Plot Synopsis

MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND is one-hour documentary series that recounts the stories of humble Middle-American towns -- and the provocative crimes that tore through them. Each town's tale is voiced by the combined perspectives of its residents, but these citizens are more than just storytellers. All interviewees were key witnesses to each of the crimes, having held critical clues to the puzzle that forever changed their lives... and their sense of "home." The series opener, "Fear Travels Fast," tells the story of Aurora, Indiana, which hadn't seen a murder in decades until Leigh Jennings was killed in her own home. Residents were horrified when the beloved mother and hairstylist was found dead, opening a case where everyone liked the victim -- and where anyone could have been the killer. Then, the second episode, "Thirteen Days in Winter," focuses on the Dryden, NY community, which searched 13 days for a little girl missing in the blinding snow. Not even the police suspected the horrible truth, but three years later the Dryden curse returned when a love triangle turned to murder.

On Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT, Investigation Discovery premiered the second season of MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND. In the season opener, "Branches of Evil," Tray Phelps, a beloved father, son and fiancee was found beaten to death in his own driveway. The small town of Hayti, Missouri is stunned to discover that a web of evil lurks just beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic hamlet.

Season 3 of MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND premiered on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the season opener, "The Farmer's Daughter," a bubbly college student and waitress, Mindy Morgenstern, is found strangled and stabbed in her own apartment. Family, friends, and the entire town of Valley City, North Dakota help law enforcement identify who could have committed this violent crime.

MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND returned for its fourth season on Tuesday, December 27, 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. Every story documents a town and people in the heart of the country, and the provocative crime that tore through it. What unravels over the course of the episode is that these townspeople are not only our storytellers, but they also hold the clues to the puzzle that has forever changed their lives and how they understand their home. In the season opener, "To Kill a Cowboy," in Emmett, Idaho -- a cowboy town where a person's word is everything -- residents are forever shaken when a murderer beats a local saddle maker to death, while investigators and locals band together to uncover layers of betrayal and deceit.

Season 5 of MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND premiered on Monday, May 2, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the season premiere, "Whispered Warnings," the community of Kankakee, Ill., comes together to aid police in uncovering the vile killer in the shooting death of an up-and-coming model, Sarah Washington.

The sixth season of MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND premiered on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the season debut, "Who Killed Angie Lee?," Angie Lee, a single mother in Gillespie, Ohio is found beaten and strangled in her own home with her 4-year-old son present, and the investigation quickly uproots the community.
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Season 8 of MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND debuted on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the season opener, "New Mom's Night Out," an inexperienced police department handles the tragic murder case of young mother Jessica Currin, leading to critical errors and false accusations; the case goes cold until Jessica's father protests the state of Kentucky to reinvestigate.