Crime Scene: True crime stories and investigations

In this episode of Crime Scene, we examine fire codes, and how they are often if not always the result of horrific losses of life; arson, and how investigators piece together evidence from little more than a pile of ashes; and the fatal Stouffer's Inn fire of 1980, which was shaped by and helped to shape New York State fire code.

All investigations rely on evidence — fingerprints maybe, or footprints or bloody gloves or cigarette butts. This episode of Crime Scene shares the tale of a murder investigation in which there is less than zero evidence. It may very well be the coldest of cases.

In this episode of Crime Scene, we talk to Ray Wickenheiser, who runs the New York State Police Crime Lab, about how DNA evidence is collected and about the balance between security and privacy concerns

Innocent but incarcerated? This episode of Crime Scene looks at exoneration: How one man was railroaded into 16 years behind bars for a crime he demonstrably didn't commit, and how legal policy and science are working to prevent wrongful convictions.

Mount Vernon's only Jane Doe was found strangled nearly three decades ago. In all that time, the process of identifying John and Jane Does has changed quite a bit, and there are more tools available to both the police and the public. A Facebook community has grown up around Mount Vernon's Jane Doe, and DNA from many women have been tested to see if there's a match -- but still, the identity of Mount Vernon's Jane Doe remains unknown.

It's like a scene ripped from a Stephen King novel — two boys toss their fishing lines into the water and pull out a dead body. The cause of William X. Harth's death was debated around dinner tables in 1960s Rockland County, with conspiracy theories abounding. In the end, despite competing medical examiners, the death was ruled not suspicious but, to this day, folks in Suffern believe Harth was murdered.

The story of the origins of the New York State Police encompasses women's rights, the labor movement, World War I and more. And it all began with an unsolved murder.

Sherri Orofino was killed almost 30 years ago, her body found six months after she went missing in the Croton reservoir. The prime suspect in the murder — a former police sergeant — has never been charged.

Reginald McFadden was convicted of two murders and a rape, all committed during the 92 days after he was released from prison on a murder charge. He was never tried for the death of Dana DeMarco, though reasons why change, based on who you ask.

In the decades before the Civil War, the small town of Ossining, N.Y., was home to a small cult led by a man who believed he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Matthias — until a murder and a sensational trial.

The story of Albert Fish and his most heinous murder, 10-year-old Grace Budd.