Forensic History: Crimes, Frauds, and Scandals
Overview
Investigate history’s most notorious crimes through forensic science in this 24-lecture course, from Jack the Ripper to modern political scandals.
Course No. 1174
Professor Elizabeth Murray, a forensic anthropologist, reveals how cutting-edge science unravels mysteries spanning two centuries—with case studies from Hollywood deaths to Nazi war crimes.
Course Content
Infamous Murders & Mysteries
- Jack the Ripper’s London (31 min)
- How 1888’s unsolved slayings revolutionized crime investigation
- Black Dahlia & Lust Murders (30 min)
- The gruesome 1947 case that shocked America
- Hollywood Deaths: Fact vs. Fiction (31 min)
- Bruce Lee, George Reeves, and Bob Crane
Forensic Breakthroughs
- Tylenol Murders (1982) (30 min)
- Cyanide-laced pills and product tampering forensics
- Eyewitness Testimony Flaws (30 min)
- How DNA overturned wrongful convictions
- Romanov Family Forensics (30 min)
- Solving the 1918 execution mystery
Crimes of Power
- Political Assassinations (31 min)
- From Yasser Arafat to Olof Palme
- Nazi War Crime Evidence (31 min)
- Buchenwald’s “Witch” and human experiments
- Sports & Political Scandals (31 min)
- Lance Armstrong to presidential corruption
Future of Forensics
- Cold Case Revolution (30 min)
- How unidentified remains get names
- Frauds & Forgeries (31 min)
- Fake art, documents, and historical hoaxes
- Forensic Tech Evolution (33 min)
- From fingerprinting to digital evidence

