Season 1
Cold Case Files is an American crime documentary television series created and hosted by Bill Kurtis that documents the investigation of various long-unsolved murders (referred to as "cold cases" in detectives' parlance) through the use of modern forensic science and criminal psychology, in addition to recent breakthroughs in the case(s) involving previously silent witnesses.
The series originally aired in the USA on the A&E Network from 1999-2007. Episodes are an hour in length (including commercials).
Cold Case Files premiered in South Africa on DStv's Crime & Investigation Network (C&I) in 2007, ending its run on 22 August 2008.
A rebroadcast of the series premiered on C&I on Monday 25 August 2008, at 23h10. New episodes air daily from Monday to Friday at the same time.
Repeats
Mondays-Saturdays: 05h10, 17h10
Synopsis
Murders go unsolved. Killers slip through the cracks. With the passage of time, families lose hope and another unsolved homicide file settles into obscurity.
The pattern is familiar, but changing — thanks to the efforts of a special breed of detectives. Cold Case Files tells the story of their work.
These detectives are experts in the science of crime detection. They blow the dust off old homicide files, walk down the corridors of time, and set out on the hunt for a killer — a killer who thinks the search is off.
Using new technology and old-fashioned police work, their methods offer a study in patience and perseverance. Cold Case Files takes you on a journey, step by step, through the methods used to catch the culprit.
The series examines each piece of forensic evidence, each witness, each possible lead, and each turn in the road that ultimately leads detectives to their killer.
Cold Case Files is a pioneer in the nonfiction forensics genre. Episodes have been universally hailed by law enforcement agencies across America and are regularly used as models for investigative technique in training seminars.