Lester Holt

No body cases.

Take the case of missing Texas realtor Suzanne Simpson, which we talked about last week.

Her husband is behind bars awaiting trial for her alleged murder, even though her body has never been found.

Or the case of Kentucky mom Crystal Rogers we just talked about in Roundup.

It made us wonder what might be different about how investigators set out to build a nobody case.

My next guest, Corporal Detective John Cappacelli, has investigated several nobody investigations during his 25 years as a detective with the Chesterfield County Police Department in Virginia.

He now consults on nobody cases nationwide and instructs other detectives on how to solve them.

Welcome to the show, Johnny.

Thank you, Lester.

So, Johnny, what exactly do we mean by a nobody case and how often do you come across it?

This may seem self-explanatory, but what's different about a no-body case and a missing persons case?

Sounds like they could look exactly the same, at least at some point in the investigation.

What clues can point police toward a conclusion that a person didn't just run off on their own?

It sounds like technology plays a huge role in a lot of these investigations.

I know you've called this really the hardest part, the most tough link in this whole process, but you've got to prove that the victim died, the person was murdered, the time of death, all that.

Walk me through how you walk a jury through that process.

So based on everything we talked about, I assume that it is possible to get a conviction without a body, but is it likely to get that conviction under those circumstances?

That's amazing.

I wouldn't have thought you'd seen as many convictions under those circumstances, but it's a fascinating area of crime fighting and investigation.

Johnny, thanks so much for spending some time with us.