The First 48 Presents Critical Minutes

Three cases that look at what happens when people become obsessed with revenge. In Cleveland, a man is gunned down in broad daylight and detectives learn it could be connected to another homicide. Then, in Harris County, a teenage girl is lured to her death by someone she considered a friend. Finally, in Louisville, a man filled with rage unleashes a cascade of bullets on a house full of sleeping people.

Examines three cases where homicides were committed in the name of love. First, in Dallas, a couple is shot to death on their doorstep, and detectives have to track down the killer as he goes on a multi-state crime spree. Then, in Louisville, a hearing-impaired man is stabbed in his doorway. And finally in Tulsa, a woman’s body is found in a trash can. Can her death be linked to the murder of her fiance the year before?

Three cases from The First 48 where veteran homicide detectives show how it’s done. In Dallas, a woman is brutally attacked and killed in her home; in Memphis, a longtime investigator needs to convince a reluctant witness to give up the triggerman in a shooting; and back in Dallas, a detective leans on his interrogation skills to solve the murder of a man shot in his doorway.

Three cases from The First 48 with puzzling motives. In Tulsa, a woman is brutally attacked as payback for someone else, then, in Dallas, a barber is gunned down by someone who greets him as a friend. And finally, in Atlanta, a man sticks up for a friend and becomes the target.

Rookie detectives lead their first investigations in three cases from The First 48 archive. In Louisville, a rookie leans on video surveillance to find a convenience store killer. In Atlanta, a new detective utilizes facial recognition software to try and solve his case. And, another young investigator tackles a love triangle in Louisville.

Three haunting cases from The First 48 archive that stuck with investigators long after the arrest. In Memphis, a woman is dragged to her death in broad daylight, then, in Harris County, a young mother is found with her throat slashed, and finally, in Miami, an ongoing battle between two gangs feels impossible to curtail as the body count rises.

A look back at three First 48 cases where the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Tulsa, what appears to be a case of road rage turns out to be something else entirely. Then, a man is stabbed to death in his car and Tulsa detectives have a hard time believing his friend’s story of what happened. And investigators in Harris County must get to the bottom of a car wash shooting that leaves a man dead.

Friendship is usually a good thing–but when it goes bad, it can be fatal. Detectives in Atlanta find a woman’s body in a trashcan; in Louisville, a domestic dispute turns into a homicide investigation; in Birmingham, doing a favor for a friend costs one man his life.

Three stories from The First 48 where a plan proved deadly for unwitting victims. In Dallas, a man is lured to his death in an abandoned apartment; a homeless man in Miami is brutally beaten with a rock; and a Tulsa woman’s plan to help her sister goes horribly wrong.

Three cases from The First 48 that were driven by revenge and resentment. In Mobile, a man is executed in a parking lot months after an altercation; in Harris County, TX, pressing charges in an attempted robbery leads to a man’s brutal murder; and in Tulsa, a gang member goes on the hunt after being called a name.

When there are no witnesses, homicide detectives face an uphill climb to find the truth. First, detectives in Cincinnati come across a bizarre homicide at an apartment fire. Then, in Memphis, solving a preacher’s murder hinges on a single fingerprint. And a Tulsa woman found dead leaves police a clue that might solve her own murder.

A look back at three cases from The First 48 where forensics played a pivotal role in solving homicides. In Harris County, detectives rely on fingerprints to solve a father’s carjacking and murder. In Charlotte, NC, a slain woman’s family finds justice through DNA; and in Minneapolis, ballistics is the key to solving a man shot during a street fight.

Three cases from The First 48 where things get out of control in a heated moment. In Birmingham, a man’s body is found burned after an argument with a friend; in New Orleans, a man with cancer gets a ride home that ends in his murder; and in Tulsa, a man visiting his son is killed in a jealous rage.

Three different approaches to suspect interviews are featured from The First 48. First, detectives in Cleveland sit down with friends and the suspect in the murder of a young mother, then the boyfriend of a missing woman is questioned in Harris County with hopes of finding the woman alive, and detectives in Memphis change strategy in an effort to get their murder suspect to talk.

Three cases from The First 48 that feature families enveloped in personal tragedies. In New Orleans, two cousins have a deadly fight, in Memphis, a young couple disappear and their uncle’s home holds a clue, and in Dallas, a woman brutally turns on her sister-in-law.