Talking Dateline: The Bucket Hat Mystery

In Virginia, Brendan Banfield, the man accused of murdering his wife and a complete stranger, says the prosecution's theory is "absolutely crazy." In Georgia, law student Tara Baker's murder went unsolved for two decades, until the family teamed up with a podcaster to try and sol ...  Show more

Lester Holt talks with Andrea Canning about her episode, “Secrets in the Ashes.” When 31-year-old Texas mother Patricia Leigh Mills is found dead in a house fire, her family suspects her husband, Delbert, of setting the blaze that killed her, suspicions that only grow when he rem ...  Show more

Stephen Smith was found dead along a rural Hampton County road in the pre-dawn hours of July 8, 2015. His death came under mysterious circumstances, and remains unsolved. Stephen Smith's death ultimately was ruled a hit-and-run by a medical examiner, despite law enforcement sayin ...  Show more

In June 2021, Alex Murdaugh (pron. mer-dock) called 9-1-1 to report he'd found his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, dead outside their home in rural Colleton County, South Carolina. Both Maggie and Paul had been brutally shot to death.As months have passed, what began as a c ...  Show more

On a winter night in 1981, a teenager stepped out of his Essex Junction home and never returned. His disappearance unsettled the quiet Vermont town, leaving his family searching for answers that never came.

Years later, a hunter in the woods made a discovery that would f ...

Correspondent Tracy Smith and Producer Gayane Keshishyan Mendez discuss the case of Susann Sills, a mother of twins who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in the home she shared with her husband, a renowned fertility doctor. The team discusses the 911 call made by Dr. Si ...  Show more