Ep 3. Beauty Queen Killer/The Fingerprint

In the third episode of the fourth season of Cold Case Files, titled "Beauty Queen Killer/The Fingerprint," viewers are taken on a journey through two separate cases that were both solved through innovative forensic techniques.

The first case, known as the Beauty Queen Killer, centers around the brutal murder of four young women in the 1970s. The suspect, Christopher Wilder, was a handsome and successful businessman who used his charm to lure his victims into his car before torturing and killing them. Despite being suspected in several states, Wilder had managed to escape capture for years, leaving a trail of death and terror in his wake.

Thanks to a breakthrough in forensic science, however, investigators were finally able to link Wilder to the murders. Scientists were able to extract DNA evidence from a drop of Wilder's blood found on the back of a photograph, which was used to positively identify him as the killer. Wilder was eventually killed in a shootout with police, but the victims' families were finally able to find closure knowing that their loved ones' killer had been brought to justice.

The second case, known as The Fingerprint, centers around the murder of John Leonard Orr, a firefighter who was also a pyromaniac. Orr had been setting fires for years before being caught, and his addiction to arson had ultimately led to the deaths of four people. Despite a lack of physical evidence tying Orr to the crimes, investigators believed that he was the culprit due to the similarities in the fires and Orr's intimate knowledge of firefighting techniques.

It wasn't until investigators discovered a fingerprint on a matchbook left at one of the crime scenes that they were able to definitively link Orr to the murders. Thanks to advanced fingerprint analysis techniques, scientists were able to match the print to Orr's, finally proving that he was responsible for the deaths. Orr was eventually sentenced to life in prison, where he remains to this day.

Throughout the episode, viewers are given a detailed look at the painstaking detective work that went into solving these cases. From the tireless efforts of investigators to the groundbreaking forensic science techniques that were used to crack these seemingly unsolvable cases, viewers are left with a newfound appreciation for the men and women who work tirelessly to ensure that justice is served.

Overall, "Beauty Queen Killer/The Fingerprint" is a gripping and emotionally charged episode that highlights both the horror of crime and the power of science to bring criminals to justice. For fans of true crime and forensic science, it is a must-watch episode that showcases the very best of both worlds.