CASE 292San Diego, California
2017
Omar Medina
Musician Omar Medina disappeared in 2017. His body was later found inside a barrel in San Diego Bay, and investigators examined surveillance evidence while tracing those involved.
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Showing 1–24 of 69CASE 222New York and California
2017
The women who spoke out & the She Said investigation
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey investigated allegations of sexual abuse and harassment by Harvey Weinstein, along with settlements and institutional silence. Women who spoke with reporters took substantial personal risks. The book and film follow the reporting process that helped fuel a wider reckoning over workplace abuse.
CASE 402California
2016
Michelle Hadley
Michelle Hadley was arrested after accusations involving threatening emails and an alleged assault plot. Investigators later uncovered that she had been framed, transforming the case into an investigation of cyber-revenge.
CASE 106Redding, California
2016
Sherri Papini
Photo credit
Shasta County Sheriff's Office / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (California government). Cropped/resized.Sherri Papini claimed she had been kidnapped in California in 2016 and blamed two Latina women. Investigators later determined she had stayed with a former boyfriend. She pleaded guilty in 2022 to mail fraud and making false statements, after years of public concern over the supposed abduction.
CASE 278Orange, California
2013
Maribel Ramos
Army veteran Maribel Ramos disappeared from her apartment in May 2013. Investigators used surveillance evidence and a targeted investigative strategy to establish what had happened to her.
CASE 435San Juan Capistrano, California
2010
Chris Smith & Edward Shin
California entrepreneur Chris Smith’s family received emails suggesting he had left his business behind to travel. Investigators later found that his business partner, Edward Shin, had killed him in their San Juan Capistrano office in June 2010 and impersonated him afterward. An Orange County jury convicted Shin of murder for financial gain in 2018. Dateline later interviewed Shin after his life sentence, examining the business relationship and the messages that had misled Smith’s loved ones.
CASE 276Buena Park, California
2009
Jasmine Fiore
Jasmine Fiore's remains were discovered in a suitcase in a Buena Park dumpster. Security footage helped investigators examine the model's disappearance and the circumstances of her death.
CASE 457Los Angeles, California
2005–2009
Nathaniel Ayers & Steve Lopez
Los Angeles columnist Steve Lopez met musician Nathaniel Ayers in 2005 while Ayers was living on the streets. Their relationship became the subject of Lopez’s reporting, the book The Soloist and a film adaptation. The story examines music, friendship, mental illness and the limits of one person’s efforts to help another.
CASE 224New York and California
2005–2008
The housing crash & The Big Short
A group of investors questioned the mortgage market’s apparent strength and bet against securities tied to risky home loans. Their perspective became one way to examine the housing crash and the failures of financial institutions. The story also sits within a crisis that cost many Americans homes and livelihoods.
CASE 238Palo Alto, California
2003–2022
Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos
Photo credit
Glenn Fawcett / U.S. Department of Defense; cropped / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain — U.S. federal government. Cropped/resized.Theranos promised to transform blood testing, attracting investors and commercial partners. Reporting exposed problems with its technology and claims. Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of investor fraud and conspiracy in 2022; the book Bad Blood and the scripted series The Dropout examine the rise and collapse from different perspectives.
CASE 389California
2003
Justine Vanderschoot
Teenager Justine Vanderschoot was killed in 2003. Her family continues to advocate for her, including at proceedings concerning the men convicted of her murder.
CASE 114Alhambra, California
2003
Lana Clarkson & Phil Spector
Photo credit
New York World-Telegram & Sun / Library of Congress; photographer unknown · Public domain (U.S.). Cropped/resized.Lana Clarkson died from a gunshot at music producer Phil Spector’s home in 2003. After an initial trial ended without a verdict, Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009. Reporting and films examine the evidence and the power imbalance surrounding the case.
CASE 227Long Beach, California
2002–2012
Brian Banks
High-school football player Brian Banks lost years of his life after a wrongful conviction. New evidence and assistance from the California Innocence Project led to his exoneration. His memoir and the film follow the struggle to clear his name and rebuild a future.
CASE 095Modesto, California
2002
Laci Peterson
Photo credit
California Department of Corrections / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (California government). Cropped/resized.Laci Peterson disappeared from Modesto in December 2002 while pregnant with her son, Conner. Their remains were recovered in 2003, and Scott Peterson was convicted in 2004. According to the district attorney’s May 2026 statement, his third habeas petition was denied on April 27. A July 2026 documentary examines disputed defense claims without changing the conviction.
CASE 379Bakersfield, California
2002
Steve Tauzer
Prosecutor Steve Tauzer was killed in his garage. Investigators examined his relationship with former colleague Chris Hillis, who later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
CASE 349Sacramento, California
2001
Larry McNabney
Attorney Larry McNabney's body was found at a Sacramento-area winery. Investigators examined the circumstances of his disappearance and the role of his wife, who used the name Elisa.
CASE 345San Diego, California
2000
Kristin Rossum & Greg de Villers
Greg de Villers was found dead in 2000, surrounded by rose petals. Toxicology findings prompted an investigation into fentanyl and the access his wife Kristin Rossum had through her work.
CASE 243Los Angeles, California; New York, New York
2000s–2014
Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom organized high-stakes poker games in Los Angeles and New York. She pleaded guilty to a gambling charge in 2013. Her memoir Molly’s Game became Aaron Sorkin’s film, offering a personal account and a dramatized interpretation of the events.
CASE 042California, United States
1999
The Yosemite murders
Photo credit
Federal Bureau of Investigation / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (U.S.). Cropped/resized.Carole Sund, her teenage daughter Juli, and family friend Silvina Pelosso disappeared during a Yosemite-area trip in 1999 and were found murdered. The later killing of park naturalist Joie Armstrong led investigators to Cary Stayner, a motel worker. Stayner was convicted in the killings that had frightened visitors and devastated four families.
CASE 063San Luis Obispo, California
1996
Kristin Smart
Nineteen-year-old college student Kristin Smart disappeared after a party in San Luis Obispo in 1996. Paul Flores, who had walked with her that night, remained central to the investigation for years. He was convicted of her murder in 2022, following renewed scrutiny of evidence and a long campaign by Kristin’s family.
CASE 052California, United States
1995
Sally & Ray McNeil · “Killer Sally”
Sally McNeil shot her husband, bodybuilder Ray McNeil, on Valentine’s Day in 1995. She said she acted in self-defense during a violent confrontation; prosecutors argued that the killing was murder. A jury convicted her of second-degree murder. The case centered on sharply competing accounts of domestic abuse and the shooting.
CASE 092Los Angeles, California
1994
Nicole Brown Simpson & Ron Goldman
Photo credit
Adlai E. Stevenson High School / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (US no notice, no registration within five years). Cropped/resized.
Photo credit
TwinsofSedona; crop by Angelgreat / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0. Cropped/resized. Adaptations use the same license.Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were stabbed to death in Los Angeles in 1994. O. J. Simpson was acquitted in the criminal trial and later found liable for their deaths in a civil case. Books and documentaries examine the evidence, the proceedings, and their different outcomes.
CASE 182Hinkley, California
1993–1996
Erin Brockovich & Hinkley
Photo credit
Office of United States Senator Daniel Akaka / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Cropped/resized.Residents of Hinkley challenged Pacific Gas and Electric over chromium contamination of groundwater. Erin Brockovich helped investigate residents’ accounts and assemble the legal case that resulted in a 1996 settlement. California regulators’ cleanup work is a separate, continuing part of this environmental history.
CASE 165Southern California
1992
Jennifer Asbenson
Jennifer Asbenson escaped after being abducted and attacked by Andrew Urdiales in Southern California in 1992. Her account later helped identify him as the man who had held her. Memoir and screen treatments describe the escape and the difficulties she faced afterward.
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