In 2008, the unbelievable story about a chamber of horrors in the small town of Amstetten, Austria made international headlines. For decades, a young woman had endured unimaginable abuse and terror at the hands of someone very close to her. But family secrets can’t stay hidden forever.

In 2015, a young man arrived at his girlfriend’s house and found a horrifying scene. Allison Feldman was lying on the floor with a cloth wrapped around her head. It was obvious she was gone. After two years with no solid leads, Scottsdale PD decided to use genetic genealogy to help their case, the first time it was used by Arizona law enforcement. They got a match, but the case has been appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court. And just last week, the Court reached a decision.

In 1985, police responded to a 911 call to find a woman deceased in the bedroom, and a young teenage girl unconscious in the backyard doghouse after an overdose. The frantic husband of the woman was able to identify the teenage girl – and purported perpetrator of the crime – as his own daughter. And the truth was a story worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.

It was called the “Roaring 20s” for a reason… in 1918, Fred and Dolly Oesterreich moved to Silver Lake, CA – an upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles – for a fresh start after tragically losing their 9-year-old son. But just four years later, in 1922, another death in the family proved the adage that while home is where the heart is, home is also where our secrets are.

In late 1985, newlyweds John Ruetten and Sherri Rasmussen were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. But just months into their wedded bliss, Sherri’s life was tragically cut short after an intruder broke into their home and brutally ended her life. What kind of monster was behind the attack? And could detectives find them before the case went cold?

During the early 20th century, Chester & Clara Congdon were one of the wealthiest families in Duluth, MN, and their opulent mansion reflected that status. The family was extremely generous with their money, donating to many noteworthy charities. And seven decades later, youngest daughter Elisabeth passed away at the age of 83. But it turned out, it wasn’t from natural causes. Who ended one of the last great American dynasties?

In 2020, Huntington Beach, CA Police detectives solved the City’s oldest unsolved homicide that dated back over 5 decades. In 1968, the body of a young woman was found in a field by some boys looking for frogs. With no witnesses to the crime, and no fingerprint matches in the CA DMV or FBI databases, the case soon went cold.

In 2001, Kate Johnson had just finished her junior year at the University of Portland and was spending the summer living and working in the Mehling Hall dorm. What should have been a fun summer with friends turned into a nightmare for everyone who knew and loved her. And thanks to the diligent work of police detectives, what could’ve turned into a cold case was solved with perseverance and ingenuity.