7.3/1094 votes#1 - The Cheater
Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 10/12/2002
Exploring how an American hit single from 1966 -- the cheater by Bob Kuban And The In-man -- foreshadowed the demise of the group's lead singer, Walter Scott (Walter Notheis Jr.), who disappeared in 1983.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10101 votes#2 - Forever Hold Your Peace
Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2002
In Texas 1988, Nancy DePriest was raped and murdered while working at Pizza Hut. After a suspect confessed and implicated another, they were both imprisoned; the case was considered closed. Eight years later, another man claims that he committed the crime, and investigators must use forensic evidence to determine the true killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/1098 votes#3 - Reel Danger
Season 7 Episode 3 - Aired 1/15/2002
Although a group of teenage thugs are suspected of attacking two boys on a fishing trip, there is no solid evidence until a murky fishing hole provides some answers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10101 votes#4 - Who's Your Daddy
Season 7 Episode 4 - Aired 1/22/2002
In 1988, when a young prostitute's body turns up in an Ohio waterway under ice, authorities have one tiny clue which could point to her killer, but face huge challenges due to her policemen clients and DNA evidence being washed away.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10107 votes#5 - The Alibi
Season 7 Episode 5 - Aired 1/29/2002
In a small South Carolina town in 1991, 17-year-old Crystal Faye Todd, a popular high school student, is raped, murdered and dumped in a deserted field, after attending a party. With few leads, authorities test the DNA of several friends and one match shocks everyone.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1051 votes#6 - A Bite Out of Crime
Season 7 Episode 6 - Aired 2/5/2002
In 1997, two years after a series of unsolved kidnappings and sexual assaults in California. One of the victims suddenly recalled an important detail of the crime which she had not told police. She left some forensic evidence in the assailant's vehicle, evidence that left quite an impression.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/1094 votes#7 - Purr-fect Match
Season 7 Episode 7 - Aired 2/12/2002
In 1994, on Canada's Prince Edward Island, the body of Douglas Beamish's estranged wife, Shirley Duguay, was discovered. In a groundbreaking case using animal dna, investigators use forensic testing on a cat to help them solve the case.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1097 votes#8 - Bio-Attack
Season 7 Episode 8 - Aired 11/30/2002
A look into the 1984 Oregon food poisonings, we're detectives track down the outbreak to a cult which aims to use germ warfare to take down the government. [also marked as S7:E16]
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1084 votes#9 - A Shot in the Dark
Season 7 Episode 9 - Aired 12/7/2002
A woman is found dead from a gunshot wound and police suspect her husband; however, forensic teams prove what really happened and the truth is stranger than fiction. [also marked as S7:E17]
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1098 votes#10 - Without a Prayer
Season 7 Episode 10 - Aired 12/14/2002
In 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, disappears along with one of her sons, her granddaughter, and $500,000 in gold coins. The discovery of a mutilated body helps police catch the culprit.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/1096 votes#11 - A Clutch of Witnesses
Season 7 Episode 11 - Aired 12/21/2002
In January 2001, in Duluth, MN, two people witness a truck driving over an unconscious man twice, and they flee into a nearby bar. When the police turn up, the truck, the victim and the witnesses are gone. The eyewitnesses may hold the key to the death of motorcycle gang member, Erik Schrieffer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.6/1091 votes#12 - Scout's Honor
Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 3/19/2003
In Pennsylvania 1984, a passer-by finds the torso of a woman in a cardboard box. Investigators rely on insect activity analysis by a forensic entomologist to determine when the murder victim was killed. She remained unknown until a year later, when her sister called to report her missing. Eventually she was identified and a man was convicted of her murder, but would further forensic entomology change the outcome?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1090 votes#13 - A Touching Recollection
Season 7 Episode 13 - Aired 3/26/2003
An 18-year-old Ohio woman, who is abducted and then released soon afterwards, uses her knowledge of forensics to lead police to the kidnapper.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1094 votes#14 - A Leg to Stand On
Season 7 Episode 14 - Aired 1/11/2003
The police investigate when a severed leg is discovered in the garbage. Conventional means of identifying the victim are impossible, leading investigators to rely on DNA, forensic anthropology and toxicology to identify the victim. The victim was identified as Norman Klaas and, through forensic investigation of his home, investigators follow the trail of evidence to his killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1087 votes#15 - Partners in Crime
Season 7 Episode 15 - Aired 1/18/2003
How Illinois scientists solved a 1992 murder case involving cremation. It takes a long time and a very hot fire to cremate a human body, and thus destroy all evidence of foul play, but the coroner who performed the autopsy on the badly burned body of Charles "Jack" Lynch found telltale clues. Not only had the victim been burned, he’d also been stabbed -- 24 times, with two different knives. Police knew that a person, acting alone, would probably use only one weapon. So investigators were on the lookout for a couple of killers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1090 votes#16 - Within a Hair
Season 7 Episode 16 - Aired 8/31/2002
A look back at the case of the River Park Rapist, who sexually assaulted four women in South Bend, IN, during 1996. Law enforcement officers arrested Richard Alexander, who was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 70 years in prison. In 2001, Michael Murphy confessed to one of the two rapes of which Alexander had been convicted and forensic developments reveal new facts about the case.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1086 votes#17 - Chief Evidence
Season 7 Episode 17 - Aired 7/24/2002
The 1996 Seattle murder of suburban couple Raquel Rivera and Jay Johnson is detailed. Investigators first believe the slayings were the result of a drug deal gone bad. However, no drugs are found in the house and the victims' blood isn't present on the clothing of the suspects. Evidence from the couple's dog Chief, who was also killed, eventually ties one of the murderers to the scene. This is one of the first cases where dog DNA was used to convict.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1094 votes#18 - A Bitter Pill to Swallow
Season 7 Episode 18 - Aired 9/12/2002
Firefighter Michelle Baker became pregnant by her lover, Dr. Maynard Muntzing. After this news, she was ill whenever they were together. The coincidences led her to suspect that he was doing her harm, so she set out to prove it.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1090 votes#19 - Sip of Sins
Season 7 Episode 19 - Aired 2/15/2003
A look back at a trio of unsolved murders that occurred in Wichita Falls, Texas during the 1980s, details how a fourth murder from the same time period provided the police with more than they realized. John Little, an investigator for the DA's office, picked up the cold cases years later and made a connection to the other murders.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1085 votes#20 - Telltale Tracks
Season 7 Episode 20 - Aired 8/27/2002
The disappearance of Philadelphia college athlete Aimee Willard is investigated after her car was found, still running on the roadside. When her body is found, the police find unusual marks on her body and DNA evidence that eventually lead to her killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1087 votes#21 - Ghost in the Machine
Season 7 Episode 21 - Aired 3/1/2003
The investigation into the apparent overdose suicide of Reverend Bill Guthrie's wife Sharon. Detectives suspect foul play after they recover incriminating files from Bill's computer and learn of his infidelity.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1084 votes#22 - Frozen in Time
Season 7 Episode 22 - Aired 3/8/2003
The 1991 disappearance of Newport Beach, CA, resident Denise Huber stumps investigators. Three years later, Arizona residents call police to report John Famalaro, who has kept a Ryder rental truck in his driveway, which they suspect is stolen. Upon further investigation, police find a body within a freezer inside the truck, which they conclude is Denise Huber.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/1099 votes#23 - Cold Storage
Season 7 Episode 23 - Aired 3/15/2003
The 1987 disappearance of Houston resident Tracy Jo Shine is recalled. The investigation went cold until 2000, when a "cold case squad" learned that the woman's ex-boyfriend Michael Neal had bragged about killing her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10102 votes#24 - The Metal Business
Season 7 Episode 24 - Aired 9/26/2002
When a 62-year-old man opens a car restoration business and becomes seriously ill, his doctors cannot find the cause, but forensics can; identification of a highly toxic metal in the victim's blood leads to his poisoner.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1099 votes#25 - Dressed to Kill
Season 7 Episode 25 - Aired 3/29/2003
The disappearance of 6-year-old Michelle Lee Dorr is detailed. Although her father confessed to murdering her, the police soon poked holes in his story, leaving the case unsolved for 14 years. New suspect Hadden Clark was heard talking to himself, which gave investigators a clue where Michelle was killed.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Forensic Files Season 7
Every episode of Forensic Files Season 7 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Forensic Files Season 7!
Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant...
Genres:CrimeDocumentary
Season 7 Ratings Summary
"The Cheater" is the best rated episode of "Forensic Files" season 7. It scored 7.3/10 based on 94 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/12/2002. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Forever Hold Your Peace".