History Main / TheDeadGuyDidIt

** In [[Recap/ColdCaseS3E5Committed "Committed"]], the head doctor who convinced Anika and Anton to abandon Bettie outside where she froze to death has already died when the Cold Case team figure it out.

!!This is a DeathTrope and is often associated with plot twists, so expect ''unmarked spoilers'' in the examples below!

-> ''"He shot himself and then hid the gun."''

** Played with in [[Recap/ColdCaseS1E14TheBoyInTheBox "The Boy in the Box".]] Sister Grace, who has recently died of old age, had to give up her son Arnold. But because of his bad behavior (which may be ADD, Aspergers, or just kid stuff) such as his extreme hyperactivity, he wasn't getting adopted. Out of desperation, Grace tried to seek behavioural therapy for him, which resulted in his [[AccidentNotMurder accidental]] death, and she covered it up. They end up TogetherInDeath.

** In [[Recap/ColdCaseS3E9APerfectDay "A Perfect Day"]], the remains of a six-year-old girl are found under a bridge, from which she was thrown in 1965. It's revealed that her father was a DomesticAbuser and [[TheBadGuysAreCops a police officer]] who threw her off to destroy her mother after she tried to leave him. However, the father died years previously [[VillainWithGoodPublicity with his public reputation still intact.]]

** "Beautiful Little Fool" and "Torn" are both set almost a hundred years prior so its obvious that the killers would not live long.

* ''Series/TheMentalist'': In the episode "The Red Tattoo", the primary victim is a gymnastics coach named Chad Parkman, who died of a stab wound in a locked apartment, barely having the time to say "He stabbed me" before he bleeds to death. Later in the episode, another man, Devin Frost, is found shot and killed. It turns out that Parkman killed Frost, having been blackmailed by him, and was stabbed by him in the altercation. However, the injury wasn't immediately noticed, and he went to the apartment to use a makeshift slingshot to dispose of the gun he used. When he exerted himself to pull back the slingshot and launched the gun away, the stab wound was exacerbated so badly that a major artery was opened and he bled to death.

* Robert Rath from ''Film/{{Assassins}}'' is haunted his murder of his friend Nikolai. Its revealed near the end that Nikolai faked his death and was the contact for both Robert and Miguel Bane.

* Carter from ''Film/RaisingCain'' was traumatized into developing several personalities by his dead father Dr. Nix. He even has a personality named Boomsie who is modeled after Dr. Nix. In the climax, Carter's wife discovers that Boomsie really is Dr. Nix himself.