48 HOURS: "A Mother Accused" was Saturday's #1 broadcast with viewers and posted week-to-week audience increases, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for April 9.
48 HOURS was also #1 at 10:00 PM with viewers, delivering 5.12 million people and a 1.2/04 with adults 25-54, the demographic that matters most to those who advertise in news. Compared to last week, 48 HOURS added +550,000 viewers (from 4.57m, +12%). Saturday's broadcast featured Troy Roberts' interview with Lacey Spears, a woman who was accused, tried and convicted of murdering her 5-year-old son by poisoning him with salt. Her first-ever interview was part of 48 HOURS' investigation into the death of Garnett Spears. It's a case that raised issues about child care, the medical system, and how warning signs might have been missed along the way that could have saved Garnett. Spears' son died on Jan. 23, 2014, after what she maintains was a lifetime of illness, for which she couldn't find him relief. For years, Spears posted about his ailments on social media, where she maintained a regular update on Garnett's life. All along, doctors struggled to find answers to Garnett's problems. But in what would be Garnett's final hospital visit, something emerged. Doctors found a life threatening level of sodium in his bloodstream, causing his eventual death. Spears was later charged with murdering her son. Spears and her attorneys maintained she's innocent. Investigators and law enforcement thought otherwise.Videos