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Latest Episodes:

New Forensic Details From the Idaho Student Murders - Part 1 Sep 10, 2025

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The brutal murders of four University of Idaho students in Moscow stunned the college town and launched a nationwide search for answers. Detectives uncovered a crucial piece of DNA evidence at the crime scene. But with the clock ticking, would it be enough to identify the killer and solve one of the most shocking campus crimes in recent history?

America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.

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The Disappeared Part 2 Sep 03, 2025

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Nearly thirty years after gay men go missing from nightclubs in Indianapolis, one man’s call to the new coroner in town sets off an investigation into what happened at Fox Hollow. Now, there’s a desperate push to excavate the remains of dozens of suspected murder victims whose bodies were burned and crushed beyond recognition.

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The Disappeared Part 1 Aug 27, 2025

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Young gay men begin disappearing from downtown Indianapolis. One by one, missing persons fliers go up, and rumors spread about a serial killer. Families are frustrated by a lackluster investigation. And then a killing field is discovered in a shocking location.

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Candy Rogers, Part 2: DNA Solves Spokane’s 62-Year Mystery Aug 20, 2025

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The search for nine-year-old Candy Rogers haunted Spokane for generations. Could the killer’s family hold the final clue to solving the case? And just how far would detectives need to dig for the truth?

After decades with no answers, forensic DNA revealed her killer and solved one of America’s most enduring missing persons cases. In part two, we follow how modern science cracked a 62-year unsolved case, delivering justice and closure to one of the nation’s most haunting cold cases.

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Candy Rogers, Part 1: Spokane’s Missing Persons Cold Case Aug 13, 2025

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In 1959, nine-year-old Candy Rogers went missing while selling mints in Spokane, Washington. The city mounted one of the largest missing persons searches in state history, yet the case remained unsolved for more than 60 years. This episode traces the start of a mystery investigators called the “Mount Everest” of cold cases, one that DNA would eventually help crack.

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What Remains: DNA Identifies the Victim in a Boat Fire Cold Case Aug 06, 2025

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Emergency crews responding to a boat fire discovered human remains, but the case quickly went cold. For decades, investigators had no answers. Using advanced forensic DNA, Othram scientists were able to identify the victim and reveal the truth behind the fire, finally giving a family long-delayed closure.

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Carla Walker, Part 4: A Confession and the Power of DNA Evidence Jul 30, 2025

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In the final chapter of Carla Walker’s story, detectives sit down with their prime suspect. What follows is a slow, tense interrogation, and a long-delayed confession.

Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa bring together the science, the interrogation, and the moment this cold case finally turns.

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Carla Walker, Part 3: DNA Evidence Identifies a Suspect Jul 23, 2025

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In Part 3 of our Carla Walker investigation, a decades-old DNA sample is reexamined at Othram’s lab, leading to a breakthrough. Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk us through the science behind the profile, the chain of custody, and the unexpected match that emerges from the database.

After 46 years, this cold case finally has a viable lead.

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Carla Walker, Part 2: A Cold Case Reopened by DNA Evidence Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Nearly 50 years after Carla Walker’s murder, Fort Worth detectives decide to reopen the case. In Part 2, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa trace how a persistent cold case investigator begins to reexamine the original evidence, and why a single swab becomes central to the new forensic effort.

With help from Paul Holes and the scientists at Othram, the DNA evidence starts to speak for itself.

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The Case of Carla Walker: How DNA Evidence Revived a 46-Year-Old Murder Investigation Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Carla Walker’s brazen abduction after her high school Valentine’s dance shocked Fort Worth. The case went cold for decades. In Part 1, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk through the early investigation, and why suspicion turned toward Carla’s boyfriend.

This cold case is where our story begins. Using forensic genealogy and DNA evidence, detectives and scientists from Othram begin to reexamine what was left behind.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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