America's Crime Lab

Introducing America's Crime Lab

Introducing the new podcast America’s Crime Lab. Each week, we meet weary detectives and family members as we run through an unsolved case that wrecked a community and seemingly hit a dead end… until, in a last-ditch effort, the evidence is mailed to Othram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Case of Carla Walker: How DNA Evidence Revived a 46-Year-Old Murder Investigation

Carla Walker’s brazen abduction after her high school Valentine’s dance shocked Fort Worth. The case went cold for decades. In Part 1, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk through the early investigation, and why suspicion turned toward Carla’s boyfriend. This cold case is where our story begins. Using forensic genealogy and DNA evidence, detectives and scientists from Othram begin to reexamine what was left behind. America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carla Walker, Part 2: A Cold Case Reopened by DNA Evidence

Nearly 50 years after Carla Walker’s murder, Fort Worth detectives decide to reopen the case. In Part 2, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa trace how a persistent cold case investigator begins to reexamine the original evidence, and why a single swab becomes central to the new forensic effort. With help from Paul Holes and the scientists at Othram, the DNA evidence starts to speak for itself. America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carla Walker, Part 3: DNA Evidence Identifies a Suspect

In Part 3 of our Carla Walker investigation, a decades-old DNA sample is reexamined at Othram’s lab, leading to a breakthrough. Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk us through the science behind the profile, the chain of custody, and the unexpected match that emerges from the database. After 46 years, this cold case finally has a viable lead. America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carla Walker, Part 4: A Confession and the Power of DNA Evidence

In the final chapter of Carla Walker’s story, detectives sit down with their prime suspect. What follows is a slow, tense interrogation, and a long-delayed confession. Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa bring together the science, the interrogation, and the moment this cold case finally turns. America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.