The WORST episodes of Cold Case
Every episode of Cold Case ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Cold Case!
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.
#1 - The Runner
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/2003
After a drug addict brings in an audio tape she found on which a fatal shooting is heard, Lilly reopens a 1973 murder case involving the death of a 21-year-old rookie cop. The young officer was shot three times in the chest while responding to a call at a drug-infested housing project. Also on the tape are the victim's final words: "Runner! Runner! Runner!"
#2 - One Fall
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/14/2010
The 1986 murder of a dock worker who moonlighted as a wrestler is investigated. Meanwhile, Valens follows a lead that could result in the capture of his mother's rapist.
#3 - Read Between the Lines
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/2009
The 1991 murder of a 14-year-old girl in foster care who was a promising rapper is investigated. The probe reveals the victim lived in a gang-infested neighborhood and was recently placed, along with her sister, with new foster parents.
#4 - Dead Heat
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2009
The 1986 murder of a jockey is investigated after his body is discovered in a mass grave for horses. The victim disappeared shortly after losing a race that he had planned to be his finale before retiring.
#5 - Slipping
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/27/2008
The team re-opens the case of a woman who allegedly committed suicide in 1962 when the victim's granddaughter comes forth with evidence that the note found on the death scene -- then thought to be the suicide note -- was not written in the victim's handwriting.
#6 - Kensington
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/24/2005
The murder case of a young mill worker is re-opened when Rush learns that a recent parolee admitted to stealing money off the victim's body.
#7 - Love Conquers Al
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/2003
A petty crook, Ricky, hoping to get a reduced sentence, relates witnessing a young man washing blood out of his car the night a teen track runner was murdered. The young athlete, Paige Pratt, was found shot, and her boyfriend Al Clarkson was originally imprisoned for the crime.
#8 - Stand Up and Holler
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/1/2007
The 1997 murder of a 16-year-old girl high-school cheerleader is investigated after an anonymous confession is discovered in a modern-art exhibit.
#9 - 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.
#10 - Stealing Home
Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/12/2009
The team re-opens the 1999 murder of a Cuban baseball star who fled to the U.S. after being fired from his team.
#11 - Free Love
Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/11/2010
Rush and FBI agent Ryan Cavanaugh discover their attraction for one another while investigating the 1969 murder of a GI at Woodstock, and Vera helps his married ex-girlfriend, Megan, after sentimental jewelry is stolen from her home.
#12 - Our Boy Is Back (a.k.a. Useless Cats)
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/12/2003
A serial rapist sends a letter to the squad announcing his return to Philadelphia after five years and his plan to strike again. Lilly's best hope of catching the rapist comes from a victim who is able to provide a composite sketch.
#13 - Boy in the Box
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/15/2004
The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church.
#14 - Lonely Hearts
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/2006
A homely 33-year-old woman is gunned down in an alley in 1989 and her unsolved murder is reinvestigated when a tape of the victim, made for a dating service, turns up in a suicide victim's apartment. Apparently, it was what the man was watching when he killed himself. Also, Vera moves into an apartment of his own
#15 - The Good Soldier
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/10/2010
The 2005 murder of an Army recruiter who was killed just two days before his scheduled deployment to Iraq is reinvestigated after a soldier comes forward with new evidence.
#16 - Bombers
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/14/2010
The 1983 murder of a graffiti artist who died after spray paint was forced down his throat is investigated. Meanwhile, new details emerge about the person who mugged Valen's mother; and Lilly faces additional legal hurdles thrown her way by Moe.
#17 - Bullet (2)
Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/4/2010
A serial killer is identified, and Lilly and the FBI attempt to protect his likely future targets while tracking him down.
#18 - Two Weddings
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/28/2010
Lilly and the team attend a colleague's wedding and are persuaded by Jeffries to investigate whether the bride killed her former fiancé two years earlier---just hours after he called off their nuptials.
#19 - Metamorphosis
Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/21/2010
The 1971 death of a teen aerialist who fell during a dangerous circus performance is investigated. New evidence suggests her fall wasn't an accident.
#20 - Bad Reputation
Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/13/2008
When a severed hand is discovered at the scene of a drug bust, the team re-opens the 1997 case of a convicted criminal who was thought to be on the run from authorities all these years.
#21 - The Lost Soul of Herman Lester
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/2004
When the son of a murdered high-school basketball star receives a death threat, Rush and Valens reopen the 1987 case of Herman Lester who was stabbed to death only hours after leading his team to win the state championship.
#22 - Creatures of the Night
Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2005
A convicted serial killer will be paroled after 25 years in prison unless Lilly and her team can connect him to the 1977 murder of a young doorman found strangled on a train platform. The killing is eerily similar to other murders committed by the man. Making the case more urgent is the fact that the convicted strangler hints that he will kill again upon release. Elsewhere, Scotty confronts Christina about her past and tries to get her to talk to a New York detective.
#23 - Lotto Fever
Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/4/2009
The team re-investigates the 2007 murder of a mechanic who won $8 million in the lottery.
#24 - Baby Blues
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/2006
A 6-month-old girl's 1982 death, originally ruled to be a result of sudden-infant-death syndrome, is investigated when new evidence reveals the baby may have drowned. Also, Lilly learns that Ray is in the hospital after apparently being beaten.
#25 - The Badlands
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/2004
Lilly returns to her last case before joining the Cold Case Squad as she re-investigates the brutal triple homicide of a restaurant owner and his family, murdered in the restaurant bathroom in 2003. Also the other team member have personal reasons to closing the case; Jeffries grew up in the predominantly black neighborhood while Vera was the one assigned to the case when Det. Rush left.