Series synopsis
Cold Case Files is an American crime mystery documentary television series that premiered on A&E on February 27, 2017. It stars Danny Glover, Bill Kurtis, David Snyder and Jojo Tua.
There are over 100,000 cold cases in America, and only about 1% are ever solved. With recent advancements in technology and the methods used to solve these cases, as well as the unwavering dedication of victims’ families, law enforcement and the public, “Cold Case Files” explores the cases that defied the odds.
Each episode of the Emmy-nominated series examines the twists and turns of one murder case that remained unsolved for years, and the critical element that heated it up, leading to the ev ...
Premise
There are over 100,000 cold cases in America, and only about 1% are ever solved. With recent advancements in technology and the methods used to solve these cases, as well as the unwavering dedication of victims’ families, law enforcement and the public, “Cold Case Files” explores the cases that defied the odds.
Each episode of the Emmy-nominated series examines the twists and turns of one murder case that remained unsolved for years, and the critical element that heated it up, leading to the evidence that finally solved it. Featuring interviews with family members, friends, detectives, and others close to the cases, the refreshed classic series examines all facets of the crime and shines a light on a range of voices and victims.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Danny Glover as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Bill Kurtis as Self - Narrator (voice)
- David Snyder as Steve Carlson
- Jojo Tua as Michael Dishon
- Zilpha Lowery
- Jeremiah Pittman
- Kevin Gutches as Legal Investigator
Guest cast
- David Snyder as Steve Carlson
- Jojo Tua as Michael Dishon
- Zilpha Lowery
- Jeremiah Pittman
- Kevin Gutches as Legal Investigator
Episodes
This series spans 6 seasons with 72 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 4 | September 30, 2023 | November 8, 2024 |
| Season 1 | 10 | February 27, 2017 | June 29, 2017 |
| Season 2 | 27 | August 21, 2021 | April 23, 2022 |
| Season 3 | 6 | August 20, 2022 | September 23, 2022 |
| Season 4 | 17 | November 15, 2024 | March 7, 2025 |
| Season 5 | 8 | December 27, 2024 | March 7, 2025 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Rifkin Murders (1) Serial killer Joel Rifkin took the lives of 17 women in New York before he was caught red handed in 1993. Almost thirty years later, after interviewing Rifkin for a documentary, a TV producer leverages his relationship with New York's most prolific serial killer to get information police could use to discover the identities of Rifkin's two remaining unknown victims. When presented with actionable leads, New York State Police revisit the case and begin a two year search for justice for Victims Six and Nine. |
September 30, 2023 |
| 2 |
The Rifkin Murders (2) After 30 years, serial killer Joel Rifkin is providing clues to New York State Police in order to identify two of his 17 victims--the only victims that remain nameless. The information he's given has brought investigators closer than ever before to naming Victims Six and Nine. But when they visit him in prison, Rifkin throws them a curveball. In an effort to bring about justice, TV producer Peter Reiss follows up with his own on camera sit down with Rifkin to get answers once and for all. |
September 30, 2023 |
| 3 |
The Grim Sleeper (1) Infamous serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr. preyed on women in South Central Los Angeles over a span of 25 years. Narrated by award-winning actress and producer Regina Hall, this gripping true crime tale is interwoven with the real-life story of the search for an elusive killer and the fight for justice in a Los Angeles community. |
November 8, 2024 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Little Girl Lost Halloween in a small town is cancelled indefinitely when a young girl is kidnapped and killed on her way home from a costume party. |
February 27, 2017 |
| 2 |
Killings on Christmas Eve The death of an elderly couple, Edward "Ed" and Wilhelmina "Minnie" Maurin Ed in Washington state on Christmas Eve 1985. |
March 6, 2017 |
| 3 |
She Never Came Home The case of a gruesome stabbing death of a bullied teenager remains unsolved for 27 years. |
March 13, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Voice in the Lake 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. |
August 21, 2021 |
| 2 |
Devil at the Door 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. |
August 28, 2021 |
| 3 |
Missing in Altoona 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. Featuring 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. |
September 4, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Killer in the Storm 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. |
August 20, 2022 |
| 2 |
Gone in a New York Minute 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 9 years searching for answers and a killer. |
August 27, 2022 |
| 3 |
Murder in the Midwest In September 1974 in Ohio, 15-year-old Lori Nesson disappeared while walking home from a high school football game after-party. Her naked body is found in a ditch the next day yet is ruled undetermined natural causes. The search for her killer finally begins when the cause of death is changed to homicide 40 years later. |
September 3, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Money Moguls and Murder 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 her killer. |
November 15, 2024 |
| 2 |
Death of a Baseball Mom When beloved mother and sister Janora Stevens is found brutally stabbed in her Tulsa, OK, 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 her killer. |
November 22, 2024 |
| 3 |
Good Girl Gone 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. |
November 29, 2024 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Sooner State Nightmare 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. |
December 27, 2024 |
| 2 |
Blood Red Snow 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. |
January 24, 2025 |
| 3 |
Damn His Soul To Hell 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. |
January 31, 2025 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | A&E |
|---|---|
| First aired | February 27, 2017 |
| Last aired | March 7, 2025 |
| Runtime | 43 minutes |
| Status | continue |
| Schedule | Friday at 21:00:00 |