Sneak peek: Tracking the Killer of Mary Catherine Edwards | Forensic Files

[Music] now what your say daughter been murdered she's been murdered we absolutely were obsessed
with this case January 13th 1995 was the last known contact with Catherine she's
handcuffed she's been tortured it was always a big case within the department because it was the
biggest Cas unsolved nobody felt safe anywhere nobody knew if it was a neighbor nobody
knew if it was a police officer because of the handcuffs being used my name is Tina lellan Aaron lellan I'm a detective
I'm a detective at bont Police Department my sister's dead my parents are over there I who's your sister
Catherine Edwards I had no idea who Catherine Edwards was but after I read decades of
her journals 1986 1989 9194 I feel like I know her things are looking up in my life I'm going to teach second grade
next year I know I meant to do this there were so many of her students that came forward to share the impact she had
on their lives 25 years later they were always close to me in my heart I'm Diana Co and I was friends
with Catherine and her twin sister Allison since middle school they were so sweet and so funny they had a cute laugh
and everybody just loved them this was not an easy case to crack every free moment I would try to work
this case while still maintaining my case load staying up till midnight every night it just was not going to happen
without the DNA if there was no DNA in this case if that evidence had not been properly maintained Noe we' have never
got there my name is Brandon Beth Sergeant Texas Rangers company a Cold Case team the technology has changed so much
since 1995 by the time we got to Catherine Edwards there were a lot more of these
resources that were available we felt that genetic genealogy was going to be the answer to this case
so you would do the police work you would do the genealogy work yes along with another genealogist my name is
Shera Bruce AR La Point Tina had started a tree and we really think alike and worked together to build this tree with
7,49 people in it oh my gosh I would call her no less than five times a day we were on the phone constantly tell
what I found just back and forth I blew her phone up trying to get to the bottom
we had to narrow down the different family members to find the direct link lineage of our
suspect is this someone that knew her is this someone that was a stranger she had
some you know ex-boyfriends there was always the worry that it was a police officer some criminal is not going to
have a pair of Smith and Wesson handcuffs there was no sign of forced entry at the time right
right did we believe it was someone she knew yeah

ENCORE: A schoolteacher is murdered in her own home. Years later investigators discover she was a bridesmaid at the killer's wedding. "48 Hours" correspondent Natalie Morales reports Saturday, Jan. 10 at 9/8c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode discusses the murder of Catherine Edwards and the investigation that led to its resolution through genetic genealogy.

Key points

Catherine Edwards' Murder. The chilling case of Catherine Edwards, whose murder left the community in fear.
Detective's Personal Connection. Detective Tina Lelland shares her emotional connection to the victim, her sister.
Advancements in Forensics. Brandon Beth discusses how technology has evolved since the murder in 1995.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Nobody felt safe anywhere.

The community's fear after the murder.

0:29WatchNov 7, 2024

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