Ep 3. Sweethearts, Silenced

In the ninth season of Cold Case Files, the third episode titled "Sweethearts, Silenced" takes the viewers to a gripping true-crime story where the detectives unravelled a case that remained unsolved for over three decades.

The episode begins with the story of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew, a young couple who went missing in August 1980 after attending a wedding reception in Wisconsin. The families of the victims had searched for the couple for months, but they were nowhere to be found. The investigation hit a dead end, and the case turned cold until a hunter discovered the bodies in a shallow grave near a cornfield in 1984.

The police found that Tim and Kelly were brutally murdered, and their bodies were left to decompose in the shallow grave for several months. The local law enforcement officers were unable to make any significant progress in the case, and it got closed due to lack of evidence.

However, things changed nearly 20 years later when new DNA technology made it possible to test delicate pieces of evidence that were collected during the initial investigation. This gave a chance to the detectives to reopen the case and try finding the culprits responsible for the heinous crime.

The investigators got a breakthrough when they were able to identify the DNA of a suspect from the hair found in Kelly's hand. The hair did not belong to Tim or Kelly, and it was not from any of their known acquaintances. Further investigation led the detectives to the suspect of the hair: Edward W. Edwards, a known criminal.

Edwards had a long criminal history, including murders, rapes, and robberies. He had been in and out of prison, and he was known to have a strong affinity to committing crimes. Moreover, the investigators found out that Edwards had attended the same wedding reception as Tim and Kelly on the night they disappeared.

The detectives uncovered that Edwards had lived in the vicinity and had committed several crimes in the area, including a murder that he committed soon after Tim and Kelly's disappearance. However, he was not apprehended and got away with the murder before committing several other crimes in different states.

The investigators followed Edward's trail and discovered that he had lived under several fake identities, which made it difficult to track him down. However, they analyzed the evidence from the crime scenes where Edwards had committed the other murders, and it matched the evidence from Tim and Kelly's case.

Throughout the episode, the viewers get to see the detailed investigation that the detectives conducted to bring the killer to justice. The detectives analyzed the evidence collected years ago, interviewed all the suspects, and worked on building a solid case.

The episode concludes with the detectives finally linking the evidence to Edward W. Edwards and gathering enough proof to arrest him. After a long, grueling investigation that spanned several years, the family finally got the justice they deserved, and the killer was brought to justice.

In conclusion, the Cold Case Files season 9 episode 3 titled "Sweethearts, Silenced" is a chilling and captivating true-crime story. It highlights how advances in forensic technology can help detectives solve cases that have remained unsolved for several years. It is a must-watch for fans of the true-crime genre.