In 1983, 19-year-old Barbara Grams was found murdered behind a dental office in Tampa, Florida. Detectives said a small mark on her cheek was a bite — and that 18-year-old Robert DuBoise’s teeth matched it. That single piece of forensic “evidence” sent him to death row.
But nearly four decades later, new DNA testing proved what Robert had said all along — he was innocent. The mark wasn’t even a bite.
This week on Forensic Tales, we uncover how junk science, unreliable witnesses, and a discredited forensic method stole 37 years of an innocent man’s life.
Because in forensic science, the smallest mistake can destroy a life.
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38:52
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38:52
Jodine Serrin
It was Valentine’s Day, 2007, when 39-year-old Jodine Serrin’s parents stopped by her Carlsbad, California condo to check on her. Moments after walking into her bedroom, they realized something was terribly wrong. Jodine had been brutally attacked—and the man they’d seen inside her home had vanished.
For over a decade, her murder went unsolved. No witnesses. No leads. Just a single piece of DNA left behind.
In this episode, we examine how cutting-edge forensic technology—and one company’s groundbreaking use of genetic genealogy—finally revealed the truth about who killed Jodine Serrin.
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40:28
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40:28
Linda Slaten
#304 - In 1981, 31-year-old single mother Linda Slaten was found murdered in her Lakeland, Florida apartment. Her sons were asleep just down the hall. For decades, detectives chased every lead — a violent ex-husband, a mysterious boyfriend, even a convicted predator who once lived next door. But the trail always went cold.
Nearly forty years later, a revolutionary forensic tool — genetic genealogy — finally revealed the truth. And the answer shocked everyone: the killer had been hiding in plain sight the entire time.
This is the story of how one preserved palm print, a decades-old rape kit, and the persistence of science brought long-awaited justice to Linda Slaten’s family.
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36:47
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36:47
Teresa Solecki
In January 1984, 29-year-old Teresa Solecki walked to a payphone in Vista, California, to make a quick call to her sister. She never came back. Hours later, her body was discovered along a remote stretch of Gopher Canyon Road—brutally beaten and strangled.
For decades, investigators held onto the evidence: a bite mark, a drag trail, and an unknown male’s DNA. But without modern technology, Teresa’s case went cold. It would take 35 years, new forensic science, and the power of investigative genetic genealogy to finally reveal the truth—and identify her killer.
This is the story of the murder of Teresa Solecki—and how DNA preserved for decades helped bring justice to her family.
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42:26
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42:26
Dorothy Donovan
In June 1991, 70-year-old grandmother Dorothy Donovan was found brutally murdered inside her farmhouse in Harrington, Delaware. The crime stunned the small town—and suspicion immediately turned to the person who discovered her body: her own son.
Charles Holden told investigators a strange and terrifying story about a violent hitchhiker he’d picked up earlier that night, a man who threatened him with a screwdriver and chased him through the dark. But detectives weren’t convinced. To them, it sounded like a desperate attempt to cover up something far worse.
For years, Dorothy’s family was torn apart by grief and suspicion. Was Charles telling the truth, or had he concocted an elaborate alibi to hide his guilt?
This is the story of a brutal crime, a family divided, and the forensic evidence that finally uncovered the truth.
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Not all stories have happy endings... A weekly true crime podcast with a forensic twist. Each episode features real stories highlighting how forensic science was used. From fingerprinting to criminal profiling to familial DNA, we have every investigative angle covered.
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