After the First 48

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.

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?

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.

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.

University of Memphis football star Taylor Bradford was killed in his beloved Lincoln Town Car. At first police thought the motive was robbery. Then as they investigated, a love triangle emerged. Finally four men were charged with Bradford’s murder. The first to go on trial wasn’t even at the crime scene. Could prosecutors convince a jury to find him guilty of murder?

In September of 2010, Jessie Dotson went on trial for one of the worst mass murders in Memphis history. He wasn’t accused of killing strangers–he was brother, friend and uncle to the six people he’d allegedly murdered and three surviving children he’d allegedly beaten and stabbed. Even seasoned detectives were horrified by the bloody crime scene. Now, all of Memphis wanted an answer to the same question: How could only one man be responsible for such brutal carnage?

In 2008 Mohamed Abdelrahman, a Darfurian immigrant, was killed in his store during a robbery. Det. Arnold charged three suspects with his murder. Mohamed’s widow watches and worries that the jury will let her husband’s alleged killers go free.

In Memphis, a 79-year-old man is shot dead. When the young man accused of the killing comes to trial, his defense attorney argues an unusual defense. Also, a female tattoo artist is killed in her shop. The alleged shooter faces the death penalty.

In 2009, John Craig Froelich, II was shot and killed while taking his girlfriend to buy drugs in south Houston. Sgt. Craig Clopton charged the shooter and his girlfriend with capital murder. Without forensic evidence, prosecutor Terrence Windham had to rely on three eyewitnesses who all had credibility issues. Would the jury believe them on the stand? Or would the shooter walk?

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?

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.

In Liberty City, Miami a well-liked husband and wife are brutally murdered in an ambush shooting. The eyewitness to the crime is the couple’s ten-year-old daughter. She is the only thing linking the suspect to the crime. It’s up to her to sway the jurors as she gives an emotional testimony in the hopes of putting her parents’ killer behind bars.

In Harris County Texas, a 38-year-old man is stabbed to death in his own home leaving behind two children and his wife. Investigators track down the suspect thanks to surveillance video and some good old fashion detective work. But when the defendant claims self defense, the state must put together a case that will convince the jury the dead man was in fact the victim and not a predator.

A Houston woman is beaten, set on fire, and left to die in an attack that police investigators suspect was committed by someone the victim knew.

A mugging turns deadly for a man at a petrol station. Police detectives arrest two young men for the crime.

A carjacking-turned-murder leaves a youth minister dead. Two men are caught and one suspect turns on the other. But, a last minute change of heart changes everything.

An Alabama killer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the justice system; a man claims he is not responsible for the shooting death of an innocent bystander.

In 1983, several young mothers are raped and murdered on the west side of Louisville Kentucky. A conviction on two of the murders leaves a third family with no justice. Until 31 years later, when the re-opened case and preserved DNA evidence lead police to a killer. But at trial, his attorneys question the investigation--and the memory of the victim's children--leading to an explosive confrontation.

In Tulsa, the brutal murder of a man gunned down and left to die alone in the street tears apart two families.

A young mother and her friend are murdered in a parking lot, sending Tulsa detectives and prosecutors on a mission to put the shooter behind bars.

After a man is killed and several others are injured, the Tulsa PD and District Attorney's Office team with the homeless community to convict a potential spree killer.

Gwinnett County detectives investigate the murder of an innocent fifteen-year-old, caught up in a petty crime. But how will the prosecution take on a witness who claims the shooter acted in self-defense?

Detectives in Tulsa, Okla., have only one witness -- a 12-year-old girl -- to a domestic dispute that has escalated to a double homicide; at trial, their case hangs on whether or not she will be able to testify.

When Gwinnett County detectives find a mother stabbed to death, the job of identifying her killer falls to her young son; testifying at trial could be difficult for the child, putting the prosecution's case at risk.

In Mobile, a woman in a volatile relationship is found dead in her car. Detectives suspect her boyfriend, but, at trial, he takes the stand to brazenly claim she was actually the victim of a drug deal gone bad.

A massive, gang-related melee outside a nightclub leaves Gwinnett County detectives struggling to identify just who shot a young murder victim. And the death of one of the witnesses makes that challenge even harder for prosecutors.

When a Mobile mother of four is shot just blocks from her home, detectives look to her loved ones to identify her killer. But, at trial, his attorneys claim he acted in self-defense.

After a violent melee leaves two young men brutally gunned down, Mobile detectives have to track down multiple suspects to piece together what happened. But without an eyewitness, the prosecution must rely on the defendants themselves to reveal the truth.

When a vulnerable woman is shot to death, witnesses are hesitant to help Tulsa detectives clinch the case; at trial, the defense questions their reliability and claims the prosecution has accused the wrong man.

In Tulsa, there's little evidence and no clear motive after a beloved 24-year-old is gunned down in the backseat of a car; in a tragic case of mistaken identity, it's up to his friends to help detectives and prosecutors deliver justice.

When a beloved son and brother is murdered just feet from his home, his grieving family has one burning question: Why? It's up to a determined team of Gwinnett County investigators and the prosecutor to get their defiant suspect to talk.

The latest in a string of brazen robberies leaves a beloved, retired sheriff's deputy brutally gunned down, and a survivor of the assault terrified.

When two beloved brothers are gunned down in their home, their devastated mother leads Gwinnett detectives to a suspect close to home; but with no clear motive to bolster their case, prosecutors could be in trouble at trial.

When a beloved teenager is gunned down while hanging out with his friends, Tulsa Homicide Detectives depend on the public to help identify the suspects from security video. At trial, the defense claims the shooter was in fear for his life, and justice hinges on the jury's interpretation of what happened.

After the remains of a 16-yr-old girl are found in the woods with no identification, Gwinnett County detectives have little to go on to find her killer. In the pursuit of justice, the prosecution must prove the girl was murdered despite the lack of evidence for what caused her death.

When a father of two is gunned down in broad daylight, Tulsa detectives rely on eyewitnesses to identify the suspect. But at trial, the prosecutor's case hangs in the balance when the defense presents a witness challenging the identification.