The BEST episodes of People Magazine Investigates season 5

Every episode of People Magazine Investigates season 5, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of People Magazine Investigates season 5!

Investigation Discovery and People magazine partner to re-examine some of the most high profile crime cases in recent history. The one-hour series brings viewers tales of betrayal, buried secrets and unsung heroes, ripped from the pages of one of the nation's top weekly magazines. These stories transcended news and became part of pop culture, revealing shocking twists, new evidence, and unexpected resolutions. Interlaced within every episode are exclusive interviews with People's journalists, archival footage, re-creations, and firsthand accounts by those closest to the investigations.

Last Updated: 5/1/2024Network: Investigation DiscoveryStatus: Continuing
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The Hollywood Ripper
star
8.33
21 votes

#1 - The Hollywood Ripper

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/26/2021

When Ashley Ellerin is found murdered in her Hollywood bungalow, police zero in on the Hollywood heartthrob she was supposed to have a date with the night she was killed. The case takes a shocking turn as detectives realize Ashley is not the only victim, and discover they are on the hunt for a serial killer. The assailant's victim count grows until one woman manages to fight back so fiercely that he leaves behind critical blood evidence. But will they be able to finally catch him?

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Blood Ties
star
8.22
27 votes

#2 - Blood Ties

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/19/2021

On a snowy night in January 1980, college student Helene Pruszynski disappears after reaching her final bus stop. When her body turns up in a snowy field, police launch a long and frustrating investigation that pushes family and detectives to the brink of hopelessness. Their hope is revived when they discover that cutting edge forensic genealogy may hold the key to finding Helene's murderer.

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Red Christmas
star
8.11
28 votes

#3 - Red Christmas

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/31/2021

On December 10, 2003, police receive a mysterious 911 call at a home in the tony Walnut Estates in Mansfield, Texas. Police are dispatched to investigate and when they enter the home they encounter a horrific scene: the bloodied bodies of homeowners Rick and Suzy Wamsley. The couple was highly regarded around the neighborhood and thought to have the perfect family life so detectives are left with a big question mark: Who and why would anyone want to kill the Wamsleys? When detectives launch an investigation to find out, the myth of the Wamsleys' perfect life begins to unravel. It turns out underneath the polished exterior, there are deep, dark secrets.

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The Delphi Killer
star
8.00
32 votes

#4 - The Delphi Killer

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/12/2021

A quiet rural town is rocked when two middle-school girls go on a hike and are later found murdered. But when police discover one of the girls may have recorded her killer with her cellphone, the race is on to find the mysterious man.

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The Price of Fame
star
8.00
27 votes

#5 - The Price of Fame

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/10/2021

In the spring of 2001, former child actor and Baretta star Robert Blake just married Bonny Lee Bakely, the mother of his new baby girl. The couple are out to dinner in Los Angeles when Bakely is murdered in the passenger seat of the couple's car, execution style. Blake seems devastated, but as police investigate, they uncover a tale of a troubled marriage of convenience and a fight for custody that may have led to one of Hollywood's most infamous murders.

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Highway of Horrors
star
7.88
26 votes

#6 - Highway of Horrors

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/22/2021

College student Tammy Zywicki vanishes in 1992 after her car breaks down on the highway. Family and friends scramble to find her, but when her body is found 500 miles from where she vanished there are very few clues pointing to her killer. Police struggle with dead-end leads and suspects who don't pan out. New DNA technology promises to finally crack the case decades later. As her family clings to the last of their hope, the fear is that it may be too little too late for justice.

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Little Girl Gone
star
7.84
25 votes

#7 - Little Girl Gone

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/3/2021

In the summer of 2003, the Iron Range of northern Minnesota is a peaceful community where parents let their kids play outside on their own without a second thought. But when five-year-old LeeAnna Warner vanishes without a trace, investigators do a deep dive into the quaint community and realize that some of the familiar faces in the neighborhood may be hiding some disturbing secrets that may never fully be uncovered.

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A Crimson End
star
7.83
29 votes

#8 - A Crimson End

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/17/2021

When a woman is found dead in her historic house on Horseshoe Lake, police chase her killer to the water where he drowns. But when the body is recovered, people are shocked to realize this story started 25 years earlier when two other family members were found murdered by the same man.

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Flight Risk
star
7.77
22 votes

#9 - Flight Risk

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/5/2021

Kelsey Berreth, a young mother and pilot, was last heard from on the morning of Thanksgiving 2018. Her fiancé is worried she may have harmed herself after a stressful year. But when police discover blood in an unusual place, they begin to unravel a bizarre story of love, jealousy, and a murder that goes far beyond what anyone in law enforcement could have imagined.

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Jenner Beach Murders
star
7.55
20 votes

#10 - Jenner Beach Murders

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/29/2021

In the summer of 2004, Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen are working as councilors at an outdoor Christian adventure camp in Northern California They decide to head down the coast for a weekend getaway, but when they fail to return to camp Sunday evening, the camp staff become very concerned. A search ensues and police discover the couples' bodies at Fish Head Beach, in Jenner, California. As police begin investigating the double homicide, they discover the killer has left no clues and little evidence. Over the succeeding days, weeks and years, Sonoma County Detectives investigate a group of suspects as they relentlessly search for the killer.

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Bible Belt Massacre
star
7.38
24 votes

#11 - Bible Belt Massacre

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/7/2021

Two days before the new millennium in the rural town of Welch, Oklahoma, Danny and Kathy Freeman are found dead after a neighbor spots the family trailer engulfed in flames. Police soon determine their cause of death was not the fire, but a gunshot. The case adds another layer when it is discovered that the Freeman's daughter Ashley and her best friend Lauria Bible are nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, police finally discover what happened to them, the truth is almost too dark for words.

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Is Rodney Reed Innocent?
star
7.28
29 votes

#12 - Is Rodney Reed Innocent?

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/24/2021

19-year-old Stacey Stites is found raped and murdered in a small Texas town. After a year-long investigation police match DNA from the scene to a man named Rodney Reed. Reed is convicted and sentenced to death, but in the coming years as Reed proclaims his innocence, certain evidence comes to light that might prove he's telling the truth.

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