48 HOURS: TRAIL OF TEARS was Saturday's #1 10:00 PM broadcast with viewers and adults 25-54, and posted year-to-year growth, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for March 5.
48 HOURS (10:00-11:00 PM) delivered 4.93 million viewers and a 1.3/04 with adults 25-54. Compared to the same night last year, 48 HOURS was up +18% in adults 25-54 and +5% in viewers. Compared to last week, 48 HOURS was up +8% in adults 25-54 (from 1.2/04). Saturday's broadcast featured Peter Van Sant and 48 HOURS' investigation into the death of Rhonda Casto, who died during a hike with her boyfriend Stephen Nichols in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. At the time of her death in 2009, Casto was a 23-year-old mother of a 9-month-old girl. Somewhere along the trail she slipped or fell, falling 150 feet before hitting solid ground - or, as investigators later claimed, Nichols allegedly pushed Rhonda to her death. The police investigation into what happened raised questions about the couple's relationship, allegations of a love triangle and strained family dynamics. Nichols said it was a tragic accident and that Castro slipped. Her mother believes otherwise. Initially, Nichols wasn't charged with a crime and went about starting a new life. The investigation went quiet until 2014, when a secret grand jury heard evidence and indicted Nichols for murder. He was arrested in San Francisco on a trip home from China. He pleaded not guilty and is in jail awaiting trial.Videos