5 true crime cases featured on 48 Hours that were never solved

The reputation of 48 Hours is ethically grounded on a sole but effective principle: the truths behind real crimes never necessarily have to be very clear!

The series is about going on an investigative journey behind the crime, where it sometimes takes decades for the truth to come out. In its story, it doesn't provide an ending where everything is concluded, but becomes lost in the details, where it scrutinizes the details and raises more questions that are left unanswered, at the same time shedding light on the harsh truth that sometimes the law isn't always fair.

Thanks to the combination of 48 Hours and these unsolved cases, these regions have been revisited, and they are still covering them, but from different angles with updated information.

The tales are not centered on speculation or dramatization; they speak to what is known, what is not, and of the reasons why some inquiries still remain on the shelf.

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Have a look at these 5 true crime cases featured on 48 Hours that were never solved

1. The Murder of Molly Bish

Among the most extensively documented but still unsolved cases of murder in history is the Murder of Molly Bish, which was featured in the documentary 48 Hours. In this case, it involved a lifeguard who had gone missing during her assigned early morning lifeguard duty. The victim was only 16 years old.

The children knew that the authors of the study had already concluded that the exact location where the crime was committed was either the trees or not the pond, because it was several miles away. This, of course, gave the cops an edge by ruling out one thing, and that is she was murdered, yet the most important question remained in the air: who did it?

Detectives have put together and followed multiple leads in addition to naming a few potential suspects; however, there has been no one so far who could be charged as a suspect. The 48 Hours documentary revisited the case along with witness statements, timelines, and still-open gaps in the proof.

For now, the person responsible for the murder of Molly Bish has not been found yet; the case is still open and officially unsolved.

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2. The JonBenét Ramsey Murder

It is the most terrifying murder case that occurred in the year 1996, and whose culprit is still unknown until now, that is the murder of the child named JonBenét Ramsey. It so happened that the murder of this child did not receive less media coverage than other murder cases that were already unsolved in that particular year.

48 Hours has covered this story several times, each time looking at the improving evidence, the ransom note, and the police blunders that prolonged the search for the truth. Alas, nobody has ever been definitively linked to the killing of JonBenét despite many years' worth of examination, high-tech DNA analysis, and continuous law enforcement reviews of the case.

The case is still open, and the questions around both the crime scene and the mismanagement of early evidence continue to stir up discussions. The show 48 Hours has been following the case for years, hitting the main points of changing evidence, the ransom note, and the wrong turns made by the investigators, which, among others complex the search for answers.

With no one being able to point to a specific person after years of no less than the careful DNA screening, forensics, and occasional examinations done by the police, the case of JonBenét's murder is still not closed. The police still open the case as the questions concerning the crime scene and the initial evidence handling still create debates.

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3. The Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer was and still is one of the most infamous and also the most mysterious serial killers in the United States, and its story was dramatically uncovered in the context of the unclear crimes committed by 48 Hours.

In particular, this serial killer not only committed murders but also corresponded with the police and society in coded letters. In fact, it primarily took place in Northern California in the late 1960s.

The program also investigated the lives of the victims, the ghostly message, and the many suspects that the police were concentrating on since then. Although advances made in DNA analysis and the renewed interest have led to the case being reopened, the case remains unsolved, and no suspect has been identified by the police as being the actual one.

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4. The Springfield Three disappearance

The Springfield Three, who simply vanished into thin air, have been the subject of an episode of 48 Hours and remain one of the most baffling cases in the history of the USA for missing persons. In June 1992, the three females went missing from the residence of Sherrill Levitt in Springfield, Missouri. Successful entry appeared to be careful, and struggle was not visible.

Throughout the years, there have been many searches carried out, tips have been submitted all around the nation, and an investigation has continued for many years because there has not been any physical evidence that has been able to solve the disappearance of the missing women.

48 Hours highlighted the lack of forensic evidence, the unresolved phone calls that had been left on the answering machine, and the challenges that the investigators encountered. Nobody has charged any suspects, and the investigation is still an open case.

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5. The disappearance of Brian Shaffer

Brian Shaffer was a medical school student who went missing in Columbus, Ohio. His case is currently being highlighted by 48 Hours because of its bizarre events. In 2006, Brian was last seen entering a bar with his friends. There were security cameras that recorded Brian entering the bar, but no recordings of him walking out.

Parameters such as surveillance video recordings and the absence of evidence have been identified as the key aspects 48 Hours has presented so far. Even as the video evidence has been scrutinized several times with various theories emerging on the disappearance of Brian, the police have not been in a position to establish this.

Yet, there have been no reports of sightings or forensic evidence that have resulted in the case being solved. The case has remained unsolved.

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Why 48 Hours keeps repeating the unsolved cases

One of the main factors of 48 Hours is that it is ready to go back to cases if they have not yet been solved. The program not only avoids speculating on events, but it also provides facts and indicates the difficulties involved in finding the truth.

In reporting such unsolved cases, 48 Hours not only helps to create the record as it were, but it also puts the spotlight on cases that could easily remain under wraps and thereby die out.

These cases generally depict how the imprecision in the early police response, technology, or the loss of evidence may have a direct impact on the case as a whole. The cases in the first two episodes of 48 Hours are put across without arriving at any conclusion so that the audience can identify the complexity in thecrime puzzle.

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48 Hours has a long history on air, during which the show has managed to probe into more than a hundred criminal cases. A large number of cases have been solved, while the others have been left unsolved.

48 Hours has still, nonetheless, been surrounding these tales with presentable, very truthful, and with little exaggeration, thus giving the audience a close-up on what has been discovered, what is lacking, and what makes some mysteries last long.

Also read: 48 Hours: Mystery in Room 813 - 5 harrowing details about Sandra Orellana's death, revisited