48 Hours

The 2021 incident in Farmersville, Ill., began like any other date night. Smith and Reeves met online and decided to go on their first date the night before Thanksgiving. But their evening together ended in horror, when an intruder entered Smith's home sometime after 1:00 AM. Reeves was shot and killed, while Smith, who was shot in the head, barely survived.

48 HOURS delves into the gripping case that haunted the Beaumont, Texas, police department for over 25 years.

In 1995, Edwards was found murdered in her home – an act that sent shockwaves through the community. The crime scene was harrowing. Texas Ranger Brandon Bess called it "unusual," describing how they found her over the bathtub and handcuffed behind her back.

The investigation went cold for years, leaving friends and family without answers. However, recent advances in forensic science and tireless work by investigators revealed a startling twist: Edwards had been a bridesmaid at the killer's wedding.

Burkett was in the middle of a bitter custody dispute with Andrew Beard, the father of her 1-year-old daughter. On the day of the murder, Burkett's mother, Teresa Collard, is heard on police body cam video recalling something Burkett said about Beard, "… She even said, ‘I think he's the kind of person that's gonna try to kill me,' and he did. And he did. Oh my God." 

The all-new episode explores how the investigation quickly zeroed in on Beard. Carrollton Police detective Jeremy Chevallier recalls that the case took a clear direction from the start. "Within an hour of getting to the crime scene, we knew that we had needed to look for Andrew Beard," he says. But as it turned out, Beard was only the beginning of this complex story. 

Over the course of the investigation, detectives uncovered a twisted plot involving Beard's new fiancée, Holly Elkins. Police came to conclude she was the mastermind.

On Thanksgiving Eve in 2020, a horrifying scene unfolded in Mt. Morris, Ill. The home of 27-year-old Melissa Lamesch was engulfed in flames. Inside, firefighters discovered Lamesch's lifeless body on the kitchen floor. Initially, it was not clear if the fire killed her, and the investigation would uncover secrets.