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Cold Case Files
Overview
Explore compelling cases that have gone cold for years, chronicling the journeys of the detectives who reopened them. The detectives relive the events of the crimes, reveal new twists and startling revelations, relying on breakthroughs in forensic technology and the influence of social media to help crack these cases.
Status
Ended
Network
A&E
Seasons & Episodes
Season 3
Episodes
Cop Killer/Evil Twin
Included: Los Angeles detectives solve a 46-year-old murder case; and DNA leads to a suspected killer who has a twin brother. Host: Bill Kurtis.
The Zodiac Killer
With access to the San Francisco Police Department's work, including saliva samples taken from letters the infamous Zodiac Killer sent 30 year ago, we reevaluate the case of the serial killer who began terrorizing California in the late 1960s.
The Accidental Killer/Little Sister Lost
While hiking with husband Dennis in Montana, Leslee Larson fell into Wolf Creek. Then Dennis is convicted of murdering his wife, while in Main. And 15-year-old papergirl Penny Parker goes missing, then her body is found by a search volunteer.
The Merry Widow/The Bad Cop
Included: the case of Douglas J. Wright, a former state trooper whose 1993 murder of his wife brought a conviction in 2003. Also: the murder of a Navy seaman. Host: Bill Kurtis.
Daddy Knows Best/Dawn of the Dead
A detective works for 15 years to nab a man who murdered his wife and dismembered her body to hide the sexual abuse of his children. Then, 20 years after the shooting murder of a gas station attendant, detectives get a lead.
The Killer's Tattoo
The search for a killer with a distinctive tattoo is recalled. Host: Bill Kurtis.
The Green River Killer
Cold Case discusses the story of the nearly 20-year hunt for the man responsible for the murders of 49 prostitutes and other women in the Seattle, Washington area.
A Hitchhike to Murder/Never Forgotten
Police must wait nearly 30 years before advances in DNA technology give them the chance to convict the killer of a young hitchhiker, and Philadelphia police wage a 16-year hunt for the man who raped and killed a 10-year-old girl.
The DNA Link/The Secret Slide
Detectives from three different departments in Westchester County, NY team up to track down a serial killer; and a man known as the Bus Stop Rapist becomes the lead suspect decades after a woman is found murdered under a hotel bed in the case.
Death Before I Do/Hollywood Homicide
Included: the 1988 murder of actress Myra Davis, Janet Leigh's stand-in for “Psycho,” brings a conviction in 2001. Also: a phone tip helps solve a cold case.
Blood Money/Precious Doe
Testimony about the growth of larvae in dead bodies helps convict the man who stabbed a couple to death and strangled their 4-year-old daughter in 1993. And the 2001 murder of a young girl, whose head was cut off, remains unsolved.
Unholy Bible/A Daughter's Justice
A Texas woman's murder is solved when the killer's plan to murder another woman and stuff her into a duffel bag goes awry; and a reporter doing a story on unsolved homicides helps crack a case of murder that had been ruled an accidental death.
Officer Down/Secret Twin
After 23 years, investigators finally track down the killers of an Atlanta policeman when the ex-wife of one of the killers phones in a tip; and a mother keeps the skeletal remains of the 3-year-old daughter she killed in a footlocker.
Weepy-Voiced Killer/The Mr. Big Sting
A prostitute who fights off a screwdriver-wielding man helps police track down a serial killer; and undercover agents acting as mobsters conduct an elaborate sting to solve a murder case that had gone cold for years. Then, detectives from three different police departments in Westchester County, New York team up to track down a serial killer.
Blood on the Badge/Bump in the Night
A woman who takes down the license plate number of a car that had been following her helps police solve the murder of another young woman.; a phone call gives police the lead they need to solve a 30-year-old crime.
The Lady Killer/A Husband's Secret
The testimony of three prison inmates helps convict a man who viciously killed a woman out for a bike ride nearly two decades prior; and a self-admitted sex addict who strangled his cat is a suspect in the 30-year-old murder of a neighbor.
Mistaken for a Killer/A Woman Scorned
DNA technology that take place over 20 years help police to finally identify the man who brutally stabbed two women to death; and an anonymous caller leads police to the killer of a 13-year-old girl who was shot dead and left in the woods.
The Missing Hunters/The Flashlight Rapist
Police suspect brothers J.R. and Coco Duvall beat two Michigan hunters to death, chopped up the bodies, and fed them to pigs; and a serial rapist, who holds a mini-flashlight in his mouth to blind victims, is nabbed when he drops it during an attack.
Cowboys on the Case/Office Politics
Four retired law enforcement officers, known as the Cold Case Cowboys, help track down the killer of a man wanted for rape and robbery; and police await for advancements in DNA technology before they can put away a killer.
The Flaming Gorge Falls/Caught in the Mail
A man suspected of the cold case murder of his wife and son hatches a new plot to kill his mother and father; and detectives solve the 20-year-old murder of a teenager by tricking her killer into licking an envelope, then extracting DNA from the saliva.
Murder Checks In / Killer in the City
Police hunt for a man who killed three women in three different hotels, not far from one another in Des Moines, Iowa. And police get a killer to confess when they tell him prosecutors will show photos of the gruesome crime scene.
The Shopping Cart Killer
A dry cleaning tag inside a sweatshirt left at a crime scene helps police track down a serial killer and rapist who had been eluding them for years.
The Hit makers/Favor For A Friend
A scheme to bribe a country music magazine to manipulate the charts leads to murder in Nashville and a 13-year hunt for the killer; and a murderer's plan to hide his gun is foiled when the man who buried the evidence for him spills the beans to cops.
Lil' Miss /Skeletons In The Closet
An eerie note left on a grave helps solve a 12-year-old case of murder, and an exhaustive questioning of a mother helps police unravel the mysterious deaths of three of her
Innocent Prey/The Punishment
Police play a wild hunch that pays off in the capture of a serial rapist. And after 26 years, investigators finally solve the murder of a 6-year-old girl who had been forced to take a cold-water bath as punishment for painting her nails with pink polish without permission.
Top Cast
Bill Kurtis
Self - Narrator (voice)
