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The Best Episodes of After the First 48

Every episode of After the First 48 ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of After the First 48!

The Best Episodes of After the First 48

After the First 48 is an American documentary television series on A&E. It is the companion series to The First 48. While the original series...
  1. Background image for Loose Ends
    8.6/10(11 votes)

    #1 - Loose Ends

    S2:E8

    Detectives link Martin Seay to several killings–but he only goes on trial for one. The state’s key witness is his former girlfriend, Kandi Hawkins. Hawkins was paralyzed from the neck down when Seay ordered a hit on her. Will her testimony be enough to convict the ruthless killer?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Into the Woods
    8.4/10(9 votes)

    #2 - Into the Woods

    S4:E1

    After a 17-year-old girl is found with a bullet through the back of her head in the woods of Katy, Texas, a young man comes forward who claims to be an eyewitness. Investigators are shocked by the unusual deal he’s made with the DA. Is the eyewitness telling the truth — or is he involved in the murder? And will the prosecution convince the jury that the defendant is the real killer?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for John Doe
    8.4/10(11 votes)

    #3 - John Doe

    S4:E2

    An unexpected tip helps police crack the case involving an unidentified shooting victim in Louisville, Ky.; three scared co-defendants are asked to testify against the killer.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for House of Rage (Follow-Up)
    8.4/10(8 votes)

    #4 - House of Rage (Follow-Up)

    S4:E9

    A mother of five young boys is found shot to death in her Cleveland, Ohio apartment. A witness emerges, guiding detectives to a critical piece of evidence–and ultimately, a suspect. Going into trial, prosecutors think their case is airtight, but when their key witness falters on the stand, the veteran defense team is poised and ready to dismantle the prosecution’s case.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Ring/House of Pain
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #5 - The Ring/House of Pain

    S4:E10

    In Birmingham Alabama a mother of a two-year-old boy is found stabbed to death in her own bedroom. Investigators have a mystery on their hands when they learn the killer opened the victim’s front door with a key and stole her diamond ring. In Cleveland Ohio, two 19 year-old men are shot and killed during a party at an abandoned house. All signs point to a good friend of the victims’ as the shooter but no one actually saw him pull the trigger. With no DNA or murder weapon found, the state needs to convince a jury the defendant is a cold-blooded killer.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Hale Storm
    7.8/10(7 votes)

    #6 - Hale Storm

    S2:E6

    A Louisville, Kentucky family awakes before dawn as a barrage of gunfire rips through their home. When the smoke clears, three teenage boys are bleeding from bullet wounds. One would not survive. The lives of two others would be forever altered. Now, a family friend with violent tendencies stands trial for the shooting, but a lack of eyewitnesses threatens to derail the whole case. Will a jury find him guilty or will the angry suspect walk free?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Torn
    7.5/10(7 votes)

    #7 - Torn

    S2:E4

    In February of 2009, 21-year-old James “Jamo” Allen was gunned down outside of a Louisville, Kentucky housing project. After discovering that his ex-girlfriend knows the truth about the crime, detectives work quickly to track down the alleged killer and elicit a confession from him. Nearly two years later, what should have been a straightforward trial goes haywire when a detective stumbles on the stand and the defense calls a surprise witness. Will justice be served or will the confessed murderer go free?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Signs of Violence
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    #8 - Signs of Violence

    S2:E1

    One man was part of a love triangle, the other a complete stranger–both were murdered a week apart. Little did Louisville Homicide Detectives realize these two brutal homicides were linked, until they met Michael Knights and Jeston Murray. Were they both murderers or was one a witness? Both faced the death penalty but only one would go to trial.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Murder on the Interstate/At Close Range: Update
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Murder on the Interstate/At Close Range: Update

    S1:E1

    As the First 48 ran out on Phoenix detectives, 16-year-old Lonny Bassett stood accused of brutally killing his two friends with a shotgun. Would his claim to self-defense hold water or would the evidence detectives collected in the first 48 be enough to convince jurors of his guilt? In Miami, a minor altercation on the highway ended with a shooting that took the life of an innocent young man. The offender was facing a minimum 25-year sentence with the charge of second-degree murder. But will his defense team convince the jury that the homicide was an accident.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Fool for Love/Crash
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Fool for Love/Crash

    S1:E2

    In Dallas, Detective Rick Duggan arrested two suspects for the murder of Leonel Valle. Now the justice system needed to determine which of them was most responsible - the girlfriend, Marsela Cortez, whose fingerprints were found on his empty safe, or her jealous ex-boyfriend, Gerardo Hernandez?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Blindsided/Killing Spree
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Blindsided/Killing Spree

    S1:E3

    In Dallas, Detective Eddie Ibarra used surveillance video to track down Jose Castro who was accused of brutally murdering a fifty-one year-old woman in the lobby of her office building. Castro now faced the death penalty, but his defense team would come up with an unexpected counter argument that could change the outcome of the case.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Silenced/Downstream Drifter
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Silenced/Downstream Drifter

    S1:E4

    In San Antonio, TX, Det. Tim Angell and his partners find a nameless man beaten to death floating in a creek. They must race to identify the victim and find anyone who may have known him. And in Phoenix, Det. Mike Polk and his team painstakingly reconstruct the final hours of a man found dead hogtied in a hotel room.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Blackout
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Blackout

    S1:E5

    Detective Robert Arredondo and his team find themselves involved in a cross country manhunt for suspects in the brutal shootings of three young men.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Ashes and Snow/Backyard Murder
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Ashes and Snow/Backyard Murder

    S1:E6

    Ashes and Snow: A strangled woman is found in a partially burned car. Backyard Murder: A murder is born from a gun sale that went wrong.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Bait and Switch
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Bait and Switch

    S1:E7

    On a Sunday night in June 2007, Christian Marton and his girlfriend Monica Stafford drove two hours from Axtell, Texas to Dallas where Christian had arranged to buy a 1995 Chevrolet Caprice. By the end of the evening, Christian was dead - shot in a robbery attempt.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Burden of Proof/Last Ride
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Burden of Proof/Last Ride

    S1:E8

    A father of five found stabbed over 50 times shocks friends and family. Cleveland Homicide follows a bizarre trail of evidence that takes the case someplace they least expected.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Disappeared/Red Handed
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Disappeared/Red Handed

    S1:E9

    In Dallas, detectives investigated the disappearance of a 20-year old woman who suddenly went missing. After a six-day search, detectives arrested Douglas Edwards who confessed to the murder of his ex-girlfriend, found strangled and burned in a remote field. Two years later, in the hope of begging the court for mercy, Edwards opts to have his sentenced determined by a jury.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Boogey Man
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Boogey Man

    S1:E10

    On March 26th, 2006, homicide detectives were called to the site of a burning car. Inside were the charred remains of 22-year-old Xenia Wilson, the mother of a four-year-old daughter. Detectives Rick Duggan and Randy Laboda closed the case by arresting three suspects: Jose ""J.J."" Verduzco, Chito Rojas and Ismael ""Boogeyman"" Moreno. Verduzco and Rojas pled guilty and agreed to testify against Moreno. The trial would take turns that surprised both defendant and prosecutor. And the case itself would have a tragic postcript.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Bail Out
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Bail Out

    S1:E11

    In Dallas, detectives investigated the shooting death of 26-year-old Daniel Barron, who was killed in the doorway of his home. Detectives soon discovered that the victim's residence doubled as a drug den and that he was robbed. A tipster called-in and eventually six suspects were arrested and charged with capital murder. All six individuals admit involvement in the crime and point to 19-year-old Callie Marshall, mother of two, as the group's ringleader. A year and a half later, Callie finally faces a jury of her peers. Will they see a confused girl who organized the robbery in order to bail her boyfriend out of jail in time for Christmas, or a coldblooded killer?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Letters of Intent / Family Friend
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Letters of Intent / Family Friend

    S1:E12

    In Dallas, Texas in 2007 Darell Billingsela was charged with brutally attacking and killing twenty-two-year old Jessica Lewalling in a jealous rage. Billingslea was a two-time convicted murderer out on parole. Prosecutor Jennifer Bennett was determined to make sure Billingslea would not slip through the system again. And, in February 2007, thirty-six-year old Antoine, “Tony” Hamilton was found shot dead, and left behind a vacant house. His friend, Carlos Mitchell, confessed to the crime. Prosecutor Jenni Morse thought she had a slam dunk case–until the verdict in a similar case shook her confidence in getting a conviction.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for The Good Book
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - The Good Book

    S1:E13

    In November 2006, Dallas detectives investigated the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mother of four, found burned beyond recognition in her car behind a remote warehouse. Detectives soon discovered that the victim’s former boyfriend and father of her infant son, had been stalking her for months, leading up to her death. After tracking down two homeless witnesses and finding a piece of crucial evidence, police were able to charge James Bartley with capital murder. The Dallas DA’s office was responsible for bringing the case to a close. In order to do that successfully, the prosecutor and her investigator had to keep close tabs on their key homeless witnesses for years, while the cased awaited trial. When Bartley finally stood trial in 2009, the prosecution worried the jury wouldn’t believe the testimony of two homeless crack addicts and find the evidence insufficient to prove Bartley guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Last Fare
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Last Fare

    S1:E14

    Suspects in the case of a cab driver who was robbed and murdered face their day in court.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Innocent Lost
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Innocent Lost

    S1:E15

    Now that some of our strongest cases have been adjudicated, we can take viewers inside the powerful and dramatic events that unfolded after the arrest, up to and including the conviction.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for No-Tell Motel
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - No-Tell Motel

    S1:E16

    Now that some of our strongest cases have been adjudicated, we can take viewers inside the powerful and dramatic events that unfolded after the arrest, up to and including the conviction.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Drama at the Classic/50G Murder
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Drama at the Classic/50G Murder

    S1:E17

    Cases involving a football game murder and a shooting at an illegal dentist office go to court.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Loose Ends" is the best rated episode of "After the First 48". It scored 8.6/10 based on 11 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/12/2012. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Into the Woods".