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

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.

Look Again

The fiancé 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 shortly before she was to testify in court against a man who exposed himself to her.

Gleen

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.

Our Boy Is Back

Lilly re-investigates the case of a murdered church organist, when his Alzheimer's-stricken widow begins having flashbacks of the night in question.

Churchgoing People

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 twenty-one-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.

The Runner

A petty crook, Ricky (Tim deZarn), 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 (Summer Glau), was found shot, and her boyfriend Al Clarkson (Doug Kruse) was originally imprisoned for the crime.

Love Conquers Al

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.

A Time to Hate

When a young woman, Rosie (Laura Regan), wakes up from a coma, Lilly re-opens the fall in which her 6-year-old daughter Toya (Aynsley Lemon) 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.

Fly Away

Lilly gets an anonymous phone call from a man claiming he killed an elderly woman back in 1989 and buried her body in the basement of a house. When Lilly checks the dwelling, a body is recovered, but the alleged murderer refuses to identify himself.

Sherry Darlin'

Rush and Valens investigate the case of a cold-blooded killer who shot a young man trying to hitchhike his way home to Philly from Atlanta.

The Hitchhiker

A college professor (Jeffrey Nordling), who lost everything − his career, his family, his reputation − after being suspected of murdering one of his female students (Kaitlin Doubleday) in 1995, offers new information regarding the case that he hopes will clear his name. He believes the student's death is connected to a copycat murder of a prostitute. Rush investigates the woman who was killed and the men in her life in order to discover which one of them killed her.

Hubris

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.

Glued

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 Letter

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 new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.

Boy in the Box

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.

Disco Inferno

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.

Volunteers

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 Lost Soul of Herman Lester

Lilly investigates an unsolved hit-and-run accident from New Year's Eve 1999 that left a man dead, after a recovering alcoholic comes forward and claims she is the one who hit him. But the evidence points to the guy being murdered, not accidentally run down.

Resolutions

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.

Late Returns

The team reopens the 1985 case of a wealthy stock broker. At the time it was deemed that Charles Danville was killed when someone attempted to steal his car, but new evidence suggests that he may, in fact, have been murdered.

Greed

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.

Maternal Instincts

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 Plan

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.

Lover's Lane

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.

The Badlands

On the eve of the 60-year reunion of women who worked in a weapons factory during World War II, Lilly is asked to re-investigate the death of Alice Miller, one of the worker girls. The death was deemed accidental at the time, but her friend pleads to Lilly to look closer into the case.

Factory Girls

Lilly and Valens reopen a presumed homicide from 1979 in which an unidentified victim's blood-drenched shoes, underwear and sheets were found in a trash bag, but no body. The investigation begins when a battered wife accuses her husband of murdering a girl in 1979 and brings in an amateur film from the time that supposedly shows him committing the crime.

Daniela

When human remains are found outside a former state prison, the team re-opens the 1968 case of a dead inmate, murdered on the night Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Concert was broadcast to prisons throughout the country. However, when it's revealed that the bones don't belong to the person everyone had assumed, the team must start the probe anew by first identifying who the victim was.

The House

Det. Rush investigates the 1991 double murder of married illegal immigrants from Cambodia who were shot to death in their apartment and found by their 6-year old daughter. The now-teenage girl brings the case to Lilly after she discovers a bracelet once owned by her mother is for sale on the internet. The probe reveals that the parents had dark secrets unknown to their daughter.

Who's Your Daddy

Lilly reopens a 1990 murder case, in which a prep-school girl was found dead in a local swimming hole, after a present-day victim with similar markings is discovered at the same place. The investigation reveals that the victim of the earlier crime was routinely tormented by a trio of classmates who invited her to a sleepover the night she was killed.

The Sleepover

An HIV-positive gay man asks Rush and Valens to re-investigate the case of his dead partner who died of strangulation in 1983. Not only was the victim outspoken in his views about AIDS education within the 1980's secretive gay community, he was also the member of a very prominent family, disowned by his father for his sexual orientation.

It's Raining Men

The 1953 murder of a white school teacher, a communist sympathizer who was involved in civil-rights issues, is reopened after the victim's youngest son asks for it to be reinvestigated. The probe reveals that the slain man was killed on the same day that the Rosenbergs were executed and was set to testify the next day before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Red Glare

The headless torso of a woman who disappeared in 1985, on the same day she filed domestic-abuse charges against her husband, is found by hikers in a wildlife preserve. The investigation quickly leads to the grisly discovery of 8 more decapitated bodies, the victims of a serial killer.

Mind Hunters

The team re-opens the 2000 case of a prominent Puerto Rican assistant district attorney when rumors about his connection to a large amount of money gone missing at the time of his death start to circulate. However, his widow insists that the claims are not true. The re-investigation reveals that the victim was prosecuting a murder trial and the man convicted for the crime after his death may possibly be innocent.

Discretion

The team re-opens the case of Matthew Adams, a teen-aged cult member who apparently committed suicide back in 1978, when his sister comes forth with new evidence about the deprogrammer her family hired to rescue her brother.

Blank Generation

When a dying boxing referee makes a confession about a 1976 fight, the team re-opens the case in which an underdog fighter, arranged to fight against a much more qualified boxer, took a heavy beating in the match and died only moments afterwards.

Yo, Adrian

After a murder weapon connected to the 1987 drive-by shooting of a little girl turns up, Det. Rush and her team re-open the case. The team slowly tracks back the gun's previous owners until the shocking original owner is finally revealed.

Time to Crime

Rush and the team investigate the 1969 murder of a 19-year-old girl whose body was found in her boyfriend's apartment the day he fled to Canada to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Revolution

Lilly investigates the 1993 death of a mentally challenged teen who was hit by a train, after drawings appear on his grave that indicate foul play might have been involved.

Wishing

Lt. Stillman's priest informs him of a long ago confession where a man confessed being involved in the 1998 kidnapping of a 9-year old boy. The case is reopened with this new lead, and it turns out the truth is closer to home.

Revenge

A man claims that he was wrongfully convicted of the 1982 murder of his rich wife. The case is reopened when the victim's rare ring is discovered worn by a recently deceased junkie.

Schadenfreude

A woman, who was romantically involved with Nick Vera in high school, claims that members of a fraternity might have been involved in her alcoholic sister's death in 1995. The victim's estranged husband and a bar owner are also viewed as potential suspects.

Ravaged

The unsolved 1963 murder of a black teenager, whose body was discovered by the then-young Will Jeffries, is reopened.

Strange Fruit

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.

Kensington

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.

Creatures of the Night

When an old truck containing human bones is pulled from the Delaware River, the team re-opens the case of a missing and possibly murdered girl who disappeared unexpectedly in 1932.

Best Friends

The discovery of nine human skulls leads Rush (Kathryn Morris) back to George Marks, the serial killer she was unable to incriminate months earlier, and who walked away a free man. As the detectives reinvestigate his mother's murder from 1972, George is forced to emerge from hiding to face Rush again. This time, their very lives are at stake in their final showdown.

The Woods

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.

Family

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.

The Promise

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.

Bad Night

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

Colors

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.

Commited

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

Saving Patrick Bubley

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.

Start-Up

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.

Honor

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.

A Perfect Day

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.

Frank's Best

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.

8 Years

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.

Detention

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.

Debut

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.

Dog Day Afternoons

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.

Sanctuary

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.

One Night

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

Superstar

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.

Willkommen

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.

Beautiful Little Fool

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.

Death Penalty: Final Appeal

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.

The Hen House

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.

The River

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. During the probe, Lilly feels a strange connection to the victim, and her personal attachment may end up jeopardizing the case.

Joseph

Lilly investigates a 1995 shooting spree at a mall in which two teen boys killed 15 people before committing suicide. The case is reopened when a video of the crimes is found and it suggests that a third shooter was involved. Elsewhere, Stillman asks Valens to investigate whether Valens' brother may have been molested by a boxing coach in the 1980s.

Rampage

The team re-opens the 2004 case of a female veteran of the Iraqi War when her prosthetic arm is found in a river. Meanwhile, Scotty visits his older brother in connection with a case that brings up painful memories from their childhood.

The War at Home

When the remains of a sandhog miner who disappeared in 1947 are found in a subway service tunnel, the team is prompted to re-open the case when they suspect the victim might have been murdered for being a union activist.

Sandhogs

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.

Baby Blues

Lilly re-opens a 2003 case in which an autistic boy's parents were shot in their car when Joseph brings her information that the boy might have seen the killer.

Saving Sammy

The apparent 1958 suicide of a popular rock-and-roll DJ is reinvestigated after a documentary filmmaker discovers a tape recording made at the time of the victim's death by gunshot at his radio station. Also, Valens tries to get his brother to testify against a suspected pedophile.

Static

The 1979 murder of a schoolteacher who was stabbed to death in a wooded area is reopened when the victim's bloodstained jacket is found stuffed in a tree trunk with a happy-face key chain in a pocket. The case was originally investigated by Jeffries when he was a rookie detective.

The Key

The 1975 disappearance of an 8-year-old girl who was never found is reinvestigated after a note written by the girl shortly before she vanished turns up. Their friendship rattled many in the predominantly white neighborhood and the girls quickly became targets of hatred.

Fireflies

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

Lonely Hearts

The team re-investigates the 1968 death of a policeman who was shot in his patrol car. The case was then ruled as a drug bust gone bad, but new evidence now reveals the victim may have been romantically involved with his partner.

Forever Blue

Lilly and Valens travel to Nashville and Knoxville to investigate the 2000 murder of a country-music singer who was gunned down outside of a Philadelphia bar where he and his band had recently played. The unsolved case is reopened when the gun used in the homicide turns up.

The Red and the Blue

Lilly investigates the murder of a 17-year-old prep-school student who disappeared in early 2006 and whose body is found stuffed in an oil drum outside an abandoned warehouse in a drug-infested part of the city. Also, Vera pays a parking ticket for his neighbor and later asks her out on a date.

Knuckle Up

Lilly investigates the 1996 murder of a wealthy divorced woman who was found dead in her ex-husband's indoor swimming pool. The original investigation ruled the death accidental, but new evidence suggests it was a homicide.

Blackout

In 2002, two kids were shot in front of two different schools on the same day at precisely 8:03 a.m. It's the fifth anniversary of the shootings, and Kat Miller wants to re-open the murders because she feels the cases are connected.

8:03 AM

Lilly investigates the deaths of a married couple who perished in 1981 when a supposedly accidental gas-leak explosion set their house on fire. The case is reopened when fragments of a bomb are discovered at the house during renovations. Back at headquarters, Stillman takes care of his 4-year-old grandson.

Blood on the Tracks

Lilly investigates the 1964 murder of a 17-year-old girl who was sent by her parents to a home for unwed mothers, where she gave birth to a girl. The next day the teen was killed. The case is reopened when the victim's daughter comes forward, having just learned that she was adopted and that her biological mother was slain.

The Good-Bye Room

When a body is found in a dumpster, the team re-opens the 1984 case of a murdered teenage boy who wanted to become a dancer against his father's wishes.

Shuffle, Ball Change

The 1999 murder of a homeless woman, whose body is found at the bottom of a river in a station wagon, is investigated.

A Dollar, A Dream

A father pushes a registered sex offender off of a building and threatens to kill a different sex offender each day until the cold-case unit solves his son's 1987 rape and murder.

Offender

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.

Stand Up and Holler

The team re-investigates their oldest cold case yet, the 1919 murder of a young woman who was a passionate advocate for women's right to vote.

Torn

The 2005 murder of a longshoreman who accidentally became involved in a human-trafficking ring run by the Russian mob.

Cargo

The 1998 death of a terminally ill man who died months before he was expected to is investigated after a nurse confesses to six so-called mercy killings.

The Good Death

In the fourth season finale, a hostage situation arises when the entire team is held captive while they're investigating the 2006 killings of a family who had just moved into a new house.

Stalker

Recovered from the shooting, Lilly wants to convince her boss that she's ready to get back to work. The team re-opens the 1994 case of three 10-year-old kids who were beaten to death when Lilly suspects the teens convicted of the killings may have been wrongfully incarcerated.

Thrill Kill

After a piece of clothing belonging to a murder victim is found, the team re-opens the 1998 case of a high school girl who had a reputation for being promiscuous.

That Woman

When the victim's younger sister comes looking for her, the team re-opens the 2006 case of a missing Amish girl who was murdered while she was in Philadelphia experiencing the Amish rite of passage called "rumspringa".

Running Around

The team re-investigates the 1953 case of a talented 19-year-old rock'n'roll singer when new evidence comes forth, suggesting he wasn't killed in the place where his body was found.

Devil Music

The team re-opens the 1989 case of an unidentified Jane Doe when she dies in the hospital, after being comatose since the day she was shot 18 year ago.

Thick as Thieves

The team re-opens the 2002 case of a 14-year-old math whiz whose half-brother exploited his unusual talents: card counting and safe cracking.

Wunderkind

When human remains are discovered at the bottom of a well, the team opens the 1938 case of a housewife who went missing the night of Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.

The Best Seasons of Cold Case

The Best Seasons of Cold Case

Season 4

Season 2

Season 5

Season 3

Season 7

Season 1

Season 6