Ep 3. Forensic Files

CopyCat Killers season 6 episode 3, titled "Forensic Files," takes a look at the true crime stories behind the popular television series of the same name. Each episode features a deadly crime that received intense media coverage, and the CopyCat Killers who were inspired by it to commit their own heinous acts.

In this episode, viewers learn about a murder in Anchorage, Alaska that shook the community to its core. Patricia Lynn Giffin was a 45-year-old flight attendant who was found dead in her apartment on August 3, 2000. She had been stabbed 22 times and her throat had been slashed.

Police were baffled by the crime scene, which showed no signs of forced entry. They questioned Giffin's friends and family members, but no one seemed to have any leads. Despite extensive investigations by the Anchorage Police Department, the case went cold.

It wasn't until several years later, when the hit television series Forensic Files aired an episode that chronicled the murder of Mary Frances Stoner, that detectives finally caught a break. Stoner had been killed in her Alabama home in 1992, and her murder had gone unsolved for years. However, investigators noticed a striking similarity between Stoner's murder and Giffin's, specifically the fact that both women had been slashed with a serrated knife.

With this new evidence, police were able to link the two murders and narrow their focus to a suspect: Kenneth Dion, a man who had recently moved from Alabama to Alaska. Dion had a history of criminal behavior, including an arrest for assault with a knife in Alabama. When police searched his apartment, they found evidence tying him to Giffin's murder, including a bloodstained knife hidden in his closet.

In court, Dion was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case was a prime example of how true crime television can not only shed light on unsolved cases, but also inspire copycat killers to commit similar crimes.

The episode delves into the psychology behind copycat killers, exploring the ways in which media coverage of violent crimes can influence unstable individuals to act out their own fantasies of violence. Viewers will also learn about the forensic tools and techniques used to solve crimes like Giffin's, including DNA analysis and blood spatter analysis.

Overall, "Forensic Files" is a gripping and chilling episode of CopyCat Killers that sheds light on a real-world case of murder and the troubling phenomenon of those who are influenced by media coverage of violent crimes.