How The FBI Exposed A Ruthless Killer Mother _ The New Detectives

A string of house fires. A grieving mother who lost her children in the flames. The community raised money for her funeral expenses. The FBI raised questions about how the fires started.In this episode of The New Detectives, the groundbreaking Discovery Channel series that aired from 1996 to 2004 and inspired CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, forensic investigators examine cases of maternal filicide, where mothers intentionally kill their own children. One of the most notorious cases featured is that of Diane Downs, who shot her three children in Oregon in 1983, killing one, because her lover did not want children. Another case involved a mother who set her house on fire with her children inside after a custody dispute, then claimed a stranger had done it. The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit developed a profile of mothers who kill, identifying patterns of attention-seeking behavior, a history of fabricating illnesses, and a lack of appropriate emotional response after the deaths. Turn down the lights, put on your headphones, and press play because the tears you see on the evening news are not always tears of grief.