DID A PALM BEACH SOCIALITE TRY TO KILL HER SON? AND DID SHE GET AWAY WITH MURDER 20 YEARS AGO?

"48 HOURS" INVESTIGATES LINDA COONEY'S MYSTERIOUS CONNECTION TO A GUN IN "MOMMY DEAREST"

SATURDAY, OCT. 4, 10:00 PM, ET/PT

Linda Cooney wanted to be a Palm Beach, Fla., socialite, according to those who know her. Socialite status may have eluded her, however, and instead Cooney ended up becoming the center of attention in two shootings - two decades apart - both with the same gun.

Richard Schlesinger and 48 HOURS investigate the case of the gun that shot twice and the woman allegedly pulling the trigger in "Mommy Dearest," to be broadcast Saturday, Oct. 4 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

In 1992, Linda Cooney shot her ex-husband, Palm Beach lawyer Jim Cooney, while her son, 10-year-old Kevin, peeked out of a hole in his bedroom door. There had been a tough divorce and issues with the custody of the kids. The case rocked the exclusive enclave on Florida's east coast and captivated locals when Linda went on trial for murder. She was found not guilty, largely on the weight of Kevin's testimony, investigators say.

"She shot him with a .357 Magnum," says Palm Beach gossip columnist Jose Lambiet. "She claims it was self-defense."

Back then, the social set in the wealthy town believed Linda got away with murder, says Lambiet. There were also allegations that Linda influenced Kevin's testimony to escape prison.

To avoid the backlash, Linda Cooney left Palm Beach and ended up in Las Vegas, where her past wouldn't be an issue. Then, in June 2011, Linda dialed 911 to report another shooting. "My son has a gunshot wound to the neck," Linda Cooney told a police dispatcher.

Kevin Cooney, 30, who once saved his mother from jail, was paralyzed but alive, despite a 16-minute-delay in Linda calling for help.

"She didn't say that he had done it, she didn't say that she had done it," says Las Vegas Police Detective Lt. Robert Schmidt. "She didn't say somebody else had done it."

If not them, who, police wondered. The investigation quickly uncovered that the gun used to shoot Kevin was the same gun Linda Cooney used to shoot his father almost two decades earlier. She had asked for the gun back after she was acquitted. The authorities were shocked.

"You would think that that situation would be so traumatic for you that you would never want to see that weapon again," says Las Vegas prosecutor Shannon Clowers.

But why would Linda shoot her own son? Prosecutors say Linda Cooney was desperate to control her grown sons - choosing who they dated, who they spoke to, and even living with them in a house with no bedroom doors. Prosecutors believe Linda tried to kill Kevin because he was planning to move out.

"Nobody is going to have him if she can't keep him," Clowers said in court.

Linda Cooney's defense paints a different story: Kevin was mentally unstable and on the morning of the shooting, he came after his mother and accidentally shot himself.

And the defense had a big surprise for prosecutors. The story that shooting victim Kevin Cooney would tell about his mother startled everyone. And it may just keep Linda Cooney from a lifetime in prison.

Schlesinger and 48 HOURS tell the Cooney family story through interviews with Jim Cooney's brother, police, investigators and prosecutors and others involved in the case as well as two of Kevin's former girlfriends, Karina Taylor and Clarita Kendall.

48 HOURS: "Mommy Dearest" is produced by Patti Aronofsky and Jonathan Leach. Michelle Feuer and Cindy Cesare are the development producers. Al Briganti is the executive editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

Chat with members of the 48 HOURS team during the broadcast on Twitter and Facebook. Follow 48 HOURS on Instagram.