This centennial edition of Cold Case Files turns its attention to the largest serial murder investigation in American history: the twenty-year pursuit of the Green River Killer. Detective Dave Reichert, who dedicated himself entirely to sol…

This is the story of the pursuit of one of America's most infamous serial killers—the BTK killer, who cast a shadow of fear over Wichita, Kansas, for years. Having committed at least seven horrific murders, BTK (nicknamed for his methods: B…

The discovery of a church deacon, shot dead in the back seat of his car and embroiled in an affair, suggested the police had unearthed a complex web of deadly intentions. For six long years, his wife remained a central figure in the murder …

After years of relentless pursuit, an Alberta detective’s dedication culminates in the apprehension of the man responsible for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl a decade prior. Similarly, investigators seeking the person who killed…

Authorities are increasingly concerned that they might be forced to grant parole to a serial killer, only to find themselves with a renewed opportunity to detain him permanently as a decades-old murder investigation nears its conclusion.

Surveillance footage from an automated teller machine has aided Louisville, Kentucky, law enforcement officials in identifying a suspect believed to be responsible for the rape of thirteen women. Separately, a district attorney’s investigat…

This exclusive edition of Cold Case Files provides a rare glimpse into an ongoing investigation. We accompany Detective Vince Velazquez of Atlanta and Captain Russell Popham of East Point, Georgia, as they pursue answers in the 1995 rape an…

Thirty-two years had passed since the murder of University of Michigan law student Jane Mixer when police were able to identify her killer, thanks to DNA recovered from her pantyhose. In a surprising turn, psychologists assisting in the inv…

The summer of 1987 held a mother captive with worry, waiting for her nineteen-year-old daughter to return home. Diana never did. She was found, violated and strangled, close to the Hudson River. Investigators immediately focused on Michael,…

Nearly a decade had passed since a mother and her young adult daughters were murdered when a recorded conversation between the prime suspect and his sister provided investigators with the breakthrough they needed. Similarly, the perplexing …

Albany, New York, police were taken aback when a serial killer—believed to prey solely on older women—became a suspect in the death of an elderly man. Further complicating matters, a clandestine storage shed yielded disturbing evidence link…

To buy time for investigators pursuing the Schoolgirl Rapist in Rochester, New York, a district attorney employed an ingenious tactic: a "John Doe" indictment. Meanwhile, prosecutors, with only circumstantial evidence to go on, made the dif…

A teenager of fourteen faces charges for the murder of his sister, though his public defender maintains that police pressured him into confessing and that the true perpetrator remains at large. Meanwhile, two faded slides from a medical exa…

A predator’s arrogance ultimately betrays him when he sends a mocking letter to the police, unwittingly providing the DNA evidence – extracted from saliva on the envelope's seal – that leads to his capture. Similarly, in South Dakota, the d…

The cameras trace Detective Manny Reyes’s pursuit of justice in the 1990 murder of a Fort Worth, Texas woman. Reyes speaks with her two sons, who are convinced their mother's husband, Bobby, is responsible. The investigation then leads him …

Bill Kurtis delves into one of Los Angeles’s most enduring mysteries: the 1947 murder of actress Elizabeth Short, whose body was discovered bisected and nude in an abandoned lot. Despite never having resulted in charges, the case has spawne…

In Rhode Island, female police officers have been working undercover, posing as street walkers, in an effort to apprehend a man believed responsible for the deaths of three prostitutes. Meanwhile, investigators in Toledo, Ohio, are focusing…

Nineteen years after the fact, Kansas detectives have revived the investigation into the death of a banker discovered beaten in his bed, with suspicion now falling on his unfaithful wife. Meanwhile, in Arkansas, a man burdened by guilt has …

When U.S. Navy sailor Andrew Muns vanished in 1968, the Navy asserted he had deserted his ship. Yet, his sister devoted over three decades to demonstrating that Muns had been murdered. Later, detectives were able to resolve a twenty-year-ol…

Years later, DNA recovered from a marijuana cigarette discarded in Florida during 2005 has unexpectedly provided a breakthrough in the 1988 rape and murder of a California woman. Meanwhile, in Illinois, a stalled homicide investigation is g…

A profound sense of bewilderment settled over detectives after two young girls were brutally raped, murdered, and left in an abandoned house in Akron, Ohio. Similarly perplexing was the disappearance of a 26-year-old mother of three on Chri…

For over twenty-five years, the murder of a woman in a Virginia hotel room remained unsolved, before investigators were finally able to focus on a likely suspect. Similarly, after a young woman was shot and killed during a jewelry store rob…

The discovery of a woman murdered in her mobile home led police to two unsettling conclusions: her husband was suspected not only of this crime, but also of having killed his first wife thirty-one years prior. Separately, in Oregon, the inv…

The discovery of firearms discarded in a pond near Atlantic City, New Jersey, has aided police in solving the fifteen-year-old murder of a Detroit taxi company owner. Similarly, an Atlanta television station receptionist’s rape and murder r…

In California, a detective pursued a killer responsible for the death of a prostitute, his investigation aided by a crucial clue: fingerprints recovered from two beer bottles discovered at the crime scene. Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Missour…

Michael Johnson had been found guilty of Jeff Wetterman’s senseless murder, an act that occurred eleven years prior. As his final days unfolded, cameras recorded the desperate efforts of his family to prevent his execution, and the palpable…

Students participating in the University of Cincinnati and Texas Tech University Innocence Project investigate the claims of incarcerated murderers asserting their innocence. Offering exclusive access, the program follows these students as …

The Chicago Police Department has initiated a program called Women’s DNA, dedicated to funding the analysis of long-untested rape kits and aiding survivors in their pursuit of justice. Simultaneously, in Sacramento County, California, a dep…