Episode
Forensic Files: Smiley Face
Overview
The woman had been sexually assaulted, stabbed repeatedly, and left for dead. She survived, and gave police a detailed description of her attacker. When someone who fit that description practically turned himself in, police were sure they had their man... until the DNA evidence proved them wrong.
Details
- Series
- Forensic Files
- Season
- Season 13
- Episode
- Episode 21
- Air date
- 2009-05-22
- Runtime
- 23 min
Episode context
Smiley Face is Episode 21 in Season 13 of Forensic Files. It aired on 2009-05-22. The runtime is 23 min.
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Episode 20: DNA Dragnet
Digital enhancement of security camera video shows that what appears to be a casual encounter is actually a forced abduction, leading to murder. The perpetrator's M.O. is remarkably similar to another murder which occurred five months earlier, 15 miles away. When investigators learn the crimes might not be isolated or random, they also realize a serial killer may be on the loose.
Episode 22: Dirty Laundry
The victim was a self-made man who never minced words. Perhaps he was murdered by a disgruntled client or employee. Perhaps the racy photos in his safe held the clue to solving the crime. Or perhaps with the help of the IRS, investigators could follow the money and find the killer.
More episodes from this season
Episode 19: Seedy Intentions
When a nine-year-old girl goes missing, police and volunteers spend weeks searching for her. A psychic's vision leads to a field where her body is discovered, along with what investigators hope is enough evidence to help them to also find her killer.
Episode 23: Drowning Sorrows
A family vacation turns into a nightmare when the wife is found face-down in the lake. There are no witnesses and little conclusive evidence to help police determine if they're dealing with a suicide, an accident, or something more sinister... until a forensic pathologist uses a groundbreaking technique to discover the truth.
Episode 18: Church Dis-service
A young woman attends evening church services... then disappears. When her abandoned car is found, the tank is empty and a gas can she kept in her trunk for emergencies is missing. Eyewitnesses place her at a nearby gas station, getting into a van, but their descriptions of the vehicle don't match. Three days later when her body is discovered, the search for the driver of that van intensifies.
Episode 24: As Fault
The woman in the back of the truck was flailing her arms, screaming. They thought she was doing something dangerous for the fun of it. But when they found a jacket near a pool of blood, they knew what they'd seen wasn't a joy ride; it was an abduction.
Episode 17: Fashion Police
The victim has been stabbed more than thirty times, and the crime scene is awash with her blood. Near her head, police discover a distinctive button with strands of thread still attached. If they can find the owner of the shirt the button came from, they'll also find the killer.
Episode 25: Family Ties
When court clerk Peter Porco doesn't report to his work in November 2004, a courts officer is ordered to the Porcos' family home in Bethlehem, NY. Inside the home, he finds murdered Peter Porco and his barely alive wife Joan who had both been savagely attacked with a fireman's axe. Eventually, a DNA sample may lead to the killer.
Episode 16: Unmasked
A serial rapist is on the loose in a Texas town. No one knew where he'd strike next, but the audacity of his attacks and the escalation of violence against his victims made finding him imperative.
Episode 26: Trouble Brewing
Detectives think they've solved a murder when they find the weapon and victim's blood in a man's flat, but the evidence may have been planted.
Episode 15: Sworded Scheme
When a college student is reported missing, police believe their investigation will be like countless others, and she'd turn-up a few days later. But when they discover blood spatter in her boyfriend's bedroom, blood spatter someone had gone to great lengths to conceal, they know this case is going to be different.
Episode 27: Holy Terror
A serial bomber was on the loose in Illinois. Two churches had been bombed and one person was killed. Investigators had to capture the criminal before he struck again and they hoped to catch him by following a thin copper wire.