From the Archive
Case breakdowns, episode briefings and project news from the CrimeFile editorial desk.
The Coat on the Hook: A Leningrad Communal Apartment Mystery
In the cramped corridors of a Soviet communal apartment on Vosstaniya Street, a murdered woman and a coat left hanging became the centre of a case that exposed both the mechanics of Leningrad criminal investigation and the tensions of shared Soviet life.
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CrimeFile Launches on Telegram: Solve Real Cases Through AI Interrogation
The interactive true-crime detective game moves to Telegram, letting players investigate historical cases by questioning AI-powered suspects and witnesses.
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Unsolved Soviet-Era Crimes That Still Puzzle Investigators
Behind the Iron Curtain, dozens of murders and disappearances vanished into official silence. Decades later, these cases remain open wounds in post-Soviet memory.
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The Angara Cabin: When a Logging Accident Became a Murder Case
In April 1995, a forester was found dead beneath a fallen birch on the Angara River. What looked like workplace tragedy turned into one of Irkutsk's most debated investigations.
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How Real Detectives Read a Crime Scene: Evidence, Motive, and the Art of Interrogation
From physical evidence to psychological pressure, criminal investigators use systematic methods refined over decades. Understanding how detectives actually work reveals both the science and the craft behind solving serious crimes.
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Forensic Genealogy: How DNA Databases Solved Decades-Old Cold Cases
Forensic genealogy has revolutionised cold case investigation since 2018, using consumer DNA databases to identify perpetrators decades after their crimes. This technique has solved murders that stymied detectives for generations.
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The Disappearance of Marina Krylova: CrimeFile Episode 107
Moscow, October 1995. A young reporter from the newspaper Vzglyad vanishes in the uneasy dusk of the post‑Soviet 1990s. Episode 107 turns her missing‑person file into an investigative maze.
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Inside the Zodiac Killer Investigation: Evidence, Suspects, and Doubt
A sober review of the Zodiac Killer case: what investigators actually knew, how the evidence was handled, and why the mystery endures.
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How Real Detectives Solve Cases: Evidence, Interviews and Motive
From crime scene evidence to suspect interviews and motive, real detectives follow a structured method. The romance of intuition is mostly myth.
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