Season 12

In this opening episode of The First 48 homicide investigators attempt to solve two murders where the killers brutally pulled the trigger at point-blank range. In "Gangs of Little Havana," the team find a young man lying dead on the sidewalk in an area noted for gangland violence. From the outset this appears to be the latest tragic result of a turf war between two gangs. The investigating team is hampered by a wall of silence from a frightened community. But hour by hour the full story of what really happened begins to emerge. In "Execution in Coconut Grove," a convenience store owner appears to have invited someone she knows into her home before being savagely shot twice in the head. The detectives quickly discover that she also sold jewelry, and a ransacked room suggests that this could be a robbery that went wrong. Or is this what the murderer hoped they would think? With no obvious suspects a major forensic operation gets underway with the house examined inch by inch for fingerprints, which could put a name and face to the killer.

In Kansas City, two veteran detectives tackle a mysterious case of a young woman brutally murdered in a snowy cul-de-sac; and a female homicide sergeant and her all-male team investigate the murder of a man shot and dumped in a bucolic park. As these detectives race against time during the critical first hours of their investigations, they must enter a dark subculture of drugs, guns, and buried safes.

Double Murder On Haskell: In Kansas City, Kansas, night has fallen and homicide detectives are roused from their beds to investigate a double murder at a known dope house. Their only witness, a scared old man who fled the scene moments before the killings occurred, points detectives toward a father and son team of drug dealers who are known for delivering harsh punishment to those who cross them. Investigators will test the strength of family ties when they pit these suspects against each other to discover the truth. Back Alley Revenge: The sun is just coming up when shots ring out in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri. A resident sees two hooded individuals dragging a body through the street. By the time investigators arrive, the sun is shining and the corpse lies facedown in an alley. With nothing to go on but a description of the suspects? clothing, detectives on Kansas City?s ?Murder Squad? must turn to the inhabitants of this drug- and gang-ridden area for assistance, hoping that the word on the street will help them crack this case.

A body burned beyond recognition is found in Fairmount Park. Sgt. Irma Labrice sends homicide detectives Leon Lubiejewski and Michael Gross to respond to the scene. When they arrive, they don't have much to go on: the identity of the victim is unknown and there are few clues on the scene that will help them solve this crime. It's a race against the clock to find this person's identity . . . and the killer's. On the other side of town on Ruby Street, an argument between friends and family has turned deadly. A man by the name of Eugene Morell has been shot dead in his home. Det. Bill Kelhower and his team are called and begin to work the homicide. As soon as they arrive, they realize no one is talking. It becomes clear they will have to rely on physical evidence at the scene to piece together what happend. The question is, will they be able to get solid clues within The First 48 to solve this case?

Shortly after midnight on a Saturday morning a man is shot to death in the crime-ridden Miami projects known as the "Pork and Beans." It is the third murder in a month in the projects and no one even calls 911. A nearby patrolman hears the shots and finds the body, but nobody knows who the victim is, who shot him or why. Sergeant Joe Schillaci heads the homicide team that must crack the mystery. During the course of their investigation they realize their suspect has been terrorizing the projects - he's responsible for all three murders. They work the streets, hoping to convince the frightened residents to come forward with information that will help them catch the predator, before he kills again.

The brutal murder of a young worker at an all-night ice rink in Phoenix turns into a cat-and-mouse game as Detectives Steve Orona and Alex Femenia track a cunning killer. And when a body is found floating in the Arizona canal, detectives Det. Tommy Kulesa and Det. Paul Dalton must solve a double mystery -- who is their victim and who is their killer? First 48's cameras were with the detectives of Phoenix's expert homicide team from the first moments of their investigations to their dramatic and stunning resolutions.