9.2/1011 votesLoading...#1 - The Final Days of JJ and Tylee
Season 33 Episode 4 - Aired 10/3/2020
CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti and 48 HOURS take viewers inside the investigation into the heartbreaking national search for two missing children.
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- 9.0/1014 votesLoading...
#2 - One Last Hug
Season 27 Episode 30 - Aired 5/31/2014
A breakup, one last hug. Was a college student walking into her own murder?
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8.8/1039 votesLoading...#3 - The Tree That Helped Solve a Murder
Season 35 Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/2022
On Oct. 10, 2019, Joseph Elledge, then 23, reported his wife, Mengqi Ji, missing. Elledge told Columbia, Mo., police that he believed his wife may have left him and their 1-year-old daughter for another man with whom he said she had an online relationship. But when police searched the couple's apartment, they found a muddy pair of Elledge's boots - evidence that would become important months later, after Ji's remains were found buried under a juniper tree. Elledge's boots were found to have several juniper tree needles stuck to the soles. 48 HOURS correspondent Peter Van Sant reports on how DNA from those needles was linked to the tree directly above Ji's shallow grave, providing prosecutors with the evidence they needed to help convict Elledge of her murder.
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- 8.4/1010 votesLoading...
#4 - The Ghosts of El Segundo
Season 18 Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/2004
No description available
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- 8.4/1011 votesLoading...
#5 - Kidnapped - Shawn Hornbeck's Incredible Story
Season 22 Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/2008
No description available
Director: N/A
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8.4/1014 votesLoading...#6 - The Diary of Martha Moxley
Season 34 Episode 7 - Aired 11/6/2021
A 15-year-old girl beaten to death with a golf club in a wealthy Connecticut neighborhood. Does her diary hold clues to the killer? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.
Director: N/A
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- 8.3/1015 votesLoading...
#7 - Who Wanted Howard Pilmar Dead?
Season 32 Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/2019
The wife of a NYC businessman is suspected of murdering him with help from her brother -- why would she want him dead and why did it take more than two decades to crack the case? Correspondent Richard Schlesinger and 48 HOURS go inside the riveting real-life murder mystery behind the death of Pilmar and the search for answers.
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- 8.3/1010 votesLoading...
#8 - The 30-Year Secret - The Tracey Harris Murder
Season 33 Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/2021
A young mother was found murdered in an Alabama river in 1990. Nearly 30 years later, the man long suspected as her killer was arrested. But just before trial, a confession turned the case upside down. Now, in her first television interview, the woman who changed the case speaks to 48 HOURS.
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- 8.2/1014 votesLoading...
#9 - Chasing the Barefoot Bandit
Season 24 Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/2010
An investigation into the alleged criminal activity of 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, dubbed the Barefoot Bandit.
Director: N/A
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- 8.2/109 votesLoading...
#10 - The Boy Next Door - Updated
Season 25 Episode 18 - Aired 3/10/2012
An update on the 1993 Tricia Pacaccio murder investigation near Chicago, as well as two other slayings and a brutal attack near Los Angeles. The crimes were allegedly committed by Michael Gargiulo, who knew or lived near all four victims.
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- 8.2/1012 votesLoading...
#11 - Cold as Ice
Season 26 Episode 19 - Aired 3/9/2013
Can a childhood memory of a friend's murder solve a 55-year-old case? Correspondent Erin Moriarty goes inside the investigation of what authorities say is the oldest cold case ever prosecuted in the U.S.
Director: N/A
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- 8.2/108 votesLoading...
#12 - Fatal Crossing
Season 31 Episode 17 - Aired 3/2/2019
A 48 HOURS investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding a young mother and her daughter found dead along railroad tracks in South Carolina has helped lead police to reopen the case. Peter Van Sant and 48 HOURS investigate the 2008 death of Kadie Major and her 10-month-old daughter River Lynn and the search for what happened.
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- 8.2/1029 votesLoading...
#13 - The Disappearance of Kelly Dwyer
Season 32 Episode 7 - Aired 11/2/2019
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.
Director: N/A
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- 8.2/1015 votesLoading...
#14 - Maria Spencer's Vow to Kill
Season 32 Episode 9 - Aired 11/16/2019
A woman repeatedly threatened to kill her ex. She enlisted her father to help make good on her promise. Why couldn't anyone stop her? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.
Director: N/A
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- 8.1/1020 votesLoading...
#15 - Crosley Green Comes Home
Season 33 Episode 25 - Aired 4/17/2021
Correspondent Erin Moriarty, who has covered the case for two decades, talks with Green about the case, his freedom and his future. 48 HOURS was there when Green was released and Moriarty visits with him and his family as they mark his return to life outside prison.
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8.1/1022 votesLoading...#16 - The Case Against Michael Politte
Season 35 Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/2022
Michael Politte was just 14 years old when he was charged in 1998 with murdering his mother, Rita Politte, who died after being hit in the head and set on fire in her Missouri home. More than three years after the crime, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder, though he maintained he was innocent. He spent nearly 20 years in prison before a new law passed in Missouri that made him eligible for parole. Now 38 and out on parole, Michael Politte claims he knows who is responsible for killing his mother and talks with 48 HOURS correspondent Erin Moriarty.
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- 8.0/108 votesLoading...
#17 - Killer Performance
Season 29 Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/2016
A young woman is murdered, police thought her killer was on the run ... or was he? Correspondent Tracy Smith investigates.
Director: N/A
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- 8.0/108 votesLoading...
#18 - Out of Reach
Season 31 Episode 18 - Aired 3/9/2019
The prime suspect in the murder of an American teacher while living in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 speaks publicly about the case for the first time in 30 years.
Director: N/A
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- 8.0/1036 votesLoading...
#19 - The Covid Cover-Up: Searching for Gretchen Anthony
Season 33 Episode 28 - Aired 5/8/2021
Correspondent Peter Van Sant and 48 HOURS investigate what happened to Gretchen Anthony.
Director: N/A
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8.0/1013 votesLoading...#20 - The Fenn Treasure
Season 33 Episode 30 - Aired 5/22/2021
In 2010 eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn launched a treasure hunt when he announced that he had hidden a chest worth an estimated $1 million in the Rocky Mountains. Now, 48 HOURS reveals new details, rarely seen photos and exclusive interviews in the sometimes-deadly search for the treasure.
Director: N/A
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8.0/1022 votesLoading...#21 - The Brighton Ax Murder
Season 35 Episode 17 - Aired 2/25/2023
The 1982 murder of Cathy Krauseneck and the case against her husband, Jim, who says he found her dead in their bed with an ax in her head.
Director: N/A
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- 7.9/1010 votesLoading...
#22 - A Killer Defense
Season 23 Episode 23 - Aired 5/1/2010
No description available
Director: N/A
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- 7.9/1016 votesLoading...
#23 - The Whole Truth
Season 24 Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/2010
No description available
Director: N/A
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- 7.9/1012 votesLoading...
#24 - Secrets, Lies and Alibis
Season 24 Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/2010
No description available
Director: N/A
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- 7.9/1011 votesLoading...
#25 - Screenplay for Murder: The Diary of a “Dexter” Wannabe
Season 25 Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/2012
When Gilles Tetreault arranged to meet a woman he met on an online dating site, he had no idea of the horror that would unfold. Tetreault says he came face-to-face with a madman who had set a trap to kill him. Tetreault was attacked and barely escaped with his life. Johnny Altinger answered a similar online dating ad and disappeared without a trace. Was there really a crime, or was this an elaborate setup for a screenplay for murder? Troy Roberts reports.
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The Best Episodes of 48 Hours
Every episode of 48 Hours ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of 48 Hours!
This newsmagazine series investigates intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all aspects of the human experience. Over its long run, the show has...
Genres:NewsCrimeDocumentary
Network:CBS
Best Episodes Summary
"The Final Days of JJ and Tylee" is the best rated episode of "48 Hours". It scored 9.2/10 based on 11 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/3/2020. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "One Last Hug".