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In a new twist on reality TV, "Murder" gives real people real homicides to solve -- but they only have 48 hours to make their case.

The murders in question already were solved by police, but the show's producers re-create everything down to the last detail for contestants. Two groups of three people take the facts of the case and try to figure out who is the killer.

"Murder" premieres at 10 tonight on Spike TV. The hour-long show has a 10-episode run.

Greensburg native Jeff Sherid, 35, will put his armchair gumshoe skills to the test in an episode to air Aug. 14. He said the show was a natural fit for him.

"Some of my favorite shows are 'American Justice' and 'CSI,'" Sherid said. "I watch these shows and think, 'I could do that.'"

The show was filmed in Los Angeles, where Sherid lives. Potential contestants downloaded applications from Spike TV's Web site, and those selected came in to casting events at several cities across the country.

He thought what he'd learned from his favorite shows would be useful, but when hit with the facts of a true case, Sherid said it almost was overwhelming.

"You're boggled," he said. "You can't believe someone would do this to another human being."

Host and detective Tommy Le Noir gives participants the facts of the case, but doesn't help them solve it. "They have to be as smart as a detective," he said. "These are cases with more than one suspect, and they're very complicated and sophisticated."

Names and locations of the actual cases have been changed, Le Noir said, so unless someone had inside information on a case, viewers wouldn't know who the real victim or killer was.

Le Noir, who has been with the Arlington, Texas police department for 27 years, said he thought the idea for the show was intriguing. "Murder is ugly," Le Noir said. "But society is fascinated with it."

Sherid said he was glad to have a partner to help him with his investigation. "I definitely couldn't have done it alone in 48 hours, " he said. "It's frustrating, because one person can get stuck on a detail. I'm pretty hard-headed, so when I get something in my head, you have to prove it to me that I'm wrong."

Le Noir said the contestants leave with a different attitude than when they arrived.

"They come into it sort of cavalier, maybe a little arrogant, and confident," Le Noir said. "But when they see the crime scene, they're struck by the reality of what happened."

Sherid said being on the show gave him a whole new respect for homicide detectives. "I never want their job," he said.

After the contestants present their findings, Le Noir lets them in on the crime, what happened and who the real killer was. The group that makes the most correct or compelling case gets a donation made in their names to a victims' charity.

The show is produced by the reality-show gurus at Bunim-Murray productions, who also are behind MTV's "The Real World" and E! Entertainment's "The Simple Life."

But Le Noir said he wasn't interested in something too edgy.

"I still do this for a living, so I wouldn't be associated with anything that was not done in good taste and in a professional manner," he said.

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