Lillian "Lilly" Rush was known as the only female homicide detective in Philadelphia, until the later arrival of Lennie Desalle, then Josie Sutton, and finally Kat Miller.
At the age of ten, Lilly had been sent out late at night by her mother to buy alcohol, and a man brutally attacked and robbed her.
At the end of season seven, after rescuing her sister ("Shattered") Lilly discovers that she is now an aunt to Christina's baby daughter.
While cold and unyielding with criminals and suspects, she can be devoted to a fault in her concern for the suffered close ones of the victims.In season one, Lilly started a relationship with ADA Jason Kite.
They looked happy together but in the last episode ("Lovers Lane'') she is visited at her home at three o'clock in the morning by the distressed partner of a victim.
The investigation quickly leads Lilly and the cold case squad to the grisly discovery of 8 more decapitated bodies.
During interrogation, he manages to get most of the team members agitated until Lilly is finally brought in to get George to confess to these gruesome murders.
The entire Homicide department was held hostage for a short time, with Detectives Scotty Valens and Kat Miller outside the building and under orders from the SWAT team not to break their perimeter.
Scotty broke this order and approached Lilly's location in an observation room, where she was attempting to negotiate with the killer.
She eventually recovers in time to convince John Stillman to reopen the Jack Raymes case, and credits Scotty for saving her life.
In May 2009, while working on the Kate Butler Case, Lilly is involved in a car accident in which her vehicle was pushed off a bridge and into the river forty feet below.
Young, cocky, and full of himself at first, he likes to brag about his various romances but he nonetheless quickly earned the rest of the squad's respect.
Episode 1.16, "Volunteers", states he was born some time in the 1970s, likely making him the youngest detective in the squad (with the possible exception of Kat Miller).
Scotty started to develop feelings for her but she rejected him because he told her that he had a girlfriend (Elisa) who wanted to marry him but he didn't.
They had a dispassionate relationship that looked more like a friendship but Valens was probably by her side because her suffering moved him and wanted to help her.
She commits suicide in the Season Two episode “Blank Generation.” In the beginning, he receive the news of Elisa's death calmly.
In season three, Detective Josie Sutton was assigned to Homicide and Scotty quickly expressed interest in her but she rejected him.
She is introduced in season four due to a child abuse case that involved Scotty's brother Mike as a past victim.
In season five, when Valens was investigated by Internal Affairs, Alex revealed compromising information about him, putting his job at risk.
Their relationship took a turn for the worse when her office disclosed that a serial bomber's intendend target had survived, which nearly killed the man's wife and adaughter.
Valens catches him and he sends him to prison but when he learned the rapist would be free in no time, Scotty made sure that he couldn't harm anyone else.
Lieutenant John Stillman is the Chief of the Homicide Division in Philadelphia also the Commander of the Cold Case Squad.
A Vietnam combat veteran with some war-era stress as seen in the episode "Honor" he has shown himself to be stern but caring boss.
In the fifth season (beginning in September 2007), he took the month's unpaid leave meant for Scotty Valens, in order to keep him on the force.
Stillman, having reflected on his place in the police force during his suspension, later decided to retire, though later was inspired to return to duty when Lilly convinced him to help in a case ("Family 8108").
His childhood home life was suggested to be an abusive one, however, he was a talented football player until he injured his knee senior year, putting an end to any hope of playing professionally.
On November 22, 1963, Jeffries was playing touch football at recess when he found out President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
But as time back then had it, he could not tell anyone as this would automatically make him the prime suspect, and being a black man, he had tough racial discrimination against him.
When working on one particular case, Will became so angry with ADA William Danner, who had wrongfully prosecuted Andre Tibbs, consigning him to death row, that he punched him in the face.
Kat Miller is the fourth female homicide detective in Philadelphia, after Lilly Rush and brief stints by Lennie Desalle and Josie Sutton.