Best Episodes
Television's most popular true-crime series, investigating shocking cases and compelling real-life dramas with journalistic integrity and cutting-edge style. This in-depth approach has earned the program and its teams numerous awards including three Peabodys, 17 Emmys and five RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards.The program was revamped in 2002 when Lesley Stahl took over hosting duties from Dan Rather, and its name was changed to 48 Hours Investigates. The name was changed again to 48 Hours Mystery in 2004, and with its single-topic format, it does not use a single host but is narrated by the reporter assigned to the story.The current format of the documentary primarily deals with real life mysteries and crime stories, again with just one mystery per episode, owing to its single topic per show heritage.The program is not confined to reporting mysteries; CBS often uses the 48 Hours title or timeslot to present special reports on events, such as a 2006 report on the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, or coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. However, the relationship between these special programs and the rest of the series is essentially limited to the program's title.
Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 08, 2023.
PS: The following content contains spoilers!
PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!
A woman accused of setting her house on fire and then intentionally running over her husband as he escaped the flames speaks out for the first time. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.
The episode was rated 7.08 from 13 votes.
A man on death row says his blood was planted at the crime scene. Will an empty vial help his case?
The episode was rated 7.08 from 12 votes.
An Ohio mother is brutally murdered. A detective pursues the wrong suspects, while the real killer walked free. It would take a dedicated sheriff to find a real suspect. Were there other victims? CBS News' Jim Axelrod reports.
The episode was rated 7.33 from 12 votes.
A survivor deals with the trauma after her stepbrother is convicted of killing her family in order to go to the prom. CBS News' Jim Axelrod reports.
The episode was rated 7.40 from 10 votes.
A mom vanishes and now her fiancé is in jail awaiting trial for her murder. His former rodeo queen girlfriend says she knows what really happened. CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste reports.
The episode was rated 7.40 from 15 votes.
A rare look inside a murder case where virtually everything from the first moments of the investigation through the verdict are captured on camera. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. Watch with CBS All Access
The episode was rated 7.43 from 14 votes.
The parents of Brooke Skylar Richardson speak out -- the real story behind the international headlines in the case of an alleged unthinkable crime. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates.
The episode was rated 7.43 from 14 votes.
Part 2: Four young women attacked, only one survivor. "48 Hours" correspondent Maureen Maher has been on the trail of serial killer Michael Gargiulo for more than a decade. How "48 Hours" helped crack one of the cases.
The episode was rated 7.50 from 10 votes.
A story of tragedy and triumph -- the murder of a young woman and how her killer's heart saves the life of a dying woman.
The episode was rated 7.55 from 11 votes.
Abducted by masked gunmen and buried alive in a truck trailer, survivors relive the horrifying time they spent underground and their journey to escape.
The episode was rated 7.64 from 14 votes.
How a bakery worker’s secret plan to recover DNA from a discarded Coke can helped investigators solve the cold case of a college student murdered over Thanksgiving weekend. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.
The episode was rated 7.70 from 10 votes.
A young woman vanished after a night out in Milwaukee in October 2013. Did a meeting set up on a dating app lead to the disappearance or was it someone she knew? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.
The episode was rated 7.77 from 13 votes.
A teenager learns she’s the target of a hit ordered on the dark web. "48 Hours"' Peter Van Sant goes on a global manhunt to find Yura, the shadowy figure behind murder-for-hire sites.
The episode was rated 7.92 from 12 votes.
A fresh look at the very cold case involving the murder of Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother in 1892.
The episode was rated 8.25 from 12 votes.
Detectives believe a 13-year-old girl who vanished from her California home in 1981 was murdered; more than 20 years after the disappearance, a traffic stop in Arizona turns up a woman claiming to be the missing girl.
The episode was rated 8.40 from 10 votes.
