Is there a new episode of 48 Hours tonight (August 9, 2025)? Explained

CBS will not be airing a brand-new episode of 48 Hours on August 9, 2025, but will instead air a repeat broadcast of one of its previous true-crime investigations. The episode titled The Strange Shooting of Alex Pennig originally aired on October 26, 2024, and will be broadcast in the network’s 9 pm Central Standard Time slot.

The repeat broadcast will run for one hour and is also available to stream on Paramount+. This episode covers the death of Minnesota nurse Alexandra "Alex" Pennig in 2022 and the subsequent criminal case.

48 Hours is a long-running true crime/court show news program, which began airing in 1988. These are not scripted shows, but depict real-life murder trials, cold cases, and criminal investigations, often spanning from the crime scene to the trial.

48 Hours presents a full-length profile of crimes by professional journalists. The reports include detailed interviews, forensic analysis, and discussions of the investigative work of law enforcement.

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48 hours will re-air an old episode on August 9, 2025

The case in this repeat episode of 48 Hours concerns a 32-year-old Alex Pennig, who was discovered dead with a gunshot wound to the head on December 16, 2022, in her bathroom in St. Paul, Minnesota. Pennig, a nurse, had been hanging out with her friend and fellow nurse, Matthew Ecker, at the time of the shooting.

According to CBS News, Ecker told first responders that the gun belonged to him, and he stated that Pennig had taken it, locked herself in the bathroom, and shot herself. Ecker explained that after hearing the shot, he kicked the bathroom door open, attempted to render some first aid, washed his hands, and called 911.

Upon arriving at the scene, detectives immediately observed multiple discrepancies in Ecker's account. St. Paul homicide detectives Abby DeSanto and Jennifer O'Donnell noticed that the bathroom sink, which Ecker stated he had washed his hands in, was completely dry (as reported by CBS News).

This was suspicious to the detectives, and suggested the timing of events may not have lined up. In addition to the discrepancies in his story, the crime scene had alcohol, and six bottles of prescription medication that Pennig was prescribed, including antidepressants, which the detectives determined at the beginning of the investigation made a suicide possible.

While detectives interviewed Pennig's family, they found out that she had previously battled addiction and depression but had been doing well in recent weeks.

Detectives found that Pennig had previously struggled with addiction and depression (Image via Pexels)

Pennig's parents reported they had seen her at Thanksgiving and had spoken to her the night before her death. They told detectives the suggestion that she had taken her life did not fit with their understanding of her current condition (as reported by CBS News).

Things changed dramatically as detectives and the forensic team recovered a small, round piece of metal, part of the bathroom door lock, from the floor next to Pennig's body.

The detectives determined from this that the door had been forced open before Pennig had been shot, contradicting Ecker's account that he had broken the door down after he heard the shot fired. This kind of evidence confirmed the theory that Pennig had locked herself in the bathroom to get away from Ecker before Ecker had broken the door down to shoot her.

Ecker was charged with second-degree murder. In February 2024, he was convicted and sentenced to serve 30 years in prison (CBS News).

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48 Hours can be streamed on CBS.