Disney has announced details on the upcoming episode of “20/20”, which is called “The Code Breakers”, which sees “20/20” co-anchor David Muir reporting on the murders of two young women — each unsolved for decades — and how they are linked by cutting-edge forensic DNA technology that cracked open the cases and led to long-awaited justice.

In 1988, 19-year-old Cathy Swartz was a young mother living with her fiancé, Mike Warner, and her 9-month-old baby, Courteney, in Michigan. One afternoon, Mike returned to their home to find Cathy dead in the couple’s bedroom. She had been strangled with her throat cut in multiple places. Cathy’s killer left behind a bloody fingerprint, and even though law enforcement officials ran thousands of prints and tested DNA evidence, they never found a match to the evidence left at the scene. Detectives worked the case for several decades without identifying a suspect.

A few years later, 31-year-old beloved Texas schoolteacher Catherine Edwards failed to show up for lunch plans with her parents and identical twin sister, Allison. When Catherine’s parents visited her home, they found a chilling scene. Catherine was dead on her bathroom floor with her hands handcuffed behind her back. When the police could not find a match in the national DNA database for the killer’s DNA left on a bedspread, the investigation soon went cold.

Now, more than three decades later, law enforcement agents on both cases independently partnered with Othram, a private, state-of-the-art forensic lab, seeking their help in solving these cold cases. Muir reports from just north of Houston, Texas, to exclusively interview its owners, scientists David and Kristin Mittelman, as well as Courteney Swartz; Jennifer Outman, a friend of Cathy Swartz; Michael Hardy, senior writer for Texas Monthly; investigators Sam Smallcombe, Todd Peterson and Aaron and Tina Lewallen; and retired Texas Ranger Brandon Bess.

Based just north of Houston, Othram is solely focused on partnering with law enforcement on cold case investigations using DNA technology to help crack seemingly unsolvable cases, including current high-profile cases like Gilgo Beach and Iowa college student murders.

ABC News’ “20/20” is an award-winning primetime program anchored by David Muir and Deborah Roberts. A proven leader as a long-form news magazine for over 45 years, “20/20” features unforgettable, character-driven true-crime mysteries, exclusive newsmaker interviews, hard-hitting investigative reports, and in-depth coverage of high-profile stories. Janice Johnston is the executive producer.

This new original episode of “20/20” is going to air on ABC on Friday 7th March 2025 at 9pm and it will be be available to stream the next day on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+.  Recent previous episodes of “20/20” are available to stream on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+. 

Will you be checking out “The Code Breakers”?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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