Cold Case Files

Halloween in a small town is cancelled indefinitely when a young girl is kidnapped and killed on her way home from a costume party. Ten years later, a detective's obsessive attention to detail exposes a shocking mistake that kept the case's most obvious suspects on the streets for 10 years.

A family torn apart by their grandparents' murders. Two decades later, a cold case detective takes on the case that has haunted him since he was a child. When he makes a big break in the case, he must race to solve it before the family takes matters into their own hands.

The case of a gruesome stabbing death of a bullied teenager remains unsolved for 27 years – until a rookie cold case detective sees a new clue in an old crime scene photo, leading her to a killer that everyone thought could not possibly have committed the crime.

A killer authors a book about his con-man past that becomes the key to solving a 29-year-old cold case of two high school sweethearts–and three other cold case murders–leading police to believe he could be the Zodiac Killer.

College student Brad Perry shows up to work his graveyard shift at the gas station and is never seen alive again. It will take twenty years, the uncovering of an illegal drug ring in a squeaky-clean Mormon town, and the development of new forensic technology to solve this cold case.

The longest running cold case of a law enforcement officer in the United States was the murder of Sheriff's Lt. Joe Clark - shot execution style in his own home. Given his tough stance on drug crime, detectives become convinced his death is the beginning of a drug war. It takes 33 years for them to discover the truth.

When 18-year-old Shannon Siders' body is found in the woods, everyone in the small town of Newaygo, Michigan, becomes a suspect - but no one is convicted of the crime. It takes 22 years for a special cold case unit - along with the help of the entire town - to solve Shannon's murder.

A 17-year-old girl from a small Kentucky town goes missing, then is found strangled two weeks later; a police investigation into the crime uncovers a terrible family secret.

Two unsolved murders of loved ones plague a family; detectives uncover a hidden crime scene that may help solve the 13-year-old cold case.

Police learn the key witness in the stabbing death of a beloved aunt was an imposter; a return to the crime scene reveals a clue hidden in plain sight.

When 31-year-old real estate appraiser Mike Williams mysteriously vanishes while duck hunting in the Florida swamps in December of 2000, authorities suspect he accidentally drowned. For sixteen years Mike's disappearance remains a mystery. The case heats up when police receive a distress call from the victim's wife in 2016. Featuring interviews with detectives and the victim's mother as well as rare footage of the crime scene and recorded audio confessions with the accused, the episode explores how the disappearance unfolded into a sinister plot to cash in on millions of dollars of life insurance.

When 36-year-old computer programmer Lisa Valdez fails to show up for work, her apartment manager finds her brutally murdered in her tiny studio. Her body is riddled with stab wounds, the walls are covered in blood. Evidence shows the killer cut off her long, dark hair, taking it as an apparent trophy. Detectives ask, could she be the victim of a brutal serial killer? Or was Lisa murdered by someone she knew? Clues left on an answering machine point to a co-worker who was known to have feelings for Lisa, but two bloody fingerprints left on a toilet seat clear him as a suspect, and the case goes cold for thirteen years. Things heat up when a detective gets a hit during a search of the state's DNA database, leading to an unsuspected person from Lisa's past.

When Sherry Leighty goes missing in 1999, her family is left wondering how a dedicated mother of three could vanish without a trace. A decade later, the cold case heats up when Sherry's sister launches a social media campaign to help solve her sister's mysterious disappearance. An online tip unearths the killer truth and a sinister family secret. This episode features an interview with Shelly Leighty, who never gave up on solving her sister's case, along with rare home video of Sherry and her family not long before she disappeared.

When 25-year-old schoolteacher Christy Mirack is found brutally murdered in her Lancaster, Pennsylvania, apartment in 1992, there is no shortage of suspects. Frustration and fear mount as each person is ruled out, one by one, and eventually the case goes cold. Twenty-six years later, in 2018, cold case detectives get a break when a relative of the killer uploads DNA to a public genealogy website. This story features a rare interview with the victim's brother and the forensic genealogist who helped crack one of state's first cold cases to be solved by familial DNA technology.

In the 1980s, a suspected serial killer preyed on women in small towns located on the banks of the Mississippi River until the murders abruptly ceased and went unsolved. In 2006, 26 years later, a cold case detective and producer on the set of "Cold Case Files" unknowingly began to connect the dots that would crack the case while discussing the murder of Deborah Sheppard, a Southern Illinois University student whose death had remained a mystery since 1982.

23-year-old teacher Irene Garza was a former beauty queen and devout Catholic who vanished the evening before Easter after giving confession. Residents of her close-knit border town did their best to find her, but after a series of false leads, her body was found floating in a drainage canal clearly the victim of a violent sexual predator. At the time, a key witness hinted that a member of the Catholic clergy may have been responsible, but the clue remained buried for 42 years until a former priest comes forward with a damning confession from another man of the cloth that reveals a sinister coverup.

Near what's known as the hanging tree, the mutilated body of Timothy Coggins is found in late 1983. The investigation is thwarted and the case freezes for over 30 years, until a newly elected sheriff vows to bring the killers to justice.

On a bitter morning in 1980, radio intern Helene Pruszynski is found brutalized in a snowy field. After 37 years of fruitless leads, investigators tap into a public genealogy website that leads them across the country to the killer they've been hunting.

Easter Sunday of 1992, the body of missing woman Lisa Ziegert is found in a field. The investigation yields hundreds of leads but no true suspect. After more than two decades on ice, the case is revived when DNA phenotyping puts a face to the killer.

Just after the last day of school in 1984, 15-year-old Reesa Trexler is found murdered in her grandparents' home. For decades, a stalled investigation only fuels the town rumor mill, pointing an accusing finger at Reesa's 13-year-old sister, Jodie.

When a beloved schoolteacher is found murdered in her Neptune, New Jersey apartment in the fall of 2009, suspicion is cast on her soon to be ex-husband. Long after the case goes cold, a detective embarks on a mission to help the man clear his name and track down the real killers.

In August 1972, the body of Jody Loomis is found in the woods. 34 years later, the killer's DNA is recovered from Jody's old clothing but it isn't matched until 2018, when genetic genealogy helps point to one suspect--whose guilt must be proven in court.

On February 2, 2010, two masked gunmen commit a violent robbery and shoot Michael Temple Jr., rendering him a quadriplegic for five years before his death. In this unusual cold case, DNA from a knife is used to create a sketch of the killer.

13 days after Pam Pitts disappears in 1988 her charred body is found at a popular hangout spot in the Arizona desert. When a second victim is discovered in a mineshaft, detectives suspect the killer may have known them both, but the truth is decades away.

In late 1983, the bodies of five people abducted from a local fast food restaurant are found brutally murdered in an oil field. The main suspect is long believed to be a well-connected local man, until new evidence reveals the true killers had been hiding in plain sight for decades.

When 23-year-old Tonya McKinley is found brutally murdered on New Years Day 1985, a little boy is left motherless. A family must wait 35 years for advancements in forensic science to finally catch a killer using familial DNA.

Houston, Texas, March 1984. Jack Kennedy discovers his daughters brutally murdered. Their mother and niece spend their lives keeping the case alive. DNA leads nowhere. Thirty years later, an informant gives up a name. But the family's ordeal is far from over.

In July 1997, the brutal murder of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston rocks the small town of Bethany, Oklahoma. DNA points to her killer over a decade later and leads investigators across state lines to Texas–to the buried bodies of two other missing women.

In July of 1970, the brutal murder of single mom Loretta Jones leaves four-year-old Heidi Jones motherless. Nearly 40 years later, Heidi vows to solve her mother's cold case and calls on an old high school friend to help her find justice for Loretta.

When a deadly house fire claims the life of a family in rural Oklahoma, investigators suspect foul play and it sends a mother on a decades-long crusade to find out what happened to her missing teenage daughter and best friend.

In June 1985, a 20-year-old "Sucker Day" Festival Queen is found brutalized. The small community of Nixa, Missouri, is certain her blood is on the hands of a local wealthy businessman, but after 25 years DNA reveals the true killer.

In December 1985, when human bones are discovered in the woods, it puts an end to the search for missing teen David Reed. David's disappearance shook a small town, and skull fractures point to murder; but it will be decades before investigators can find his killer.

When firefighter Gary Parks is killed in a fire ruled arson, the investigation into his death shifts to homicide. A serial arsonist is thought to be the culprit; but it will take a dogged cold-case detective following his gut to track down the real killer.

Just two years into their marriage, Chuck and Cheryl Hall are torn apart when Chuck finds Cheryl murdered. Though Cheryl's family is certain they know her killer, the law isn't as sure. After several decades, a DNA match erases all doubt.

In 1979 Janie Landers disappears from a home for the impaired–the latest consequence of the facility's history of neglect. When Janie's body is found, there are many suspects but it is years before the killer and the atrocities in the facility are revealed.

In Cree culture, a promise is sacred. When Cree woman Shirley Soosay goes missing in 1980, her niece Violet promises her grandmother that she will bring Shirley home. But Violet never dreamed the search for Shirley--and justice--would take a lifetime.

In early 1984, three-year-old Vanessa Bennett becomes the lone survivor of her family's brutal murder. Initial investigators suspect a serial killer is at large, but decades pass before DNA narrows the suspect pool to one man.

After a young mother's death in 1988 goes unsolved, her older sister promises to solve the crime, no matter how long it takes, so she sets about on a quest for answers to determine who killed the victim in her own home and why.

In a city of eight million, landlord Bruce Blackwood disappears without a trace in March 2006. Though there is no body, the NYPD is sure this is a homicide and they, along with Bruce's brother Ed, spend the next nine years searching for answers and a killer.

The body of Lori Nesson is found in a ditch in 1974, yet her death is not ruled a homicide. But Lori's sister knows this has to be murder. After four decades, the cause of death is changed to homicide, and the search begins for a killer with a 40-year head start.

A fire in January 2007 claims the life of WWII vet Bennie Angelo. A closer look at the crime scene reveals Bennie was dead before the fire, bumping an arson case up to homicide. Leads are few and the case sits on ice--until a key witness comes forward.

When a 30-year-old mother, Lisa Gaudenzi, fails to report for duty in Virginia, the Army lists her as AWOL. Her family immediately suspects foul play. They embark on a 13-year quest for answers before an eyewitness blows the case wide open.

When 13-year-old Jennifer Bastian is abducted and murdered in August of 1986, residents of Tacoma panic. This is the second young girl killed in five months. Convinced a predator is loose, Police embark on a 32-year inquiry to catch the killer.

The quiet town of Redding, California is rocked by the disappearance of Frank McAlister – a teen with a recent cash windfall who leaves only a blood-stained car behind. Twenty-five years will pass before someone makes a stunning on-air confession

When 19-year old Tara Sidarovich goes missing from her Punta Gorda home, Florida Police consider her a runaway. Then her body turns up in a swamp. Shocking prison recordings will send detectives on a nationwide hunt for her killer.

When 34-year-old Freddie Farah is gunned down in his Florida grocery store, police urgently seek his killer. Decades later, Farah's son will have a chance encounter with a cold case detective which brings the case back to life and exposes a killer.

The 1964 murder of 9-year-old Marise Chiverella leaves the devout town of Hazelton, PA, in fear. An intense manhunt yields numerous suspects but no killer. Five decades pass before a student moonlighting as a genetic genealogist reignites the case.

In 1977 Florida Nurse Deborah Clark, 23, is found brutally slain in her home. Detectives unearth an affair, a jilted wife, and a web of money and power, but no true suspect. It will take 40 years and advanced DNA testing to expose Deb's killer.

When the body of a woman turns up in a field in Huntington Beach, CA, in 1968, police simultaneously seek a killer and the identity of the victim herself. It takes 52 years for detectives to solve this dual mystery and expose a vicious predator.

A 2007 cold-case resurfaces when a detective reopens the investigation into the brutal killing of Audrey Giannotti, 20, in rural Pennsylvania. Uncovering hidden secrets, he races against time to bring justice to a family desperate for answers.

When Night Manager, Rodney Castin, is gunned down in the lobby of his hotel 3 weeks before Christmas, Detectives scour Georgia for his killer. Two decades pass before an informant's shocking testimony breaks the case wide open.

When Susan Schwarz is found shot to death in her apartment in 1979, police suspect a robbery gone wrong. Thirty-two years pass before a witness reveals a much darker motive that breaks the case wide open and leads to Susan's killer.

When beloved mother and sister, Janora Stevens is found brutally stabbed in her Tulsa home, her family is bitterly divided and increasingly suspicious of each other. The case chills until a trail of tell-tale fibers leads cops to Janora's killer.

A massive search unfolds in Chandler, Oklahoma when two women and a child go missing from a Walmart parking lot in 1992. It will take 23 years and a tip from an unlikely source to piece together a heinous plot of misdirection and murder.

When Chris Green, 19, is found beaten to death in a snowy Bangor, Michigan ditch in 2002, his family fear their son's murder will never be solved. Years pass before shocking revelations from an informant emerge and blow the case wide open.

The 1964 murder of 9-year-old Marise Chiverella leaves the devout town of Hazelton, PA, in fear. An intense manhunt yields numerous suspects but no killer. Five decades pass before a student moonlighting as a genetic genealogist reignites the case.

When 8-year-old April Tinsley is found dead in a Fort Wayne, Indiana ditch the community is shaken. Disturbing letters then appear, penned by her killer, targeting other young girls. Police scramble to catch April's murderer before he strikes again.

When the body of 81-year-old Helen Gale is found in her burned-out car, investigators in Southfield, Michigan wonder who would murder this pillar of the community. It will be eight years before a blown alibi brings them face-to face with her killer.

When 37-year-old Lee Rotatori is found dead in her hotel room in 1982 with a single stab wound to the heart, police suspect the work of a professional. It will take four decades to identify her killer and, in the process, reveal a shocking truth.

When nine-year-old Campfire Girl, Candy Rogers, turns up dead after selling mints door-to-door, Spokane detectives launch a dogged campaign to find her killer. What follows is one of the longest Cold Case investigations in Washington State history.