KXAN Catalyst

S8 E4: Victimology of the Rainey Street Ripper

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.

S8 E3: Folks Having Their Drink Spiked

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.

S8 E2: Saw My Brother’s Body Floating

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.

S8 E1: Just Wander Toward the Water

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.

S8 Trailer

Hear the serial drownings trailer now.

S7 Update: More Medical Examiners to the State

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

S7 Bonus: Patchwork of Death Investigations (Analysis)

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

S7 E3: Wanted an Autopsy on that Child

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.

S7 E2: Murdered Down by Backbone Creek

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

S7 E1: Found Hanging by a Jump Rope

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.