Ballard Season 1 - Episode 2 (Haystacks)

Detective Renée Ballard faces mounting challenges as she balances two intricate cases in her new role leading LAPD’s Cold Case Unit. First, a murdered housekeeper, Yulia Kravetz, is discovered at the Sunbeam Lodge, a decrepit motel connected to an unsolved John Doe case. The clues point to a mentally unstable suspect named Sean Wright, but Ballard suspects a larger scheme involving someone who manipulated Wright to commit the crime. Concurrently, Ballard revisits the murder of Sarah Pearlman who she links to the murder of aspiring actress Laura Wilson. The DNA connection suggests a serial killer may have evaded detection for decades.