Cold Case Files Season 2, Episode 5: The Heartland Killer

The Voice in the Lake

When 31-year-old real estate appraiser Mike Williams mysteriously vanishes while duck hunting in the Florida swamps in December of 2000, authorities suspect he accidentally drowned. For sixteen years Mike’s disappearance remains a mystery. The case heats up when police receive a distress call from the victim’s wife in 2016. Featuring interviews with detectives and the victim’s mother as well as rare footage of the crime scene and recorded audio confessions with the accused, the episode explores how the disappearance unfolded into a sinister plot to cash in on millions of dollars of life insurance.

43 min

Devil at the Door

When 36-year-old computer programmer Lisa Valdez fails to show up for work, her apartment manager finds her brutally murdered in her tiny studio. Her body is riddled with stab wounds, the walls are covered in blood. Evidence shows the killer cut off her long, dark hair, taking it as an apparent trophy. Detectives ask, could she be the victim of a brutal serial killer? Or was Lisa murdered by someone she knew? Clues left on an answering machine point to a co-worker who was known to have feelings for Lisa, but two bloody fingerprints left on a toilet seat clear him as a suspect, and the case goes cold for thirteen years. Things heat up when a detective gets a hit during a search of the state's DNA database, leading to an unsuspected person from Lisa's past.

43 min

Missing in Altoona

When Sherry Leighty goes missing in 1999, her family is left wondering how a dedicated mother of three could vanish without a trace. A decade later, the cold case heats up when Sherry's sister launches a social media campaign to help solve her sister's mysterious disappearance. An online tip unearths the killer truth and a sinister family secret. Featuring an interview with Shelly Leighty, who never gave up on solving her sister's case, along with rare home video of Sherry and her family.

43 min

The School Teacher

Twenty-six years after a schoolteacher's murder, cold-case detectives get a break when a relative of the killer uploads DNA to a public genealogy website.

43 min

The Devil in Disguise

23-year-old teacher Irene Garza was a former beauty queen and devout Catholic who vanished the evening before Easter after giving confession. Residents of her close-knit border town did their best to find her, but after a series of false leads, her body was found floating in a drainage canal clearly the victim of a violent sexual predator. At the time, a key witness hinted that a member of the Catholic clergy may have been responsible, but the clue remained buried for 42 years until a former priest comes forward with a damning confession from another man of the cloth that reveals a sinister coverup.

43 min

Love and Hate

Near what's known as the hanging tree, the mutilated body of Timothy Coggins is found in late 1983. The investigation is thwarted and the case freezes for over 30 years, until a newly elected sheriff vows to bring the killers to justice.

43 min

Ice Cold in Denver

On a bitter morning in 1980, radio intern Helene Pruszynski is found brutalized in a snowy field. After 37 years of fruitless leads, investigators tap into a public genealogy website that leads them across the country to the killer they've been hunting.

43 min

Murder by Moonlight

Easter Sunday of 1992, the body of missing woman Lisa Ziegert is found in a field. The investigation yields hundreds of leads but no true suspect. After more than two decades on ice, the case is revived when DNA phenotyping puts a face to the killer.

43 min

Suspicious Minds

Just after the last day of school in 1984, 15-year-old Reesa Trexler is found murdered in her grandparents' home. For decades, a stalled investigation only fuels the town rumor mill, pointing an accusing finger at Reesa's 13-year-old sister, Jodie.

43 min

A Lesson in Homicide

When a beloved schoolteacher is found murdered in her Neptune, New Jersey apartment in the fall of 2009, suspicion is cast on her soon to be ex-husband. Long after the case goes cold, a detective embarks on a mission to help the man clear his name and track down the real killers.

43 min

Woman in the Woods

In August 1972, the body of Jody Loomis is found in the woods. 34 years later, the killer's DNA is recovered from Jody's old clothing but it isn't matched until 2018, when genetic genealogy helps point to one suspect--whose guilt must be proven in court.

43 min

Eyes of a Killer

On February 2, 2010, two masked gunmen commit a violent robbery and shoot Michael Temple Jr., rendering him a quadriplegic for five years before his death. In this unusual cold case, DNA from a knife is used to create a sketch of the killer.

43 min

Dark Angel

13 days after Pam Pitts disappears in 1988 her charred body is found at a popular hangout spot in the Arizona desert. When a second victim is discovered in a mineshaft, detectives suspect the killer may have known them both, but the truth is decades away.

43 min

Friday Night Ghosts

In late 1983, the bodies of five people abducted from a local fast food restaurant are found brutally murdered in an oil field. The main suspect is long believed to be a well-connected local man, until new evidence reveals the true killers.

43 min

The Clock Strikes Murder

When 23-year-old Tonya McKinley is found brutally murdered on New Years Day 1985, a little boy is left motherless. A family must wait 35 years for advancements in forensic science to finally catch a killer using familial DNA.

43 min

Sisters In Death

In March 1984, Jack Kennedy discovers his daughters brutally murdered. Their mother and niece spend their lives keeping the case alive. DNA leads nowhere. Thirty years later, an informant gives up a name. But the family's ordeal is far from over.

43 min

One Tough Mother

The murder of Tiffany Johnston rocks the town of Bethany, Oklahoma. DNA points to her killer over a decade later.

43 min

Written in Blood

In July of 1970, the brutal murder of single mom Loretta Jones leaves four-year-old Heidi Jones motherless. Nearly 40 years later, Heidi vows to solve her mother's cold case and calls on an old high school friend to help her find justice for Loretta.

43 min

Cold Ashes

When a deadly house fire claims the life of a family in rural Oklahoma, investigators suspect foul play and it sends a mother on a decades-long crusade to find out what happened to her missing teenage daughter and best friend.

43 min

Queen of the Ozarks

In June 1985, a 20-year-old "Sucker Day" Festival Queen is found brutalized. The small community of Nixa, Missouri, is certain her blood is on the hands of a local wealthy businessman, but after 25 years DNA reveals the true killer.

The Bone Keeper

In December 1985, when human bones are discovered in the woods, it puts an end to the search for missing teen David Reed. David's skull fractures point to murder; but it will be decades before investigators can find his killer.

A is for Arson

When Gary Parks is killed in a fire-ruled arson, the investigation into his death shifts to homicide.

41 min

Til Death Do Us Part

Just two years into their marriage, Chuck and Cheryl Hall are torn apart when Cheryl is murdered. Though Cheryl's family is certain they know her killer, the law isn't as sure. After several decades, a DNA match erases all doubt.

The Lost Patient

Janie Landers disappeared in 1979 from the home for the impaired and later on, her body was found. It took years before the suspect was found and the horrors in the facility are uncovered.

Missing and Murdered

A woman's promise to bring her missing aunt back home unexpectedly took a lifetime.

Lone Survivor

In early 1984, three-year-old Vanessa Bennett becomes the lone survivor of her family's brutal murder. Initial investigators suspect a serial killer is at large, but decades pass before DNA narrows the suspect pool to one man.