7.6/10464 votes#1 - Family
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2005
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.
Director: Mark Pellington
Writer: Meredith Stiehm
8.1/10511 votes#2 - 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.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Veena Sud
7.9/10444 votes#3 - Bad Night
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/2005
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.
Director: Kevin Bray
Writer: Andrea Newman
7.6/10406 votes#4 - Colors
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2005
Det. Rush re-opens the 1945 case of a baseball player, bludgeoned to death with his own bat.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Sean Whitesell
8.0/10457 votes#5 - Commited
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/2005
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.
Director: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Liz W. Garcia
8.0/10475 votes#6 - Saving Patrick Bubley
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2005
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.
Director: Marcos Siega
Writer: Karin Lewicki, Tyler Bensinger
7.3/10396 votes#7 - Start-Up
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2005
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.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Karin Lewicki
7.7/10421 votes#8 - Honor
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/2005
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.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Craig Turk
8.7/10658 votes#9 - A Perfect Day
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/2005
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.
Director: Roxann Dawson
Writer: Veena Sud
7.5/10368 votes#10 - Frank's Best
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 12/18/2005
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.
Director: Michael Schultz
Writer: Andrea Newman
7.2/10450 votes#11 - 8 Years
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/2006
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.
Director: Mark Pellington
Writer: Meredith Stiehm
8.0/10526 votes#12 - Detention
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/15/2006
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.
Director: Jessica Landaw
Writer: Liz W. Garcia
7.4/10423 votes#13 - Debut
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/29/2006
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.
Director: Tim Hunter
Writer: Karin Lewicki
7.6/10399 votes#14 - Dog Day Afternoons
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 2/26/2006
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.
Director: Craig Ross Jr.
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.5/10369 votes#15 - Sanctuary
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 3/12/2006
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.
Director: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Steve Sharlet
7.9/10487 votes#16 - One Night
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 3/19/2006
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.
Director: Nicole Kassell
Writer: Veena Sud
7.4/10373 votes#17 - Superstar
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 3/26/2006
When a poison-soaked towel turns up at the station, Lilly re-opens the 1973 case of a murdered female college tennis star.
Director: Bill Eagles
Writer: Craig S. O'Neill, Jason Tracey
7.3/10400 votes#18 - Willkommen
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2006
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.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Andrea Newman
7.8/10438 votes#19 - Beautiful Little Fool
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 4/9/2006
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.
Director: Kevin Bray
Writer: Liz W. Garcia
8.6/10496 votes#20 - Death Penalty: Final Appeal
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 4/16/2006
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.
Director: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.9/10402 votes#21 - The Hen House
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/2006
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.
Director: David Von Ancken
Writer: Craig Turk
7.7/10387 votes#22 - The River
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 5/7/2006
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.
Director: Craig Ross Jr.
Writer: Tyler Bensinger
7.8/10424 votes#23 - Joseph
Season 3 Episode 23 - Aired 5/21/2006
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.
Director: Roxann Dawson
Writer: Liz W. Garcia, Andrea Newman
The Best Episodes of Cold Case Season 3
Every episode of Cold Case Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Cold Case Season 3!
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...
Genres:CrimeDramaMystery
Network:CBS
Season 3 Ratings Summary
"Family" is the best rated episode of "Cold Case" season 3. It scored 7.6/10 based on 464 votes. Directed by Mark Pellington and written by Meredith Stiehm, it aired on 9/25/2005. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "The Promise".