Cold Case

10 Best Episodes of Cold Case - Season 1

The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.

Written by Sophie and last updated on jan 30, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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Cold Case - S1E19

#15 - Late Returns (Season 1 - Episode 19)

The shooting death of a man in his driveway is connected to the unsolved 1992 murder of a Democratic campaign worker whose lifeless body was thrown into a nearby river on election night. The investigation centers on the relationship the dead woman had with a present-day congressman. Apparently, the victim in the current homicide probed into the earlier slaying and discovered damning new evidence. Elsewhere, Lilly spies Kite flirting with a new ADA and gets jealous.

The episode was rated 7.80 from 199 votes.

Cold Case - S1E15

#14 - Disco Inferno (Season 1 - Episode 15)

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Construction workers discover a skull with bullet hole under the ruins of a disco club burned down in 1978. 22 people died in the fire. Rush and Valens come to the conclusion that the burning of the club was arson, meant to cover up a murder leaving them with not one, but 23 cold cases.

The episode was rated 7.82 from 202 votes.

Cold Case - S1E2

#13 - Gleen (Season 1 - Episode 2)

The fiancΓ© of a fireman asks Lilly to help prove that a convicted felon, about to be paroled on an unrelated crime, is responsible for the murder of the fireman's first wife. The young mother was killed by a homemade bomb packed in a laundry-detergent box shortly before she was to testify in court against a man who exposed himself to her.

The episode was rated 7.83 from 374 votes.

Cold Case - S1E4

#12 - Churchgoing People (Season 1 - Episode 4)

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Lilly re-investigates the case of a murdered church organist, when his Alzheimer's-stricken widow begins having flashbacks of the night in question. Lilly's investigation has both Mitchell's son, Ryan, and daughter, Tina, demanding Lilly close the search.

The episode was rated 7.83 from 323 votes.

Cold Case - S1E16

#11 - Volunteers (Season 1 - Episode 16)

When the remains of a young black man and a white woman are found under the foundation of a building, Rush and Valens discover that not only did the two go missing in 1969, but that they may have been killed professionally for their work in an underground abortion clinic.

The episode was rated 7.85 from 195 votes.

Cold Case - S1E12

#10 - Glued (Season 1 - Episode 12)

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Det. Stillman asks Lilly to re-open a case he couldn't solve, wherein an 8-year-old boy, Tim Barnes, was murdered in 1980. The prime suspects included a catholic priest, three glue-sniffing teenagers, one elusive suspect, and the boy's own parents.

The episode was rated 7.87 from 227 votes.

Cold Case - S1E21

#9 - Maternal Instincts (Season 1 - Episode 21)

The 1989 case of a woman murdered in front of her 3-year-old son is re-opened. A psychologist asks Det. Rush to look into the case again when the son, now a 17-year-old teen, suffers from intense nightmares and troubled behavior.

The episode was rated 7.90 from 176 votes.

Cold Case - S1E7

#8 - A Time to Hate (Season 1 - Episode 7)

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Lilly investigates the case of Daniel Holtz, a college baseball player who was found beaten to death in an alley behind a gay bar in 1964. Daniel's mother comes to Lilly in the hopes that his killer can be brought to justice before she dies. Lilly discovers the maltreatment gay victims received in the 60's, when her investigation discloses that it may have been a policeman's nightstick that made the lethal blows.

The episode was rated 7.92 from 250 votes.

Cold Case - S1E1

#7 - Look Again (Season 1 - Episode 1)

Lilly investigates a 1976 case involving a teenage girl who was beaten to death on a tennis court during a party at a plush estate. A maid to a wealthy family, Bonita Jakarta, claims she witnessed the murder of teenager Jill Shelby. Now dying of cancer, the maid who remained silent, wants the killer brought to justice. Rush reopens the case, in which two brothers were originally suspected but not charged due to their powerful society family.

The episode was rated 7.92 from 469 votes.

Cold Case - S1E13

#6 - The Letter (Season 1 - Episode 13)

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Rush and Valens re-open the case of a 25-year-old black woman, who was murdered in 1939, after the woman's granddaughter comes forward with new information. The woman was assumed to be a prostitute murdered by a client, but letters written by the victim indicate that she was afraid of a milkman.

The episode was rated 7.93 from 217 votes.

Cold Case - S1E8

#5 - Fly Away (Season 1 - Episode 8)

When a young woman, Rosie, wakes up from a coma, Lilly re-opens the fall in which her 6-year-old daughter Toya died. Things get complicated when the mother remembers very little of that night, and Lilly feels especially motivated to find the killer, as Rosie was poor and living on welfare, reminding Lilly of her own past, and giving her an emotional bond to Rosie.

The episode was rated 7.94 from 267 votes.

Cold Case - S1E17

#4 - The Lost Soul of Herman Lester (Season 1 - Episode 17)

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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.

The episode was rated 7.95 from 191 votes.

Cold Case - S1E23

#3 - Lover's Lane (Season 1 - Episode 23)

When DNA evidence reveals that a wrong man was convicted for killing 15-year-old Eve Kendall back in 1986, the team re-opens her case in an attempt to find the real killer.

The episode was rated 8.03 from 189 votes.

Cold Case - S1E22

#2 - The Plan (Season 1 - Episode 22)

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The 1999 drowning death of a military academy's swim coach, which was originally ruled as accidental, is reinvestigated after the homicide division receives a note that suggests it was murder. Back at the office, Valens searches for Elisa after she goes missing.

The episode was rated 8.04 from 171 votes.

Cold Case - S1E14

#1 - Boy in the Box (Season 1 - Episode 14)

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.

The episode was rated 8.07 from 207 votes.

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