Couple's first date ends with deadly ambush the night before Thanksgiving | Forensic Files

this week's 48 Hours investigates a deadly first date when First Responders got to the scene in November 2021 they
found fitness instructor Leslie Reeves dead and her date Chris Smith shot and seriously wounded the Illinois couple
had met online and decided to go on their first date the night before Thanksgiving 48 Hours correspondent
Aaron morard reports it was around 3:30 in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day 2021 when
crime scene investigator joshh Easton of the Illinois State Police arrived at a house in the Tiny Village of
Farmersville what do you see when you first approach the door I noticed the side door of the house the glass in the
door has been broken out the refrigerator was pulled away from the wall the kitchen table was pushed the
the chairs were knocked over Chris Smith who lived in the house had been shot critically wounded and was rushed to a
hospital his day Leslie Reeves who taught self-defense classes for women I'm Leslie from all you Studio was lying
dead on the living room floor how many times was she shot she was only shot one time but no weapon was found and
investigators suspected an intruder had forced his way in little details told a story like the burnt pizza in the oven I
assumed that maybe they were cooking a pizza for the night and the suspect shows up at the door
door they both tried to fight him off and when Chris was shot Leslie went to the living room to try to hide e spotted
a silver-colored shell casing near Leslie's body another in the kitchen where Chris had been found barely
conscious no one knew if Chris would recover enough to identify the shooter we were talking to him singing to him
and I was always holding this [Music] hand open your eyes buddy at the hospital Chris's mother Sharon
and sister Ashley rarely left his side why would somebody do this to him why would they try to hurt my baby that's
all I kept thinking he's my baby someone hurt him going on a first date and they
both end up getting shot it's insane Aaron morard joins us now uh Aon so this was unusual for us if you think
about it because there was actually someone who survived right yeah and that is something that we rarely ever see uh
Christmas survive you got an exclusive interview with him I did and he is very inspiring because this is a man he
doesn't here's what's so sad he doesn't even remember Leslie he doesn't remember
meeting her at all his memory was erased and this started off with such a mystery
this is a small town these are two people who just met for the first time and joined themselves and then somebody
breaks in but this was also a great investigation and that is we focus on that and how Chris has made this amazing
recovery and how they got the killer so how they were able to get a suspect in the case W without a weapon well this is
interesting they needed to find a suspect because of that lack of weapon they knew that someone had survived and
here there was an armed killer still out there so they made an arrest within our
based on two friends of Leslie who had said she had been stocked but that was a very tough thing to do that quickly when
you don't even know the results of your the DNA testing in the crime scene and you go ahead was there hard evidence
tying this suspect to the crime scene that's what ended up being very difficult there wasn't any there was his
DNA was not in the crime scene he made a big point about that there was glass all
over it wasn't in it car there was no blood in his car this was a very tough investigation that this small town in
the Illinois State Police managed to solve W all right Aon morard thank you you can watch this incredible report
fatal first date on 48 hours tomorrow night at 109 Central right here on CBS we're streaming on Paramount Plus

In Illinois, fitness instructor Leslie Reeves was killed and her date Chris Smith was gravely wounded in a 2021 shooting ambush. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty breaks down how investigators tracked down the suspect.

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Brief Summary

A first date turns deadly as Leslie Reeves is killed and Chris Smith is wounded; the investigation reveals a complex case with no weapon found.

Key points

Fatal First Date. A deadly first date leads to a shocking investigation and recovery.
Survivor's Memory Loss. Chris Smith survives a brutal attack but has no recollection of the night.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Why would somebody do this to him?

A mother’s emotional plea regarding her son’s attack.

2:08WatchNov 1, 2024

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