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Silent Killers: Fantastic Pahegs?: After breaking his foot five years ago, Toronto bass player Alfred Gertler got an infection that antibiotics couldn’t cure. Doctors told him he might have to have his foot amputated.
But then he read about a radically different way to treat infections. The treatment was in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, at the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi.
“It was very strange. But it seemed like a lifeline,” he says. So he went. “They had no heat, no electrical power, no water for much of the day,” says Gertler.
What Eliava did have was treatment that worked. They poured an ointment in the wound and within three days, the infection was gone. Susan Spencer reports.
Silent Killers: Deadly Food: Whenever 3-year-old Drew Randall is invited to a party near his home in Mansfield, Ohio, his mother, Adrienne, packs him food.
A special education teacher, Adrienne isn't just being picky or
over-protective, reports Correspondent Erin Moriarty. A bite of the wrong food could kill Drew.
Silent Killers: Scary Superbugs: Two years ago, Bobbie Mackeon got a paper cut. She thought it was no big deal.
But it got infected. Bobbie, a nurse practitioner, spoke with the doctors at her hospital, and they all figured an antibiotic would take care of it.
It didn’t. Nor did the next two antibiotics she tried. “The bug that was in there was eating these antibiotics for breakfast,” she says.
With her infection still raging, Bobbie turned to an intravenous antibiotic, which finally did help. But complications then led to potentially fatal blood clots. “The blood clot was about four inches across and it had little bubbles around it, which told us it was infected,” she says.
The clots were so severe that her life now depends on high doses of blood thinners, which created new problems. Any injury can now be life threatening, because it is difficult to stop her body from bleeding. Now, instead of running as she used to, she works out
Eight years ago, when Jane first walked into his Orlando, Florida, psychiatry practice, Dr. Ronald Malave says he had no idea what he was in for. He ended up accused of having sex with her, a patient with multiple personality disorder.
Jane, who asked that her last name not be used, has been married for 13 years, and has raised a teenage daughter. That's remarkable, considering that she's been diagnosed as having as many as eight personalities.
Jane had been referred to Malave by a colleague who said he couldn't help her anymore. Before long, Malave understood why. Jane was hearing voices and having psychotic hallucinations. He diagnosed her with a type of schizophrenia, along with the sometimes-controversial condition commonly known as multiple personality disorder. "It's embarrassing, it's mortifying, because I don't have a switch that I can control. I just want the voices to be gone. That's all," she says.
"The core Jane would be a polite, apologetic patient," he says. But some of her other personalities were quite different. "Vanessa" was brash and aggressive. "Bridgette" was 16 and preoccupied with sex.
A year into therapy, Malave claims, "Bridgette" wanted to have sex with him. Dr. Malave says he told her no. Happily married for 23 years, he was devoted to his wife and two children.
Their faces are instantly recognizable, but John and Patsy Ramsey are famous in a way no one would want.
Although they have never been publicly called suspects or charged with the 1996 death of their daughter JonBenet, they are resigned to a painful reality.
"We could find the killer tomorrow, he could be arrested, convicted and jailed, and there'd still be 20 per cent of the population would think that we had something to do with it," says John.
48 Hours Investigates is taking a fresh look at the Ramsey case: finding new evidence and new leads, and reporting on the Ramseys' personal story, and their thoughts on what happened in their Boulder, Colo., home on Christmas night in 1996. 48 Hours Investigates will also report on never-before-seen videotapes of the police interrogation of both John and Patsy Ramsey. Erin Moriarty reports.
On Sept. 28, 2000, Kim Camm and her two children were victims of a triple murder in New Albany, Ind. They were found shot to death at home in their garage.
Kim and her 5-year-old daughter, Jill, were shot in the head. Her son, Brad, 7, was shot in the chest. The murders were reported by Kim's husband, David Camm, a former Indiana state trooper.
"In some ways, it still seems like a nightmare that just didn't happen," says Janice Renn, Kim's mother.
Three days later, the community mourned for the Camm family. But just hours after the memorial service, police arrested their prime suspect, David Camm, for murdering his wife and two children.
Camm, who claims his innocence, has a very good alibi. Eleven witnesses say they were with him at the time of the murder.
It's simple police work to suspect the survivor when family members are murdered. But this case quickly became very complicated. David Camm is from a very large, prominent family in the county, and he has what seems like an airtight alibi.
On top of that, there's no obvious motive for these murders. So proving what happened behind these garage doors, beyond a reasonable doubt, is going to be very tough. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports in this, the firstours report on these murders.
When their son-in-law David Camm was arrested, Janice and Frank Renn couldn't believe it.
"I just couldn't believe that the person I knew, thought I knew, could do that," says Kim's mother, Janice Renn.
But in the 15 months between the killings and the start of Camm's trial, the Renns have become convinced that their son-in-law is a murderer.
"There's no way you're going to bring the kids back and my daughter back," says Kim's father, Frank Renn. "No way, no matter what they do with David. But he'll have to suffer, when he dies someday - if it's soon or if it's 40 years from now - he's got to answer to God.
The murders of Kim, Brad and Jill Camm have gripped this small Indiana town. And as the trial begins, defense attorney Michael McDaniel knows all eyes are on the courthouse, and on his client.
"Right now, David is the only one out there that they can punish," says McDaniel.
"My life is on the line," says Camm. "I'm not just fighting for me, it's not just me, I want justice for my wife and my children."
48 Hours Investigates about addictions.
Susan Spencer, explores whether the Washington area sniper is into some kind of addiction of his own: Do serial killers get to the point where they treat their acts of violence as a "fix?" Susan also looks back at a deadly 1990 sniper case in Ohio where the gunman later explained his actions.
48 Hours Investigates also examines other addictions, like being hooked on computer games. Industry analysts are saying that more than 100 million people will be playing these games by 2005. One of the most popular of the new Internet games is Everquest, which actually has the nickname 'Evercrack' because it's so addictive. You'll hear people tonight tell you that it's virtually impossible to stop playing.
We also look at shoplifting - a crime for which Winona Ryder faces trial next week. For some people, is shoplifting a habit nearly impossible to kick? Plus the original supermodel, Janice Dickinson, who says she became addicted to fame.
48 Hours Investigates reporter Richard Schlesinger found - a veteran crime scene investigator who retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office in order to become the lead story editor on the hit show "CSI."
Her name is Liz Devine. She was a criminalist for 15 years, working over 800 cases, solving countless murders, and helping convict many notorious criminals. But now she's brought her cases and her expertise to "CSI," where you'll see her at story meetings and with the actors whom she teaches about the real way to handle the forensics.
When Richard Schlesinger went to the L.A. Sheriff's office to ask about Liz, a call came in about a quadruple murder case, and the office allowed Richard and our crews to follow the real CSI team while they investigated and solved the crime (you won't believe this) in exactly 48 hours. The story is riveting. You will be there when - and see how - the police solve the multiple murders. It's as good (actually better) than anything you've seen on the TV "CSI."
When it came to the important things in life, including family, friends and a comfortable home, Janet March had it all. Then, suddenly, she was gone.
In the early '90s, Arthur March became one of hundreds of American retirees who settled in the lakeside town of Ajijic, in central Mexico.
At the time, his son, Perry, was a successful Nashville attorney in the prime of his career. But today, these two Americans, father and son, are using that Mexican paradise as a haven.
"I brought Perry down here because he didn't have any other place to go," says Arthur Perry.
In 1996, Perry March's wife mysteriously disappeared.
Ever since, Perry says he's become a target, too, pursued by people he says are determined to destroy him. He says these same people are trying to kidnap his two children, Sammy, 12, and Tzipi, 8.
"They're very concerned," says Perry. "We're taking a lot of extra security measures ... we have to deal with it every time we go out."
To understand Perry March's life, you have to go back to his former life, back to Nashville and that summer night in 1996 when his wife, Janet Levine March, simply vanished.
Correspondent Bill Lagattuta reports.
Did you know that one in three American familites is victimed by fraud each year? We'll be exposing a series of consuer rip-offs including one investigated by correspondent Harold Dow.
Here's a note from his producer, Marcie Spencer:
The story about self-proclaimed psychic Linda Marks is one I'll never forget. Correspondent Harold Dow and I found Ms. Marks to be a very smooth operator. She was gracious and eager to tell her story... and even allowed us to spend many hours in her home, but there was always something suspicious about her behavior. When we arrived for our initial meeting with Linda Marks, our camera suddenly stopped working. We discovered a test pattern in the lens we had never seen before, which of course, made us think maybe her "psychic powers" caused our camera to break. We knew she really didn't have any "psychic power," but it was certainly a strange phenomenon.
The interviews with her former customers/victims, Lynn Boys and Delores Hoffert, widow of the late Leroy Hoffert, were heart wrenching as you'll see. Ms. Hoffert is so angry that she wanted to make sure everyone knew how Ms. Marks scammed Leroy out of more than $300,000. Delores is one spunky, gutsy 71-year old. I will never forget her. Unfortunately, her late husband Leroy's encounters with Linda Marks have destroyed her dream of retiring without any financial worry. Leroy Hoffert and Lynn Boys were smart, educated people who were desperate and vulnerable and unfortunately got sucked in by a con woman's game. After watching "Scammed," we hope you'll understand what happened to Leroy and Delores could happen to anyone.
what happened to 33-year-old Beverly Watson who vanished without a trace, leaving her husband Jim and two children behind.
Jim became the prime suspect in the case, but all the while he raised their children as a single dad. Both kids believed he was innocent of any crime, while Beverly's girlfriends were convinced Jim was behind it all.
Two years after Beverly's disappearance, some of her bones were found. The only forensics the police could muster were some dust and two scratches. So the question for the prosecutor - a tough, no-nonsense woman - was: could she prove that a loving father - which he was - have committed murder, and covered it up so convincingly?
48 Hours Investigates weight loss with some interesting new information for anyone who's ever thought about losing weight, which has to be just about all of us. Right?
We'll be offering up diet alternatives including lap band surgery endorsed by Ann Wilson of the rock group Heart; the hot new fitness craze of pole dancing (hold onto your seats for this piece!) and the story of one entire town – Dubuque, Iowa - that decided enough's enough. They lost close to a ton of weight in just 10 weeks!
This is a program we can all identify with — directly or indirectly. Even well-known New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent, who hit 335 on the scales, decided he had to do something drastic, is featured. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger talks to Nieporent about how he has lost more than 100 pounds, the old-fashioned way.
Richard and his team spent several days with Drew, who wanders from one restaurant to the next, equipped with a cell phone and his magic elixir, a bottomless container of green tea. Although fattening temptations are everywhere – we discovered that Drew has the best low-cal lunches of anyone we know.
On any given day he's having sushi from Nobu, grilled salmon from Tribeca Grill or grilled chicken from Icon. And in all Drew's restaurants, his chefs keep a supply of tomatoes on hand for him to snack on.
48 Hours Investigates two stories that reveal much about family, love and determination.
The first one is about two women who were mistakenly switched at birth in a small-town Wyoming hospital. They didn't find out until they were in their 40s. Correspondent Erin Moriarty follows these two women as they - and this is really remarkable television - find out about each other and then meet.
In the second story, correspondent Susan Spencer tells about a baby who was left under a gazebo in Addison, Ill. in 1972. She's 30 now, and has found her biological mother, thanks to the help of a Web site. Both of these segments are deeply emotional, as you might expect.
48 Hours Investigates a real-life mystery about a young, well-liked and healthy research scientist named Eric Miller who suddenly gets extremely sick and dies. Doctors thought at first it was a virus that did him in, but that turns out to be wrong. It wasn't a virus. It was poison. Who wanted Eric dead… and why? Investigators are baffled as they search for a killer.
And later in the hour, police investigate a picture-perfect marriage that – as in so many picture-perfect marriages - wasn't quite as it appeared. Lita Sullivan – beautiful, young - was ready to divorce her cheating husband when she was murdered by a delivery man bringing her flowers. Correspondent Susan Spencer tracks Lita's husband Jim Sullivan to Thailand to confront him about the case.
Susan says that one of the intriguing aspects of the case is how Lita's parents are reacting. They're not bitter or vengeful, but because of their determination to get the killer, justice for their daughter may be in their grasp…nearly 16 years after her murder.
You probably remember the case of Elizabeth Smart of Salt Lake City who was kidnapped from her home seven months ago. The 14-year-old girl has never been found. This Friday, 48 Hours Investigates goes inside the police investigation, getting exclusive access and new information about the case which is still very active.
One can only imagine what Ed and Lois Smart have been going through since the kidnapping. Their courage has been an inspiration to their children. Correspondent Jane Clayson has the first interview with Elizabeth's brothers and sister.
Jane also reports new information that the kidnapping last June didn't happen the way everyone thought. We're working right up to Friday's deadline, so I can't give you too many details now. But believe me, it's definitely worth watching Friday night.
A husband (Mark Winger) becomes a hero for trying to stop his wife's murder. But upon further investigation, police discover that he actually orchestrated the whole thing and framed another man for the murder.
48 Hours Investigates the headlines from last summer about two teenage girls in California who were kidnapped, and eventually escaped their abductor after a twelve-hour ordeal in the Mojave Desert.
Peter Van Sant has exclusive details of what happened during the ordeal: the split-second decisions they made and how they found the courage to fight back and attack a dangerous, armed fugitive.
You will hear first-hand the incredible, heroic story from Jacque Marris, a remarkably brave young woman.
Elizabeth Smart is home with her family at last, her long nightmare at an end. But many questions remain about the nine-month ordeal endured by Elizabeth and her family. 48 Hours Investigates gets the inside story on the investigation, and the heroic role in it played by her little sister, Mary Katherine, age 10.
Despite criticism of police handling of the case, top investigator Cory Lyman is smiling. "We'll gladly take the beating for this outcome, you know. We're so pleased that it turned out this way," he told CBS News Correspondent Jane Clayson in an exclusive interview for 48 Hours Investigates
When billionaire banker Edmond Safra died in a fire, an American ex-Green Beret was charged with setting the blaze. Is he guilty?
Correspondent Erin Moriarty reports on the case of Ted Maher, a pediatric nurse who went looking for a chance of a lifetime, and wound up looking at a possible life in prison sentence instead.
One night six years ago, at a Sheraton Hotel just east of Los Angeles, a woman went over the balcony of Room 813 in the middle of the night.
If she screamed, no one heard her. If it was a murder, there were no witnesses. If it was an accident or suicide, the circumstances seemed strange.
The woman's death would be Det. Ray Rodriguez's last case in a 33-year career. It was just after 8 a.m. on Nov. 13, 1996, when he got the call.
There was an apparent suicide at the Industry Hills Sheraton. But was it murder? Correspondent Bill Lagattuta reports
48 Hours Investigates a story we're calling "Lust, Lies and Videotape." It's the amazing story of Andrew Luster - now a fugitive from justice - the great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor. His sentencing, in absentia, is set for this week.
Correspondent Troy Roberts had the only interview with Luster before he fled California- right in the midst of a trial on 87 counts, ranging from poisoning to sexual battery to rape.
If that's not amazing enough, 48 Hours also has the stunning videotape evidence of his crimes, recorded by Luster himself (though a lot of it is just too graphic to air). And then, two of Luster's victims break their silence for the first time on 48 Hours. They tell Roberts how shocked they were first, to learn they were Luster's "victims" who had been drugged with GHB, the date-rape drug - and then to learn he had videotape of it all. It's real-life-drama that's a real stunner.
On Valentine's Day, Robert Chambers walked out of a prison in upstate New York as a free man, but one still pursued by his own infamy.
In an exclusive interview with 48 Hours Investigates correspondent Troy Roberts, Chambers apologized for the way he lived his life and took Jennifer Levin's.
"Every day, something reminds me of her, reminds me of her family," Chambers told Roberts. "And every day, I know that I'm in prison because somebody died, and I'm responsible for that. It's not an easy feeling. You don't get comfortable with it. And it's part of my life for the rest of my life."
Rehearsed lines from a con artist? Or genuine repentance?
An angry man takes his infant daughter hostage and barricades himself inside a house in residential Queens.
Can a team of New York Police Department hostage negotiators save the hostages - especially the baby?
Take an unprecedented inside look at a hostage negotiation team at work. Find out what it's like to be responsible for people held against their will.
Feel the pressure in the heart of a crisis - where success is measured in lives saved. Correspondent Harold Dow reports.
Even by outsized Texas standards, it was one of the most notorious crimes of passion in recent memory: Houston dentist Clara Harris killed her husband David, a prominent Houston orthodontist, because he was seeing another woman.
Harris' crime caught national attention both for what she did and for her weapon of choice, her Mercedes Benz. And it was all caught on tape, a videotape shot by a private investigator hired by, of all people, Clara Harris herself.
Chris Routh, 16, is the kind of kid you'd like to have living next door.
"I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I was a good kid," he says. "I was an 'A' student. I never broke any laws or anything. Never got into any trouble at school. I don't think I've ever lost my temper in my life. I'm a very calm-mannered, very mellow guy."
Now, this mild-mannered teenager is about to find out if he will spend the rest of his life living in prison.
His mother, Sissy Routh, says: "I think this was a series of tragedies that fell one upon another. And I think that Christopher happens to be the person who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Chris stands accused of sexually assaulting 23-month-old Emily Woodruff, and then shaking the toddler to death.
It doesn't get any worse than that.
As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Gulf War, Secretary of State Colin Powell was the architect of the campaign to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
He has been at the heart of the decision-making process that led up to the current military conflict with Iraq. On Tuesday night, Powell sat down with 48 Hour's Lesley Stahl for an exclusive one-on-one interview.
The first days of the war went by in a blur of positive news for the U.S. and its allies. Then, over the first weekend, the picture started to grow darker. 48 Hours Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports on the status of the war, and on what we might expect next.
To her best friend Miriah Duckworth, Jessi Lynch is everything from a not-so-aspiring athlete to a beauty queen, reports Jane Clayson.
"She could throw up her hair up and look gorgeous, go out and win Ms. Congeniality," says Duckworth.
To her father Greg, she is a source of pride.
"She's a wonderful girl. Always put others before herself in any situation," he says.
And to the U.S. Army, she is Private First Class Jessica Lynch, a supply clerk, one of thousands of women now serving in the war. But after a fierce battle last Saturday night, March 23, near the southern city of Nasiriyah, Jessi became one of only two women officially listed as missing in action.
It's about 3:30 in the morning, and the headquarters company of the 293rd Infantry Battalion is about to head out. The trip will take a little over eight hours, and it leads up a road that has become known as "Ambush Alley." Correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.
Marine Gunnery Sergeant Phil Jordan was a veteran of the first Gulf War, a soldier's soldier.
This week, his body came home from the current Gulf War. And for wife, Amanda, it was devastating. Correspondent Mika Brzezinski reports for 48 Hours.
"It's like it's happening to somebody else," she said. "It's not happening to us."
Phil and Amanda first met nine years ago, in a whirlwind courtship. Their marriage blossomed, and along came their baby, Tyler. Amanda said Tyler was so proud of his father for what he did, that he put him on a pedestal.
In his letters home, Phil always had a message for Tyler, who is now 6 years old.
The last letter arrived several days after Phil's death.
One of the enduring mysteries of the last Gulf War has driven 48-year-old Navy veteran Bill Finnegan to the far eastern tip of Long Island. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports.
"I live out here in the boonies, and I pretty much stay to myself all the time," says Finnegan, who mostly keeps company with his horses and dogs. "It's my choice, because I just don't feel right."
It's easier, he says, than trying to explain the ravages of Gulf War Syndrome to his friends.
At first glance, Hong Kong seems as noisy and bustling as ever. But there is one conspicuous difference -- the face masks. They are everywhere.
And they are the first hint of what the SARS outbreak has done to this famous city. Correspondent Barry Petersen reports.
“It’s changed the way we go about our day-to-day lives,” says Whitney Small, a public relations executive originally from Brunswick, Maine.
"It’s not so much that you fear you’re going to be the next victim, it’s more that it’s creating a disturbance in what was already a very tense time in Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong is a crowded city of fear, in a region that is now Ground Zero for a worldwide SARS outbreak.
Even with all the modern weapons of this war, warriors are still bedeviled by old-fashioned problems.
It happened just this week. In Northern Iraq, a convoy of U.S. Special Forces soldiers and Kurdish allies was attacked by American bombs. Eighteen Kurds were killed and more than 45 injured, including the brother and son of a Kurdish leader.
The weapons fired in this war are supposed to be precision guided and pinpoint accurate. But mistakes still happen. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports.
In a 48 Hours Investigates exclusive interview, Robert Kennedy Jr. talks about new clues and possible new suspects in the Martha Moxley murder.
Kennedy shares new details about two young men who were allegedly in the gated Belle Haven community in Greenwich, Conn., the night of Moxley's murder.
He also tells Correspondent Lesley Stahl how he personally elicited details of their possible involvement from Tony Bryant, cousin of NBA player Kobe Bryant.
In Shaker Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland, Ching L. Chang found a culturally rich and diverse neighborhood where he and his wife, Yoon Wah, could raise their four children.
Penny, 15, was the youngest in the family. Growing up, her family says she was very neat, very talkative and very Americanized.
She thrived in this affluent suburb, but no one could have predicted what happened. Correspondent Erin Moriarty reports
48 Hours Investigates the lengths women - and men - go to so they look "just so." What we learned is, it's much harder than you'd think. To prove the point, we'll take you behind the scenes with a movie star, a rock star, a model and even 48 Hours Investigates itself.
I've been a fan of Roberta Flack for decades (who hasn't?). Now that I've spent time with her, I like her on a whole new level: she's candid; she's fun, sassy, and smart. How many of you know that she's a classically trained musician?
What will endear you all is that, like so many of us, she's been working on her weight forever. Now, after losing 35 pounds in four months, Roberta tells us how she did it: with mesotherapy, a system involving a series of injections that Europeans have been using for years.
You'll also hear from Jamie Lee Curtis, who starred in the movie "Perfect," and model Christie Brinkley, both refreshingly honest about what magazines do to make them look perfect, even on days when they're far from it. Are the touched-up photo spreads sending the wrong message to young people? I think you'll be surprised at their answers.
Texas is known for doing everything big. And in Austin, millionaire business tycoon Steven Beard was living large with his new wife, Celeste.
"Steven was always very generous. He gave me lovely jewels, lots of jewelry, lots of everything," says Celeste.
They had two houses, including a custom-built Texas palace in one of Austin's wealthiest neighborhoods.
"I spent a lot of money," says Celeste. "I spent a lot of money redoing the houses all the time."
Steven Beard had made his mark as the co-owner of a local television station. He was rich, powerful, and an important member of the community.
But his fairy-tale life was soon shattered. Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.
They say there's nothing hotter than a New Orleans kitchen in July.
The talk got pretty spicy in the dining room of the Canal Street Brothel when Correspondent Harold Dow sat down with these "unconventional businesswomen" in the summer of 2003.
48 Hours Investigates reports on Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Frankie Muniz, Eric Trump and L'il Romeo -- Lifestyles of the young and rich.
Rich Girls: The Olsen Twins: Even in Hollywood, where rich girls are a dime a dozen, these two 17-year-olds stand out.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen aren't just rich and ambitious, they're mini-moguls. And they're already worth, by some estimates, $40 million each and counting.
Frankie Muniz: Hollywood Star: Actor Frankie Muniz has not only won fans -- he's made a fortune playing geeky teenage characters.
On TV, he's the awkward, brainy middle child in the sit-com "Malcolm In The Middle."
On the big screen, he's agent Cody Banks, a not-so-suave junior James Bond.
In a few short years, the kid with the cute face and sparkling blue eyes has become one of Hollywood's most bankable teens.
His salary for "Agent Cody Banks" was somewhere around $2 million – pretty good for Muniz, who just turned 18 this month. Correspondent Maureen Maher reports.
Eric Trump: American Royalty: Eric is a prince to the manor born, part of that peculiar type of American royalty, who grows up behind the headlines with a gold-plated last name.
Eric Trump, 19, is Ivana's baby boy and Donald Trump's youngest son. Correspondent Jane Clayson reports.
Lil' Rome: Hip-Hop Star: Even in his wildest dreams, 14-year-old Percy Romeo Miller III never imagined a life like this.
"Dreams can come true. Like Martin Luther King said, 'Have a dream,'" says Lil' Romeo, a pint-sized, platinum-selling, hip-hop superstar.
In just two years, Lil' Romeo has sold an astonishing 20 million CDs. Now, he says he has $50 million in savings.
This eighth grader stars in movies, cartoons and even runs a clothing company. When he's not shooting films, he's shooting hoops as a Junior Olympic basketball player.
It must be a great life. "I mean Romeo's got cars, man," says his father, rapper Master P. "I'm, like, he can't even drive!"
Lil' Romeo gave Correspondent
Hunter Kelley, 7, is on pins and needles as he awaits the arrival of his new baby brother. His very life may depend on it. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports.
Randy and Christie Kelley of Birmingham, Ala., have just what they've always wanted - a houseful of boys. First came Taylor, then Hunter and finally Parker.
Everything seemed perfect until Hunter turned 5.
"He'd always been small, so we kind of questioned that," says Hunter's father, Randy. "And his blood counts were deteriorating."
At his annual check-up, routine tests showed Hunter's white and red blood cell counts were dangerously low. So doctors ran more tests.
The diagnosis? Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic disease in which the bone marrow fails to produce healthy blood cells, leading to infection, cancer and ultimately, death.
"Very rarely did children make it to adulthood," says Randy. "The average life span is between 8 years old and 12 years old. So it was pretty bleak."
For the better part of the 20th century, Bob Hope became as much an American icon as mom's apple pie.
In small towns, in run down theatres, Hope developed a craft that would allow him to dance rings around Bing Crosby. And even keep up with the fast stepping Jimmy Cagney.
Nothing gave him a bigger thrill than hearing an audience erupt in laughter.
For Melinda Elkins, the years go by, but the pain and the questions linger.
She can’t stop asking herself, “Who could have been so cold-blooded as to want her mother dead?”
"I miss her, and I know she's not at rest,” she says.
It was a violent death. Judith Johnson, 58, and her 6-year-old granddaughter, Melinda's niece, were at her modest home outside Akron, Ohio, one night in June 1998.
Melinda's brother-in-law found the body the next morning. Judith Johnson had been beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted.
The little girl was also assaulted, but she survived and lived to tell a shocking story – that the man who’d killed her grandmother was none other than her uncle, and Melinda’s husband, Clarence Elkins.
Within hours, police arrested Elkins and charged him with the murder.
Today, Elkins, 40, sits in prison for life, convicted largely on the word of his own niece. But there never was one shred of physical evidence linking him to this bloody crime. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports.
Wrongfully Accused: Gloria Killian has waited a long time for this moment – 16 years and four months, to be exact.
It’s hard to believe that she’s been locked away for that long in a California state prison.
“I would rather die than go back to prison,” says Gloria, who was sent away for a robbery-murder she claims she didn’t commit. “I’m innocent. I did not plan the robbery. I did not know those people. I was not involved. I am not the perpetrator.”
But Lana Wyant, with the District Attorney’s office in Sacramento, Calif., wants Gloria back in jail: “We’re convinced that she was the mastermind of this murder.”
Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports for 48 Hours Investigates.
A 33-year-old woman called "Karen" says there is a man out there who wants to kill her.
"I still to this day wonder ,"Why me?'," she says. "The only way I will ever get my life back is if he's in jail."
Over the last year and a half, she's told police that he's already viciously attacked her – not once, but three times.
What's scariest for Karen is that he's a stranger - she has no idea who he is or whether he'll be back.
The case has Karen terrified, and the police in two Oregon towns absolutely baffled.
"In my 12 years experience, I've had nothing like this before," says Det. Larry Braaksma, with the Tualatin Police Department.
With no witnesses to any of the attacks, police are left with little more than the bizarre details provided by Karen, the stalker's only known victim.
And they're getting worried, because each attack seems to be more violent than the last. Correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.
Anyone who knows Laura Neuman, 38, knows how much she enjoys her life in Annapolis, Md. A hard-charging businesswoman, she works hard and plays hard.
But life hasn't always been such smooth sailing. In fact, Laura says she spent two decades living in fear as a victim of rape. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports.
It's been almost 20 years since that horrible night when she was attacked. Laura, then 18, had just moved out of her parent's home in Baltimore. With dreams of college and a career, she was ready to take on the world.
On Oct. 14, 1983, Laura says, she fell asleep watching television. She says she heard a noise while she was asleep, but she thought it was her roommate returning home.
"It sounded like a shuffling noise in the background," she recalls. "But then, of course I was awakened, and without going into too much detail, I did wake up to a gun to my head and a pillow over my face."
According to the police report, an intruder entered Laura's apartment through her roommate's window and forcibly raped the frightened teenager in her own bed.
"It was fear, it was shock. I was certain that there was a really good chance I wouldn't live through it. I really thought I might die," she says.
