The Worst Crime Ever Committed On CSI: Miami
When "CSI" spin-off "CSI: Miami” aired its series finale in 2012, it ended a long, very successful ten-season run of television. Over the course of 232 episodes, laconic Lieutenant Horatio Caine (David Caruso) led his team of experts and forensic investigators in solving all kinds of debauched and depraved crimes around the Miami area. In fact, Caine's habit of playing with his shades while spouting one-liners in front of dead bodies became such a trope that it became a meme, overshadowing the content of the show itself.
In fact, "CSI: Miami" had a lot of gnarly, even gory murders, dismembered bodies, stabbings, sex crimes, and much more. Like "CSI" and other procedurals of the era, "Miami" showed a shocking amount of violence and body horror on primetime television, even receiving criticism for how much it depicted (via Plugged In).
However, none of the other episodes compare to this particularly nasty Crime of the Week that truly shocked fans of the series.
This episode's victim was literally stoned to death
Season 9 episode "Stoned Cold" opens on a truly horrific discovery when the dead body of a teenage girl is found on her high school's football field, the victim of an apparent severe beating. Horatio and the team find sharp rocks around the scene covered with her blood, however, and quickly realize she was tied up then stoned to death. Making the case even more unique is that the victim Blaire (Linsey Godfrey), while seemingly a popular girl in the school, was actually a cruel, vindictive bully. This means the list of suspects is much, much longer than the team would like, including victims Nate (Brett DelBuono) and Megan (Erin Sanders).
Ultimately, the team discovers the truth after pulling DNA off a suspicious item: The parents of Nate and Megan were the ones who killed her, enraged over how their children were being treated.
The crimes in the "CSI" franchise were always nasty, but a young woman getting pelted with stones by adults has to be one of the rougher episodes of "Miami." Rachel Trongo correctly writes in The CSI Files that "'Stoned Cold' takes a pretty brutal approach to the subject of school bullying ... This episode may seem a bit extreme, but that's not surprising—it's a TV show."
You can currently stream "Stoned Cold" and the other 231 episodes of "CSI: Miami" on Paramount+, while "CSI: Vegas" will premiere this fall.