In the premiere of the true-crime series, the search for a missing escort leads the police on Long Island to discover the bodies of 10 women believed to have been murdered by the same killer.
The discovery of four women's bodies on Gilgo Beach is just the beginning, as investigators uncover multiple suspects and shocking theories while racing to identify the Long Island Serial Killer before he strikes again.
The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a 10-month-old girl from her Kansas City, Mo., home is examined. The family fears that she was abducted by a drifter, but the police suspect that someone within the family may be responsible.
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.
A long-cold case that may be heating up is examined. In 1981 Keddie, Cal., the investigation into the murders of a woman and three teens hits a wall. Fast forward three decades and recently discovered evidence may be key to cracking 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.
The 1995 murder of a 16-year old girl in Grand Prairie, Texas, goes unsolved for nine months, when a game of truth-or-dare leads to a startling confession.
An examination of the JonBenét Ramsey murder case. The 6-year-old beauty pageant winner was murdered in her family's home on Dec. 26, 1996. Included: whether she was killed in a kidnapping-gone-wrong, by a home intruder or by one 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.
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 1984, the body of a 14-year-old girl turns up on the beach in San Diego and police think it relates to the murder of another teen; a clue yields an unbelievable suspect.
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.
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.
When an 11-year-old Arizona girl vanishes while waiting for an ice cream truck, it's clear she's been abducted; the search for her leads to a trail of suspects, making it the largest missing child investigation in Arizona history.
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 that afternoon, 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. Days later, her savagely beaten body is found. But what happened remains a mystery for years, until her mother intervenes and forces police to reexamine the case.
When three women from three different decades meet their death or go missing under mysterious circumstances, authorities are forced to examine the one thing they had in common: they all fell in love with the same man.
A celebratory night turns deadly for a Texas family when 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.
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.
Right before Thanksgiving, two masked gunmen reportedly invade a couple's home and kill the husband; with few leads, police use ballistics, forensics and neighborhood gossip to solve this cold-blooded murder.
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.
College student Tammy Zywicki vanishes in 1992 after her car breaks down on the highway. Family and friends scramble to find her, but when her body is found 500 miles from where she vanished there are very few clues pointing to her killer. Police struggle with dead-end leads and suspects who don't pan out. New DNA technology promises to finally crack the case decades later. As her family clings to the last of their hope, the fear is that it may be too little too late for justice.
In the summer of 2004, Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen are working as councilors at an outdoor Christian adventure camp in Northern California They decide to head down the coast for a weekend getaway, but when they fail to return to camp Sunday evening, the camp staff become very concerned. A search ensues and police discover the couples' bodies at Fish Head Beach, in Jenner, California. As police begin investigating the double homicide, they discover the killer has left no clues and little evidence. Over the succeeding days, weeks and years, Sonoma County Detectives investigate a group of suspects as they relentlessly search for the killer.
Kelsey Berreth, a young mother and pilot, was last heard from on the morning of Thanksgiving 2018. Her fiancé is worried she may have harmed herself after a stressful year. But when police discover blood in an unusual place, they begin to unravel a bizarre story of love, jealousy, and a murder that goes far beyond what anyone in law enforcement could have imagined.
A quiet rural town is rocked when two middle-school girls go on a hike and are later found murdered. But when police discover one of the girls may have recorded her killer with her cellphone, the race is on to find the mysterious man.
On a snowy night in January 1980, college student Helene Pruszynski disappears after reaching her final bus stop. When her body turns up in a snowy field, police launch a long and frustrating investigation that pushes family and detectives to the brink of hopelessness. Their hope is revived when they discover that cutting edge forensic genealogy may hold the key to finding Helene's murderer.
When Ashley Ellerin is found murdered in her Hollywood bungalow, police zero in on the Hollywood heartthrob she was supposed to have a date with the night she was killed. The case takes a shocking turn as detectives realize Ashley is not the only victim, and discover they are on the hunt for a serial killer. The assailant's victim count grows until one woman manages to fight back so fiercely that he leaves behind critical blood evidence. But will they be able to finally catch him?
In the summer of 2003, the Iron Range of northern Minnesota is a peaceful community where parents let their kids play outside on their own without a second thought. But when five-year-old LeeAnna Warner vanishes without a trace, investigators do a deep dive into the quaint community and realize that some of the familiar faces in the neighborhood may be hiding some disturbing secrets that may never fully be uncovered.
In the spring of 2001, former child actor and Baretta star Robert Blake just married Bonny Lee Bakely, the mother of his new baby girl. The couple are out to dinner in Los Angeles when Bakely is murdered in the passenger seat of the couple's car, execution style. Blake seems devastated, but as police investigate, they uncover a tale of a troubled marriage of convenience and a fight for custody that may have led to one of Hollywood's most infamous murders.
When a woman is found dead in her historic house on Horseshoe Lake, police chase her killer to the water where he drowns. But when the body is recovered, people are shocked to realize this story started 25 years earlier when two other family members were found murdered by the same man.
19-year-old Stacey Stites is found raped and murdered in a small Texas town. After a year-long investigation police match DNA from the scene to a man named Rodney Reed. Reed is convicted and sentenced to death, but in the coming years as Reed proclaims his innocence, certain evidence comes to light that might prove he's telling the truth.
On December 10, 2003, police receive a mysterious 911 call at a home in the tony Walnut Estates in Mansfield, Texas. Police are dispatched to investigate and when they enter the home they encounter a horrific scene: the bloodied bodies of homeowners Rick and Suzy Wamsley. The couple was highly regarded around the neighborhood and thought to have the perfect family life so detectives are left with a big question mark: Who and why would anyone want to kill the Wamsleys? When detectives launch an investigation to find out, the myth of the Wamsleys' perfect life begins to unravel. It turns out underneath the polished exterior, there are deep, dark secrets.
Two days before the new millennium in the rural town of Welch, Oklahoma, Danny and Kathy Freeman are found dead after a neighbor spots the family trailer engulfed in flames. Police soon determine their cause of death was not the fire, but a gunshot. The case adds another layer when it is discovered that the Freeman's daughter Ashley and her best friend Lauria Bible are nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, police finally discover what happened to them, the truth is almost too dark for words.
A savage killer goes on a homicidal rampage and then abducts two young siblings from their home in the middle of the night. But 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.
During an armed robbery, a father of three is fatally shot, but for 23 years, another family questions if the wrong man is behind bars.
Five young people disappear over a span of four years in the rural area of Lewis-Clark Valley, along the Idaho-Washington border. Investigators search for links to the mysterious cases.
In 1984, a slew of brutal hammer attacks left a Colorado community in fear. It takes nearly 40 years before a serial killer is brought to justice.
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 never to extinguish their search for justice.
In January 2020, a Mennonite woman goes missing from her small religious community. They find her body, but forensic evidence leads them to a dead end, stymieing law enforcement. Detectives get creative in an effort to find their suspect.
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.
PEOPLE MAGAZINE INVESTIGATES delves into the 1977 brutal assault and murder of three Oklahoma Girl Scouts away at summer camp: Lori Lee Farmer, Doris Denise Milner and Michele Heather Guse. The case dominated national headlines for more than a year as law enforcement scrambled to find answers. PEOPLE's reporting team takes viewers through the twists and turns of this case, from how local authorities zeroed in on a suspect (a prison escapee with a dangerous past), the all encompassing manhunt to track him down and the subsequent trial that led to heartbreak for the victims' families and many unanswered questions. Featuring an exclusive emotional, new interview with Lori Lee Farmer's parents and siblings, as well as testimony from jurors on the trial and experts close to the case.
An unknown shooter unleashes carnage from Indianapolis to Wichita, Kansas, killing six in the spring of 1992 at various retail stores near 1-70, a major east-west highway that runs through the very heart of the Midwest. A sketch of the suspect is developed from various eyewitness accounts, but police are at a loss ... until one victim survives.
In 1991, a young boy leaves home to check out a local brush fire that was capturing his neighborhood's attention and never returns home. Decades have passed and police continue to look for his abductor(s), while his mother is still waiting for him to find his way home.
A 16-year-old cowgirl goes missing in Nevada. Three days later her body was found draped under a blue tarp that had been dumped among the tumbleweeds. As police search for her killer, the investigation takes a sudden turn towards the boy she called "brother."
In 2018, a 16-year-old girl vanishes into thin air the morning after attending a high school party in an isolated California mountain town. The bizarre mystery leads to speculation by internet sleuths that her parents are somehow involved due to inconsistencies in their story. But now exclusive new details have been provided to PEOPLE MAGAZINE INVESTIGATES in an effort to dispel rumors and redirect everyone's attention to what is important, finding the right lead that will bring the teen home, hopefully alive.
In 1982, in an upscale suburb of Rochester, New York, a Kodak executive returns home and finds his wife dead with an ax in her head. People believed a mad man was on the loose, so 40 years later when police make an arrest, everyone is stunned at who stands trial for the murder.
Four teenage girls are brutally murdered in a yogurt shop in North Austin, Texas, in 1991, in what becomes the biggest mass murder in Austin history. The investigation that follows drags on for years, and even when police make an arrest, justice is not guaranteed.
A 14-year-old girl finds herself lost and unloved following her parents' divorce and a move to a new town, providing a perfect opportunity for someone to lure her away. For 10 years she's held captive, until she makes her escape.
When a 19-year-old girl is found murdered in her boyfriend's bed in a small Texas town, everyone is a suspect. The case goes cold until a new sheriff comes to town who sheds fresh light on some old evidence, but will it be enough to bring her killer to justice?
When a single mom tells her 14-year-old daughter to break off a relationship with a 19-year-old man, the young lovers murder the girl's mom, setting off a manhunt and culminating in a trial replete with finger-pointing and betrayal.
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 still can't find the cold-blooded killer until they learn he hides in plain sight.
A terrified young escort calls 911 as she flees into the night and vanishes; her family pressures police to take up the search, and investigators uncover a strange cast of characters - plus 10 other bodies spread along a remote stretch of beach.
When police discover 10 bodies strewn along a remote beach, there are few answers and even fewer suspects; over a decade later, a new investigation uncovers old leads, and police finally think they've found their man.
In Homosassa, Florida a nine-year-old girl is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night; after a relentless three-week search ends in a devastating discovery, the girl's father dedicates himself to ensuring this tragedy doesn't happen to another family.
Virginia firefighters respond to a house fire in Upperville where they discover the body of a local journalist who had been shot two times. The fire destroys any hope for evidence, but the victim’s social media history leads police down a rabbit hole.
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 2001, a mother of five is found shot in the head in her own minivan. Investigators have little physical evidence and struggle to make an arrest. As the children grow up, the family becomes divided over who killed the beloved soccer mom.
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.
Dallas Police discover a serial killer targeting vulnerable retirees.
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.
In 2020, Baron Li, is shot nine times in front of his home. Detectives scramble to figure out who could want this loving husband and father dead. When they hone in on two teenage suspects, police struggle to identify their motives and connection to Li.
In 2021, police find a retired couple stabbed repeatedly in their home on the New Jersey shore. 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 one of the most infamous mass murders in Maryland state history.
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 Sacramento, Calif., law enforcement officials arrest a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, bringing an end to the serial murderer's reign of terror.
