48 Hours

In January of 1947, the mutilated body of young Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short was discovered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. The press gave her the nickname, "The Black Dahlia," stemming from a popular crime film, and her case gripped headlines when the killer sent handwritten notes to the tabloids. Former Los Angeles Detective Steve Hodel believed his father was the killer, but Elizabeth's mu...

On January 5, 2003, Stephanie Pepper seemed to disappear without a trace. She was estranged from her husband but he was ruled out as a suspect. Investigators learned about her love affair with Wayne Guidry Jr., which had begun just five weeks earlier. With the help of Erik Dufrene, a childhood friend of Wayne Guidry and Guidry’s father, Stephanie’s body was found in a densely-wooded preserve. “48...

A gunfight in the middle of the night left Texas jeweler Ted Shaughnessy dead in his home. His wife, Corey, was the sole survivor. Was it a random attack, a robbery gone wrong, or a murder conspiracy? CBS News Chief Correspondent Jim Axelrod and Producer Jenna Jackson discuss Corey’s emotional journey to realizing her own son had hired hitmen to kill her and her husband for money. This episode of...

A gunfight in the dead of night. The targets fire back. Their son in the crosshairs of suspicion. "48 Hours" contributor Jim Axelrod reports. This episode of "48 Hours" originally aired on January 15, 2024.

Felicia Tang was an actress and model in Hollywood, CA and her boyfriend, Brian Randone, was a former minister and one-time reality show contestant. After a night of sex and drugs, Randone called 9-1-1 claiming Felicia had overdosed. But after the medical examiner determined Felicia had been smothered, Randone was charged with murder and torture. What would a jury believe? “48 Hours" correspondent...

In November of 1994, Farah Fratta was discovered dead in the garage of her Texas home. She had been shot twice in the head. At the time, Farah was in the midst of a divorce with her husband, Bob Fratta. Bob was an upstanding citizen, who worked in public safety as both a police officer and a fireman. But divorce documents were about to make his dark side public. To investigators, Bob was the likel...

48 Hours Correspondent Erin Moriarty and Producer Mary Murphy discuss the cold case of JonBenét Ramsey, who was murdered at home when she was just six years old. They discuss 48 Hours' decades long reporting, false leads on suspects, and a new interview with JonBenét's father, who believes genetic genealogy could identify the killer.

Is there new hope to solve the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey? Her father says there’s a way. Erin Moriarty reports.

In December of 2007, Jocelyn Earnest was found dead from a gunshot wound in her Virginia home. Beside her was a revolver and a suicide note. But investigators believed that the scene was staged and found fingerprints on the note that matched her estranged husband, Wesley Earnest. Amidst a divorce, it was the lake house they fought over: Jocelyn wanted it sold and Earnest didn’t want to let it go....

On December 20, 1980, teenage sweethearts Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins were supposed to attend a birthday party but never arrived. 36 hours later their bodies were found by police in a California ravine. The case went unsolved. Then in 2002, using advanced DNA technology, police were able to match samples stored in a FBI database to a convicted rapist. “48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts r...

CBS News Correspondent Nikki Batiste and Associate Producer Mike Loftus delve into the case of Morgan Metzer, who was assaulted on New Year’s Day in 2021 by an intruder later identified as her ex-husband, Rod. The team examines Rod’s manipulation tactics, including gaslighting and a fake cancer diagnosis. They also discuss his 9-1-1 call and why investigators thought it was suspicious.

Morgan Metzer is attacked in her home by a masked intruder disguising his voice to sound like Batman. Her ex-husband comes to her aid, but is he a hero? Nikki Battiste reports.

On December 15, 2005, 19-year-old college student and aspiring beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer was found murdered inside her Russellville, Arkansas apartment. Police believed Nona's boyfriend, Kevin Jones, flew into a murderous rage when he discovered a condom wrapper on her kitchen counter. “48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 9/20/2008....

On June 29, 2009, Brian Davis disappeared. According to his wife, Robyn, and her best friend, Carol Saltzman, Brian had left to go boat shopping and never came home. Police soon began to suspect the women when an examination of their cell phone records convinced police that they were lying. The two were both charged with murder when Brian was found shot to death alongside his car on an isolated ro...

In December 1996, Atlanta resident David Coffin returned home from a weekend away with his girlfriend, Megan Lee, to find it had been ransacked and his Porsche was stolen. Two days later, David's house caught on fire and he was found dead inside. Police zeroed in on Scott Davis, Megan's estranged husband, as a suspect when he revealed he knew David died from a gunshot wound and not due to the fire...

On December 2, 2000, Eric Miller died in a Raleigh, NC hospital and blood tests revealed that he had been poisoned with arsenic. Police discovered that Eric’s wife, Ann, was having an affair with her co-worker, Derril Willard. Derril killed himself after being questioned by police, but before he died he had a confidential conversation with his attorney. In the spring of 2004, the North Carolina Su...

On December 3, 1999, a fire ravaged an abandoned warehouse in Worcester, Massachusetts and claimed the lives of six firefighters. 37-year-old Tom Levesque and 19-year-old Julie Barnes, an unhoused couple living in the building, were subsequently charged with manslaughter for starting the blaze. “48 Hours" Correspondents Dan Rather and Bill Lagattuta report. This classic "48 Hours" episode last air...

CBS Correspondent Nikki Battiste and 48 Hours Producer Ruth Chenetz discuss the case of Melissa Lamesch who was found dead in her burning home the day before Thanksgiving in 2020. Melissa was also nine months pregnant and had been involved with a firefighter. The team discusses the relationship between the two, the defense’s attempt to cast doubt on the investigation, and the touching story of how...

A young woman is found dead in her burning home. She’d been involved with a firefighter– could he have set a fire to cover her murder? Nikki Battiste reports.

In 1992, 19-year-old Mischelle Lawless' bloodied body was found in an abandoned car on a desolate strip of highway in Benton, Missouri. Four months into the investigation, investigators got a break: 17-year-old Joshua Kezer had been held briefly in the county jail on assault charges, where, according to several inmates, he confessed to killing Lawless. Kezer was convicted and sentenced to 60 years...

Marine wife Erin Corwin was just 19 years old when she disappeared in California’s Joshua Tree National Park. Nearly two months later, her body was found in an abandoned mine in the unforgiving desert, and suspicions quickly fell on a fellow Marine. Here’s the first episode of the new series, “48 Hours: NCIS”, which merges the award-winning journalism of one of the most celebrated true crime news...

A promising young athlete is murdered. Her suspected killer disappears and an international manhunt by U.S. Marshals begins. Jonathan Vigliotti reports. 

In November 2000, bank manager and single mother Michelle Renee was in her Vista, California, home with her seven-year-old daughter Breea, when three masked gunmen broke into the house. The gunmen held them captive overnight, and in the morning strapped dynamite onto their backs. Breea was shoved into a closet, while Michelle was ordered to rob the bank where she worked. She obeyed, and the next m...

When Alyssa Burkett was murdered outside her workplace in Texas, authorities quickly zeroed in on her ex-boyfriend, Andrew Beard. But nearly three years after the murder, the FBI arrested another unlikely suspect. 48 Hours Correspondent Peter Van Sant is joined by Producers Liza Finley and Gabby Demirdjian to break down the evidence against Andrew’s former fiancée, Holly. They discuss the damning...

A toxic couple orchestrates an elaborate plan to kill a mother. Peter Van Sant reports.