Emmy Award-winning journalist Chris Hansen has built a career around investigating and reporting crime. While he has seen it all in his three decades on the job, nothing could prepare Hansen for what he learned when he went on the road looking into America’s most horrific crimes. With the increased number of homicides in the first few months of 2016[1], KILLER INSTINCT WITH CHRIS HANSEN returns to Investigation Discovery (ID) to understand why. The second season follows Hansen as he investigates every aspect of the motives and emotions behind some of the nation’s most shocking murders. With no holds barred, rare access and intimate interviews to those closest to the case, the all new season of KILLER INSTINCT WITH CHRIS HANSEN premieres Monday, July 25 at 9/8c, only on ID.
In the premiere episode, Hansen chronicles every step of the puzzling disappearance of a young Ventura County, Ca. woman, Megan Barroso. After attending a Fourth of July party with friends in 2001, Barroso’s car was found empty and lined with AK-47 bullet holes. With no drug addiction, no gang affiliation, and no flashy tendencies, law enforcement struggles to determine where Barroso is—and just what happened to her. Through in-depth interviews with various experts and Barroso’s own family members, Hansen paints the picture of an innocent woman whose life tragically intersected with a sociopath in this astonishing case.
On premiere day, viewers are invited to interact with Hansen beginning at 12/11c, when he hosts an Investigation Discovery Facebook Live session (www.Facebook.com/InvestigationDiscovery), followed by a Reddit AMA. Fans can also keep up with Hansen live throughout the day, following the story with “DiscoveryID” on Snapchat.
Additional KILLER INSTINCT episodes in season two include:
Wrong Place, Deadly Time
Premieres Monday, August 1 at 9/8c
In Tampa, Fl., mild-mannered Anthony Lee was known for his acid-tongued alter-ego, “South Beach Wanda”, a drag queen who performed at nightclubs all over town. The day after Memorial Day, Lee is relaxing at the home of his with his friend, Tiffany, when an intruder bursts in. Tiffany hides in the bathroom and dials 911 when she hears shots fired. But what was the killer after? To find the true motive for Lee’s murder, Hansen gets to the bottom of an incredible tale of misdirection and betrayal.
A Deadly Diamond
Premieres Monday, August 8 at 9/8c
Jean Schwarzkopf enjoys the good life in Gulf Harbors, Fl.—a retirement community filled with good friends and younger men. The happy serenity of this town makes for a baffling backdrop for her murder, when Schwarzkopf is found beaten to death wrapped in duct tape. Because of her active social life, police have no lack of suspects—but local detectives are astonished when the case points them in the direction of the Chicago mafia. Hansen unwinds a tale too twisted to believe, revealing how Schwarzkopf’s killer is eventually brought down.
A Kid to Kill For
Premieres Monday, August 15 at 9/8c
In the largely Hispanic community of Planada, Ca, Luis Ceja appears shocked when his wife, Ana, drives off with their three-month-old son and never comes home. Later, when a burning corpse is reported in a nearby orchard, everyone in the community fears that it’s her. If so, what’s happened to her baby? And why isn’t her husband more upset about it all? Hansen explores a case with perhaps the most unlikely motive of all—revealing a deadly conspiracy.
Shots in the Heartland
Premieres Monday, August 22 at 9/8c
When the parents of newly affianced 47-year-old Mike Sisco and 53-year-old Karen Harkness arrive at their condo in Topeka, Ks., they’re shocked and horrified to find the couple gunned down in their own bed. It’s unusual to have such a violent crime in this well-heeled community. To add to the confusion, nothing seems to have been taken from the home. As it wasn’t the first marriage for either, investigators start to focus on the victims’ extended and former families—but what Hansen discovers is that sometimes the impossible becomes a dark reality.
KILLER INSTINCT WITH CHRIS HANSEN is a co-production between Investigation Discovery and ITN Productions. For ITN Productions, Ian Russell is executive producer, Marc Tiley is series producer, and Anne Paterno and Bruce Kennedy are showrunners. For ID, Tim Baney is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Kevin Bennett is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is Group President of Investigation Discovery, American Heroes Channel, and Destination America.