Forensic History Crimes

Deep Waters Hide Dark Secrets. The American South is renowned for its sweeping landscapes, sun-drenched coastlines, and thick, untamed wetlands. But beneath the scenic beauty of these blackwater bayous, mangrove forests, and coastal flatlands lies a shifting, treacherous terrain that has long been weaponized by the nation's most ruthless predators. In this gripping non-fiction anthology, journey deep into the shadows of the southern wilderness to uncover twenty of the most chilling, dynamic, and historic criminal investigations ever recorded. From the quiet mist of Lake Seminole to the ...

Every investigator knows the golden rule of a crime scene. Physical evidence never lies. Yet history is full of tragic missteps where the truth was buried beneath tunnel vision, forced confessions, and ignored details. This collection dives deep into the most complex investigations of the modern era. It explores the dark intersection where human error meets the undeniable reality of biology. You will follow the painstaking journey of real detectives, geneticists, and innocence organizations as they strip away decades of deception to reveal what actually happened. From tragic disappearances ...

Uncover the chilling reality of human depravity in this comprehensive three-book collection. True Crime Despicable takes you behind the headlines of the most haunting cases in modern history, providing a deep dive into the minds of those who committed the unthinkable. From the high-plains terror of a multi-state killing spree to the terrifying double life of a suburban predator, this volume explores the intersection of madness and malice. Examine the cold-blooded planning of a public execution and the psychological profiles of individuals who left an indelible stain on the fabric of society...

Step back into the gaslit alleys of Victorian London, where a shadow known only as Jack the Ripper unleashed a reign of terror that haunts us to this day. In the autumn of 1888, the impoverished district of Whitechapel became the hunting ground for a phantom. A series of brutal, ritualistic murders of destitute women exposed the dark underbelly of the world's wealthiest empire and launched one of the most intense and frustrating manhunts in history. The killer was never caught, leaving behind a terrifying legend and a perfect, unsolved mystery. This meticulously researched book cuts through...

Groundbreaking scientific analysis that breaks the JFK assassination wide open! Did a shot from the "grassy knoll" kill President Kennedy? If so, was Oswald part of a conspiracy or an innocent patsy? Why have scientific experts who examined the evidence failed to put such questions to rest? In 2001, scientist Dr. Donald Byron Thomas published a peer-reviewed article that revived the debate over the finding by the House Select Committee on Assassinations that there had indeed been a shot from the grassy knoll, caught on a police dictabelt recording.

Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence. Working at the interface of where the criminal and natural world interact, Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases. Now, through a study of her most infamous, and fascinating cases—including the murder of Sarah Payne, and the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman—Patricia will show us how she finds the answers to some of the worst crimes imaginable.

From the quiet, desperate hands of a 19th-century housewife to the state-sponsored assassins of the Cold War, the methods have evolved, but the motive remains the same. This meticulously researched account opens the case files on the world’s most infamous poisoners, revealing the dark intersection of science, ambition, and human cruelty. Journey through a history of hidden horror, from the panic of the 1982 Tylenol attacks and the chilling efficiency of Harold Shipman, the doctor who preyed on his patients, to the radioactive ghost trail that exposed the assassins of Alexander Litvinenko....

Marty Goddard dreamed up a new crime-solving tool—a kit that could help rape survivors fight for justice. This thrilling investigation tells the story of the troubled, heroic woman who kicked off a feminist revolution in forensics, and then vanished into obscurity. "Astonishing . . . Marty...

Poison in Plain Sight A man bites a pen and dies in seconds. A city drinks from a well that looks perfectly clean. A chef slices a fish knowing one wrong cut ends the meal, and possibly a life. Every chapter in Invisible Poisons: The Chemistry of History's Most Dangerous Substances begins with a real event. Every event is a chemistry problem that someone had to solve — usually after the damage was already done. This book follows the story of toxicology from its messiest beginnings to its modern frontiers. A poisoned cup of coffee helped invent forensic science. A Soviet spy's pen ...

Written by the forensic nurse who transformed the way the FBI profiles and catches serial killers, this thought-provoking book takes an intimate look at the creation of the Behavioral Science Unit–the inspiration for Hulu’s Mastermind documentary. In the 1970s, the FBI created the...

On October 20, 1973, in San Francisco, a White couple strolling down Telegraph Hill was set upon and butchered by four young Black men. Thus began a reign of terror that lasted six months and left 15 Whites dead and the entire city in a state of panic. The perpetrators wanted nothing less than a race war.

In 1922, Edith Thompson was hanged for murder despite no physical evidence linking her to the crime. Her conviction rested entirely on passionate love letters that a jury interpreted as conspiracy. Modern DNA analysis would have proven her innocence immediately. Before forensic science existed, innocence couldn't be proven and guilt couldn't be certain. Victorian and Edwardian Britain witnessed a golden age of murder mysteries not because killers were more clever, but because the science to catch them barely existed. Poisons were undetectable. Blood couldn't be typed. DNA was unknown. ...

Former CNN/HLN anchor and veteran broadcast journalist Susan Hendricks takes an investigative deep-dive into the still-unsolved double homicide of two teens in Delphi, Indiana—and its lasting impact on the community On February 13, 2017, two teenage girls—13-year-old Abby Williams and...

Take a fascinating deep dive into the dark world of forensic science as experts team up to solve the identity of an unknown woman, using the rapidly evolving techniques being used to break the most notorious cold cases. Fans of true crime shows like CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Law &Order know...

From the acclaimed author of Death in the Air ("Not since Devil in the White City has a book told such a harrowing tale"--Douglas Preston) comes the riveting story of the birth of criminal investigation in the twentieth century. Berkeley, California, 1933. In a lab filled with...

With murder, court battles, and sensational newspaper headlines, the story of Lizzie Borden is compulsively listenable and perfect for the Common Core. Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. In a compelling, linear...

Encompassing nearly 2,000 years of heists and tunnel jobs, break-ins and escapes, A Burglar's Guide to the City offers an unexpected blueprint to the criminal possibilities in the world all around us. You'll never see the city the same way again. At the core of A Burglar's Guide to the City is...

SLASHED: THE UNFORGETTABLE TRUE STORY THAT HAUNTED A GENERATION On a sweltering July night in 1966, Chicago’s South Side descended into madness. Eight young student nurses—each with a dream, a future, and a purpose—were bound, brutalized, and murdered inside their shared townhouse. The man responsible, Richard Speck, would become one of the most infamous names in American criminal history. The nation would never be the same. “The night Chicago screamed” was more than a headline—it was the night America lost its innocence. THE KILLER WHO CHANGED AMERICA FOREVER Richard Speck ...

British true crime history told through railway murders, canal killings, river bodies and road crimes — from Victorian Britain to the modern commuter age. Bodies in Transit is a dark, documentary collection of fifteen true crime cases about the journeys that became crime scenes: sealed railway compartments, canal boats, left-luggage offices, bridges, tunnels, country lanes, burning cars and the dangerous last mile home. From the first railway murder of Thomas Briggs and the Brighton Line Murder to the Thames Torso Murders, the Green Bicycle case, the Blazing Car Murder, the A6 Murder and ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Stevie Cameron’s investigative tour de force about one of North America's most prolific serial killers—now widely regarded as a true crime classic. Verteran investigative journalist Stevie Cameron first began following the story of missing women in 1998, when the odd...