Black Friday takes a dark turn this November as Investigation Discovery dishes out five back-to-back nights of true crime stories almost too unbelievable to be true, where the tragic mystery still remains, or where justice took decades to be served. Airing nightly at 9pm beginning Friday, November 27, TRUE CRIME AT 9 begins with an ID MURDER MYSTERY exploring the haunting case of Jessica Chambers, a 19-year-old who managed a dying, cryptic whisper before taking her last breath. On Saturday, ID explores the 45-year-old missing children-turned-homicide investigation on the path for justice for Sheila and Katherine Lyon in WHO KILLED THE LYON SISTERS, and Sunday brings the incredible 300th episode of ID’s signature newsmagazine ON THE CASE WITH PAULA ZAHN. On Monday, Dateline NBC correspondent Keith Morrison connects the dark fate of a doting mother and a missing persons case from two decades prior with a special ID presentation of MURDER IN YPSILANTI: KEITH MORRISON INVESTIGATES. Finally, TRUE CRIME AT 9 wraps on Tuesday, December 1 at 9pm with the devastating documentary of THE WITMANS, shining a klieg light on the harsh realities of the juvenile justice system told through the epic tragedy of one single family.
“This Thanksgiving holiday, we’ve got true crime stories for the whole family – heck, we’ve even got stories where a member of the family may have done it!” says Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America. “With our TRUE CRIME AT 9 stunt, ID will serve up twists and turns, with a side of justice, that we know our viewers – the best of all true-crime fans – will want to come back for seconds.”
From intimate interviews with family members to conversations with investigators who uncovered the hidden clues, each riveting special takes a new look at these cases, sharing for the first time ever, exclusive new insight as to ‘how’ and ‘why’ these heinous crimes were potentially committed.
The complete lineup and schedule for TRUE CRIME AT 9 is as follows:
JESSICA CHAMBERS: AN ID MURDER MYSTERY
Two-Hour Special Premieres Friday, November 27 at 9/8c
When firefighters are called to the scene of a vehicle blazing on a rural road in Courtland, Mississippi on December 6th, 2014, they discover severely burned 19-year-old Jessica Chambers. Despite being badly injured, the young woman manages to whisper a potential suspect’s name. After Jessica’s gruesome death, the investigation into her brutal murder begins to tear at the seams of the small town when a clear racial divide appears in and out of the courtroom. One shocking mistrial leads to another and it seems Jessica’s accused killer might walk free, until a fateful crime one state over brings hope that this tragic case might be closed.
WHO KILLED THE LYON SISTERS?
Two-Hour Special Premieres Saturday, November 28 at 9/8c
On March 25, 1975, 12-year-old Sheila Lyon and her little sister, 10-year old Katherine, walked half a mile from their home to a shopping mall in Wheaton, Maryland…and were never seen again. When news of their disappearance broke, residents wondered if someone within their community was responsible, and parents who once felt safe letting their children walk alone now never let them out of their sight. Local law enforcement exhausted all resources in the extensive search for the missing girls, but the investigation into Sheila and Katherine’s disappearance was plagued by false leads and questionable suspects. Despite all of law enforcement’s efforts, the case eventually went cold. Almost four decades later, a new team of determined cold-case investigators uncovered a promising lead, and from there, the twisted story of a witness turned prime suspect begins to unravel. With reporting from bestselling author Mark Bowden and insight from the cold-case squad who worked relentlessly to solve the mystery, WHO KILLED THE LYON SISTERS? follows the fascinating and ultimately fruitful reinvestigation of this decades-old disappearance.
ON THE CASE WITH PAULA ZAHN
The Series 300th Episode Premieres Sunday, November 29th at 9/8ct
In February 1976 19-year-old Michelle Mitchell vanished from a well-lit parking lot in Reno, NV. Michelle had called her mother for a ride after her car had broken down. But when Barbara Mitchell arrived on the scene ten minutes later, Michelle was nowhere to be found. The young woman’s disappearance would quickly be at the center of one of the most complex and disturbing cases in the state’s history. Multiple other slayings and a survivor of a similar brutal attack would ultimately become central to the investigation. And even after it appeared the case had been solved, the relentless detectives on the case continued to dig deeper. Then, decades after the original attacks, a stunning new piece of evidence sheds light on what actually happened to Michelle Mitchell and reveals a mind-boggling injustice.
MURDER IN YPSILANTI: KEITH MORRISON INVESTIGATES
Two Hour Special Premieres Monday, November 30th at 9/8ct
In the quiet city of Ypsilanti, MI in 1993, 24-year-old Tammy Niver goes missing. Investigators find the car she was driving, but Tammy is nowhere to be found. As more details are uncovered, detectives are led to Tammy’s love interest of the time, Greg Agnew, but the case goes cold, and stays cold for decades. Then another woman, Martha, is found murdered and a local reporter receives a tip that links both cases. Suspicion once again swirls around Greg Agnew. In this exclusive ID special, Dateline NBC correspondent Keith Morrison interviews those closest to both cases, attempting to answer the ultimate question: What really happened to the two women in Ypsilanti?
THE WITMANS
Two-Hour ID Films Premiere Airs Tuesday, December 1 from 9-11pm ET/PT
In 1998, 13-year-old Greg Witman stepped off the school bus and 11 minutes later, Greg’s older brother Zach frantically called 911 to report that he had found Greg lying in a pool of blood. 15-year-old Zach went into shock – and then was taken into custody as the police’s only lead. What followed Greg’s murder is a harrowing decades-long journey of one family trapped in a double tragedy – a cruel intersection of small-town panic, media frenzy, and a fractured criminal justice system. Now, ID exposes the harsh realities of the United States sentencing its children to life in prison without parole in THE WITMANS, a two-hour documentary exploring the intricacies and evolution of juvenile incarceration. More than five years in the making, THE WITMANS is a haunting story told intimately through the eyes of two parents on a 20-year odyssey to free their last surviving child.
ABOUT INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY (ID)
Investigation Discovery (ID) is the leading crime and justice network on television. Delivering the highest-quality programming to approximately 80 million U.S. households, ID is also available via the network’s TV Everywhere offering, IDGo. For exclusive web content and bonus material, fans can follow ID on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or check out the network’s true crime blog, CrimeFeed.
Investigation Discovery is part of Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. For more information, please visit corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
