Whodunit: Steve Hricko's Hotel Room

Arson Investigations

According to the Armstrong Forensic Laboratory, the number of civilians killed in arson building fires totaled 150 in 2013, which is considered down 16.7 percent from 2012 (Forensics, A). This statistic shows a directed correlation between the deaths and arson crimes that take place each year. On the television program, Forensic Files, the show depicts a crime that was committed and tells the story line based on the events in the crime that happened. On season 1, episode 9, “Whodunit”, of Forensic Files, the narrator tells the audience of a crime that happened where a man named Steve Hricko died in a hotel room located in Maryland. Steve Hricko’s body was found burned in a hotel room and discovered by his wife, Kim Hricko. In the episode, the narrator reveals to the audience that the suspected cause of fire had been perceived as a cigar, which Steve was smoking, catching fire to a material in the hotel

In the episode of Forensic Files “Whodunit”, Kim Hricko, Steve Hricko’s wife, was the one to report the fire. Investigators were misled that the fire in Steve Hricko’s hotel room was caused by a cigar. Investigators interviewed witnesses and found that Kim wasn’t happy in their eight yearlong marriage, was having an affair with another man and decided to look further into her background. Investigators interviewed Kim’s co-workers and found that she tried to hire a hit man to kill her husband. After finding out this information, the investigators found out more information that Steve’s life insurance policy was increased by Kim. Investigators also found that Kim, a medical technician, stole a bottle of succinylcholine, which is a drug used to relax muscles, but in large doses it can be lethal. Because investigators were able to interview witnesses, they were able to come to a conclusion that Kim Hricko killed her husband,