CASE 343Miami, Florida
1986
Joyce & Stanley Cohen
Stanley Cohen was killed at his Miami home in 1986. His wife Joyce reported intruders, and investigators examined the account alongside evidence of a planned killing.
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Showing 25–39 of 39CASE 216Kennedy Space Center, Florida; Houston, Texas
1986
The Challenger crew & the launch decision
Photo credit
NASA / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain — NASA. Cropped/resized.Seven crew members died when Challenger broke apart shortly after launch in January 1986. Investigators examined technical failure, engineering warnings and NASA’s decision-making. The book and documentary series revisit the crew’s lives and the institutional choices behind the disaster.
CASE 164Tampa, Florida
1984
Lisa McVey
Lisa McVey survived an abduction and assault by Bobby Joe Long in Florida in 1984. After her release, her detailed observations helped investigators identify him. Her account and the Lifetime film Believe Me emphasize both her survival and the importance of being believed.
CASE 174Hollywood, Florida
1981
Adam Walsh
Six-year-old Adam Walsh disappeared from a department store in Hollywood, Florida, in 1981 and was found murdered. His parents, John and Revé Walsh, became advocates for missing children. The case became the subject of the television drama Adam and John Walsh’s memoir.
CASE 410Pinellas County, Florida
1980s onward
Paul Skalnik & Jailhouse-Informant Evidence
Paul Skalnik’s history as a conman and jailhouse informant became the subject of investigative reporting. The case raises questions about the incentives and reliability of informant testimony in Florida prosecutions.
CASE 137Florida
1971–1983
Judy Buenoano · “Black Widow”
Photo credit
Florida Department of Corrections / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (U.S.). Cropped/resized.Judy Buenoano poisoned her husband, drowned her son, and attempted to kill a fiancé with a car bomb. Investigators connected events that had initially been treated separately. Her prosecutions in Florida led to widespread use of the media label Black Widow.
CASE 217Kennedy Space Center, Florida; Houston, Texas
1970
Apollo 13 & the mission-control rescue
Photo credit
NASA; cropped by MachoCarioca / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain — NASA. Cropped/resized.An oxygen-tank failure forced Apollo 13’s crew and ground teams to abandon a lunar landing and improvise a way home. Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise survived the emergency. The book and film trace the teamwork, engineering and decisions behind the return to Earth.
CASE 315Key Biscayne, Florida
1964
Candy & Jacques Mossler
Jacques Mossler was found stabbed in 1964. Investigators focused on family relationships and money, and the resulting prosecution of Candy Mossler and her nephew became a sensational public trial.
CASE 191Panama City, Florida
1961–1963
Clarence Earl Gideon
Photo credit
Florida State Prison / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Cropped/resized.Unable to afford a lawyer, Clarence Earl Gideon defended himself against a Florida felony charge. His handwritten challenge reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the constitutional right to counsel applies to indigent defendants in state felony prosecutions. He was acquitted at his retrial with a lawyer.
CASE 459San Joaquin Valley and Stockton, California; Houston, Texas; Kennedy Space Center, Florida
1960s–2009
José Hernández
José Hernández grew up in a migrant farmworker family and pursued electrical engineering before joining NASA. After years of applications, he was selected for astronaut training in 2004 and flew aboard Discovery’s STS-128 mission in 2009. His memoir and A Million Miles Away explore the family support and persistence behind that journey.
CASE 309West Palm Beach, Florida
1955
Curtis & Marjorie Chillingworth
Judge Curtis Chillingworth and his wife disappeared after a dinner gathering in 1955. The investigation uncovered a murder plot involving corruption within the community's legal establishment.
CASE 314Live Oak, Florida
1952
Ruby McCollum & C. Leroy Adams
The 1952 shooting of physician C. Leroy Adams led to the prosecution of Ruby McCollum. The case raised questions about race, power, and whose testimony could be heard in segregated Florida.
CASE 229Rosewood, Florida
1923–1994
The Rosewood survivors
A white mob destroyed the predominantly Black community of Rosewood in 1923, killing residents and forcing survivors to flee. Decades later, survivors sought public recognition and compensation from Florida. Like Judgment Day investigates the history; Rosewood dramatizes it with invented characters and events.
CASE 294Fernandina Beach, Florida
Year not confirmed
Joleen Cummings
Hair stylist Joleen Cummings disappeared after work at Tangles Salon. Her vehicle appeared on surveillance in a parking lot, providing investigators with a lead into her disappearance.
CASE 296Sebring / Tampa, Florida
Year not confirmed
Laura Pietscher
Laura Pietscher's body was found in a Tampa dumpster far from her Sebring home. Investigators used security recordings to trace the journey preceding her death.
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