Murder in the Heartland

In Aurora, Indiana, the townspeople are horrified when they learn that beloved mother and hairstylist Leigh Jennings is killed in her own home.

In Payette, Idaho, Elizabeth Baune is a dedicated teacher and a pillar of her community until she is stabbed to death in her own home; while townspeople suspect that her kindness may have been behind her death.

In the Columbus Ohio neighborhood of German Village, the body of Alyce Seff is found in a wishing well, and the townspeople are shocked to learn the elderly landlady had as many enemies as she did friends. With leads going cold, it will take law enforcement nine years to solve her case.

In Shawnee, Oklahoma, Marshall Dent goes missing on Christmas Eve, and the Native American community bands together; after weeks of searching, they find the Marshall in a shallow grave on sacred ground, and authorities scramble to find his killer.

A Christmas is ruined when hikers in New Mexico stumble across the shallow grave of Roxanne Houston; the murder rocks the community of Taos and tension builds between those with small town values and the outsider lifestyle on the Mesa.

When Michael Lee Smith's body is found shot, partially nude, and dumped on the side of the road, the town of Berkley, Michigan is scandalized. Police are forced to sift through lies and alibis as they attempt to track down the killer.

Tray Phelps, a beloved father, son and fiancee was found beaten to death in his own driveway. The small town of Hayti, Missouri is stunned to discover that a web of evil lurks just beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic hamlet.

Home will never feel safe again after Jill finds her daughter Emma Walker cold to the touch in her own bed. Quickly ruling out suicide, investigators search for a suspicious man in black caught on a neighbor's home surveillance camera.

Hugo is hysterical when he finds his brother's girlfriend and roommate Breanna Schneller beaten with an iron and stabbed to death on the floor. The brothers appear devastated, but the discovery of Breanna's missing phone casts doubt on their alibis.

Residents of Post Falls, Idaho, are shocked when devoted family man Bo Kirk vanishes, and his truck is found set ablaze. Bo's sister blames their estranged father, until released ATM security footage suggests a co-worker with piercing blue eyes.

Successful business owner MaryAnn Clibbery is brutally murdered at the business she owned in Loves Park, IL. The murder shocks the town. A suspicious bag found floating on the ice in the river unlocks the secrets of her brutal slaying.

In Saguache, Colo., mountain bike pioneer Mike Rust disappears from his home, and his remains are not found until seven years later.

In Noble, Okla., a dog drops a human skull onto its owners' front porch on Christmas Day; after six years and no leads, the police must navigate the twists and turns of the victim's past to find justice.

In Monroe, Ohio, an affluent retirement community is baffled after Barbara Howe simply vanishes one night; the police soon find Barbara's body in the trunk of her car, and her throat has been slit.

Carol Lapaglia waits 25 years to marry the love of her life, Jack Parkes; six weeks before their wedding in Kennedy Township, Pa., she finds him shot to death in their living room.

In Moscow, Idaho, an elderly couple frantically performs CPR on their young neighbor after a pop of gunfire interrupts their bedtime routine; investigators follow fresh footprints from the scene, only to learn the killer may already be behind bars.

Bubbly college student and waitress, Mindy Morgenstern, is found strangled and stabbed in her own apartment. Family, friends, and the entire town of Valley City, North Dakota help law enforcement identify who could have committed this violent crime.

When a local resident of Dunlap, Tennessee is picking up cans, he makes the shocking discovery of a murder victim's body floating in the river. Authorities must discover first who the deceased is and then who could have committed the horrendous crime.

When twenty something Patricia Richmond is found tied up, and murdered in her future in-laws' home, the resort town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado is at a loss. Who would have taken this bride-to-be's life in such a brutal way?

After locals smell what can only be the scent of charred meat, police find burned remains in an abandoned mining pit in the small town of Hibbing, Minnesota.

In Montrose, Colorado, rock quarry owner and mother, Irene Trujillo, suddenly goes missing. When her daughter's search for their mom comes up empty, 911 is called. Those closest to Irene, including her employees, are suspected of foul play.

Trying to make her way in the Ozarks, Joy Dishneau set her sights on becoming a small business owner. But when she is found murdered in her own shop, all of her employees become suspects.

A lively slumber party turns into a nightmare when a loving mother, Dianne Watts, her young daughter, and her daughter's friend, are murdered. The town of McMinnville is turned upside down, knowing there is a killer amongst them.

A farmhand In Rapelje, Montana, finds her co-worker Daniel Lavigne murdered in 2002. As authorities look for the murderer, all of the employees on the pig farm become suspects.

Baseball loving wife and mother, Diane Fortenberry, is found unconscious on the floor of her burglarized home. Hours later, at the hospital, Diane succumbs to her injuries, and the entire resort town of Osakis, Minnesota, aids law enforcement.

After a long battle with cancer, David Weedman is found dead in his home with a gunshot wound. His family believes h is death is not a suicide. Investigators soon turn their focus to David's best friends.

Beloved wife and cardiac nurse Lorie Kirkley goes missing from the safety of her own home in what appears to be a burglary gone wrong. When several strange clues are found, the entire small town of Valparaiso, Indiana, comes under suspicion.

The town of Higginson Arkansas only has two full-time police officers, and one is gunned down while on duty. The community wants answers.

A murdered woman's coworker is pinned as a suspect after he finds her body.

Emmett, Idaho, a cowboy town where a person's word is everything, is shaken forever when a murderer beats a local saddle maker to death; investigators and locals band together and uncover layers of betrayal and deceit.

A missing grocery clerk, 20-year-old Christina Ross, puts the town of Neenah, Wis., in a panic after a gruesome discovery; an unlikely resident comes forward with information that leads detectives to the people in her tangled love life.

Tourist town Traverse City, Mich., is turned upside down when 18-year-old Kalee Bruce is bludgeoned to death at her workplace.

Family and friends are concerned when Phillip Brewer and Jody Fortuna go missing from Gillette, Wyo.; eventually, the horrifying truth comes to light.

A weekend house party turns deadly when the actions of the guests become suspect.

Locals stay quiet to protect their own when a recent transplant to Hartford, Kentucky, is found tied up and floating in a toolbox in a creek.

The community of Kankakee, Illinois comes together to aid police in uncovering the vile killer in the daylight shooting death of an up-and-coming model, Sarah Washington.

A female working for a bottling plant in Camden, Arkansas goes missing.

A local in Algona, Iowa, stumbles upon a smoldering truck with the body of a young mother inside. Investigators and family trace the last movements of Nicole Berte to uncover her killer.

A roommate reports 22-year-old Liz Syperda missing, shocking the community of Mount Pleasant, Iowa; some wonder if Liz merely left town without telling anyone, but family and friends know something far more disastrous occurred.

Angie Lee, A single mother was discovered beaten and strangled in her own home with her four-year-old son present. Investigators focus on the unknown male DNA collected from the crime scene, which leads them to Anthony Ashby.

An unknown assailant strangles overnight desk clerk Mary Klatt during her shift. The town of Blue Earth, Minnesota, struggles with the harsh reality that someone would want to harm Mary.

A woman vanishes from her home in the neighborhood of Belle Center, Missouri, without a trace. Hoping to find Anita Dunn before it's too late, the community aids investigators in an exhaustive search.

Lori Bray, 57 was found dead in 2019. Surveillance showed her letting Diego Hernandez, into her car at the casino. DNA evidence tied Hernandez to the crime. In 2021 he was sentenced to life without parole for 35 years for Bray's murder.

October 6, 2008, Howard City, Michigan: Detectives investigate a night of horror that ends with the abduction of beloved couple Robert and Norma Bean, who are 66-year-old grandparents and business owners of 'R. Bean and Sons Transportation'. They had been forced from their Howard City, MI bed to a rural gravel pit in northern Kent County, where they met a violent shooting end to their lives. Local tips provide detectives clues, revealing the shocking timeline of their final hours. In the end, the culprits who were arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison were Bobby Fisk, age 26, and Timothy Stephan. Jr., age 28. Their motive had been robbery.

Local electrician James Nibble is found dead after a home invasion and law enforcement must dig beneath the surface of lake crystal in Minnesota to find out the killer.

Quiet Vinton, Ohio farm community shattered when beloved 67-year-old Betsy Ball found strangled on March 1, 2012 after abuse. Culprit was farm employee Lee Hawkins, convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

In rural Missouri a hunter is killed in his car near the popular deer trails. And officials are doubtful whether this could be a hunting accident gone wrong or something more sinister.

January 20, 1992, Twinsburg, Ohio: Charlene Puffenbarger, age 26, was found beaten, strangled and suffocated. Her son, Dustin Redmond, age 3, was the only witness to her brutal murder. As investigators continue to follow every tip that comes in, an unexpected source leads them to the killer. One suspect they look at is Willard McCarley, but the case goes cold for decades. Charlene's mother, Phyllis, does all she can to keep the case alive. Finally, in 2017, thanks to advances in DNA matching, Willard McCarley is convicted of Charlene's murder. He is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2037.

Ohio couple is found dead in their home and detective turns to community for the help. Investigators piece together the events in order to uncover the truth of what happened to the local business owners.

A tip comes in from an unexpected Willard, Missouri resident that leads to the final resting ground of missing newlyweds Russell 'Rusty' Porter, age 34, and Rebecca 'Becky' Porter, age 46. The couple was described as being very much in love and had been married for about a year. The Porters disappeared in April 2011. Their skeletal remains were found in remote Taney County in late July 2011. The coroner said each died of gunshot wounds to the head. In the end, their deaths were a murder-for-hire. Rusty's uncle, Robert Campbell, was the mastermind. Campbell hired his brother-in-law, Tony Friend, to carry out the murder for $100K. The hired hitman, Tony Friend, then enlisted the assistance of his wife Wendy Dawn Friend, his son Phillip and his cousin Dusty Hicks. All five perpetrators were convicted, found guilty and sentenced to varying amounts of time in jail.

After a young father goes missing from work, the small town of Challis, Idaho, is abuzz with tales of infidelity and finger-pointing, leaving investigators to decipher what is fact and what is fiction.

Tynesha Stewart, a college freshman at Texas A&M, is reported missing during spring break; as details of her private life emerge, police uncover jealous boyfriends and turmoil at home while making a discovery that will haunt Bordersville.

After teenager Jessica Dishon is murdered in Shepherdsvill, Kentucky, police must sort through her past relationships, jealous friends, and an old family feud to find the killer.

Cloquet, MN: Native American Trina Langenbrunner was stabbed to death in 2000. Detectives and her Fond du Lac Reservation community worked together until 2012 when Joseph Couture was arrested. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 years.

After James Skinner turns up dead in his own bedroom, the agricultural community of Brownstown, Ill., enters into a paranoid spiral, unsure who would want to kill this beloved local rodeo rider and cattle rancher.

College student Emily Murray goes missing after quitting her job. A month later, her body is found in Gregory McKnight's trailer along with another victim's charred remains. McKnight is convicted and sentenced to death.

Middle American townspeople hold the clues to help solve the murders that have forever changed their lives and how they understand their home.

An inexperienced police department handles the tragic murder case of young mother Jessica Currin, leading to critical errors and false accusations; the case goes cold until Jessica's father protests the state of Kentucky to reinvestigate.

In a Missouri town, a ladies' man is shot dead outside his home. Multiple suspects emerge, tied to his romantic life. A confession shatters the community's image, leading to the conviction of Benjamin Hardy for the murder.

Brandi Mathews disappeared in 2009. Over two years later, her remains were found. Investigation into her work/romantic life led to the arrest and conviction of her ex-boyfriend Kelly R. Simino for her murder.

Robin Baxter disappeared from New Albany, IN in 1990. Her body was found in the Ohio River. After 20+ years of investigation and eliminating suspects, evidence pointed to her husband Christopher, who was convicted.

High school student disappears in 2019, igniting search in West Virginia. Investigators discover body and residents become suspects.

Townspeople hold the clues to the murder puzzles that have forever changed their lives.

Suspects arise after the stabbing of a beloved mother in her Tomahawk, Wis., home; when another stabbing occurs the next day, detectives race to place her exes, a high school and a taco joint under the microscope.

Middle American townspeople hold the clues to help solve the murders that have forever changed their lives and how they understand their home.

When a house fire turns out to be murder, the town of Casey, Illinois, looks to local secrets and a German Shepherd for clues to solve Scott Collins' case.

Police investigate a dental assistant's life after finding her in a well.

Tiffanie Adams is expecting her first child but disappears from her home in Sullivan, Indiana. As police desperately search for answers, they stumble upon dark secrets surrounding the men in her life.