College Killer: The Katie Sepich Murder Story

One night in 2003, then 22-year-old Katie Sepich walked home after a party where she had an argument with her boyfriend. The next day her body was found near a landfill and an investigation confirmed that she was strangled, sexually assaulted, and partially burned. What made the crime puzzling was the fact that her shoe was found under her bedroom window where there appeared to be a struggle. Three years passed and the crime remained unsolved — until DNA from a convicted felon finally matched her killer.

An Almost Perfect Murder

Albert Walker was convinced he planned the perfect murder when he invited his business partner to go fishing and dumped his body in the water. He successfully stripped his victim from any form of identification, but he forgot to remove one thing — his Rolex wristwatch. That tiny detail was the key to the investigation that pinpointed him as a murderer, an international embezzler, and (this one wasn’t too focused on but it’s important) a man with a presumed incestuous relationship with his daughter.

The Three Girls Held Captive for 10 Years

What would you feel if your sister, daughter, or niece went missing? Would you stop looking for them? Between the years of 2002 and 2004, Ariel Castro, a deranged school bus driver, kidnapped three teenaged girls and locked them in his home. They wouldn’t be free until almost 10 years later. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle McKnight were forced to live in squalid conditions in small separate bedrooms where they were continuously tortured and sexually abused. In 2016, Berry gave birth to her daughter, Jocelyn, who became a crucial means to their 2013 escape.

Slender Man Stabbing

This documentary details the disturbing crime committed by two minors who were motivated by the fictional character, Slender Man. Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser lured their friend and fellow 12-year-old Payton Leutner to the woods near her home one day and stabbed her 19 times. Left for dead, she miraculously survived and was found by a cyclist. The girls claimed the reason behind the attack was because they wanted to become loyal followers of Slender Man and the only way to do so was to murder someone.

The Tragedy of Flight 93

The events of September 11, 2001 will leave a mark until the end of history. A series of terrorist attacks launched by Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and the demolitions of infrastructures. One of the four planes used in the attack was the United Airlines Flight 93. There were 44 people on board that flight and some of them took measures to fight the hijackers, causing the plane to crash on a field in Pennsylvania. Because of their bravery, the terrorists didn’t reach their intended target, which remains unknown to this day.

A Killer on Floor 32

The Las Vegas shooting on October 1, 2017 was dubbed as “the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.” Stephen Paddock, a 65-year-old former accountant, checked into the Mandalay Bay Hotel, booking a room on its 32nd floor. Across the hotel was the Las Vegas Strip, an open-air venue where the Route 91 Harvest Festival was closing its third and final concert day. Paddock, perched in his hotel room, opened fire on the crowd, killing 58 people. Later when the police came to his room, they discovered 24 guns, including assault rifles with armor-piercing bullets. Unfortunately, he committed suicide in his room before he was apprehended.

Live to Tell: The Year We Disappeared

Cylin Busby was 9 years old when her officer father, John Busby, was shot dead. He had enough time to write down who he thought the shooter was — a local ex-con John was supposed to testify against. Following the accident, the Busby family went from leading a normal and peaceful life to being under 24-hour surveillance with armed-guards, having police escorts, and no contact with friends. They eventually went into hiding. This documentary has a well-deserved ending you’ll never see coming.

The Killing Game

In 1978, Rodney Alcala was part of a televised game show called The Dating Game. He won when contestant Cheryl Bradshaw picked him. Later at the backstage when she got to meet him, she turned down his offer for a date because she started to “feel ill” and “He was acting really creepy.” Turns out this decision saved her life. By that time, Alcala had already been investigated for raping an 8-year-old girl (he was paroled), and unbeknownst to law enforcement, had already murdered at least four other women. He would later kill more; some believe that he had around 130 victims, although he was only convicted for seven murders. Authorities believe that Alcala channeled his disappointment into murder, which increased his victim count significantly after the rejection.

Which true crime documentary have you watched?