S7 E2: Murdered Down by Backbone Creek

As social media speculation swirls, Austin police partner with an expert in serial killers and their hunting grounds to dispel rumors of a predator near Lady Bird Lake.

After losing loved ones in Lady Bird Lake, families push Austin leaders for years to implement new safety initiatives surrounding alcohol and the downtown waterway.

Mitchell Gutierrez speaks out about his brother’s Lady Bird Lake drowning, his family’s fight for answers and why he believes a serial killer is behind the deaths.

Following dozens of drownings in Austin’s downtown lake, KXAN explores solutions in other U.S. cities, including volunteer student patrols in a northern college town.

Hear the serial drownings trailer now.

Following KXAN’s reporting on Texas’ death investigations, lawmakers look at ways to modernize the state’s system amid legislative challenges and cost concerns.

KXAN’s Josh Hinkle, David Barer, Arezow Doost, Eric Henrikson and Dalton Huey discuss challenges they faced while investigating Texas’ death inquest system.

While Texas’ justice of the peace system has evolved since its start in 1824, counties are slowly replacing the death inquest part of their role with medical examiners.

As Texas’ population grows, so do critics’ concerns over elected officials investigating death. As Daynon Lewis’ case unfolds, state lawmakers look to the future.

A teenager’s mysterious death in 1965 resurfaces in the Texas Hill Country, prompting a new review of her case and the inquest system still used across the state.