“City Confidential,” airing tonight at 10 on A&E, looks at an eerie time in Bangor’s not-too-recent past – the murder of pediatric neurologist John Malmstrom.

“City Confidential: Bad Medicine in Bangor” is a fairly in-depth examination of the case, from the violent slaying of the prominent physician in his home in January 1997 to the 2000 acquittal of his widow, Geraldine, who had been charged with the crime.

The hour, narrated by actor Paul Winfield, begins with a lengthy if anecdotal look of Bangor and its residents. This includes the city’s time as the lumber capital of the world and repeated mention of its best-known resident, author Stephen King. “City Confidential” does lay it on a little thick, referring to Bangor as a “Down East Mayberry,” but it generally does well by the city and its people.

After its first 15 minutes of describing Bangor, the show tackles the details of the Malmstrom case, as told by those who witnessed it, including Renee Ordway and Richard Shaw of the Bangor Daily News, former WLBZ 2 reporter Rick White, local law enforcement officials and Daniel Pileggi, Geraldine Malmstrom’s attorney.

“Bad Medicine in Bangor” follows the case from the murder, through its lengthy investigation and finally through the trial. (It was edited too soon to mention Geraldine Malmstrom’s death late last year). It covers many of the scenarios whispered about around Bangor. Was Malmstrom slain because of his assisting a local news agency in its investigation of alleged illegal conduct by area physicians? Was the culprit the man in the checkered hat spotted hanging around Malmstrom’s medical practice, Neurology Associates, for two days in a row, including the day he was killed?

Geraldine Malmstrom was indicted for the crime by a Penobscot County grand jury. But during her trial, the defense pointed the finger at her eldest daughter, Jennifer, in order to raise reasonable doubt, a strategy, which ultimately paid off in Geraldine’s acquittal.

While offering little that is new, “City Confidential” does an efficient job of recapping the Malmstrom case for those across the nation unfamiliar with it, while discarding much of the legal wrangling that in the end had limited impact on the verdict. With the case closed, the Malmstrom murder promises to remain a dark chapter in Bangor’s history that isn’t likely to have an ending anytime soon.