FOUR MEN BRUTALLY KILLED ON THE HIGH SEAS. ZERO BODIES FOUND. ZERO FORENSIC EVIDENCE. ONLY LEAD IS AN AMATEUR CELL-PHONE VIDEO RECORDING THE CRIME.

National Geographic's "Lawless Oceans" Investigates Quadruple Murders Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 10, With a Double-stacked Premiere Beginning at 9/8c

Six-part Series Follows Special Investigator Karsten von Hoesslin on Worldwide Trail to Solve Killings Infamously Caught on Camera and Uploaded to YouTube

WASHINGTON -- The world's waters have become a Wild West, where criminals can operate with impunity largely beyond the reach of law enforcement. In 2014, cell-phone footage was posted on YouTube from a mysterious address in Fiji, showing an unthinkable crime - four gruesome murders at sea. The crime footage went viral and made international headlines for its disturbingly callous brutality. Four men are filmed clinging to floating wreckage in the middle of the sea. Shots ring out. And the men are killed one by one. Perhaps just as chilling as the bloodshed are the onlookers who are heard laughing and shown smiling directly into the camera lens.

In National Geographic's LAWLESS OCEANS, which premieres Tuesday, January 10, beginning at 9/8c with double-stacked episodes, internationally renowned special investigator Karsten von Hoesslin is on a worldwide trail to piece together the truth behind these mysterious murders. Relentless in his pursuit for clues and angles, Karsten tracks down and interviews eye witnesses, material witnesses and families of the victims while he seeks the support of fellow experts to determine who committed these crimes, where and when they occurred and how and why this happened. Along the way, painting a dark, grim picture of our lawless oceans, Karsten encounters drug smuggling, people trafficking, illegal fishing, and piracy.

Karsten, who has more than 10 years of experience investigating crimes undercover and is an expert in profiling, interrogation, surveillance and field-intelligence gathering (to name a few), is prepared for a dogged marathon of an investigation. This is, without a doubt, his most dangerous case to date - one that's epic in scope and one that will dramatically challenge all of his skills as an investigator.

"How do I solve homicides with no bodies, no evidence and no forensics?" asks Karsten, who begins his investigation by deftly examining the footage. "The YouTube video is my Zapruder film. It's compressed and pixelated but full of potential clues, including faces of victims, witnesses, the sound of gunshots and the design of the vessel. Best of all, 27 seconds in, a ship passes the camera lens and reveals its identity."

From this jumping-off point, Karsten methodically crisscrosses the Indian and Pacific Oceans to reveal stunning developments that will have viewers question whether the cell-phone footage could be just a small piece of a massive and shocking international puzzle.

LAWLESS OCEANS is produced for National Geographic by Wall to Wall Media Ltd. For Wall to Wall Media, Jeremy Dear, Chris Lent and Tim Lambert are executive producers. For National Geographic, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

About National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 128 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers... and reaching over 730 million people around the world in 171 countries and 45 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27% of our proceeds to the non-profit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About Wall to Wall Media, Ltd.

Wall to Wall Media has been supplying innovative, hugely popular, award-winning programming around the world since 1987. Its content, including drama, factual and entertainment, has been recognized with Academy, BAFTA, Emmy, Grierson and RTS awards. Clients include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 in the UK, National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, HBO and Netflix in the US and internationally. The hallmark of Wall to Wall Media's productions is its commitment to quality, innovation and brilliant storytelling.