People Magazine Investigates

An army surgeon, Jeffrey MacDonald, is the lone survivor of a brutal 1970 home invasion that claims the lives of his wife and daughters. But authorities doubt his story of murderous hippies and believe MacDonald is the culprit.

[Murder in Alaska] In 2004, the small town of Craig, Alaska is shocked when police discover the charred body of beloved mother and wife Lauri Waterman. People have no idea who would want to kill her, until an unlikely witness reveals a sordid story of secrets and lies.

[Los Angeles Serial Killer] A lone survivor is the only witness who can help police track down a serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, who preys on women in South Central Los Angeles. After decades of searching, police hone in on an unlikely suspect.

[20-Year Murder Mystery] Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found murdered in her Boulder, Colorado home in 1996. Investigators try to unravel if she was killed in a kidnapping-gone-wrong, by a home intruder or by one of her own family.

[Mystery in Texas] In 1995, 16-year-old Adrianne Jones is found shot to death in Grand Prairie, Texas. A model student and athlete, there seems to be no reason for her death. Police investigate boyfriends, neighbors and local troublemakers, but don't have any strong suspects. The case grows cold, until nine months later when a game of Truth-or-Dare leads to a startling confession and an over-achieving relationship that went murderously awry.

[A Ghastly Discovery] In 2012, hikers in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills discover the severed head of Hervey Medellin, a retired flight clerk. The cast of suspects includes former lovers, drug cartels and a murderous porn star, in a tale of lust, greed and butchery.

[The Keddie Murders] A mother and three teens are murdered in the remote town of Keddie, California. Despite a trail of suspects and illicit activity, no one was ever brought to justice. But recently discovered evidence may be the key to finally cracking case.

[Murder by the Book] On June 12, 1991, outgoing Jackie Galloway is found strangled and bound with ritualistic knots. Police investigate suspects in her inner circle but are shocked when a chance encounter with a prowler leads them to discover the murderer is a budding serial killer.

[Gone Without a Trace] In 2011, a 10-month-old baby girl goes missing from her home in Kansas City. The family fears she's been kidnapped by a drifter, only to be accused by the police of being responsible for her disappearance.

The discovery of four women's bodies on Gilgo Beach was just the beginning. But who is the Long Island Serial Killer? Investigators uncover multiple suspects and shocking theories, as they race to capture this prolific killer before he strikes again.

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 ten other victims dumped by a serial killer.

Police investigate the shooting deaths 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.

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.

In 1980, Tim Hack and Kelly Drew go missing from a small Wisconsin town, and later 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the 1970s, a serial rapist is on the loose in northern California. As his reign of terror over the community wanes, police discover he isn't just a serial rapist, he's a serial murderer who has been killing people all over California.

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 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.

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.

In 1992, a 19-year-old woman is brutally assaulted outside of Desert Hot Springs, California. 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.

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 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 York, Pennsylvania, 1969, 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.

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.

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.

In the summer of 1980, a popular teen goes for a run around her hometown in Maine and vanishes. 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

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.

A 12-year-old girl goes missing on her way to school in Oregon City, Oregon. The police investigation offers little in the way of leads. Then, a second girl disappears.

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.

In 1998, a gifted Philadelphia graduate student is found murdered in her bed, triggering a hunt for her 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.

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 doting mother Cheryl Coker vanishes from Riverside, OH, numerous searches turn up nothing; as police take a closer look at the case, they uncover some disturbing information.

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.

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.

In 1988, a young woman is found murdered in her Modesto, CA, home, leading police to investigate the strife and infidelity in her marriage. A surprising witness eventually comes forward.

A double murder involving the family of a federal judge will lead the FBI, US Marshals, and Chicago PD on an investigation of epic proportions. But when law enforcement finds the end of the trail, they learn the death count may climb higher.

In July of 2010, NBA star and family man Lorenzen Wright goes missing outside of Memphis, TN. When his dead body is discovered in the woods, investigators find that this case is far from a slam dunk.

Art imitates life when Cambodian genocide survivor Dr. Haing Ngor wins an Oscar for his role in the film The Killing Fields. But when he's gunned down, the LAPD investigate a web of political intrigue, revenge, and street gangs to uncover the truth.

In 1971 and '72, Washington DC 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.

In 1984, 10-year-old Kevin Collins disappears on his way home and the city of San Francisco is galvanized in an effort to find him. With few leads to go on, his case sheds light on hundreds of other kids who have vanished without a trace in the U.S.

So-Cal surfer and tech entrepreneur, Chris Smith, dreams of making a tidy sum of money and then surfing off into the sunset. It seems his dreams have come true, but all is not as it appears.

On June 6, 1992, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall are out celebrating high school graduation. By morning, the teens are missing, along with Suzie's mother. The case leads police on a nationwide search as they work to solve this baffling mystery.

Two days before the new millennium, the Freeman family trailer is burned to the ground. The couple's remains are found with bullets to the head, but their teenage daughter and her friend are missing.

[Quiet Night, Deadly Night] On December 10, 2003, police respond to a mysterious 911 call at a home in the Walnut Estates in Mansfield, Texas. When authorities enter the home they discover the bloodied bodies of homeowners Rick and Suzy Wamsley. The key to finding the killer is within one of the victim's grasp.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 the 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.

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.

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 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.

In May 2002, a couple goes missing in Ocean City, MD. It's 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, the likes of which they have never seen.

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 alike wonder if she was a victim of an alleged killer known as The Zombie Hunter.

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.

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.

One family's American dream goes up in flames; what looks like an accidental fire turns out to be a cover-up for a murder. As they try to rebuild what's left, they vow never to extinguish their search for 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.

In 1984, a slew of brutal hammer attacks leaves a Colorado community in fear. It takes nearly 40 years before a serial killer is brought to justice.

Five young people disappeared 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.

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.

In 1987, a mother's bond to her daughter is put to the ultimate test when one of them shoots a man dead.

A savage predator goes on a homicidal rampage with a savage triple murder along with an abduction of two young siblings from their home in the middle of the night. The children quickly decide they will do whatever is necessary to survive.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After a single mother fails to show up for work, police find her brutally stabbed and her 14-year-old 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 2007, a 19-year-old woman is brutally murdered in the small town of Winnsboro, TX; 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 moving to a new city following her parents' divorce, a 14-year-old girl finds herself lost and unloved within her new surroundings; she starts running away from home until one time, she never returns. It takes ten years before dark secrets are revealed.

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.

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 madman was on the loose, so 40 years later when police make an arrest, everyone is stunned at who stands trial for the murder.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 is discussed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In 2020, Baron Li is shot nine times in front of his house. 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 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 the most unlikely place.

For years, a serial killer stalks the most vulnerable and least suspecting victims: retirees. However, when a 91-year-old woman survives, she helps break the case wide open, leading to the capture of one of the most prolific serial killers of modern times.

In 1996, a college co-ed vanishes after attending a party over a holiday weekend and is presumed dead. There is immediately a prime suspect but a lack of evidence to prove it. Decades later, a discovery found six feet under turns the case upside down.

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 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.

Virginia firefighters respond to a house fire in Upperville, Virginia where they discover the body of a local journalist. The fire destroys any hope for evidence, but the victim's social media history leads police down a rabbit hole.

The Lunsford family's lives turn upside down when someone snatches nine-year-old Jessie from her bed in the middle of the night.

A home intruder abducts a 60-year-old woman in the night. Local sheriffs search relentlessly until they discover another horrifying attack just ten miles away that fits the same profile. Is there a serial predator haunting Florida's Gulf Coast? 

Single mother Jennifer Brown vanishes from her Limerick home and detectives race against the clock to find her. With her eight-year-old son asking where his mother is, investigators must confront a web of lies woven by the people she trusts the most.

In 2022, Austin police discover the body of 25-year-old up-and-coming cyclist Mo Wilson. Someone shot Mo execution style while she was visiting a friend for the weekend. Homicide detectives discover a story of jealousy, betrayal, and total obsession.

Outside of Orlando, life is no longer a fairytale for childhood sweethearts Mike and Laurie Shaver. Fighting and infidelities lead to shattered vases and broken dreams. When police search their backyard in 2018, what they find scars the family forever.

Celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli's teenage daughter discovers him brutally murdered on their Los Angeles patio. The LAPD uncovers a shocking story of lust, betrayal, and greed that turns the glamorous world of beauty upside down.

In 1972, 20-year-old Jody Loomis takes a late afternoon bike ride to visit her horse and never returns home. She turns up murdered in the woods, and her case baffles the local authorities. For decades, everyone in the small town of Bothell is a suspect. 

In Prairie Village, KS, a reclusive mother goes missing in 2019. When her teenage daughter and the police go looking for answers, they are gaslit at every turn. Without a digital footprint or even a friend who knows her, leads are running out fast.  

The weekend before Thanksgiving 1994, a killer savagely slays Robin Lawrence at home while her child is asleep. A relentless investigation circles her husband, until a drop of blood unlocks the mystery of Robin's murder and leads to a shocking confession.  

In 2001, someone murders a father, sets his Florida home ablaze, and his sons disappear. As prayers rise for their safe return, a so-called family friend steps forward, shifting the case. Now, an exclusive interview finally uncovers the chilling truth. 

In Ocala, FL, the local sheriff's office responds to a wellness check only to find the body of a man in what looks like a sexual pleasure palace. Police launch a relentless hunt for his killer, unearthing dark secrets along the way. Could it be a hate crime, revenge, or is the killer much closer to home? 

As Pride Month kicks off in 2022, the deaths of two gay men in New York City shatter their families and the gay community, leading the NYPD to uncover a ruthless gang that stalks, drugs, and murders their victims before draining their bank accounts.

Questions and accusations fly after savvy entrepreneur and mother of five, 52-year-old Dee Warner, vanishes from her rural Michigan home. Authorities struggle for answers, until one day they find her, closer to home than anyone could have imagined.