Kristoffer Polaha

When a famous professional cyclist is brought in after collapsing during a race, House doesn’t want to treat him because he thinks he’s lying about doing drugs.

When the headless body of a young man, along with a video camera full of documentary footage, is discovered in the DC-area woods, Brennan and Booth are called in to determine identify the year-old remains and determine if a murder was committed. The body is proven to be that of University of Virginia film student Graham Hastings, who had disappeared a year before while making a documentary about the local legend of a woman thought to be a witch who beheaded anyone who dared to look for her. In a mysteriously parallel set of circumstances, Brennan and the team find that Graham was beheaded by an axe. After examining the dark, chaotic and choppy footage from Graham’s camera, Brennan and Booth learn that two other people – Graham’s girlfriend Lori and fellow classmate Brian – were in the woods with Graham on the night of his disappearance. DNA on the axe used to murder Graham leads a shocking revelation of the killer’s identity. Meanwhile, Brennan befriends Graham’s brother, Will, when she finds out that he, too, was an orphan, but the friendship quickly dissolves when the truth behind his brother’s murder is uncovered.

Castle finally gets his day in court when he takes the stand as the key witness to a murder from five months ago. But when new information suddenly arises, he and Beckett must race against the clock to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

The winter finale, Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a cruise ship entertainer, only to find themselves trapped at sea with the killer.

A mild-mannered safety inspector for the city miraculously survives a poisoning by sheer luck; but when he survives another, it's a mystery for Castle and Beckett to solve.