Dinerral Shavers, Helen Hill murders profiled on CBS "48 Hours Mystery"

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Oct 9, 2007, 4:57:11 PM10/9/07
to nola music announce
48 Hours Mystery: "Storm of Murder"

FILMMAKER AND A MUSICIAN CAME BACK TO NEW ORLEANS AND ENDED UP
ENGULFED IN A STORM OF MURDER

BREAKDOWN OF NEW ORLEANS' INFRASTRUCTURE ESCALATES THE CITY'S MURDER
RATE

ON "48 HOURS MYSTERY" ON SATURDAY, OCT. 13


New Orleans was once known as a city with good beignets and great
jazz, but since Hurricane Katrina, the Crescent City is gaining
notoriety for its murder rate - the highest in the nation. Last year,
162 people were murdered in New Orleans. Police made arrests in a
third of those cases, but as of today, there has been just one
conviction. The New Orleans Police Department remains woefully
understaffed and overwhelmed by the violence. "We're operating with
nothing and trying to combat an escalating problem," police lieutenant
Mike Glasser tells correspondent Erin Moriarty on 48 HOURS MYSTERY:
"Storm of Murder." The broadcast looks at the deaths of two
extraordinary people committed to rebuilding their beloved New
Orleans, and follows the hunt for their killers -- Saturday, Oct. 13
(10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The murders of filmmaker Helen Hill and musician Dinerral Shavers (of
the Hot 8 Brass Band) are symbolic of the breakdown of the city's
criminal justice system. They were two of nine people murdered within
one week. After Katrina, Hill, a Harvard-educated animator, returned
to her adopted city with her husband and two-year-old son in spite of
the risks. But early on the morning of Jan. 4, 2007, she was shot and
killed by an intruder in her home. Her husband was wounded while
protecting their son from a barrage of bullets. The child escaped
without injury. Nine months after Hill was murdered, police still have
made no arrest in the case.

Shavers was a dynamic drummer, a teacher and a father. On Dec. 28,
2006, Shavers drove to pick up his stepson who had called to ask for
help. A gunman ran out and shot into his car, missing the stepson but
killing Shavers. Police say there were a number of eyewitnesses, and
within days there was an arrest. But when no one was willing to
testify, the teenage suspect was released. Still feeling the pressure,
police re-arrested him, vowing the case will proceed. A trial date
has been set, but questions persist, including whether anyone will
actually testify in a climate of fear.

Police say cold-blooded killers roam the city with no fear they'll
ever pay for their crimes. More than two years after the storm, there
are still sections of New Orleans that have to be patrolled by the
National Guard. "American military patrolling the streets of an
American city is not a sign of success," says lieutenant Glasser.

The murders of Helen Hill and Dinerral Shavers mobilized the city of
New Orleans. Thousands marched to demand that the mayor, police chief
and district attorney fix the broken system of justice and put an end
to the storm of murder.

48 HOURS MYSTERY is produced by Joe Halderman, Deborah Grau and
Stephen A. McCain. Peter Schweitzer is the Senior Producer. Susan
Zirinsky is the executive producer.

Editors' Note: Click the link below to see a preview of 48 HOURS
MYSTERY:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3331245n

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