The Ordinary Screwdriver That Caught A Serial Killer _ The New Detectives

A blue-handled screwdriver found in a killer's toolbox. A matching indentation on a victim's skull. And a forensic scientist who spent hours matching tool marks under a microscope. An ordinary hardware store tool became the evidence that sent a serial killer to death row.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 experts demonstrate how tool mark analysis can be as distinctive as a fingerprint. The episode titled Tool Marks, which originally aired on October 19, 1999, follows investigators as they match a screwdriver found in a suspect's possession to striations left on a victim's bone . The same technique has been used to match hammers to skull fractures, knives to cartilage cuts, and crowbars to splintered door frames. Tool mark examiners use comparison microscopes to align minute imperfections left by manufacturing processes and wear patterns. No two tools leave identical marks. The screwdriver that seemed ordinary to the killer became the extraordinary evidence that put him behind bars.Turn down the lights, put on your headphones, and press play because the killer never noticed the tiny scratches that would send him to prison.