DEADLY WOMEN Returns To Investigation Discovery With A Killer Countdown Of Femme Fatales

Femmes fatales, twisted sisters, desperate damsels: there's no shortage of these DEADLY WOMEN in season five of Investigation Discovery's cheeky hit series about women who kill for thrills. While male murderers are often driven by anger, impulse and destruction, women usually have more complex, long-term motives.

Featured interviews with former F.B.I. criminal profiler Candice DeLong help viewers distinguish between the emotionally-charged impulses and sociopathic intentions that lace each story. Leading up to the fifth-season premiere, DeLong also lends her expertise to DEADLY WOMEN: KILLER COUNTDOWN, a fascinating tour of ID's deadliest female villains as voted by viewers in an online poll. DEADLY WOMEN: KILLER COUNTDOWN premieres as a two-hour special on Friday, July 22 at 9 PM (ET). Season five of DEADLY WOMEN premieres the following week, on Friday, July 29 at 10 PM (ET).

"Fans of Investigation Discovery have long enjoyed series that explore the motivations, behaviors, and psychoses behind the world's most menacing murderers," said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery. "Indeed, the viewers of our brand-defining original series have well informed and passionate opinions which we're delighted to highlight in this unique spin-off special, DEADLY WOMEN: KILLER COUNTDOWN."

In April 2011, after four seasons of DEADLY WOMEN, Investigation Discovery asked fans to assemble a lineup of the worst of the worst. In a poll on InvestigationDiscovery.com, more than 2,600 viewers watched short video profiles of 20 fatal foes and voted for the one woman they believed fit the bill as top killer. The result is KILLER COUNTDOWN, a compilation of the top ten perpetrators from all seasons.

Each episode of DEADLY WOMEN features three thematically-related stories.

Twisted Thrills
Season 5 Premiere Airs Friday, July 29 at 10 PM ET
The intimate thoughts of a twisted mind could stun a community and horrify the world, yet thoughts alone may not be enough to turn someone into a killer. For the women in this episode, it was a thirst for thrill that ultimately made them kill.

* Christina Walters was the leader of The Crips, one of America's largest and most violent gangs. In 1998, she ordered a group of would-be members to take part in an initiation killing of three people. Two of the victims, Tracy Lambert and Susan Raye Moore, were shot to death, but Debra Cheeseborough miraculously survived seven bullet wounds. Location: Raleigh, NC

* Judith Adams eloped with her soul mate, Alvin Neelley, though their marriage was hardly an epic love story. In the early 1980s, they committed a tri-state rampage of robbing lone women, convenience stores and gas stations. When they grew bored of their life on the lam, the Neelleys began abducting, raping and murdering young women. Locations: Georgia and Texas

* Irene Maslin was already known for her aggression and domineering personality when, one morning in 1989, a murderous plot went awry. She and five friends took turns attempting to kill an innocent man, Joseph Snabel. Despite their many efforts, he refused to succumb to death. Maslin took finally matters into her own hands and suffocated him with a plastic bag. Location: Australia

DEADLY WOMEN and DEADLY WOMEN: KILLER COUNTDOWN are produced for Investigation Discovery by Beyond Entertainment Ltd. with Geoff Fitzpatrick as executive producer and Andrew Farrell as the show runner. For Investigation Discovery, Pamela Deutsch is executive producer, Sara Kozak is vice president of production and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.