The BEST episodes of On the Case with Paula Zahn

Every episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of On the Case with Paula Zahn!

Led by Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula Zahn, ON THE CASE features in-depth interviews and original reporting that go beyond the headlines in search of fascinating mysteries from within our nation's justice system. Each episode is highlighted by Zahn's riveting exclusive interviews, which draw out different viewpoints from the people personally connected to tragedies that rocked their local community and the investigations that attempted to piece together the truth.

Last Updated: 7/24/2025Network: Investigation DiscoveryStatus: Continuing

8.47

15 votes

#1 - A Brand New Dress

Season 21 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/17/2021

An argument among sisters over a new dress leads a young girl to leave her house to calm down. But when she never returns, the desperate search to find her begins.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.26

19 votes

#2 - A Storm of Rage

Season 21 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/31/2021

A beautiful young mother vanishes just hours before the deadliest hurricane in Texas history. The investigation forces her loved ones to weather a storm and then survive a tempest.

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.23

26 votes

#3 - Good Morning, Goodnight and Goodbye

Season 18 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/24/2019

When a 16-year-old girl disappears on her way to visit friends, the police retrace her last known movements and uncover a terrifying possibility that she may have been kidnapped by an international human trafficking ring.

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.22

9 votes

#4 - Clearing the Docket

Season 22 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/2/2021

A teenager vanishes during a walk to the store on a cold winter night. The next morning police find her lifeless body in a snowbank six miles away.

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.13

8 votes

#5 - It Won't End Well

Season 22 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/25/2021

A young woman's strange encounter with a man outside her home becomes the thread that unravels a terrifying murder mystery.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.09

23 votes

#6 - Never the Same

Season 18 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/28/2019

A woman and her teenage daughter are savagely murdered in their own home; police find clues at the crime scene, including a bloody bare footprint and an unharmed 3-year-old girl with a heartbreaking story.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.04

25 votes

#7 - Long South Truth

Season 17 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/22/2018

It takes decades for investigators to follow the evidence to the long-sought-after truth behind the terrifying abduction and murder of 20-year-old Leslie Long, a young mother of three.

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.00

10 votes

#8 - Newlywed Murders

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/2010

Two men are convicted of murdering a newlywed couple. One faces the death penalty. Did they really do it or were they victims of small town corruption?

Watch Now:Amazon

8.00

9 votes

#9 - Twin Killing

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/2/2010

The murder of prestigious and popular Huntsville Alabama doctor Jack Wilson. His wife Betty and her twin sister Peggy Lowe quickly became suspects and were dubbed 'the black widows'. They were arrested in May 1992, and though Peggy was acquitted, Betty was sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison with no chance of parole

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.00

5 votes

#10 - Run Bambi Run

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/2/2011

The case of former policewoman Laurie Bembenek, who murdered her her husband's ex-wife in 1982. Her escape from prison in 1990 turned her into a national celebrity across America

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.00

26 votes

#11 - Betrayal in the Mountains

Season 19 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/29/2019

A young woman's body is found at a popular campsite in the Rocky Mountains, marking the beginning of a terrifying murder mystery.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.00

10 votes

#12 - A Complicated Relationship

Season 22 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/11/2021

A beloved mother of four disappears just days after her stepdaughter vanishes. Police must investigate if their complicated relationship has led to tragedy.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.00

8 votes

#13 - Cali-Doe

Season 22 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/16/2021

When a young girl is found murdered in Caledonia NY, police struggle to identify her. The tragedy leads the town make her one of their own, with the name Cali-Doe.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.00

14 votes

#14 - Graduation to Murder

Season 25 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/18/2022

After the murder of a young girl walking to school, police race to catch her killer before he can destroy another loving family.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.96

27 votes

#15 - Wedding Day Nightmare

Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/17/2020

A young woman getting ready to be a bridesmaid at her best friend's wedding is found viciously stabbed to death in her own home.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.95

22 votes

#16 - When, Where, and Who?

Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/27/2020

When a 15-year-old girl vanishes from her front porch, police must uncover when she was last seen, where she might have been going, and who would have wanted her dead.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.95

19 votes

#17 - Terrifying Calls

Season 19 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/5/2020

A young girl disappears on her way home from school, and the police investigate a series of terrifying calls her family received before she went missing.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.94

18 votes

#18 - The Smallest Clue

Season 24 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/29/2022

A murdered teenager's body mysteriously turns up in a rural Iowa countryside. Will the smallest clue be the key to bringing her killer to justice?

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.93

28 votes

#19 - Before Her Eyes

Season 18 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/21/2019

A teenage couple out on a date are ambushed by a gun-wielding madman; the lone survivor's heartbreaking account may hold the key to bringing a cold-blooded killer to justice.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.90

21 votes

#20 - A Jewel Stolen

Season 21 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/13/2020

When a young mother is found murdered in her own home, investigators must untangle a web of lies using wiretaps and secret recordings to ultimately pick up the trail of her cold-blooded killer.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.89

28 votes

#21 - No Body Two Crimes

Season 19 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/26/2020

After a woman disappears from her home, police work tirelessly to track her last known movements, following a trail of videotape.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.89

18 votes

#22 - The Depths of Evil

Season 17 - Episode 13 - Aired 10/14/2018

While searching for a missing mother, police discover evidence that puts them on the trail of a deadly sexual predator.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.89

18 votes

#23 - Follow the Footprints

Season 21 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/3/2021

When a young girl's lifeless body turns up on the shore of the Feather River, police hope that following a trail of footsteps and discarded articles of clothing will lead them to her killer.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.88

17 votes

#24 - A Needle in the Mud

Season 24 - Episode 15 - Aired 6/12/2022

A young mother vanishes, leaving behind nothing but puzzling clues and disturbing questions. Will a needle in the mud reveal the truth behind her disappearance?

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.88

25 votes

#25 - The Hero Who Wasn't

Season 19 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/19/2020

A couple walks into their home during a robbery, and a deadly shootout erupts, leaving two people dead; when police begin an investigation, they discover that the home invasion may not have been what it appeared to be.