Ten unsolved crimes are brought to light in Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks, now streaming on Hulu. Cold Case Files began as an A&E investigative series in 1999, helping to give rise to a passionate fan base of true-crime devotees. I had the honor of speaking with celebrated journalist Bill Kurtis, who hosted and executive produced the original series and returns for the newest iteration, which brings cutting-edge DNA technology into the game to help catch killers.
(Bill Kurtis/Hulu)
Alex: Congratulations on the newest iteration of Cold Case Files. The show started in the late 90s, and the true crime genre has only grown in popularity since then. What do you feel sets this newest version apart from the previous versions of the show that fans have come to love?
Bill Kurtis: DNA. Absolutely. And that has been the one piece of forensic tool that has… It was changing but changes everything, especially if you get a good sample and a good match. And the big deal is that CODIS, which is just like the fingerprint computerized bank of all these criminals, CODIS has caught up. So there's something valuable to compare it to. We were the first Cold Case Files show, and my producer was in Dallas, and they said, "Well, look at these unsolved cases. Why don't you go in the back room? That's where the guys are working on them. They're short-timers who are going to retire in a little bit. We hand them the cases, and they're cold cases." So suddenly, we got the title, and it turns out that these guys were still detectives. And they would put it into a CODIS machine or get another piece of evidence. And they started solving the cases, and it may have turned out the killer very often was a neighbor upstairs or down the street. And they didn't have to go to another country. It was there. And the other item is that it's an endless supply of these stories. You think it can't get any worse, but it does. And you look at Liliana Adank and Eric Goldstrand. They were found shot to death in Oregon in a park in 1977, and every parent's nightmare comes true. The detectives were on the leads. However, it took them 40 years until they found a single piece of evidence that leads them to a suspect three states away. But a lot of times, these guys want to talk. They want to bear their conscience and just come with the interrogation. They say, "Okay, you got me. I'm tired of running.” And they're different. The stories are different. So it's going to become a wonderful second time for Cold Case Files.
Alex: Is there ever a “Happy ending” in these cases? It seems that so much time has passed in many of the cases that nobody is alive to bring to justice.
Bill Kurtis: I wouldn't say happy. Nicole Smith, the first episode, her mother was the dedicated one. And she wanted to look at the killer, have him tell her why he did it, and tell him how deeply she was hurt. So she'll never be happy, I don't think. She'll always have that hanging over her. And Minerva Cantu, gagged and lifeless in her home. Just the sight of it and the thought that this can happen to us. Wow. It's something that we don't want anybody to go through. On the other hand, we can't stop watching it. It's like an accident.
Alex: As a creative on this series, how do you determine where to draw the line of what you will and won’t show?
Bill Kurtis: Well, I sometimes think the line has disappeared. Richard Speck, I got some tapes, still holding the source secret. Here he was, the worst, most hated man in Illinois, the killer of eight student nurses, being videotaped for a pornographic product that can be traded within the prison. Having sex with his lover, and then eating cocaine. It just turns your stomach. The crime scene from his crime can be described with blood so thick they had to put down boards for the police to walk into the crime scene. You don't want to show that. That's going a little too far. So it's a matter of taste in many ways. It's almost like a judge having to rule on inflammatory snapshots of the crime scene. What good does it do? Of course, the prosecutor wants them all to be seen, but to see a chopped-up body full of blood that you can't identify… It is a big decision for a judge to make and the same for us. Television guidelines have kept us away, but on cable, we push each other to be more graphic all the time, and we have to leave it up to the viewer to say, "I don't want to see that." So you will see all these warnings. "There are some disturbing photographs coming up."
Alex: You worked on the original version of Cold Case Files, which was on A&E. There was also a Netflix version, and now Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks on Hulu. Does producing this type of show for streaming change the approach from when it was on cable?
Bill Kurtis: Well, we'll find out because the executives at Hulu will give us a call and say, "Hey, that's going a little far." So a lot of it depends on them. It's owned by Disney, so how far are you going to go? Some of the others want to be known as being out there… I think we're pretty tasteful.
Alex: I totally agree with that. Now, you mentioned advances in DNA technology is the game changer for this iteration of the series. What do you feel is needed in the future to prevent these huge gaps between a crime and technology catching up to be able to solve it?
Bill Kurtis: Well, we'll be using genealogy DNA, which is the building of a family tree by taking a sample, and going to relatives to match it there. And then you build the tree out to people that might be suspected. And then, the relatives get to play because they say, "My second cousin looked awfully funny or happened to be at the crime scene." And this is a big, big advance, and it is really solving a lot of problems. I'll be surprised. I was talking to the police commander here in Chicago and asked him, "Do you use genealogy DNA?" He said, "No, we haven't gotten it. I'm going to really push for it there."
Alex: Having seen just a handful of this type of show, I was surprised how many stories feel eerily familiar to others. As the man in the chair orchestrating the narratives, do you ever feel like you're living through the same story with a new cast of characters?
Bill Kurtis: You could say that. You have a crime. You have the crime scene. You have the police arrive. You are ordering or collecting the evidence just like they are. And then, you follow the investigative leads, and those leads may lead nowhere. And for most cold cases, well, we have a hundred thousand cold cases in the country, and only 1% is solved. Time is what is needed. And it may take 50 years, but that's what happens. The daughters, and very often it's the mother, the grandmother, daughters, relatives who live with that crime. So every cold case they watch, they look for similarities, the kind you're talking about.
Alex: For a final question, what is needed for all of those hundred thousand unsolved cases to get get attention and bring closure to the families left behind?
Bill Kurtis: The relatives and descendants have to pressure the police. It's a matter of money. They don't have enough money to assign two or three guys to this particular case if it's going to last 20 years. Like rape kits. Rape kits are now on the shelves unexamined because it takes time and effort. So the best we can hope for is the leads that happen to come from relatives or another prisoner or a confession about what he did 20 years ago, and that happens.
Alex: Thank you so much, Bill. I appreciate your time, and congratulations on the launch of the new series.
Bill Kurtis: Well, Alex, thank you very much.
All 10 episodes of Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks are now streaming exclusively on Hulu.