Forensic Files: Collection Season 1 Episode 25 Shoe-in for Murder

A body was discovered in a cornfield in rural Iowa. Investigators were stumped as to the identity of the victim since the face was completely disfigured. All they had to go on was a unique pair of cowboy boots. With the help of forensic odontology, a process for identifying victims by dental records, authorities finally put a name to the victim and began their search for the killer.

The victim was a man named Scott Martinez, a young man who had recently moved to Iowa from Texas to work on a farm. Authorities spoke with those who knew Martinez and soon discovered that he had recently befriended a wealthy farmer named Ed Barber. Investigators were suspicious of Barber's alibi for the night of Martinez's murder and noticed some inconsistencies.

Further digging into the case revealed that Martinez had promised to help Barber with some farm work in exchange for a loan. However, Martinez had failed to fulfill his end of the bargain and Barber had grown angry and confrontational with him.

The evidence against Barber was mounting, but there was no clear motive for him to have committed the crime. That is until police delved into Barber's financial history. They discovered that he was in dire need of money and had recently taken out a life insurance policy on Martinez.

As authorities gathered more evidence, they discovered that Barber had purchased a pair of cowboy boots that were identical to the ones Martinez was wearing on the night of his murder. The boots were the key piece of physical evidence that finally sealed Barber's fate.

In the end, Ed Barber was found guilty of the murder of Scott Martinez and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This episode of Forensic Files highlights the power of forensic odontology and how even the most obscure pieces of physical evidence can lead to the conviction of a murderer.