People Magazine Investigates

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Sherri Rasmussen and John Ruetten are enjoying newlywed life until one morning in 1986 when Sherri calls into work sick. That night John returns home, only to find her murdered. Years later, detectives discover her killer was too close for comfort.

The small fishing town of Craig, Alaska is stunned when a premiere fishing boat explodes into flames just off shore. After fighting the flames, state troopers discover the remains of a young family and few clues as to could have set the ship blaze.

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.

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.

2 young women are killed on a beach in Southern California several years apart. Both appear to be by the same killer with very similar wounds.

In 1980, small Wisconsin town is terrified after a young couple vanished then later is discovered murdered. It's almost 40 years before a woman comes forward saying her family holds the key to unlocking the case known as Sweetheart Murders.

A Washington community is shocked when PTA mom, Mechele Linehan is arrested for murder from a decade earlier in Alaska. Is this suburban mother a cold-blooded temptress or has she been wrongly accused?

Miles Sachs steps up to lead his family when his parents are both murdered in their bed. Just a kid himself, he is thrust into a murder investigation while trying to comfort his siblings & make life predictable & secure once again.

A fire chief's wife is found burnt to death in her home. An autopsy reveals the cause of death was not the fire, but a gunshot to the head, shocking this small Louisiana town. This arson turned homicide leaves a killer to be found.

In 1998, a gifted Philadelphia graduate student is found murdered in her bed. The hunt for her killer forces police to reevaluate a series of unsolved crimes, turning the city upside down. Will her killer be caught or will he strike again?

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 2002 a 12-year-old girl from Oregon City, OR goes missing on her way to school and the whole town is clamoring to find her. The police investigation offers little in the way of leads, and then the unthinkable happens - a second girl disappears.

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.

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

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.

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.

In 1969 race riots in York, PA, claim two lives - an African-American mother of two 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.

In the fall of 1977, a Philadelphia woman goes missing. The police finally uncover the horrific truth about the woman's whereabouts. But capturing the killer proves even more difficult, as he manages to always stay one step ahead of the law.

In the summer of 2000, panic overwhelms the Bay Area when bags full of body parts start appearing all over the region. Investigators follow the trail of grisly clues and it leads to the discovery of a secret cult carrying out a sinister scheme.

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 he will find her again one day. What the victim doesn't realize is she survived a serial killer.

Gallaudet University is America's premier college for the deaf, but this haven for higher learning is turned upside down when two students are murdered in their dorm rooms. Investigators dive into campus life and reveal a serial killer in the making.

On a back road in Mississippi, a popular 19-year-old girl 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.

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? Charles Manson and the Manson Family.

Stacy McCall and her friend Suzie Streeter, went to the home Suzie shared with her mother, Sherrill Levitt. The 3 disappeared into thin air.

This installment details the 2018 murder of Christopher Smith at the hands of Edward Younghoon Shin, who was found guilty due to overwhelming evidence and is serving life in prison with no chance of parole.

In San Francisco, Kevin Collins, 10, disappears on his way home, galvanizing the residents to find him; with few leads to go on, Kevin's case sheds light on hundreds of other children who have vanished without a trace in the United States.

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.

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 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.

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.

When a young woman is found murdered in her Modesto, CA home in 1988, police investigate the strife and infidelity on both sides of her marriage. But it's a surprising witness who eventually leads police to her killer.

When a widower and father of three is found dead outside his Long Island home, police have reason to believe shady business dealings may have caused his murder. But then a tip leads to three unlikely suspects, exposing dark family secrets.

Just before Thanksgiving in Oklahoma City, a husband and wife are at home when two masked gunmen allegedly ambush them and kill the husband. With few leads, police use ballistics, forensics and neighborhood gossip to solve this cold-blooded murder.

When doting mother, Cheryl Coker, vanishes from Riverside, Ohio on October 2nd 2018 numerous search efforts come up empty. But as police take a closer look at the case, they uncover some disturbing information. Will it lead to finally finding Cheryl?

In 1970's Detroit, a senseless murder rocks the African-American neighborhood of the North End. Police think they've got the perpetrators and a jury agrees. But it will take 47 years for the truth to finally emerge and right history's wrongs.

In 1992, a college student disappears after her car breaks down on the highway. Family and friends join police in a frantic search that hits one setback after another. It may take new advances in DNA technology to finally crack this stubborn case.

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 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.

Kelsey Berreth, a young mother, and pilot was last heard from on the morning of Thanksgiving 2018. Her fiance 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.

Two middle school girls are found murdered in a quiet rural town. The police officers look for the mysterious man after discovering that one of the girls may have recorded her killer through her phone.

Helene a radio station intern's death is hopeless until one cop digs into a family tree and eventually, forensic genealogy leads to a man on the run for decades.

A suspected serial killer prowls Hollywood. As the number of victims climbs, one brave woman fights back fiercely and manages to survive. People Magazine Investigates details of this brutal killer terroised women in California and Illinois

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.

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.

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.

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 December 2003, police respond to a mysterious 911 call at a home in the tony Walnut Estates in Mansfield, Texas. When authorities enter they discover two bloodied bodies. The key to finding the killer is within one of the victim's grasp.

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.

A savage killer goes on a homicidal rampage and then abducts 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 1987, West Virginia authorities receive a call from a woman claiming to have shot her husband. This seemingly open-and-shut murder case is anything but.

During an armed robbery, a father of three is fatally shot. Twenty-three years later, another family questions if the wrong man is behind bars.

Investigators search for links to the mysterious cases of five young people who disappear between 1979 and 1982 in the rural area of Lewis-Clark Valley along the Idaho-Washington border.

Vanessa Bennett, a toddler, saw her family brutally murdered by a stranger with a hammer. The killer, who ended up being Alex Ewing, was found guilty of the murders along with Patricia Smith in 1984.

This installment details the June 7, 1998 hate-crime killing of James Byrd, Jr., age 49, an African-American man, in the East Texas town of Jasper. Byrd was dragged to his death after being chained by the ankles to the back of a pickup truck by three white men: John William King, Lawrence Russell Brewer and Shawn Allen Berry.

Charlie and Joy Hibbs put down roots in the safe, tight-knit, working class community of Croydon, PA with their two children. But the family's newfound American dream be-comes a nightmare after their home is set ablaze and one of them is found murdered in-side.

In January 2020, a Mennonite woman, Sasha Krause, goes missing from her small religious community. Law enforcement is stymied when they find her body but forensic evidence leads them to a dead end. Detectives get creative in an effort to find their suspect, Mark Gooch.

Allyzibeth Lamont, age 22, who was known as "Ally Lamont" was murdered on October 28, 2019 in the Local No. 9 deli in Johnstown, New York where she had been employed. Her body, buried in a shallow grave, was found by police on October 31, 2019. She had noticed unusual labor law financial dealings by one of the co-owners of the deli, Greek immigrant Georgios Kakavelos, who feared she would report him to the authorities. In the end, both Georgios Kakavelos and Jimmy Duffy (a man Kakavelos hired for $1600 to murder and hide the body) were arrested and charged with her murder. Duffy was sentenced to "18 years to life" in prison. Kakavelos was sentenced to "life in prison without the possibility of parole."

On June 14, 2013, 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas and her two roommates are hosting a party at their apartment in Tempe, Arizona. The party is in full swing when Adrienne suddenly decides to leave. She gets in her car, drives away, and never returns home. In the days that follow, her family and friends work side by side with Tempe PD searching for Adrienne. When her body is discovered in a desert river basin, 35 miles awhile from her Tempe home, investigators suspect foul play. When all of their leads become dead ends, the case goes cold. But two years after Adrienne's body was discovered, a local man calls Tempe PD with a tip that his best friend, known around town as The Zombie Hunter, could be connected to Adrienne's disappearance and mysterious death.

In May of 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.

In 2011, a husband returns home to find his wife dead on the living room floor. He tells first responders she committed suicide, but in fact she was murdered - stabbed over 40 times. Police zero in on the husband and what unfolds is one of the most outrageous tales in recent history.

When neighbors find a young teacher axed to death on Friday the 13th, a sleepy suburb in Kansas 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.

Three Girl Scouts - Lori Lee Farmer, Doris Denise Milner, and Michele Heather Guse - were murdered at an Oklahoma summer camp. The case remained a major news story during the year-long investigation.

An unknown shooter goes on a deadly rampage at stores along I-70 in 1992, leaving a trail of victims from Indianapolis to Wichita. Despite developing a suspect sketch from eyewitnesses, police make no headway until a survivor emerges.

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.

After witnessed with a mysterious stranger, a beautiful teen girl completely vanishes from her small town, turning up brutally slain days later in the Nevada desert; the search for her killer envelops the entire community and fear abounds.

The disappearance of Karlie Gusé has baffled investigators ever since the 16-year-old left her California home in 2018. The night before, Karlie had been out partying with friends, and seemed disoriented when she came home.

The 1982 murder of Cathy Krauseneck and the case against her husband, Jim, who says he found her dead in their bed with an axe in her head.

The 1991 Austin yogurt shop killings are an unsolved quadruple homicide which took place at an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt. shop in Austin, Texas, United States on Friday, December 6, 1991.

After moving to a new city following her parents' divorce, a 14 yr old girl is dissatisfied with her new surroundings; she starts running away from home until one time, she never returns; it takes 10 yrs before dark secrets are revealed.

In 2007, a 19-year-old woman is brutally murdered in the small town of Winnsboro, Texas; the ensuing investigation reveals the small town has a few wolves masquerading in sheep's clothing.

After a single mother fails to show up for work, police find her brutally stabbed and her daughter missing from their home in an affluent gated community; everyone fears she's in danger.

It takes more than four decades for police to realize one man murdered at least twenty women.

A Rochester, NY bank robber and murderer slips into the wing and an epic manhunt ensues.

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 beach.

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.

The Lunsford family's lives turn upside down when someone snatches nine-year old Jessie from her bed. Authorities scour the area looking for her when they discover a dark truth, she is closer than they ever realized.

Virginia firefighters respond to a house fire in Upperville where they discover the body of a local journalist who has been shot two times. The victim's social media history leads police down a rabbit hole.

Florida: In 1990, a clown delivering flowers and balloons guns down Marlene Warren at her 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 and convicted of murder.

In 2001, the shooting of a soccer mom leaves her five children divided over who killed her.

In 1996, a college co-ed disappears after attending a party over Memorial Day weekend.

Dallas Police discover a serial killer targeting vulnerable retirees.

A young woman's violent murder plagues Hawaii investigators for decades until a new investigation technique emerges and the killer's name turns up in the most unlikely place.

In 2020 Baron Li is shot nine times, detectives scramble to figure out who could have wanted him dead.

In 2021 police find a retired couple stabbed to death and a mysterious figure coming and going on security footage.

A woman submits her DNA to be connected with her birth parents, what she finds is a dark history.

A deadly fire in a small town raises questions as to whether it was a tragic accident or murder and 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.

In 1975 the Indiana Slasher attacks three girls and leaves them for dead in a cornfield and then disappears.

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 they find her closer to home than anyone could've imagined.

Pride month kicks off in 2022, the deaths of two gay men in NYC 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.

In Ocala, Florida, 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. Could it be a homosexual hate crime, revenge, or is the killer much closer to home?

Chronicles a 2001 Florida case where a father is killed and his home set ablaze, with his sons missing, and how investigators followed leads to unravel the truth

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

A reclusive Kansas mother vanishes in 2019. Her teenage daughter and police search for answers but face deception everywhere. With no online presence or friends who know her, clues quickly disappear.

In 1972, 20-year-old Jody Loomis takes a late afternoon bike ride to visit her horse. Later that day, she is found murdered in the woods. For decades, everyone in the small town of Bothell, Washington is a suspect for local authorities.

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.

Gene Spriggs forms the Twelve Tribes in Tennessee with teens and disenchanted hippies; the group later gains a cult reputation and faces accusations of child abuse, forced labor, and strict devotion to what members say is God's will.

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

In 2022, Austin police find 25-year-old cyclist Mo Wilson shot execution-style while visiting a friend. Detectives uncover a chilling story of jealousy, betrayal, and obsession.

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.

A home intruder kidnaps a 60-year-old woman overnight. As sheriffs search, a second similar attack emerges ten miles away, raising fears a serial predator is stalking Florida's Gulf Coast.

Vanessa Bennett saw her family murdered by a hammer-wielding stranger when she was 3 years old. On April 7, 2022, a Jefferson County jury found 61-year-old Alex Ewing guilty of killing Patricia Smith in early 1984. The result of the trial, following Ewing's conviction in August 2021 for killing three members of the Bennett family with a hammer less than a week after the Smith slaying, finally closes the book on cold cases that lingered for nearly four decades, in connection with the 1984 "Hammer Killer" spree of attacks in metro Denver, Colorado. Part 1 of this story aired in July 2022 and now presented is Part 2 from People Magazine Investigates.