Scanner traffic on the day of two-year-old Gabriella's death reveals how police responded to the initial call, finding the toddler unresponsive and dealing with threats against their lives. Listen in on the latest Crime Scene podcast, with host

5 top criminal justice misconceptions

Apr 19th, 2018 14m 56s

Movies and television shows have been lying to us about criminal justice. Historical criminologist Fritz Umbach details the five top criminal justice misconceptions. From drugs to court to jail, there's a lot we think we know, that we actually

The mass murder and animal cruelty connection

Feb 28th, 2018 15m 25s

The connection between animal cruelty and murder is now a commonly accepted fact. The FBI began tracking animal cruelty cases in 2016, but that might never had happened if not for one tiny dog, a shih tzu named Polo, and his devoted, doting own

Paying the price of police work

Jan 31st, 2018 13m 30s

What is the cost of a life spent in law enforcement? Not the salary and benefits, but the physical and mental toll being a cop takes on members of the force. That question is harder to answer than you might think. suicide and PTSD rates are dif

Brothers in trauma: Police officers and PTSD

Jan 3rd, 2018 22m 29s

Three cops, all friends, and all survivors of devastating injuries. But it's not the physical pain but the emotional challenges they have to overcome. On this episode of Crime Scene we talk to three former police officers, all of whom have deal

The case of the cannibal school teacher

Nov 1st, 2017 10m

In 1979, Albert Fentress abducted, abused, mutilated, murdered and then ate parts of an 18-year-old boy. But before he did all that he wrote a movie script. In the latest episode of Crime Scene, we look at how fantasy becomes murder, through th

UPDATE: Female serial killers

Oct 18th, 2017 4m 20s

A quick update on last week's episode - I asked developmental psychologist Sasha Reid to talk a bit about why there are so few female serial killers, at least when compared to the number of men. She gives us her professional opinion.

Recipe for a serial killer

Oct 4th, 2017 17m

Could you create a serial killer? Or, perhaps more importantly, could you "fix" a potential serial killer before he becomes the monster? In this episode of Crime Scene, Sasha Reid, an etiologist examining the details of serial killers' lives, a

UPDATE: How to get a confession

Sep 20th, 2017 3m 15s

In this short update, we hear how former NYPD homicide detective Jim Davis got Sunset Bay Jr. to confess to the rape and murder of Roberta Fort. If you'd like to read the transcript, sign up for the Crime Scene newsletter at lohud.us/crimescene

The rape and murder of Roberta Fort

Sep 6th, 2017 17m 15s

In 1975, the body of Roberta Fort was found in a pool of blood. Follow along with the original lead detective on the case as he walks through the investigatory process. These were the days before DNA. Seven years later, the killer went to trial

BONUS: Race, racism and serial murder

Aug 16th, 2017 6m 43s

We want to believe that all murders are created equal. We'd like to think that, in 2017, the response to one tragedy will be the same as the response to another, regardless of race, creed or economic status. But the truth, according to Dr. Delo

The typical serial killer: How preconceived ideas let murderers go free

Aug 2nd, 2017 13m 2s

In the latest episode of Crime Scene, we try to untangle preconceived ideas around serial murder, using the science of statistics to delve into the hard data. This episode we talk with former professor Mike Aamodt and with Vernon Geberth, a for

Inside the mind of sexual serial killers

Jul 5th, 2017 12m 23s

Police still don't know the identity of Robert Shulman's second victim, found mutilated behind a Yonkers pizza place 25 years ago. In this episode, Crime Scene talks with veteran homicide detective Vernon Geberth, called "Mr. Murder," about how

Belton Lee Brims and the cinema of prison escape

May 31st, 2017 15m 12s

The story of how Belton Lee Brims murdered two people is how this story begins. His capture — and later re-capture — has become the stuff of local lore.

'Two legs sticking out of a garbage bag' - Update

May 16th, 2017 5m 11s

State Police have released the 1987 transcript of a call to authorities in New Mexico detailing the location of a dead body on Interstate 95. This is an update to a recent episode of the Crime Scene podcast examined a case in which less than no

The tragic history of fire codes

Apr 29th, 2017 27m 47s

In this episode of Crime Scene, we examine fire codes, and how they are often if not always the result of horrific losses of life; arson, and how investigators piece together evidence from little more than a pile of ashes; and the fatal Stouffe

Less than no evidence: The coldest murder case maybe ever

Apr 4th, 2017 12m

All investigations rely on evidence — fingerprints maybe, or footprints or bloody gloves or cigarette butts. This episode of Crime Scene shares the tale of a murder investigation in which there is less than zero evidence. It may very well be th

DNA: Balancing privacy and public safety

Mar 16th, 2017 10m 30s

In this episode of Crime Scene, we talk to Ray Wickenheiser, who runs the New York State Police Crime Lab, about how DNA evidence is collected and about the balance between security and privacy concerns

Wrongfully convicted: The science and law behind exonerations

Feb 22nd, 2017 17m 9s

Innocent but incarcerated? This episode of Crime Scene looks at exoneration: How one man was railroaded into 16 years behind bars for a crime he demonstrably didn't commit, and how legal policy and science are working to prevent wrongful convic

30 years later, Mount Vernon's Jane Doe remains a mystery

Nov 10th, 2016 14m 14s

Mount Vernon's only Jane Doe was found strangled nearly three decades ago. In all that time, the process of identifying John and Jane Does has changed quite a bit, and there are more tools available to both the police and the public. A Facebo

Body fished from lake sparked conspiracy theories

Sep 15th, 2016 13m 40s

It's like a scene ripped from a Stephen King novel — two boys toss their fishing lines into the water and pull out a dead body.The cause of William X. Harth's death was debated around dinner tables in 1960s Rockland County, with conspiracy th

Women's rights, labor movements, murder and the state police

Jun 22nd, 2016 13m 38s

The story of the origins of the New York State Police encompasses women's rights, the labor movement, World War I and more. And it all began with an unsolved murder.

Crime Scene: Sherri Orofino

May 17th, 2016 12m 33s

Sherri Orofino was killed almost 30 years ago, her body found six months after she went missing in the Croton reservoir. The prime suspect in the murder — a former police sergeant — has never been charged.

Crime Scene: Reginald Mcfadden

Apr 26th, 2016 9m 35s

Reginald McFadden was convicted of two murders and a rape, all committed during the 92 days after he was released from prison on a murder charge. He was never tried for the death of Dana DeMarco, though reasons why change, based on who you ask.

Crime Scene: Prophets and poison, sex and slavery

Mar 29th, 2016 12m 2s

In the decades before the Civil War, the small town of Ossining, N.Y., was home to a small cult led by a man who believed he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Matthias — until a murder and a sensational trial.