Did Columbo ever lose a case?
Columbo always figured out who committed the murder — usually within his first few minutes at the crime scene, but occasionally after more prolonged puzzlement, as in Columbo Cries Wolf. However, there were times when a perpetrator was never charged. In Forgotten Lady, Columbo feels he has “a problem” because the killer, Grace Wheeler (Janet Leigh), is suffering from a neurological disorder, and probably doesn’t even recall the murder, and because she is dying. Columbo agrees with Grace’s longtime co-star, Ned Diamond, that Ned’s phony confession will probably hold up just long enough that Grace will die before she ever gets arrested. Some fans might believe that Nelson Brenner (PatrickMcGoohan), the killer in Identity Crisis, will escape any prosecution due to his connections at the highest levels of the federal government, and his value as a CIA agent. However, it is questionable that the CIA will still consider him so valuable after the details of his treacherous, double-dealing sc