Season 1, Episode 1 of Cold Case.
Directed by Mark Pellington
Written by Meredith Stiehm
Recently transferred to the Philadelphia Police Department's cold case unit, homicide detective Lilly Rush reopens the 1976 murder of Jill Shelby, a teenage girl who had been beaten to death at a party hosted by wealthy neighbors, after a former maid claims she witnessed the murder taking place.
Tropes
- The Alibi: Melanie for Todd, Bobby for Tim.
- Berserk Button:
- Don't act like you're better than Todd Whitley. Don't be better at anything than Todd Whitley. Don't refuse to do whatever he tells you to do, and don't insult him, especially if you're a woman. Jill learned that the hard way.
- Lilly points out that she's a living berserk button for Todd, one that he can't act on: She's a woman with power over him that he can't control, charm, or threaten to do what he wants.
- Big Brother Bully: Todd to Eric.
- By-the-Book Cop: All the cops in this episode.
- Confess to a Lesser Crime: When they realize the game is up, both the murderer and the accessory end up trying to pin the blame on the other, each claiming they were only the one who watched.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Jill is killed after being caught kissing her boyfriend Todd's brother. This, while Todd was sleeping with Jill's best friend.
- Domestic Abuse: Todd was hitting Jill back in 1976 and is hitting Melanie in 2003. He's also shown to be controlling and verbally abusive. At one point, he insults Jill's American flag-printed top by claiming she looks like a "patriotic streetwalker". Melanie also initially fears telling Lilly what she knows will cause Todd to hurt her and their daughters.
- Fair Cop: Todd asks Lilly why she is doing the job she is and says she should be married instead.
- Guilt-Ridden Accomplice: Eric, if Todd was the killer. He never recovers properly, doesn't have his life together, and suffers/ed from alcoholism.
- Hide the Evidence: The racquet used to kill Jill is buried in the brothers' aunt's backyard.
- I Reject Your Reality: Todd cannot accept that Eric could ever be better than him at anything. When Eric gets onto the wrestling team and Todd doesn't, he steals his brother's varsity jacket and insults Eric when he protests it belongs to him and not Todd.
- One Case at a Time: Lilly's partner asks her about the triple homicide case, but she only works on this one case until it is solved.
- Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: Implied by Lilly to Todd in the scene where they meet.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Jill played hockey and soccer.
- The Peeping Tom: Todd accuses Eric of watching him and Jill when they were together.
- Perp Walk: At the end.
- Revisiting the Cold Case: The case is about 25 years old. It is revisited because one of the employees of the house where Jill died previously had reason to keep her mouth shut about what she saw. Said employee is now dying of cancer and wants the crime to be known.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the Murder of Martha Moxley
. - Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: The brothers Todd and Eric are initially not arrested based on this.
- Sibling Triangle: Between Jill, Todd, and Eric.
- Spousal Privilege: While Lilly feels Melanie might know something about Todd, she uses means other than legal compulsion to get her to tell Lilly what it is.
- Two-Timing with the Bestie: Todd slept with Melanie at the party after an argument with Jill.
- The Un-Twist: While there are other viable suspects presented, it should come as no surprise that the victim's abusive boyfriend turns out to be her killer.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The triple homicide in the beginning never gets resolved in the episode. It eventually got revisited in the first episode of season 2.
