The Lunsford family's lives turn upside down when someone snatches nine-year-old Jessie from her bed in the middle of the night; authorities scour the area looking for her when they discover a dark truth, she is closer than they ever realized.
Firefighters discover a body with two gunshot wounds; the fire destroys any hope for evidence and the police look at the victim's social media for clues.
In 1990, a clown delivering flowers and balloons guns down a woman at home; with scant evidence and no clear motive, detectives set out to track down the killer clown, but the culprit eludes justice for thirty years before being fully unmasked.
In 1996, a college co-ed vanishes over Memorial Day weekend and is presumed dead; the sheriffs have their sights on a prime suspect but lack the evidence to prove it; decades later, a discovery found six feet under turns this case upside down.
In 1972, police find a young woman fatally stabbed in her room; police hunt for her killer, but he seemingly vanishes, and the case goes cold; decades later, a new investigative technique emerges, and the killer's name turns up.
A mysterious shooter attacks a loving father.
In 2021, police find a retired couple stabbed repeatedly in their home; they witness a mysterious figure coming and going on security footage, which leads them to a suspect who is very close to home with a desire for revenge.
Retired drama teacher Kathy Gillcrist embarks on a journey to find her biological parents; her worst fears come to fruition when she discovers police want her father for a mass murder in Maryland state.
A deadly fire in a small Illinois town raises questions as to whether it was a tragic accident or murder; the ensuing investigation uncovers a web of lies and deceit that results in one woman and her unborn child's life coming to a violent end.
In 1975, someone abducts three young girls, stabbing them and leaving them for dead in a field; the Indiana Slasher evades capture, leaving his victims haunted for decades until new technology uncovers his true identity.
In June 1977, three little girls are at summer camp when a vicious predator sneaks into their tent in the middle of the night; as day breaks, a camp counselor uncovers what will become a notorious crime in Oklahoma history.
In November 1991, 11-year-old Mark Himebaugh leaves home to check out a nearby brushfire and disappears without a trace; as police investigate, they discover that both his family and the town may be hiding some disturbing secrets.
After witnessed with a mysterious stranger, a beautiful teen girl completely vanishes from her small town, turning up brutally slain days later in the Nevada desert; the search for her killer envelops the entire community, and fear abounds.
A teen mysteriously vanishes after a strange night with friends.
In 1982, a young mother's husband discovers her murdered at home with an ax in her head; everyone thinks a psychopath is on the loose, but police never make an arrest; the authorities find that their killer is someone very close to home.
Four teenage girls are gunned down at an Austin yogurt shop.
After moving to a new city following her parents' divorce, a 14-year-old girl is dissatisfied with her new surroundings; she starts running away from home until one time, she never returns; it takes 10 years before dark secrets are revealed.
In 2007, a 19-year-old woman is brutally murdered in the small town of Winnsboro, Texas; the ensuing investigation reveals the small town has a few wolves masquerading in sheep's clothing; some secrets come to light, but others may be buried forever.
After a single mother fails to show up for work, police find her brutally stabbed and her daughter missing from their home in an affluent gated community; everyone fears she's in danger, but what they uncover is darker than they could have imagined.
In the '60s and '70s, a serial killer stalks young women in New Jersey; at the same time, three women in New York City are sadistically murdered; no one expects that one man is causing the mayhem, let alone a seemingly ordinary father of three.
In 2003, a bank heist escalates into a robbery-homicide, shattering the lives of those left behind; federal and local law enforcement have his picture and DNA, but they can't find the cold-blooded killer until they learn he hides in plain sight.
A savage killer goes on a homicidal rampage and then abducts two young siblings from their home in the middle of the night; the children quickly decide they will do whatever is necessary to survive.
A mother's bond to her daughter is put to the ultimate test when one of them shoots a man dead.
Investigators search for links to the mysterious cases of five young people who disappear over a span of four years in the rural area of Lewis-Clark Valley along the Idaho-Washington border.
The 2018 murder of the Colorado mom who disappeared amid an alleged breakup with her fiancé.
The murder of James Byrd, Jr. throws his family into turmoil as law enforcement investigates one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history.
One family's American dream goes up in flames; as they try to rebuild what's left, they vow to search for justice.
Detectives must get creative to find their suspect when a Mennonite woman goes missing in January 2020 and forensic evidence from her body leads them to a dead end.
When a young woman goes missing, a rookie police officer's intuition leads to an intense investigation, as they race against the clock to find her.
A 19-year-old coed leaves her apartment and never returns; when her body is found in a desert river basin, police and internet sleuths wonder if she was a victim of an alleged killer known as the Zombie Hunter.
In May 2002, a couple goes missing in Ocean City, Maryland, almost as if they vanished into thin air, until a random, late-night burglary leads police to discover a tale of deception, brutality and savagery.
In 2011, a husband returns home to find his wife dead on the living room floor; he tells first responders she committed suicide, but it was murder; police zero in on the husband and what unfolds is one of the most outrageous tales in recent history.
When neighbors find a young teacher axed to death on Friday the 13th, a sleepy suburb fears a psychopath is loose; the bloody crime scene leads police to a most unlikely suspect, unfolding a story people still have to see to believe 40 years later.
In 1992, a college student disappears after her car breaks down on the highway; family and friends join police in a frantic search that hits one setback after another; it may take new advances in DNA technology to finally crack this stubborn case.
A Christian couple's weekend getaway takes a tragic turn when they are found murdered on a northern California beach; satanic imagery found nearby leads local sheriff's deputies on a manhunt.
In the mountains of Colorado on Thanksgiving Day 2018, a young pilot goes missing without a trace, leaving behind her baby; police follow the few clues they have and unravel a story far more bizarre and horrifying than anyone could have imagined.
A quiet rural town is rocked when two middle school girls go on a hike and are later found murdered; when police discover one of the girls may have recorded her killer with her cellphone, the race is on to find the mysterious man.
A college student who is working as a radio station intern is murdered, launching a long and frustrating investigation that leaves family and police on the brink of hopelessness; forensic genealogy leads to a man who has been on the run for decades.
A woman is murdered the same night she's supposed to go out with rising star Ashton Kutcher, and police believe the clues point to a serial killer; as the number of victims climbs, one brave woman manages to survive.
In June 2003, a 5-year-old girl walks around the corner to her friend's house and vanishes into thin air; as police investigate, they realize this quaint Midwest community is hiding some disturbing secrets that may never be fully uncovered.
In 2001, actor Robert Blake finds his new wife, Bonny Lee Bakely, shot in the head in the couple's car; the largest homicide investigation in LAPD history uncovers a story of blind ambition and betrayal.
A Texas woman is raped and murdered; a trial sparks a racially charged debate over whether an innocent man was condemned to death; new evidence comes to light; the truth about who killed Stacy Stites.
In December 2003, police respond to a mysterious 911 call at a home in Mansfield, Texas; when authorities enter, they discover two bodies; the key to finding the killer is within one of the victim's grasp.
Two days before the new millennium, the Freeman family trailer is burned to the ground; the couple's remains are found, but their teenage daughter and her friend are missing.
On June 6, 1992, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall attend parties celebrating their high school graduation; by morning, the teenagers have gone missing, along with Suzie's mother, Sherrill Levitt; the case leads police on a nationwide search.
So-Cal surfer and tech entrepreneur Chris Smith dreams of making a tidy sum of money and surfing off into the sunset; it seems as though his dreams have come true, but all is not as it appears.
In San Francisco, Kevin Collins, 10, disappears on his way home, galvanizing the residents to find him; with few leads to go on, Kevin's case sheds light on hundreds of other children who have vanished without a trace in the United States.
In the early 1970s, Washington D.C. is terrorized by a cunning killer who abducts and murders six young African American girls; police and the community are outraged by the serial killings that target young children in their own neighborhoods.
Cambodian genocide survivor Dr. Haing Ngor wins an Oscar for his role in "The Killing Fields," then he's gunned down outside his Los Angeles home, and the LAPD investigates a web of political intrigue, revenge and street gangs to uncover the truth.
NBA basketball player Lorenzen Wright goes missing outside of Memphis, Tenn., then his body is discovered in the woods, and investigators find out this case is far from a slam dunk.
A double murder involving the family of a federal judge prompts an investigation of epic proportions by the FBI, U.S. Marshals and Chicago Police Department; at the end of the trail, law enforcement personnel learn the death count may climb higher.
In 1988, a young woman is found murdered in her Modesto, Calif., home, leading police to investigate the strife and infidelity in her marriage; a surprising witness eventually comes forward.
When a widower and father of three is found murdered outside his Long Island home, police have reason to look into shady business dealings as a possible motive; then, a tip leads to three unlikely suspects, exposing dark family secrets.
After doting mother Cheryl Coker vanishes from Riverside, Ohio, numerous searches turn up nothing; as police take a closer look at the case, they uncover some disturbing information.
A senseless murder rocks an African-American neighborhood in 1970s Detroit; police arrest suspects who are ultimately convicted of murder, but 47 years later, the truth finally emerges to right history's wrongs.
After a fire chief's wife's burned body is discovered, an autopsy reveals she died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the arson investigation turns into a hunt for her killer.
In 1998, a gifted Philadelphia graduate student is found murdered in her bed, triggering a hunt for her killer.
A 12-year-old girl goes missing on her way to school in Oregon City, Ore.; the police investigation offers little in the way of leads, then a second girl disappears.
The morning of his anniversary, Mike Williams goes duck hunting; when he fails to return home, an all-out search commences, but it's only the beginning of a sordid mystery that will take close to 20 years to solve.
In the summer of 1980, a popular teen goes for a run around her hometown in Maine and, days later, her savagely beaten body is found; what happened remains a mystery for years until her mother intervenes and forces police to re-examine the case.
Over the span of decades, three women meet their deaths or go missing under mysterious circumstances, forcing authorities to examine the one thing they had in common -- they all fell in love with the same man.
A celebratory night turns deadly for the Whitaker family as they are gunned down at home; when investigators uncover a conspiracy, it will test one man's ability to forgive as he fights to save the criminal mastermind from the death penalty.
In York, Pa., race riots claim the lives of an African-American mother and a young, white police officer; their deaths are largely forgotten until 30 years later when their cold cases are reopened, revealing the city's dark past.
In Philadelphia, police make a horrific discovery 18 months after a woman goes missing; the police pursue the woman's killer, but he always manages to stay one step ahead of the law.
In the summer of 2000, bags full of body parts start appearing all over the San Francisco Bay Area; investigators follow the trail of grisly clues to a secret cult carrying out a sinister scheme.
In 1992, a 19-year-old woman is brutally assaulted outside of Desert Hot Springs, Calif.; miraculously, she escapes but lives in constant fear that her assailant will find her again one day, not realizing she has survived a serial killer.
Gallaudet University is the premier college for the deaf in the United States, but this haven of higher learning is turned upside down after two students are murdered in their dormitory rooms.
On a Mississippi back road, a 19-year-old woman is set on fire and left to burn alive; her last words lead detectives down a road of dead ends and the case goes cold until a special agent taps into her location data and finds a suspect.
In 1969, a woman is found murdered in Los Angeles, but her identity is a mystery; for decades, police investigate hoping to put a name to the face and find her killer; the one lead that comes up over and over leads them to Charles Manson.
In the 1970s, a serial rapist is on the loose in northern California; then, as his reign of terror over the community wanes, police discover he isn't just a serial rapist, he's a serial murderer, and he's been killing people all over California.
A young couple's toddler vanishes while the family is enjoying an impromptu camping trip in Leadore, Idaho; investigators and private detectives work around the clock to find the missing boy, only to come back to his parents.
When a young family vanishes from their Southern California dream home, friends and family are left with dozens of unanswered questions; authorities suspect they fled the country, until an unlikely source uncovers the truth.
One summer night in 2007, the Petit family is woken up by two strangers in their quiet Connecticut home; suddenly, these four family members find themselves being held hostage and in a fight for their lives.
Sherri Rasmussen and John Ruetten are enjoying newlywed life until one morning when Sherri calls into work sick; that night, John returns home to find his wife murdered; years later, detectives discover Sherri's killer was too close for comfort.
A premiere fishing boat explodes into flames just off shore, stunning the small fishing town of Craig, Alaska; after fighting the flames, state troopers discover the remains of a young family and few clues as to could have set the ship blaze.
In Florida, friends and family are stunned after an esteemed criminal law professor is executed in his garage; investigators follow a series of leads taking them on a statewide hunt in search of the murderous masterminds.
After a young couple goes missing, detectives find a clue leading them to a strange storage container in the middle of 95 acres, and what's inside unlocks the secrets of a monster hiding in plain sight.
In 1980, Tim Hack and Kelly Drew go missing from a small Wisconsin town, then their bodies are found in a field; a woman comes forward nearly 40 years later to help solve the so-called "Sweetheart Murders" of Hack and Drew.
Shock sweeps through a Washington community when a suburban mother gets arrested for a murder from a decade earlier in Alaska; details of a seedy and sordid past emerge.
Police investigate the shooting of millionaires Brad and Andra Sachs in their home in 2014 and track a series of clues in a chase to find the couple's killer.
When a vivacious young escort, Shannan Gilbert, vanishes on Long Island's south shore in 2010, her disappearance leads police to discover the bodies of 10 other victims dumped by a serial killer.
Police question suspects in the inner circle of Jackie Galloway, a woman found strangled and bound with ritualistic knots; a chance encounter with a prowler leads them to the shocking discovery of a budding serial killer.
In 1981, a woman and three teenagers are murdered in a cabin in the remote town of Keddie, Calif., and no one is ever brought to justice; now, new evidence may hold the key to finally cracking this case.
Hikers discover the severed head of Hervey Medellin in the Hollywood Hills; the suspects include former lovers, drug cartel hit men and a porn star in this tale of lust, greed and butchery.
In Grand Prairie, Texas, a game of truth-or-dare leads to a startling confession in the 1995 shooting death of 16-year-old Adrianne Jones.
Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found murdered in her Boulder, Colo., home in 1996, and investigators try to determine whether she was killed by an intruder or by a member of her own family.
A lone survivor is the only witness who can help police track down a serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper preying on women in South Central Los Angeles; after decades of searching, police hone in on an unlikely suspect.
In Craig, Ala., townspeople are shocked when police discover the charred body of beloved mother and wife Lauri Waterman; people have no idea who would want to kill her, then an unlikely witness reveals a sordid story of secrets and lies.
A brutal 1970 home invasion claims the lives of Army surgeon Jeffrey MacDonald's wife and daughters, leaving him the lone survivor; authorities doubt his story of murderous hippies and believe MacDonald committed the crime himself.