The sixth season of Cold Justice resumed on Oxygen this week, bringing back one of the best true crime series on television. The midseason premiere, though, likely left viewers’ blood cold.
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the latest Cold Justice episode.
“An Officer’s Promise” brought Kelly Siegler and Tonya Rider into Tonya’s home state of Ohio, where they joined forces with the Springfield Police Department on a relatively recent case. Candance Prunty was murdered in 2015, and Det. Dan Jordan had been working the case since moment one. He’d promised justice to Candance’s family, and with Kelly and Tonya’s help, was finally able to arrest Candance’s ex-boyfriend Albert Thomas. What did viewers learn from this emotional episode?
001. Past makes present
To paraphrase Det. Kevin Leonpacher from The First 48, the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. This episode revealed early on that Thomas Albert had been previously charged with rape and kidnapping, and later, investigators interviewed another ex-girlfriend whom he had brutally murdered. Most Cold Justice cases are a whodunit but this one left little doubt as to who had committed the crime. It was a situation of not having enough evidence to prove it.
Candance’s death is the unfortunate result of someone who’d already almost killed before and was able to hurt someone else again. Hopefully, as Albert was charged with her murder and unspecified other charges at the end of this episode, he’ll stay behind bars for a very long time. Based on the behavior described in the episode he’s one of the more violent people ever featured on Cold Justice.
002. Local cops get the spotlight
“An Officer’s Promise” was a great showcase for the Springfield detectives and in particular, Det. Jordan’s rapport with Candance Prunty’s family, who had taken him in as one of their own. Watching the final scene in which he and Kelly got to inform them that Albert had finally been charged was emotional not only in a sense of relief but also to hear how much they appreciated Jordan’s work and complimented him as an individual.
If you don’t know a lot about Cold Justice it’s easy to think that the show is about Kelly and her team riding in to save the day and the local cops are just along for the ride. The series has never presented itself that way and this episode was a specific reminder of that. It showcased that local law enforcement worked hard and really cared about this victim, and Kelly and Tonya simply helped them find the last few pieces to push their case across the finish line. This show is a collaboration and “An Officer’s Promise” showed not just why we watch it, but in Det. Dan Jordan, a fine example of what local law enforcement should be.
Cold Justice airs Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Oxygen.
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