48 Hours

On this special episode of Post Mortem, Host Anne-Marie Green sits down with Melissa G. Moore, who at 15, discovered that her father was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face. She’s joined by Jennifer Cacicio, the Executive Producer of a new Paramount+ series, HAPPY FACE, that is inspired by Melissa’s true-life story and stars Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid. They discuss Melissa’s evo...

In 1999, Ohio teenager Penny Chang was stalked and killed by her older brother’s best friend, Scott Strothers. Strothers pled guilty and was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison, but Penny’s parents felt the doctors who treated Strothers should have also been held responsible for her death. And another stalking story about TV newspeople who attracted the wrong kind of viewer attention. “48 Hour...

In November 2004, Tom and Jackie Hawks, an Arizona couple, were killed in a well-thought-out, diabolical plot. Former child actor Skylar Deleon feigned interest in buying the couple’s yacht. During the cruise, the Hawks were forced to sign over ownership of their yacht and power of attorney for their bank accounts. Accomplices Alonso Machain (a prison guard) and John Fitzgerald Kennedy (a Los Ange...

48 Hours Correspondent Peter Van Sant and Field Producer Kat Teurfs discuss John Blauvelt, a one-time military recruiter who went on the run with his teenage girlfriend after stabbing his wife, Cati, to death. When U.S. Marshals finally tracked him down six years later, he was using a different name and living with a new girlfriend across the country. They discuss the murder weapon, the pirate tat...

A soldier goes on the run after his wife is murdered. With him, his 17-year-old girlfriend. What does she know? Peter Van Sant reports.

On December 3, 1998, Wisconsin police were called to the home of Mark and Julie Jensen. Mark said he found his wife dead in her bed. Initially, police suspected Julie died by suicide, but a letter she had previously written expressed her suspicion that Mark might kill her. A series of toxicology tests revealed there was small amount of ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze, in Julie’s...

Esther Reed was a small-town girl from Montana, but from 1999-2008, she lived a double life. She assumed at least four different identities and went by the names Natalie Fisher, Natalie Bowman, Brook Henson and Jennifer Myers. She conned her way into Harvard and Columbia universities and stole over $100,000 in student loans. She evaded authorities for years but her crimes would eventually catch up...

48 Hours Correspondent Anne-Marie Green and Producer Josh Yager discuss the death of Davis McClendon, who was fatally struck by Bud Ackerman, the estranged husband of Davis’ love interest. They dig into the defense's argument that the collision was an accident, the trove of digital evidence from Bud’s truck, and why the Ackerman’s babysitter was the first one on the scene to call 9-1-1. Now availa...

A romance is cut short when a man is found dead near his mangled car. His newfound love is convinced it was no accident. Anne-Marie Green reports.

In 1982, a quiet town in Kansas was rocked by the murder of a young banker named David Harmon who was bludgeoned to death in his bed. His wife told authorities that it was a home invasion. Investigators suspected that she was having an affair with a family friend and that the two were involved in David’s murder. But the case went cold until nearly 20 years later, armed with new forensic technology...

In February 2005, Rosemarie Essa was in a minor car accident, and though she suffered no physical injuries she died shortly afterwards at a Cleveland hospital. Her best friend, Eva McGregor, suspected Rosemarie's husband, Yazeed Essa, had tampered with her calcium supplements the morning of the day she died. Tests on the pills revealed Rosemarie had died of cyanide poisoning. But when police went...

Correspondent Tracy Smith and Producer Gayane Keshishyan Mendez discuss the case of Susann Sills, a mother of twins who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in the home she shared with her husband, a renowned fertility doctor. The team discusses the 911 call made by Dr. Sills, the police interview with a woman investigators believed he was courting, and the defense’s unusual theory that the...

The wife of a fertility doctor is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Did her dogs play a role in her death or was the scene staged to cover a murder? Correspondent Tracy Smith reports. This episode originally aired on May 20, 2024.

Part two of the investigation into the murder of 37-year-old Peggy Hettrick. Her body was discovered in a field near the home of Tim Masters, and over a decade later, Masters was sentenced to life in prison for Peggy's murder. But Masters always maintained his innocence. Because of advances in forensic science, his new lawyers requested to test the DNA found on Peggy's clothing, revealing critical...

Part one of the investigation into the murder of 37-year-old Peggy Hettrick. In February 1987, her mutilated, half-naked body was discovered in a field near the Colorado home of Tim Masters, a 15-year-old boy. He told police he had seen the body on his way to school but, thinking it was a mannequin, did not report it. Masters then became a suspect when police searched his home and found a collecti...

CBS News Correspondent Natalie Morales and 48 Hours Producer Gayane Keshishyan Mendez cover the 2003 murder of Justine Vanderschoot. They discuss the isolated area where Justine’s body was found, how this case affected them as mothers, and why Justine’s family continues to fight to keep her convicted murderers in prison.

After a teenager is strangled and buried alive, her family takes on the fight to keep her convicted killers behind bars. “We’re her voice” says Justine’s sister. Natalie Morales reports.

In 1977, actress Christa Helm was found stabbed and bludgeoned outside her agent’s home in West Hollywood, California. Detectives would learn about her infamous “love diary," which kept track of her lovers, but it had vanished. There were also tape recordings of her trysts with her celebrity boyfriends, but those were also missing. After sifting through Christa's past romantic relationships, detec...

On Valentine's Day morning in 2000, Jane Dorotik learned that her husband of 30 years was dead. The 55-year-old engineer and father of three was found on a road near their home, bludgeoned to death with a rope around his neck. Despite her denial of any involvement, Jane was arrested for murder. “48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 6/17/2002....

48 Hours Correspondent Peter Van Sant and Producer Lauren Clark discuss the case of Danni Houchins, who was found dead in Montana near the Gallatin River in 1996. The team discusses why the sheriff’s department told the public Danni accidentally drowned, the decades-long fight for justice from her family, and DNA evidence that eventually led investigators to the killer.

When 15-year-old Danni Houchins is found dead in a swamp, her family says they were led to believe she drowned. 24 years later, Danni’s sister learns the terrible truth. Peter Van Sant reports.

When Christian Gerhartsreiter moved to the U.S. from Germany, he pretended to be a bond trader, a TV producer, a baronet and even Clark Rockefeller, a member of the famous and wealthy Rockefeller family. In 2008, Gerhartstreiter, then claiming to be Clark Rockefeller, made headlines when he abducted his 7-year-old daughter. The Rockefeller family made it clear that he was not a part of their famil...

Susan Wright was a 27-year-old stay-at-home mother from Texas who stabbed her husband, Jeff, 193 times. She claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse and that on January 13, 2003, her husband attacked her with a knife and she fought back in self-defense. But a jury found her guilty of murder and sentenced her to twenty-five years in prison. Six years later, a new attorney took on her case to get...

48 Hours Correspondent Erin Moriarty and Producer Sarah Prior discuss the murder of Dee Warner, which they began reporting on when it was still a missing persons case. They examine the challenges of prosecuting “no body” cases, the expensive diamond ring Dee’s husband claimed she left behind, and how investigators ultimately found Dee’s body among acres of rural farmland.

When a woman disappears, her children are certain she’s been murdered. But without a body, they know it will be hard to get justice. Erin Moriarty reports.