy investigation into their deaths, the police still don't...
Niqui McCown
January 17, 2022 08:00 - 49 minutes#107 - On Sunday, July 22, 2001, just three weeks before her wedding, 28-year-old Niqui McCown disappeared after doing laundry at a laundromat in Richmond, Indiana. A few months into the investigation, the police found her SUV parked at an apartment complex 40 miles away. Inside the car, they found her neatly folded laundry still inside laundry baskets. Even with two prime suspects, her case turned cold. What happened to Niqui McCown in July 2001? Support My Work If you love the show, the ea...
Brian Shaffer
January 10, 2022 08:00 - 47 minutes#106 - On March 31, 2006, 27-year-old medical student Brian Shaffer went out with friends to celebrate the Spring Break holiday from classes. Sometime around 2:00 am Brian was separated from his friends. Security cameras around the bar where Brian and his friends went captured Brian entering but never leaving. Brian Shaffer has not been seen or heard from since. How did Brian manage to leave the bar without detection? Is he still alive? And what happened to him? Support My Work If you love t...
Christopher Vaughn
January 03, 2022 08:00 - 48 minutes#105 - One early morning in June 2007, the Vaughn family left their home to drive to a water park in Springfield, Illinois. At 5:15 am, a motorist driving on I-55 spotted Christopher Vaughn bleeding and limping away with his parked SUV. When the motorist asked if he had been in a car accident, Christopher replied, "No, I think my wife shot me." But when the police arrived on the scene, not everything about Christopher's story added up. And once crime scene technicians arrived, they found bloo...
Warren Horinek
December 27, 2021 08:00 - 46 minutes#104 - In March 1995, Fort Worth Police officers responded to a 911 call about an apparent suicide. The caller, Warren Horinek, told first responders that his wife, Bonnie, shot and hilled herself. But when the police arrived at the house, he changed his story. Although the Fort Worth police and District Attorney's office refused to charge Warren with his wife's death, a Grand Jury indicted Warren on first-degree murders charges. At trial, the prosecution and defense shared two very different...
Sarah Johnson
December 20, 2021 08:00 - 49 minutes#103 - In September 2003, Alan and Diane Johnson were shot in cold-blood in their Bellevue, Idaho home. The couple's 16-year-old daughter, Sarah Johnson, was the only other person inside the home when the shooting took place. Suspicions fell on Sarah's story after the police discovered key evidence inside a trash can behind the house. Support My Work If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and ...
Chavis Carter
December 13, 2021 08:00 - 42 minutes#102 - On July 29, 2012, two police officers from the Jonesboro, Arkansas, Police Department pulled over a vehicle containing three males. One of the passengers was 21-year-old Chavis Carter. After discovering that Chavis had a small amount of marijuana on him and he had an active warrant, the police handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the patrol car. Within minutes, Chavis was shot in the head with a stolen .38 caliber Cobra pistol. After an autopsy was performed, the forensic patho...
Keith Warren
December 06, 2021 08:00 - 48 minutes#101 - A teenager from Silver Spring, Maryland, was found hanging from a tree in 1986. Even though the teen was only one month away from starting college and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him, the police ruled his death a suicide. On what would have been his 25th birthday, the teen's mother received a mysterious envelope on her doorstep. Inside the envelope were official crime scene photographs that showed him wearing someone else's clothing. Why did Keith Warren commit suicide whil...
LaVena Johnson
November 29, 2021 08:00 - 49 minutes#100 - In 2005, 19-year-old Missouri native, LaVena Johnson was deployed to serve in Iraq. Eight weeks into her tour, fellow soldiers found LaVena's body inside a contractor's tent on base. She had been shot with her own M-16 automatic rifle, which was found lying next to her on the ground. After a quick investigation, the Army ruled her death a suicide. However, her death became suspicious after the Army released her body to the Johnson family.Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest...
Colorado Hammer Murders
November 22, 2021 08:00 - 46 minutes#099 - In January 1984, murder arrived in Colorado for a 12-day stay. Over 12 long days, the cities of Aurora and Lakewood, Colorado, were terrorized by a real-life boogeyman. His M.O. was horrifying yet simple and effective. He targeted strangers. He raped women and children and then bludgeoned them to death. But just as quickly as he arrived in Colorado, the Hammer Killer mysteriously vanished. Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a posi...
Broken Arrow Killings
November 15, 2021 08:00 - 49 minutes#098 - On July 22, 2015, twelve year old David Bever called 911 to report that his brother was attacking his family. When the police and paramedics arrived at the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, home they found five dead family members, one who was severely injured, and another who was found unharmed. A short investigation led to the arrest of the Bever's two older sons. What drove two teenage boys to brutally murder their entire family? Can their behavior be explained by forensic psychology? Listen ...
Hugues De La Plaza
November 08, 2021 08:00 - 47 minutes#097 - In 2007, 36-year-old Hugues De La Plaza, a sound engineer with dual U.S. and France citizenship was found mysteriously dead inside his locked San Francisco apartment. Security cameras outside his apartment don't show anyone else coming or leaving from the apartment and the forensic evidence lead the police to explore the possibility Hugues committed suicide. However, Hugues' family strongly disagrees and point to mysterious evidence that suggests he was murdered.Support My WorkIf you ...
Linda Stermer
November 01, 2021 07:00 - 53 minutes#096 - Linda Stermer was convicted of murder and arson after the police say she set their home on fire to murder her husband and ran him over with the couple's van. However, Linda says she's completely innocent. According to her, her husband, Todd, was the one who intentionally set the house on fire and she accidentally ran him over. What does the forensic evidence say happened?Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a ...
Rey Rivera
October 25, 2021 07:00 - 53 minutes#095 - In May 2006, Rey Rivera disappeared from his Baltimore home after receiving a mysterious phone call. A week later his body was discovered beneath a hole in the roof of the Belvedere Hotel. The Baltimore Police suspect that Rey probably committed suicide but the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death are disputed. Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and fr...
Alonzo Brooks
October 18, 2021 07:00 - 46 minutes#094 - In May 2004, the body of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks was found In La Cynge, Kansas, 27 days after he was reported missing. He was last seen attending a house party with friends but he never returned home from the party. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death promoted the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate Alonzo's death. But after months and years of investigating, no one could figure out how Alonzo died. Or if his dea...
Michelle O'Connell
October 11, 2021 07:00 - 47 minutes#093 - In September 2010, Florida sheriff deputies are called to the scene of an apparent suicide. When the police arrived at the condo, they realized the condo belonged to a fellow deputy within the department. Inside the bathroom, they found deputy Jeremy Bank's girlfriend, Michelle O'Connell dead from a gunshot wound to the head. There was Jeremy's service weapon on one side of her body. And a bottle of prescription pills on the other side.Was this a textbook case of suicide? Or was there...
Noida Double Murder
October 04, 2021 07:00 - 53 minutes#092 - In May 2008, 13-year old Aarushi Talwar was discovered dead in her bedroom by her parents, Dr. Nupur and Dr. Rajesh Talwar in Noida, India. The Talwars suspected that the family's live-in servant, Hemraj Banjade, was Aarushi's killer. But Hemraj was nowhere to be found after the murder.Early on in the investigation, the police failed to secure the crime scene and caused valuable forensic evidence to be contaminated. Will this case ever be solved?Support My WorkIf you love the show, the...
Lisa and Chad Cutler
September 27, 2021 07:00 - 51 minutes#091 - On April 27, 2012, mother and wife Lisa Cutler was found dead in her bathtub. Lisa's husband, Chad, insisted to the police that his wife committed suicide. Can forensic science help determine whether Lisa's death was an accident, suicide, or murder?Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and friends about Forensic Tales.Patreon - If you would like to get early AD-free acce...
Lovers Lane Murders
September 20, 2021 07:00 - 55 minutes#090 - On August 22, 1990, Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson drove to “Lovers Lane” in a wooded area of Houston. They were never seen alive again. Cheryl’s body was found underneath a fence not too far from Andy’s abandoned car. She’d been sexually assaulted and murdered. Andy’s body was discovered tied to a nearby tree. His throat had been slashed so deeply that his head was nearly decapitated. Houston police obtained DNA evidence from the killer. But after decades of searching, no suspects ha...
Zoo Man Murders
September 13, 2021 07:00 - 41 minutes#089 - In 1992, a Tennessee man who worked at the Knoxville Zoo was arrested for murdering four local women. But after his arrest, he claimed he wasn't the person responsible for the murder. It was his alter-ego, Kyle. Support My WorkIf you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and friends about Forensic Tales.Patreon - If you would like to get early AD-free access to new episodes, have access to exc...