The BEST episodes of Cold Case season 3

Every episode of Cold Case season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Cold Case season 3!

Cold Case stars Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush, the lone female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad who finds her calling when she's assigned to "cold cases" -- crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's interrogating witnesses whose lives and circumstances have since changed, making use of today's new science and finding fresh clues to solve cases that were previously unsolvable, all of which appeals to this smart, driven detective. She's also prepared for the consequences: that her work will open up old wounds and may lead suspects to commit new crimes.

Last Updated: 11/14/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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Death Penalty: Final Appeal
star
8.19
423 votes

#1 - Death Penalty: Final Appeal

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/16/2006

The 1994 case of a raped and murdered 16-year-old girl is re-opened when Det. Jeffries gets a call from a prisoner on death-row -- scheduled to be executed in just three days.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Watch Now:Amazon
The Hen House
star
7.91
343 votes

#2 - The Hen House

Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/2006

The 1945 case of a murdered newspaper reporter is reopened when new evidence suggests that the woman was thrown in front of a passing train by someone she knew.

Directors: David Von Ancken
Writer: Craig Turk
Watch Now:Amazon
Detention (a.k.a. All Apologies)
star
7.82
507 votes

#3 - Detention (a.k.a. All Apologies)

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/15/2006

When a note connected to a supposed suicide is found, the team re-opens the 1994 case of a high-school kid who fell from the roof of the school building after having served detention. In 1994 the death was deemed a suicide, but the newly-found note indicates that the victim might have been fearing for his life.

Directors: Jessica Landaw
Watch Now:Amazon
A Perfect Day (a.k.a. The Choice)
star
7.81
460 votes

#4 - A Perfect Day (a.k.a. The Choice)

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/2005

When a fisherman finds evidence of a young girl's death washed up on a shore in New Jersey, Lilly re-opens the 1965 case of 4-year-old child who had a seemingly abusive mother.

Directors: Roxann Dawson
Watch Now:Amazon
One Night
star
7.81
271 votes

#5 - One Night

Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/19/2006

Lilly and the cold case team will have to decode the clues given by a twisted killer in order to save the life of a young boy who has been left to die alone. But first they must find the boy and for that they need to dig a little deeper into their own pasts.

Directors: Nicole Kassell
Watch Now:Amazon
Frank's Best
star
7.79
435 votes

#6 - Frank's Best

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/18/2005

The team re-opens the 2001 case of a robbed and murdered deli owner when the brother of the man convicted of the crime brings forth new evidence, suggesting the man may have been wrongfully accused.

Directors: Michael Schultz
Watch Now:Amazon
Family
star
7.79
572 votes

#7 - Family

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2005

When a young girl is contacted by a man claiming to be her father, Det. Rush and her team reopen a 1988 case of a teenaged boy, killed on the same night the girl was born.

Directors: Mark Pellington
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Honor
star
7.79
460 votes

#8 - Honor

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/2005

When a box filled with POW support bracelets is found in an abandoned drug den, Det. Rush re-investigates the 1972 shooting of Carl, a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Directors: Paris Barclay
Writer: Craig Turk
Watch Now:Amazon
Joseph
star
7.77
407 votes

#9 - Joseph

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/21/2006

When the victim's credit card is suddenly used a year after his death, Lilly re-opens the 2005 case of a counselor at a teens' rehab center who was shot to death just two weeks before he was scheduled to testify in a murder case. Lilly feels a strange connection to the victim, and her personal attachment may end up jeopardizing the case.

Directors: Roxann Dawson
Watch Now:Amazon
Saving Patrick Bubley
star
7.71
499 votes

#10 - Saving Patrick Bubley

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2005

When a mother of five loses her fourth son to gang violence, Lilly sets out to save the youngest, reopening one of her first cases on the homicide squad.

Directors: Marcos Siega
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Start-Up
star
7.70
496 votes

#11 - Start-Up

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2005

Lilly re-opens the 1999 case of a young, healthy woman who nevertheless died of a heart attack. In the late 1990's, she was briefly an Internet millionaire, but due to bad business decisions, her dot.com company eventually went bust.

Watch Now:Amazon
Sanctuary
star
7.69
442 votes

#12 - Sanctuary

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/12/2006

The 1998 case of a female drug smuggler is re-opened. The woman was involved with Scotty at the time he was working undercover on a high-profile drug case, and he has been keeping it a secret from the team for all these years.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Watch Now:Amazon
Beautiful Little Fool
star
7.68
422 votes

#13 - Beautiful Little Fool

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/9/2006

Lilly re-opens the 1929 case of a woman found dead in a ravine on Christmas Day when the victim's great-granddaughter comes in asking for help. Meanwhile, Lilly's estranged mother shows up, hoping to re-connect with her daughter.

Directors: Kevin Bray
Watch Now:Amazon
Debut
star
7.58
530 votes

#14 - Debut

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/29/2006

Lilly re-opens the 1968 case of an 18-year-old girl who died -- apparently accidentally -- at the night of her debutante ball. Now her mother comes forth with new evidence when a local art dealer is accused of murdering his wife in the same manner the girl died.

Directors: Tim Hunter
Watch Now:Amazon
Bad Night
star
7.58
588 votes

#15 - Bad Night

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/2005

The 1978 murder of a young man is re-opened after the victim's mother finds a letter suggesting that his death wasn't random.

Directors: Kevin Bray
Watch Now:Apple TV
Colors
star
7.57
531 votes

#16 - Colors

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2005

Det. Rush re-opens the 1945 case of a baseball player, bludgeoned to death with his own bat.

Directors: Paris Barclay
Watch Now:Apple TV
Committed
star
7.56
480 votes

#17 - Committed

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/2005

In 1954, 9-year-old Otis Petrowski last saw his mother in a mental institution. Now over 50 years later, after the death of an elderly woman who had been using Otis' mother's identity, Det. Rush sets out to discover what happened to the boy's real mother.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Watch Now:Apple TV
8 Years
star
7.54
461 votes

#18 - 8 Years

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/2006

Four close high school friends each went their separate ways in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, one of them was murdered. The homicide team receives a tip about the murder, prompting a re-investigation of the case and an examination of the friends' lives, hopes and dreams after high school.

Directors: Mark Pellington
Superstar
star
7.51
386 votes

#19 - Superstar

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/26/2006

When a poison-soaked towel turns up at the station, Lilly re-opens the 1973 case of a murdered female college tennis star.

Directors: Bill Eagles
Willkommen
star
7.49
486 votes

#20 - Willkommen

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2006

The team re-opens the 2002 case of a murdered amateur actor when the owner of a local community theater finds a gun hidden inside prop furniture.

Directors: Paris Barclay
Dog Day Afternoons
star
7.46
471 votes

#21 - Dog Day Afternoons

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/26/2006

The case of a female bank teller shot to death in her work in 2000 is reopened when the same bank is robbed again by perpetrators wearing identical masks and equipped with identical weapons as six years earlier.

Directors: Craig Ross Jr.
The River
star
7.46
384 votes

#22 - The River

Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/7/2006

When a new witness steps forward, Lilly and the team are prompted to re-open the 1984 shooting of a respected and beloved ER doctor who had a secret he had been hiding from his family.

Directors: Craig Ross Jr.
The Promise
star
7.36
481 votes

#23 - The Promise

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/2005

Lilly re-opens the case of young girl, an overweight college freshman named Laurie, who died in a fraternity house fire in 2004. The fire was deemed accidental at the time, but a cell phone photo e-mailed from the girl's phone just moments before her death prompts a closer examination.

Directors: Paris Barclay
Watch Now:Apple TV