Cold Case (TV)
"Cold Case" is a television series that first aired on September 28, 2003, and ran for seven seasons until its conclusion on May 10, 2010. The show centers around a special investigative team in Philadelphia, led by Detective Lilly Rush, played by Kathryn Morris. The team specializes in solving cold cases—homicides that have remained unsolved for long periods, often due to a lack of viable leads. Each episode revisits these cases through flashbacks, enhanced by music from the respective time period, providing context and depth to the stories.
The series highlights the crucial role of forensic science in the criminal justice system, often utilizing modern forensic techniques such as DNA analysis, fingerprint examination, and ballistics to uncover new evidence or reinterpret existing evidence. Examples from the show illustrate how advancements in forensic science can lead to breakthroughs in cases that have long gone cold, offering closure to victims' families and justice for the wronged. Throughout its 156 episodes, "Cold Case" not only entertained viewers but also educated them on the complexities and advancements in forensic investigations, reflecting a blend of crime drama and scientific inquiry.
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Cold Case (TV)
- DATE: First aired on September 28, 2003
IDENTIFICATION: Television series that focuses on Philadelphia detectives who solve cold cases in part through the examination of forensic evidence.
SIGNIFICANCE: By immersing viewers in the scientific context of each case it depicts, Cold Case demonstrated the relevance and application of forensic science within the criminal justice system.
Cold Case focused on a fictional special investigative team located in Philadelphia, with particular emphasis on the lead investigator, Detective Lilly Rush (played by Kathryn Morris). Rush and her coworkers investigated cold cases—that is, cases that have gone unsolved, often for long periods, and on which active investigation has ceased because the leads or trails have gone cold—that are brought to their attention for various reasons. Sometimes new evidence is found that relates to an old case or a presents new information; sometimes a body is discovered that has a connection to an unsolved case.
The show’s format revisited each unsolved case through the utilization of flashbacks that feature music specific to the year of the case. Cases on the show ranged from a that took place in 1919 to modern cases that have no leads. Although the resolutions of some cases relied on witness recall, the majority of the cases were solved through the introduction of new forensic evidence or the reanalysis of evidence that was tainted or misused when it was examined previously. The types of forensic evidence that have figured into the program’s plots have included fingerprint analysis, (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, ballistics, and blood evidence. Cold Case often showcases new forensic technologies that are used to solve criminal cases.
Examples of Cold Case episodes in which forensic evidence played an important role included one in which blood evidence on a policeman’s nightstick linked the officer to the murder of a college baseball player. In another episode, a skull with a bullet in it was found beneath the remains of an old nightclub, and subsequent analysis and examination of evidence showed that a murder at the scene had been covered up by arson; this information also led to the discovery of twenty-three new murder cases. An episode about the drowning of a military academy’s swim coach featured the use of DNA evidence and handwriting analysis, which indicated that children at the academy whom the coach had molested were responsible for his death. DNA evidence was important in an episode in which the detectives found that an innocent man had been convicted of the murder of a fifteen-year-old girl; DNA evidence also identified the correct killer. Skeletal analysis and DNA evidence were featured in an episode that involved the misidentification of some human remains left outside a prison, and in an episode in which the detectives investigated a drive-by shooting, ballistics evidence and fingerprint analysis were important elements.
Cold Case had a 156-episode run on CBS from 2003 to 2010. Its final episode aired on May 10, 2010.
Bibliography
"Cold Case." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/title/tt0368479/. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.
Ramsland, Katherine. The Science of “Cold Case Files.” Berkley Books, 2004.
Walton, Richard H. Cold Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques. CRC Press, 2006.