Cold Case

After new evidence clears an accused murderer during his triple homicide trial, the detectives talk to the murdered busboy's brother, who provides them with some clues. Then they interview a waitress who worked at the restaurant where the homicides occurred and a local thug. Both reportedly argued with one of the murder victims that night. The investigators also question a man who worked in the kitchen and a gangster who was a friend of the murdered busboy. Valens and Rush learn crucial information about the night of the murder and eventually coerce a confession out of the killer.

A 60-year reunion of World War II female factory workers stirs up memories of a mysterious death. A friend of the deceased confides to Rush that the death is not what it appears to be and begs her to dig deeper into the case. After several interviews, Rush soon discovers that the women were not as innocent as they seemed in 1943, and she must comb through a web of lies to track the real motive and killer.

After receiving a home movie in which a young woman is apparently shot and killed, Rush and Valens reopen a 1979 unsolved "Jane Doe" murder case. As they investigate, the detectives learn that the victim, a teenage runaway who panhandled in a rough part of town, was picked up by a couple of teenage boys who made the home movie using her as their star. However, the now-adult boys tell Rush the incident wasn't real -- it was an act, and Rush and Valens must figure out what happened to the vibrant 19-year-old who was never seen again.

In 1968, legendary singer Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison concert was broadcast to millions of inmates across the US. That night in a Philadelphia prison, during a melee following the broadcast, an inmate was murdered, and his body was believed hidden in the prison. Rush and the team reopen the case when human bones are found at the now-closed facility. But after discovering that the remains don't belong to the murdered inmate, the detectives begin a new search for the truth of what happened 36 years ago.

Rush and the team reopen the 13-year-old case of two Cambodian immigrants who were brutally murdered in their home in what was then believed to be a robbery. When the detectives discover the dead couple hid their identity in order to evade deportation, Rush must piece together who the victims really were.

When a young woman is found strangled and dumped in a local swimming hole, Rush and the detectives realize that this new crime mirrors the unsolved murder of a 12-year-old girl who was killed in 1990 during a sleepover at the home of troubled teenager, Brandi. Brandi's brother is arrested for the present killing, and his confession leads the detectives to reopen the old case.

A man who first contracted AIDS in 1983 asks Rush and Valens to reopen the unsolved strangulation death of his former life partner. When the detectives investigate the murder, they learn that the dead man was one of the early activists in the fight against AIDS and a relentless advocate for education about the disease in the burgeoning gay community. The team also discovers that the victim was a member of a prominent family that disowned him because of his sexual orientation.

The Communist witch hunts of the 1950s come back to haunt their survivors when Rush and the team reopen an unsolved murder.

The body of a woman who has been missing since 1985 is discovered in a wildlife preserve. The victim was shot through the heart. The detectives interview her daughter, who was 12 years old when the woman went missing. The daughter's abusive father is also dead, but the team believes he could have been responsible for the murder -- until eight more bodies are found in the preserve. The detectives theorize that the murderer abducts his victims, takes them to the preserve then makes them run for their lives while he hunts them. But once the hunter is found, will the detectives be able to make an arrest?

Rush reopens the unsolved 2000 murder of a prominent, ambitious Puerto Rican assistant district attorney who is posthumously linked to a scandal. The man's wife insists that recent reports of her late husband's connection to a large amount of missing money are untrue. As Rush and the team investigate, they learn the victim was prosecuting the murder trial of a young Puerto Rican defendant, whose conviction suddenly becomes suspicious.

At the urging of the deceased's sister, Rush and Valens reopen the 1978 suicide of Matthew Adams, a cult member who died of cyanide poisoning. Initially, the detectives investigate the man hired to deprogram Matthew. After the manner of the death of Matthew's mother is revealed, his father becomes suspicious. And the discovery of a love triangle turns the team's attention to the imprisoned leader of the cult. But by the time the investigators uncover the truth, the killer tries to strike again, and this time Rush is his target. Meanwhile, someone very close to Valens is found dead of an apparent suicide.

The deathbed confession of a boxing referee prompts Rush and the team to reopen a 1976 case involving an overmatched fighter who died moments after suffering a terrible beating in a bout that should have been stopped. As the detectives investigate why the underdog boxer was essentially allowed to die in the ring, they discover several people with solid motives.

The 1987 drive-by shooting death of a little girl, the innocent victim of what was assumed to be a gang retaliation attack, is reopened after the murder weapon suddenly turns up as part of the city's gun recovery program. In pursuing the investigation, Rush and the team discover the gun has had multiple owners, all of whom were affected in some way by its possession. Meanwhile, Valens tries to end his relationship with Rush's sister, Christina, before Rush discovers the truth.

Rush and the team investigate the 1969 strangulation murder of 19-year-old Ellie McCormick, whose body was discovered in her boyfriend Warren's apartment the day he fled to Canada to avoid fighting in Vietnam. Upon Warren's recent return to attend his father's funeral, he is immediately questioned. But the detectives also learn that at the time of Ellie's murder, her former fiancé, Bud, was stalking her, still reeling from their breakup. And her wheelchair-bound brother had just returned from battle in Vietnam with a terrible secret, which Ellie uncovered.

The death of a mentally handicapped teenaged boy is reinvestigated when new evidence reveals the teen may have been murdered. Through the course of the investigation, Rush and the team discover that the boy was bullied by local jocks, and a false sexual-harassment claim was filed against him. The detectives also learn that the boy had a negligent father and that the boy's mother had a terminal illness -- which may have factored into his murder.

The detectives investigate the cold case of a murdered pedophile whose corpse was discovered a few months after the body of a kidnapped boy was found. The young boy was taken from a department store and found dead a month later. The detectives learn that the ransom drop went afoul and the kidnapper sold the boy to a pedophile. After the pedophile told his young victim that he was now the boy's father, the child molester's real son got jealous. And when the child's body was found, the boy's parents did some investigating of their own. Meanwhile, Stillman finally resolves the aftereffects of a family tragedy that has haunted him for years and caused the rift between him and his daughter.

The recent death of a female heroin addict prompts Rush and the team to reopen the supposedly solved 1982 murder case of Lindsay Chase, the addict's former co-worker. Lindsay's husband, Dr. Stephen Chase, was convicted of her murder and has spent the last 23 years in prison, insisting he's innocent. When the detectives discover that Lindsay was involved with manufacturing illegal drugs -- something her husband didn't even know about -- the list of suspects grows.

Vera's high-school sweetheart asks the team to reopen the case of the death of her older sister. Ruled as an accident in the late 1990s, the woman's death was forgotten until a man recounts seeing her that fateful night. He believes his fraternity brothers manhandled her. Instead, the detectives learn that her downward spiral into alcoholism had left the young lady compromised. On that night, she lost her family, her self-respect and finally her life.

Rush and the squad reopen the cold case that motivated Jeffries to become a cop. A young Black teenager was left beaten to death in a rough neighborhood park in the early 1960s. Through the investigation, the squad learns that the victim's death may be race related and that his clandestine friendship with an older white woman may have led to his demise.

The 1985 murder case of a young mill worker is reopened when Rush learns that a recent parolee admitted to stealing money off the victim's body. Rush and the team discover that the victim, Joe Young, worked at the Kensington Mill before it closed. The mill's demise created a tough financial situation for Joe and the many other workers, ruining lives as well as friendships. The investigation soon leads to Joe's former best friends who did not share his optimism that they would all find other jobs.

The unsolved 1977 case involving the death of Philadelphia doorman Mike Cahill is reopened when Rush and Valens try to link his murder to a serial killer about to be released from prison due to a legal technicality. The detectives uncover the unusual relationship between Mike and the serial killer, Roy Anthony. Mike worked at an upscale apartment building and was oddly close with one of the married residents, and Roy was a severely troubled teen with an abusive father. Eventually, Rush and Valens discover that Mike's girlfriend at the time of the murder also worked with Roy at a local diner and that a midnight screening of the film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was the event that brought the trio together.

When an old truck containing human bones is pulled from the Delaware River, Rush and Valens reopen a 1932 missing persons case. The detectives link the truck and its contents to a former Prohibition-era bootlegger and learn that the bones may belong to his sister, Rose, who unexpectedly went missing with the truck. Rush discovers that Rose befriended Billie, a Black girl who dressed and behaved like a man. When forensic testing confirms the bones are not Rose's, Valens tracks Rose down and learns of her controversial relationship with Billie, which alienated several people, including Billie's ex-lover, Georgie, who always believed that Rose and Billie were more than friends.

Rush and Valens investigate the discovery of nine human skulls buried in a residential backyard. The house has remained vacant since 1972, when 33-year-old Simone Marks, who was later murdered, shared the home with her 12-year-old boy, George. Since Simone's murder was never solved, Rush and Valens reopen the homicide. Months ago, Rush and the detectives worked on a case where nine headless human remains were uncovered in a wildlife preserve, and their investigation led them to the grown-up George Marks. The detectives were unable to arrest him due to lack of evidence. Now, George emerges from hiding to challenge Rush again. This time, their lives are at stake in a final showdown.