All Episodes Discussion

[TVbitch]

Since the single episode threads do not get much traffic and people on the Dateline thread are interested in an "all episodes thread" for 48 Hours, they suggested I start one! So here it is! A place to discuss all episodes of the CBS true crime show. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Pallas
Changed title

[Melina22]

Great thread title! (I haven't seen this episode yet, so not much else to add. I'll be back later no doubt.) 

[SunnyBeBe]

Did anyone see the recently aired episode entitled Knock Knock?  It was about an old case of the murder of two elderly women in MS.  I missed one part as I was changing the channel to check on something and they had passed over it when I returned.  During the murder of one of the ladies, the intruder killed one of the women inside the house.  He then raped the other lady. She called 911 and asked for help, told the dispatcher what had happened and was taken to the hospital.  They did do a rape kit and got the DNA.  For some reason that lady also died, though, I never heard why.  Anyone know how she died?  It seemed as if it must have been shortly after the attack. 

[walnutqueen]

36 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Did anyone see the recently aired episode entitled Knock Knock?  It was about an old case of the murder of two elderly women in MS.  I missed one part as I was changing the channel to check on something and they had passed over it when I returned.  During the murder of one of the ladies, the intruder killed one of the women inside the house.  He then raped the other lady. She called 911 and asked for help, told the dispatcher what had happened and was taken to the hospital.  They did do a rape kit and got the DNA.  For some reason that lady also died, though, I never heard why.  Anyone know how she died?  It seemed as if it must have been shortly after the attack. 

The rape victim was an elderly double amputee who sustained multiple injuries during her attack, including a broken hip.  She died 2 months later of complications from those injuries, according to the show.

[SunnyBeBe]

1 minute ago, walnutqueen said:

The rape victim was an elderly double amputee who sustained multiple injuries during her attack, including a broken hip.  She died 2 months later of complications from those injuries, according to the show.

Thanks for the information.  That makes sense. A fractured hip is something that a senior may not be able to recover from.  Such a sad story.  I wonder what connection the killer had to their house or them.  They got him by using his DNA, but, there seemed to not be any idea of why they were targeted. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by SunnyBeBe

[rwgrab]

Just watched the rerun of the Valerie McDaniel case (the veterinarian who, along with her boyfriend, conspired to have her ex-husband killed and then later committed suicide). 

I do appreciate 48 Hours interviewing friends of Valerie as a reminder that we shouldn't all be judged by our worst decisions.  But I'm still not going to cut Valerie any slack for her part in what happened.  The interviewees say there's no way she would have done this, it was all Leon's influence, etc.  I'm not buying that.  In the tapes with the supposed hitman, she says "he's trying to take away my daughter, what choice do I have?".  Later during Leon's trial, we find out that what really happened was that her ex-husband had requested that their daughter not spend time with pending-charges-for-stalking Leon, and Valerie was violating that request for her own convenience.  The solution to that is to discuss the request of your co-parent; not to have him killed so you can do whatever you want.

Her ex-husband was no saint either, but I don't think it was unreasonable for him to be wary of his daughter's spending time with a person who had proven himself to be dangerous in domestic situations in the past.  It's a shame that she chose to take her own life to spare herself from facing up to what she had done.  

[sskrill]

Agree.  Leon is a scumbag but he seemed at least hesitant in some of those convos.  She seemed more aggressive.  That said, if she hadn't met him, she'd still be alive and her life would be reasonably normal.

Leon is another creeper who scares me - its his way or everybody else pays the price.

[TVbitch]

You really didn't get how intensely evil Leon is until you heard that voice message of him screaming death threats at his ex-girlfriend. He plays it so cool that even knowing his guilt, it shocked me.

[lb60]

I don't see any discussion on the episode, but they found Peter Chadwick.

May he rot in jail.

[Koalagirl]

On 8/8/2019 at 12:15 PM, lb60 said:

I don't see any discussion on the episode, but they found Peter Chadwick.

May he rot in jail.

I agree. And I hope they prosecute those who supported him while he was on the run.

[ByaNose]

That was a good follow up since I had seen the original story. I’m glad he was caught. 

[TVbitch]

He did not look "relieved" to me, he looked like "holy crap, I got caught." I wonder who told on him. 

[A.Ham]

Ok, so I am trying to take a bit of a break from crime show but somehow there was a 48 hours episode in my dvr this morning so I watched. It was the story of an Irish widow who ends up marrying his American au pair, and years later ends up being brutally killed by his wife and father-in-law. They claimed self-defense but I didn’t buy it one bit. The father in law says the victim was trying to choke his daughter—both of them came out of it clean as a whistle—while the victim had his skull destroyed with a baseball bat and a paving stone. Just horrific. The kids, who had supported their stepmother originally, later admitted to being coached by her and the boy stated he wants justice for his dad. Sad story all around.

[txhorns79]

I watched the Cpl. Stahlman episode where his wife was convinced that he was murdered, while the military said it was suicide.  I felt like there wasn't much of an episode here.  I would agree that it sounds as though the investigation was sloppy.  However, it seems like any evidence in support of the "he was murdered" theory was pretty weak, in that there was lots of speculation, but nothing beyond that.  I honestly thought the wife was in pretty significant denial, because she did blame herself.   

[Madding crowd]

I saw that episode too and the fact that they were having a lot of marriage problems plus his final communication with her, tells me it could be suicide. I was wondering if any of his close friends in the military could talk about his state of mind. It also could be murder but the way the military keeps everything a secret, it probably won’t come out unless someone talks. I agree it wasn’t that interesting of an episode.

[TVbitch]

So glad the au pair and her pops got big jail time. She clearly just wanted to poach his kids. Also, in that recording she made of their fight, she was totally baiting him by continuing to talk over him. So transparent. 

On the military one, I also thought it was probably suicide. 

[Showthyme]

On 8/19/2019 at 8:17 PM, TVbitch said:

On the military one, I also thought it was probably suicide. 

He put off his retirement so he could go into a combat zone. 

Would his wife get more in benefits if he had been murdered? Just curious. I hope that she finds some peace.

[rlc]

You know you watch way too many of these shows when approximately 15 seconds into the intro you say ‘I remember this one- caramel macchiato, sweet potato casserole, rodeo queen, he told her to look for a tooth’.

[woodscommaelle]

Was it really necessary for them to go to Starbucks and then drive around with the caramel macchiato? 
Sad story. Couldn’t he just have broken off the engagement? Wtf is wrong with people?

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, woodscommaelle said:

Couldn’t he just have broken off the engagement? Wtf is wrong with people?

They said he was going to court to try to get full custody so that seems more the motive. 

[woodscommaelle]

12 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They said he was going to court to try to get full custody so that seems more the motive. 

Terrific way to go about it. 🙄

Did I read somewhere that the daughter is with his parents? Please tell me I’m wrong.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, woodscommaelle said:

Did I read somewhere that the daughter is with his parents? Please tell me I’m wrong.

All the articles I have seen has stated that her parents have custody. 

[LittleIggy]

6 hours ago, woodscommaelle said:

Was it really necessary for them to go to Starbucks and then drive around with the caramel macchiato? 
Sad story. Couldn’t he just have broken off the engagement? Wtf is wrong with people?

I know, right? I watched an episode on demand of Something’s Killing Me in which a husband killed his wife with cyanide rather than letting her leave through divorce. Now, she’s dead, he’s in jail forever, and their daughter is an orphan. WTF is wrong with people indeed.

[TVbitch]

I guess there are a lot more sociopaths lurking in our lives than we may know. 

I mean, any person with a modicum of self-awareness, conscience, or genuine regard for his baby would have to think, hmmm, I am willing to bludgeon the brains out of an innocent woman to get custody ...am I really the best parent for this child???

[rwgrab]

On 11/24/2019 at 3:37 PM, woodscommaelle said:

Was it really necessary for them to go to Starbucks and then drive around with the caramel macchiato? 
Sad story. Couldn’t he just have broken off the engagement? Wtf is wrong with people?

Yes!  Especially when the caramel macchiato had absolutely nothing to do with the actual murder itself.  These shows always have to come up with visuals out of very limited material, but the re-enactment of the Starbucks drive-through and then transporting the delicious coffee beverage that most certainly didn't kill anybody had me wondering if Starbucks had paid for product placement 🙂

[MsJamieDornan]

3 hours ago, rwgrab said:

These shows always have to come up with visuals out of very limited material, but the re-enactment of the Starbucks drive-through and then transporting the delicious coffee beverage that most certainly didn't kill

That whole thing was ridiculous. That local reporter was not good.

[patty1h]

Last night's followup on the Chacey Poynter case was interesting - I wish the network nighttime true crime shows would do them more often.  I remember the original broadcast of the case and the videotape of her "performance" in the ambulance set off a bunch of red flags - the hyperventilating and stuttered speech came of so phony.  I hated her new demeanor - the meek and remorseful female who was done wrong by a man.  Hate!

That poor firefighter lost his life for greed.  

[walnutqueen]

19 minutes ago, patty1h said:

Last night's followup on the Chacey Poynter case was interesting - I wish the network nighttime true crime shows would do them more often.  I remember the original broadcast of the case and the videotape of her "performance" in the ambulance set off a bunch of red flags - the hyperventilating and stuttered speech came of so phony.  I hated her new demeanor - the meek and remorseful female who was done wrong by a man.  Hate!

That poor firefighter lost his life for greed.  

I somehow missed the original story, but from the second I saw that wild-eyed hyperventilating phony, I knew she was guilty.  I don't believe anything she has to stay.

Peter Van Sant wasn't having any of it, either.

[Mondrianyone]

My DVR was recording last night's episode, and I switched it on briefly, only to see Meryl Streep doing her award-winning performance, so I switched it off again and deleted.  Been there, done that once already.  I didn't realize there was an update.  Anything significant?  Did a dingo steal her baby, too?

As I was deleting the show, I remember thinking that if a woman officer had been along on that call, she would've known in the first ten seconds all that emoting was a load of crap.

[patty1h]

This update didn't disclose any new info really, it just went over the case again with cuts to Peter Van Sant questioning Chacey about all of the events that lead up to her and her lover being arrested. 

The only new thing (new to me) was the disclosure that Chacey was stringing multiple guys (about four) along, telling all of them that her husband was abusive and that she was afraid.  It seemed like she was throwing this "damsel in distress" ploy out to each of her lovers and waiting to see which one would bite.

Edited January 19, 2020 by patty1h

[TVbitch]

At the end of his interview with her, Van Zant actually got Chacey to confess. She started crying and he said: "Are you crying for what you've done to your own life, or for what you did to (forgot dudes name). 

And she like just gives it up and goes... "both". Then she looks right at him, like, damn, I guess I just said that.  

Prior to that she had been insisting it was not her doing. 

[nora1992]

The Stermer boys seem like they were brainwashed by their father.   Of course it’s normal for grown men to push girls around, the girls are just going to exaggerate anyway. The way they insisted the mother had sedated their father, when nothing was found in the blood screen.  They’re not going to let facts get in the way of their father’s victimization narrative.  

[Steph J]

15 hours ago, nora1992 said:

The Stermer boys seem like they were brainwashed by their father.   Of course it’s normal for grown men to push girls around, the girls are just going to exaggerate anyway. The way they insisted the mother had sedated their father, when nothing was found in the blood screen.  They’re not going to let facts get in the way of their father’s victimization narrative.  

Yeah, that was my take as well.  It's not unusual for an abuser to have really positive relationships with some people even while acting like monsters towards others - even when all those people are in the same house together.  That's usually one of the things that helps hide the abuse, the fact that to everyone not being victimized the abuser is "Mr./Ms. Fantastic."  The daughters seemed very genuine when talking about it.

[MsJamieDornan]

14 hours ago, Steph J said:

The Stermer boys seem like they were brainwashed by their father.

I didn't see it that way.   But, as soon as I heard them say she didn't call 911 right away when the fire started, I was suspicious of her.

[Mrs. Hanson]

On 1/19/2020 at 12:42 PM, walnutqueen said:

I somehow missed the original story, but from the second I saw that wild-eyed hyperventilating phony, I knew she was guilty.  I don't believe anything she has to stay.

Peter Van Sant wasn't having any of it, either.

That Chacey was the flat out the oddest person I have ever seen on any of these shows, and that is saying A LOT.   Poor guy.  I agree with @patty1h, that she was pedding this story to multiple men, hoping one would "rescue" her from an allegedly bad situation.  

DId anyone else see the updated Pelley family one?  Gotta say I was disappointed in the ending:   Surviving daughter is writing a book?  Oy.  It gave limited information on the alleged trigger man and she pimps her book.  I feel for her as she is still in trauma over the whole thing but it felt off at the end.

[TVbitch]

10 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

DId anyone else see the updated Pelley family one? 

Yeah, I agree with your assessment. And I didn't get the endless drama about her cousin taking forever to reconnect with her.  

[Mrs. Hanson]

10 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Yeah, I agree with your assessment. And I didn't get the endless drama about her cousin taking forever to reconnect with her.  

Thank you!!  I thought my heart had turned to black as I thought:  She is profiting?  I really did not care about her cousin, childhood friend nor her pink hair.  It was a such a bait and switch - did the brother do it?  

[TVbitch]

I think he did, but I'm can't remember if they had enough evidence, for me personally, to be beyond reasonable doubt. 

 

[Court]

I just watched the Stermer case and I think both are true. He was an abusive asshole and she is guilty. I got the sense she was manipulative as well. 

1. She didn't call 911.

2. How did she not know she ran him over? I could get behind the accident theory if she had known she hit him. 

[ByaNose]

On 1/19/2020 at 1:18 PM, patty1h said:

Last night's followup on the Chacey Poynter case was interesting - I wish the network nighttime true crime shows would do them more often.  I remember the original broadcast of the case and the videotape of her "performance" in the ambulance set off a bunch of red flags - the hyperventilating and stuttered speech came of so phony.  I hated her new demeanor - the meek and remorseful female who was done wrong by a man.  Hate!

That poor firefighter lost his life for greed.  

Catching up on my 48 Hours on the DVR. Yup! From the get go she was GUILTY!!! The little tart was working all the angles. It was laughable that she went to losing all the weight & now she’s this meek girl & didn’t know her mark was going to shoot her husband. Those dudes didn’t have a chance with this girl. I’m very happy she’s behind bars. I’ll give 48 Hours extra points to hiding her cuff & chains till the end. I didn’t know the verdict so it was very Sixth Sense to see the pull away from her blue blazer was covering the jail uniform & chains. Well, I have to get back to my 48 Hours binge including tonight’s episode. I fell behind in January and February.

[Steph J]

"I'm sorry they lost their son."  Try: "I'm sorry I murdered their son" you psycho.  I can't believe it took that long for the jury to make its decision.  She might as well have sat there in court with a sign reading, "I'm guilty as hell."

Also (and I fully acknowledge that this might be unfair of me) but I can't help but side-eye the ex-boyfriend who was dating a 19 year old when he was 33 and decided it was appropriate to do a jaunty little flip of his water bottle on his way to the stand to testify in a murder trial where he was the apparent motive.

[biakbiak]

Jason, the ex boyfriend, looked like Taika Waititi.

[diana]

I thought he had a little bit of a George Clooney look, especially in the eyes. But yeah, what was that water bottle flip about? I had to rewatch that. So not the time for that, dude. But she definitely seemed guilty to me and loved the attention the whole way through. 

[Mrs. Hanson]

13 hours ago, Steph J said:

"I'm sorry they lost their son."  Try: "I'm sorry I murdered their son" you psycho.  I can't believe it took that long for the jury to make its decision.  She might as well have sat there in court with a sign reading, "I'm guilty as hell."

Also (and I fully acknowledge that this might be unfair of me) but I can't help but side-eye the ex-boyfriend who was dating a 19 year old when he was 33 and decided it was appropriate to do a jaunty little flip of his water bottle on his way to the stand to testify in a murder trial where he was the apparent motive.

Was this the Ezra case in Eau Claire?  I am in the Twin Cities and I have no memory of this happening!

[Steph J]

38 minutes ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Was this the Ezra case in Eau Claire?  I am in the Twin Cities and I have no memory of this happening!

Yes, the Ezra McCandless case.

[Ohmo]

On 2/4/2020 at 10:20 AM, TVbitch said:

I think he did, but I'm can't remember if they had enough evidence, for me personally, to be beyond reasonable doubt.

He's been convicted, but an Indiana innocence group is taking his case.  It was on the end card at the end of the episode.

 

On 2/8/2020 at 11:45 AM, Court said:

just watched the Stermer case and I think both are true. He was an abusive asshole and she is guilty. I got the sense she was manipulative as well. 

+1

[MsJamieDornan]

3 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Was this the Ezra case in Eau Claire?  I am in the Twin Cities and I have no memory of this happening!

I don't either and I'm even closer.

[Koalagirl]

17 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Jason, the ex boyfriend, looked like Taika Waititi.

I didn’t know who this was until I saw him on the Oscars tonight. You’re totally right!

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I didn’t know who this was until I saw him on the Oscars tonight. You’re totally right!

I hate the movie he won for but at least one person agrees with me! 

[Chalby]

On 2/9/2020 at 1:43 PM, Steph J said:

Yes, the Ezra McCandless case.

This was the first I had ever heard of this name or of the case. That impressed me because usually the cases presented have already been aired in some form or another on the other crime shows.