The FBI Files

On October 1, 1993, a stranger abducted 12-year-old Polly Klaas during a slumber party in her home. The FBI was immediately called in. Agents collected fibers from her bedroom and discovered, through the use of laser light sources, a palm print on Polly's bed, previously invisible to the naked eye. After a massive two-month investigation, the FBI arrested Richard Allen Davis. Palm prints and fibers matched and Davis was convicted of abduction and murder.

California Highway Patrolman George Gwaltney discovered the body of 23-year-old Robin Bishop near her car on a remote desert highway. Although he proclaimed his innocence the FBI lab experts were able to link tool marks found on the frame with tools found in Gwaltney's home. Through the match of hairs and fibers and a unique test for detecting and identifying sperm, Gwaltney was placed at the scene of the crime.

Thomas Dillon killed five outdoorsmen at random over a period of three years in rural southern Ohio. After a tip led the FBI to the murder weapon, ballistic testing made a match. A mother's letter published in the newspaper addressing the murderer of her son prompted the killer to respond. A psychological profile was drawn up, leading to another tip. Following a dramatic air and ground surveillance by the FBI, Thomas Dillon was arrested and ultimately convicted.

In Anchorage, Alaska, a young mother and her two daughters were sexually assaulted and brutally murdered. There was only one piece of forensic evidence: a washrag carrying pubic lice that the killer used to clean himself after the crime. Employing an unusual and original method, an FBI expert combed through all the hairs and fibers in the apartment. He was not only able to determine how long each hair had been there, but which hairs came from the killer and how the crime proceeded.

Two couples found themselves on the same deserted island paradise. But only one couple left alive. Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns arrived in Hawaii on the Sea Wind, which belonged to the missing couple, Mac and Muff Graham. Buck and Stephanie were arrested and served time for boat theft. But years later, bones were discovered on the deserted island and identified as the remains of Muff Graham.

He wandered the streets of New York City wearing only pajamas and a bathrobe, but the FBI was convinced that Vince Gigante, the reputed boss of the Genovese crime family, was anything but crazy. The FBI used undercover surveillance, secret audio tapes, six mobsters turned government informants and the testimony of twelve FBI agents to help convict Gigante of murder and conspiracy-to-murder, including a plot to kill rival mob boss John Gotti.

The rapes and murders of ten women near Tampa, Florida in 1984 had the authorities puzzled and the community scared. Since the beginning, the FBI had been analyzing the crime scene evidence and had found a common link: red trilobal carpet fibers. But there was no suspect, until one of the killer's potential victims survived. Through her interviews and the cooperation of local authorities and the FBI, 31-year-old Bobby Joe Long emerged as the prime suspect.

When five-year-old Melissa Brannen disappeared from a Christmas party in December 1989, the only probable suspect was 24-year-old Caleb Hughes. Hughes reportedly left the party around the time Melissa vanished, but no one saw him with the girl. Fifty blue acrylic fibers collected during a search of Hughes' car, however, became the major piece of evidence in the case. FBI fiber analysis determined that those fibers were identical to the ones that made up the sweater Melissa was wearing.

He was a recluse who spread terror through the mail for 18 years. Two men died and more than a dozen were injured, but Ted Kaczynski wasn't known as the Unabomber until his brother tipped off the FBI. Kaczynski's “Unabomber Manifesto,” published in major newspapers, set off a flurry of activity for the FBI: writing analysis and comparisons, DNA gleaned from a single postage stamp and finally, Kaczynski's arrest at his tiny cabin.

Claude Dallas lived the life of a cowboy. A loner and distrustful of authority, he lived off the land, poaching wildlife and selling the hides. But when two game wardens confronted Dallas about his deeds, they were shot and killed. After a massive manhunt, Dallas was captured and convicted, only to escape months later. Making the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, Dallas eluded the law for almost a year until the FBI tracked him down in a small town in California.

On February 26, 1993, an explosion rocked the World Trade Center parking garage. Six people died and more than a thousand were injured in the bomb blast that tore a 5-story crater in the building. During the investigation, the twisted fender of a rental van was extracted from the rubble. The FBI was able to determine from where the van was rented and by whom. Undercover agents then made their arrests within six days of the bombing.

By December 1985, John Gotti had assumed his place as the new Don of the Gambino crime family in New York with the assassination of his boss, Paul Castellano. The Teflon Don felt secure in his position, always remaining one step ahead of the law. But he was also the ongoing obsession of Bruce Mouw, leader of an elite crew of FBI agents formed to bring down the Gambino family. With the help and genius of his Special Projects Squad, bugs were planted in Gotti's most private meeting places.

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers, two white and one black disappeared in Mississippi while passing through Neshoba County. A massive FBI investigation led to the recovery of the bodies of the slain men and physical evidence was recovered and analyzed. The FBI labs confirmed that all but one of the bullets used to kill the men came from the same gun. The FBI gained the trust of an informant, whose information led to the conviction of seven local Ku Klux Klan members.