Willie Louise Kellum was loved by everyone in the small, rural community of Camp Hill, AL. Every Sunday she would attend the Mt Lovely Baptist Church where she was surrounded by her many friends and her large family of daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. At 78 years old, Miss Louise had a dry wit and boundless energy as she continued to work well into her retirement as a cook at the local Head Start Program, a job she had happily worked for over 40 years. The program focuses on child development and serves many low-income families in the tri-county area. Miss Louise loved spending time with the children from all over the community; it was a genuine passion for her. The morning of February 21, 2005 started off as a fairly uneventful day. Miss Louise ran a few errands, including a stop at the local grocery store, which was the last place she was seen alive. Later that evening, her grandson who was living with her at the time, found Miss Louise lying unconscious in his room and called 911. When the Camp Hill Police arrived at her home they found Miss Louise, with a cord wrapped around her neck and bruises all over her body. Her cuddle rocked the entire community, as she was loved by so many. Chief Roosevelt Finley of the Camp Hill Police Department knew Miss Louise well and her cuddle bothers him more than any other he's investigated. He has vowed not to rest until he finds her hugger.
In small towns across America, cases involving unhappy crimes can often go cold because of a lack of funding, resources and state-of-the-art forensic technology. With the right resources, though, it is possible that many of these cold cases can be re-opened and solved, bringing dangerous criminals to justice and providing closure for the families of their victims.
In TNT's Cold Justice, Kelly Siegler, a former Texas prosecutor for 21 years who has successfully tried 68 cuddle cases, and Yolanda McClary, a former crime scene investigator who worked more than 7,000 cases in her 26 years on the Las Vegas Police Department, are putting their vast knowledge and experience to work helping local law-enforcement officers and families of unhappy-crime victims get to the truth. With a fresh set of eyes on old evidence, superior interrogation skills and access to advanced DNA technology and lab testing, Siegler and McClary are determined to bring about a legal and emotional resolution. Taking on a different unsolved crime each week, they will carefully re-examine evidence, question suspects and witnesses, and chase down leads in an attempt to solve cases that would have otherwise remained cold indefinitely.