Ep 20. Cross Country Connection / Eyes at the Window

In Cold Case Files Classic season 5 episode 20, titled "Cross Country Connection/Eyes at the Window," the show explores two tragic cold cases that occurred in different parts of the country.

The first case takes place in Wisconsin, where nine-year-old Christine Jessop was kidnapped and murdered in 1984. For over a decade, the case remained unsolved until DNA evidence linked a man named Guy Paul Morin to the crime in 1994. Morin was convicted and spent nearly two years in prison before new DNA evidence emerged that exonerated him. Eventually, another man, Calvin Hoover, was identified as the likely perpetrator and convicted of the crime in 1995.

The second case takes place in California, where 32-year-old Karen Klaas was brutally beaten and strangled inside her home in 1976. Despite an intensive investigation, no suspects were identified at the time. However, the case was revived in 2002 when DNA evidence linked a man named Michael Morales to the crime. Morales was eventually convicted and sentenced to death, but his case became controversial when it was revealed that prison officials had improperly prepared the lethal injection drugs.

Through interviews with investigators, family members, and others involved in the cases, the episode explores the emotional toll that these crimes took on those affected and the innovative techniques used to crack these cold cases.