People Magazine Investigates Episode Rating Graph

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.

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 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 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.

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.

In May 2002, a couple goes missing in Ocean City, Maryland. 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.

[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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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

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 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 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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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

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 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 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.

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.

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.