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Forensic Files

Bed Of Deceit

Forensic Files

HLN

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.63.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode originally aired July 4, 2019. A retired police officer is discovered dead in his bed. Examination of the evidence at the crime scene, the tape from a bank surveillance camera, and forensic textbooks found in the victim's home are used to solve the murder.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

He was dead.

0:03.1

Oh, my God, he's dead!

0:06.4

A retired police officer was found shot to death in his bedroom,

0:10.9

but it was unclear exactly what happened.

0:14.8

Some of the evidence pointed to suicide,

0:17.1

while other signs suggested foul play.

0:20.4

But it took crime scene reconstruction,

0:23.3

an automated teller machine,

0:25.2

and some forensic textbooks in the victim's home

0:28.0

to write the final chapter in this real life, whodunit. Traverse City, Michigan is a beautiful

0:46.3

for those who love sailing and fishing.

0:49.5

And it was home to Dan and Cynthia McDonald

0:51.9

and their two teenage children.

0:55.1

58-year-old Dan McDonald was a retired police officer who worked part-time as a maintenance worker.

1:02.5

Cynthia was a freelance writer.

1:05.2

Everything seemed like a normal marriage.

1:09.7

Cindy taking charge all the time.

1:12.2

I mean, she was master of the household and the boss.

1:17.0

The last day in December in 1998 was a busy one for the McDonald family.

1:23.5

18-year-old Patrick was sleeping over at a friend's house.

1:26.8

Dan decided to sleep late. Cynthia and her 20-year-old Patrick was sleeping over at a friend's house. Dan decided to sleep late.

1:29.4

Cynthia and her 20-year-old daughter Erin spent the day shopping in Traverse City.

...

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