The next episode of Justin Hartley‘s hit series Tracker appears to have similarities to some of the most high-profile true crime cases of all time — including JonBenét Ramsey‘s murder and Casey Anthony‘s arrest for her daughter’s death.
“Eurydice,” which airs on CBS Sunday, December 7, follows a case where “a grieving mother becomes the prime suspect in her missing daughter’s murder.” Colter (Hartley) then “sets out to find the true culprit and prove her innocence,” according to the official synopsis.
In the first look images, Colter is seen speaking with the mother before she is arrested. There is a still of him seemingly standing next to the missing girl’s bright pink dress, which appears to be torn up with possible evidence of blood. There is also a photo of a dog, although its relevance to the case is not clear yet.
Based on Jeffery Deaver‘s novel The Never Game, Tracker centers on Colter, who travels the country helping to find missing people (or sometimes dogs) and solving cases others couldn’t or wouldn’t. The situations Colter finds himself in are usually fictional, but circumstances such as a missing toddler could unintentionally bear a resemblance to real cases.
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Ramsey, who took part in pageants, was found dead at age 6 in 1996 in the basement of her house hours after she had been reported missing. Her official cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Over the years, police have looked into many suspects and theories, including JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John Ramsey. A grand jury voted to indict Patsy and John in 1999, but the indictment was never signed by the Boulder district attorney due to a lack of evidence. The couple were exonerated in 2008 and continued to advocate for JonBenét’s murderer to be found. (Patsy died of ovarian cancer in 2006.)
Caylee Anthony, meanwhile, was found dead in 2008, and her mother, Casey, became the prime suspect. Casey was released from prison in 2011 after being acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter. She has maintained that she had nothing to do with the disappearance and death of Caylee.
In addition to Colter solving cases week to week, the fan favorite character has been looking into his father Ashton’s mysterious death. In the season 2 finale, Colter met his dad’s former friend, who confirmed he had pushed Ashton to his death — after Colter’s mother, Mary (Wendy Crewson), seemingly asked for help.
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“That story will be far more complicated than you’re led to believe at the end of the season,” executive producer Elwood Reid exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “His brother Russell [Jensen Ackles] has some of the answers to that question. His sister Dory [Melissa Roxburgh] might have some pieces of that. His childhood friend Lizzy [Jennifer Morrison] might have some pieces of that too.”
The revelation will continue to affect Colter moving forward.
“Going way back to the genesis of the show — and it’s even in the book — is that Colter’s childhood was not what you would call a rosy childhood. He’s got a lot of questions and mysteries surrounding his childhood. For a guy each week that goes out and solves things, he’s someone who hasn’t been able to answer questions about his own life,” Reid continued. “I don’t think anyone thought necessarily that anything having to do with his family and the death of his father would be anything but pretty complicated and dark.”
Reid added: “We’ll pick up that element not as a whole season. But we will be able to see Colter struggle with learning the truth about what happened with his mother and his father and the rest of his family. His siblings have other pieces of that truth. That’s what’s interesting about the show is we’re able to mix the light in the dark all the time.”
Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
