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Private Notes
On May 5, 2004, John Runge of the Virginia Beach Police Department got a call from a fisherman stating that he had found a suitcase floating in the Chesapeake Bay.
Five days later another suitcase washed up on the shores of Fisherman's Island; inside that suitcase was the torso of white male severed from the waist down. His head and arms were still attached. Later, a third suitcase with body parts was found by a fisherman and his wife.
The victim was eventually identified from a sketch: William McGuire, from Woodbridge, N.J.
Artists Dinerral Shavers and Helen Hill - he a musician, she an independent filmmaker - may not have known each other. But they both returned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with a vision to revive the storm-ravaged city.
But as correspondent Erin Moriarty reports, they both fell victims to a storm of murder.
For John Flores and his best friend Kevin Whitaker, life was sweet in Sugar Land, Texas. "Sugar Land is very middle class/upper class, white collar," Flores explains. "It's a nice place, everything's new. You hang out with your neighbors. You hang out with your neighbor's kids."
But as correspondent Peter Van Sant reports, that sweet life was shattered on the night of Dec. 10, 2003, when Kevin and his family were gunned down in their home.
When 37-year-old Dr. Brian Stidham was found murdered in the parking lot outside his office on Oct. 5, 2004, it sent a chill through Tucson.
Stidham had been stabbed 15 times.
Tioga County in upstate New York is the kind of place where people go to escape the problems of the big cities.
So when 35-year-old Michele Harris disappeared, it mystified State Police Captain Mark Lester.
"A murder in Tioga County, it's a pretty rare occurrence… For an actual person to go missing and not be able to find 'em is extremely rare," he said. "And normally, you would expect at some point along this way we're gonna find her … And we still haven't been able to find her remains."
In the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2001, Michele's van was found at the end of her driveway.
"There was a gut feeling I think right from the get-go that something was wrong," Lester told "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Erin Moriarty.
The 2007 disappearance of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann in Portugal is investigated.
On July 4th, 1999, Brooke Leigh Henson was reported missing in the small, quiet town of Travelers Rest, S.C., prompting a police investigation to locate the young woman.
There was a potential break in the case in 2006, when police got wind of a woman calling herself "Brooke Henson" in New York City. But as correspondent Peter Van Sant reports, as investigators dug deeper they uncovered an intricate web of lies, spun by a woman named Esther Reed.
It was February 2002 when Cynthia Sommer, her husband, Marine Sgt. Todd Sommer, and their four children were coming home from a family weekend at an amusement park.
But as Richard Schlesinger reports, no one could have predicted the rollercoaster ride was just beginning.
In November 2005, quiet and sleepy Morgantown, W.Va., was left shaken when the body of James "Jimmy" Michael was discovered inside his burning home.
As correspondent Susan Spencer reports, the death appeared suspicious to police from the get-go, and investigators soon focused on Michael's widow, Michelle.
Linda Fishman, a wealthy Connecticut widow, decided to uproot her life and move to sunny Florida to pursue a fresh start. But Linda, described by her family and friends as generous and giving, was also looking for love.
In early 2003, Linda was found murdered in her home, the house set on fire in an attempt to destroy crime scene evidence.
Did Linda's generosity and her quest for love contribute to her murder?
Correspondent Troy Roberts reports on the investigation.
In the summer of 2005, a young woman named Laura Hall found herself caught up in a gruesome murder case; the body of another woman was in her boyfriend's bathtub, and some time after the killing, the body was horribly mutilated.
As correspondent Maureen Maher reports, police did not focus on Laura as a suspect in the killing, but wondered if she was somehow involved in what happened after the murder.
Was Laura an innocent victim herself - a "good girl" - or someone much more frightening?
Marty Tankleff was only a teenager when he was convicted of murdering his parents. He spent more than half his life in remote New York state prisons, a far cry from his privileged childhood on New York's Long Island.
Marty initially confessed, but quickly recanted. He fought for years for his innocence, especially as new witnesses surfaced that could potentially exonerate him.
Correspondent Erin Moriarty, who has covered this case for years, reports on this rollercoaster of a legal case.
In 2004, a woman named Jenny Eisenman shot her estranged husband Drew in her apartment. The soft-spoken elementary school teacher claimed she had suffered abuse at the hands of her husband for years, and that the shooting was in self-defense.
But prosecutors say Jenny was a woman scorned and shot her husband out of anger.
Was Jenny - described by many as gentle and caring - a victim or, as prosecutors asserted, a woman capable of cold-blooded murder?
Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports.
After Hurricane Katrina had passed over southeastern Louisiana in August 2005, many people thought the region had been spared from the most severe damage.
But the worst was yet to come: the region's protective levees started to fail, and entire communities were overwhelmed by floodwaters.
Thousands had evacuated the region, but others stayed behind to ride out the storm, including the residents and staff of St. Rita's Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish.
The wall of water and its aftermath left 35 of the residents dead, and prompted negligent homicide and other charges against the owners of the nursing home.
They faced the possibility of spending the rest of their life in prison.
Would and should the owners be held responsible for their decision not to evacuate?
Correspondent Harold Dow reports.
On Dec. 15, 2005, the small town of Russellville, Ark., was rocked by the news that 19-year-old college student and aspiring beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer had been found murdered inside her apartment.
Nona's boyfriend Kevin Jones says he had been trying to reach her numerous times by phone but that his calls and messages had gone unanswered. Eventually, he and his mother decided to stop by Nona's apartment, where they discovered Nona's body.
As correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports, Nona had been murdered, beaten to death and left in her blood-spattered living room.
Lesa Buchanan died on the Fourth of July weekend in 2005, after spending a good portion of time with her boyfriend, Dr. Christ Koulis, having sex. Koulis, a plastic surgeon, called 911 when she stopped breathing, and says he performed CPR but that there was no pulse.
Investigators quickly focused on drugs. Prosecutors allege Dr. Koulis had injected Lesa with a powerful painkiller during the course of the weekend, which eventually led to her death.
But Koulis claims Lesa injected herself, and that she had a drug problem - a claim her family and investigators have disputed.
As correspondent Troy Roberts reports, the case ended up in the hands of a jury, who had to decide if the doctor was responsible for his girlfriend's death.
The 1986 wedding pictures of Dyke and Karen Rhoads show a predictably joyous young couple, ready for a wonderful life together in the small town of Paris, Ill.
Karen was 24 when they married, and had a job as an office assistant at a factory; Dyke worked in landscaping. There was no hint that just months after their wedding their lives would come to a violent end.
As correspondent Susan Spencer reports, in the early morning hours of July 6, 1986, a fire engulfed their home.
Stephen Trantel was a Wall Street insider who seemed to have it all: a beautiful family, a nice home in an upscale Long Island community, and fancy cars. But what those closest to him didn't know was that he was living a secret life.
And as correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports, that secret life began to unravel on one November day in 2003 after what was supposed to be just a day of fishing.
Amanda Knox, a 20-year-old honors student from the University of Washington, followed her dream when she moved to Perugia, Italy, to study abroad and learn Italian. But that dream turned into a nightmare when just weeks after Amanda's arrival her roommate was found murdered.
Within days of the November 2007 murder, Amanda and her boyfriend were arrested as suspects in the killing and found themselves at the center of a media frenzy.
Do Italian investigators have a solid case against Amanda, as they claim? Or is she being "railroaded" - as one American private investigator put in - in a blind pursuit of justice?
In December 1998, police in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., were called to the Lake Shore Drive home of Mark and Julie Jensen. Inside, Mark had found his wife's body lying in her bed.
Initially, investigators thought suicide was a strong possibility. But a letter written by Julie before her death pointed police in a different direction.
Was the husband somehow involved in his wife's death, as the letter hints? Or did Julie poison herself and pen the letter to implicate Mark in a twisted plot gone wrong, as his parents allege?
n 2002, a young television reporter named Jennifer Servo was found murdered inside her apartment just weeks after moving to Abilene, Texas. Police have not yet been able to make an arrest but have vowed not to give up until the case is closed.
That determination - not giving up - had a big impact in another case: the 1991 murder of Patty Scoville in Vermont. While police had DNA evidence, they did not have a database to compare their evidence to. As correspondent Harold Dow reports, it would take years, and intense lobbying by Patty's parents, to establish the database, which would eventually provide a crucial break in the case.
Christa Helm, an aspiring Hollywood actress, was murdered on Feb. 12, 1977, when she was stabbed and bludgeoned outside her agent's home in West Hollywood.
Christa enjoyed the Hollywood life and parties, and according to her daughter hung out with lots of famous people, like Joe Namath, Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty and even the Shah of Iran.
But as correspondent Maureen Maher reports, Christa also kept a "love diary," as well as tape recordings of her encounters with the rich and famous.
Did the diary and recordings play a role in her murder? Or was she just a victim of a random crime? Investigators are still trying to solve the mystery.
Ever since Matt Baker's wife, Kari, died suddenly at the age of 31, the Baptist preacher has lived under a cloud of suspicion. Is he an innocent man unfairly accused as his followers and friends believe? Or is he hiding a terrible, dark secret?
A man's obsession may have led to his own death, but a jury shocks everyone with its astonishing decision. "48 Hours" correspondent Harold Dow reports.
California computer whiz Hans Reiser seemed to have it all-a beautiful Russian wife, two children, and a successful career. But the seemingly perfect life hit turbulence when several years into the marriage his wife Nina had an affair with one of his friends. The couple eventually separated and would become embroiled in a nasty custody fight.
Fast forward to September 2006, Labor Day weekend, when Nina dropped the children off at their father's house and mysteriously vanished in the hours that followed. Nina's body has never been found.
Was her husband-or someone else-somehow involved in her disappearance?
Correspondent Maureen Maher reports.
By all accounts, 34-year old Paige Birgfeld was a devoted mother to her three young children. So when she suddenly disappeared last June, police in Grand Junction, Colorado suspected foul play.
But while police and volunteers searched for the missing mother of three, disturbing evidence of a secret life she led shifted the investigation in a totally new direction.
Did that secret life-which Paige kept hidden from her family-play a role in her disappearance?
Correspondent Harold Dow reports.
Tara Grinstead, an 11th-grade history teacher in Ocilla, Ga., disappeared without a trace in October 2005. Three months later, another young woman, Jennifer Kesse, also vanished in Orlando, Fla.
There were some similarities in the cases, leading investigators to wonder: are these disappearances somehow linked?
