Ep 2. Murder Isle: A Body in the Field

Set in the Louisiana bayou, Killing Fields is a true-crime show that follows detectives as they track down cold case murders. In season 3 episode 2, titled "Murder Isle: A Body in the Field," the detectives return to a case that has haunted them for years.

The episode opens with Detective Lise Olsen standing in a grassy field, surrounded by tall trees. She describes the area as "Murder Isle," due to the fact that it's a common dumping ground for murderers.

The case they're revisiting involves a Jane Doe who was found in the field in 1991. The detectives have her skull and jawbone, but they've never been able to identify her or her killer.

The first stop for the detectives is the autopsy room, where they examine the Jane Doe's skull. Forensic specialist Dr. Murray Marks points out some unique characteristics - her jawline, for example, indicates she was of African-American or mixed race.

From there, the detectives visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) headquarters. NamUs is a national database that helps identify missing persons and connect them with their families. The detectives hope that by entering the Jane Doe's case into NamUs, they'll get a hit on her identity.

The NamUs team starts by inputting the skull's dimensions and age range. They then filter the results by race and geographic location. The search turns up hundreds of potential matches, but nothing concrete.

As the NamUs team continues to work on the case, the detectives investigate the field where the Jane Doe was found. They walk through the tall grass, scanning the ground for any evidence. After several hours, they find a small bone fragment - possibly from a finger or toe. They bag it up and send it off for DNA testing.

Next, the detectives visit the local newspaper archives to dig up any old articles about the murder. They find a piece from 1991 that describes a different woman's body being found just 50 yards from where the Jane Doe was discovered.

This discovery raises a crucial question - is it possible that two different killers dumped their victims in the same spot? The detectives investigate this lead by interviewing a retired detective who worked on the earlier case. He tells them that the victim in his case was a local prostitute, and her killer was never caught.

The detectives decide to reach out to the victim's family members to see if they have any information that could connect the cases. They speak to the victim's sister, who tells them that the family always suspected a man named Andre was responsible for the murder. She gives them Andre's last-known address, and they head over to investigate.

At Andre's old house, the detectives find a woman who says she knew him. She tells them that he died several years ago, but that he was a "bad man" who was involved in drugs and other criminal activity.

With no other leads, the detectives regroup to discuss their next steps. They have DNA evidence from the bone fragment, but they know it could take weeks or even months to get the results. For now, they're left wondering if the Jane Doe will ever be identified - and if her killer will ever be brought to justice.

Overall, "Murder Isle: A Body in the Field" is a gripping true-crime episode that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats. As the detectives work tirelessly to solve this cold case, they encounter dead ends, false leads, and heartbreaking discoveries. But despite the challenges they face, they never give up hope of finding the truth.