Ep 23. Sands of Crime

A husband goes missing after he sets out to collect sands from a remote beach for his wife's collection. The police find his empty car near the shore, and eventually, the scatter of bones and scraps of clothing held together by a pair of shoes washes ashore. The only viable evidence is a shard of bone attached to a strand of hair. The medical examiner studies it and concludes the hair is a rare type found in people of mixed racial ancestry. The police use this information to narrow down their search to a select group of people who may have come in contact with the victim before his disappearance. They interview everyone involved in the case, and eventually, the forensic evidence leads them to the victim's wife and her lover. The prosecution reveals that the wife stood to gain a significant amount of money in life insurance and that her affair had no way to break off with her husband in the picture. The couple had a rocky relationship, and they would often argue. Investigators believe that the wife and her lover had devised a plan to kill the husband and make it look like an accidental death. They believe that the lover had lured the husband out to the remote beach and assisted in the murder by drowning him. The pair had moved the body to the place where it would ultimately wash up on shore, down the coast several miles away. After a thorough examination of the forensic evidence and a compelling collection of eye-witness testimonies, the court found the wife guilty of murder and sentenced her to life in prison. The episode highlights how the smallest pieces of forensic evidence can lead investigators to the truth.