The Handmaid's Tale

Forensic pathologists recount cases where their amazing expertise helped bring killers to justice.

Fascinating case studies of murders solved through the expertise of forensic pathologists, including the case of a murdered pregnant woman.

In this edition, forensic pathologists and other specialists search for answers in several tough cases. A severed hand is found on a riverbank. The bodies of a mother and her infant are discovered after the spring thaw. The only clue to a doctor's mysterious death is a bite mark. And a young bride disappears years after her husband's first wife supposedly killed herself.

The "detectives of death" investigate another slate of bizarre cases, including a twisted case of sibling sabotage, a mystery where saliva turned a suicide into a homicide, the story of a convicted rapist whose claims of innocence are taken seriously when his DNA turns up on a victim while he is in jail, and a "final answer" to the question, "Who was the Black Widow?"

An entire family poisoned by an unknown intruder. A suicide made to look like a murder. An airbag that becomes a perfect crime scene. These fascinating stories and more are unveiled in this "Autopsy" special that looks at criminal cases that might never have been uncovered were it not for the efforts of forensic pathologists and other "detectives of death."

Noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden reveals the stories behind cases of unnatural or suspicious deaths in this documentary.

HBO presents an intriguing look at four crimes that were solved by forensic science in this edition of the smash-hit documentary series. Dr. Michael Baden shows how the "detectives of death" cracked the cases. Segments include the death of a bird lover and his cockatoo, a woman who suspects that her brother was murdered by his wife, and a kinky ménage à trois.