Here Are the Best True Crime Documentaries You Can Binge-Watch on Netflix
Jan 25, 2020 • Kyzia Maramara
The world is scary, and you have no way of knowing the extent of the evil of mankind. True crime documentaries have the power to make us feel all kinds of emotions. They can make our blood boil, make us excited to know that the perpetrator got what was coming, make us sad for the victims, etc. True crime series also makes us more cautious and aware of the bad things out there (i.e. paranoid – Editor). So if you’re feeling a bit introverted and you’re in the middle of a true crime obsession phase, bundle up and watch these documentaries on Netflix.
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Who these days do not have the faintest idea who Ted Bundy is? He was one of America’s most notorious serial killers being convicted in the deaths of more than 30 women. He was finally caught and imprisoned in 1978 and executed in 1989. Three decades after his execution, Netflix brings us a docuseries spanning a couple episodes and brings viewers into the mind a serial killer including exclusive tapes and never-before-seen interviews with the murderer himself.
The Staircase
In 2001, novelist Michael Peterson made a 911 call to report that his wife, Kathleen, fell down the stairs and died. The scene was made to look like she was intoxicated but forensics report that her injuries are akin to being bludgeoned to death. Fifteen years earlier, a family friend of theirs also died in similar way and the last person to have been in contact with her was Michael. The prosecution argued that he murdered his wife because she found photos of naked men on his computer and that he was bisexual.
The original story of Michael Peterson was first aired on October 2004 in a French television miniseries. In 2018, Netflix added three new episodes detailing even more the murder, the trial, and the possible reasons behind it.
Abducted in Plain Sight
Via Business Insider
This documentary follows the real-life story of the Brobergs and their daughter who was kidnapped and brainwashed by their family friend, Robert Berchtold. The twisted facts: twelve-year-old Jan Broberg’s parents allowed Berchtold to sleep in their child’s bed for 6 months, Berchtold groomed Jan and made her believe that she was kidnapped by aliens, and lastly, both of Jan’s parents were having an affair with their child’s rapist. It doesn’t get as bizarre and as off the charts like this. Prepare a shallow, happy movie afterward to keep all the bad emotions away.
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
Via YouTube: Netflix
In an eight-part series, Netflix retells how three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared one terrible night in 2007 while her family was vacationing at a resort in Portugal. The McCann parents left their kids in the ground floor of the hotel room while they dined at a restaurant. Two hours later, they discover Madeleine missing. Initial police reports believe that the child met an accident in the room and that the parents are covering it up, but theories on abduction and child sex trafficking also abound.
Making a Murderer
Via YouTube: Netflix
This is probably the best true crime documentary on Netflix and it will take your brain for a spin. Steven Avery was convicted of a crime he claims he’s innocent of – the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. After serving 18 years in prison, he was exonerated in 2003 and thereafter filed a $36 million lawsuit against those who wrongfully convicted him. He was about to win the lawsuit but two years after his release, he was once again the prime suspect for another murder. Coincidence?
Long Shot
Via YouTube: Netflix
Juan Catalan was a regular man with a regular family until one day he wasn’t. He was arrested in 2003 for the shooting of 16-year-old Martha Puebla. The 40-minute film shows Juan and his attorney’s quest for his alibi which is proving he was in the crowd of 56,000 people cheering for the Dodgers at a baseball game. Luckily, an HBO comedy series was filming at the game that night. This documentary film is nothing short of amazing, and that’s not an exaggeration.
Evil Genius
Via YouTube: Netflix
Dubbed as ‘America’s most diabolical bank heist,’ Evil Genius is a true-crime documentary told in 4 episodes. In 2003, pizza delivery guy Brian Wells walked into a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania with a collar bomb around his neck. He was part of an elaborate and convoluted bank robbery scheme that involved the titular ‘evil genius’ Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.
The Keepers
Via YouTube: Netflix
Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, was murdered in 1969. As the trailer said, her murder wasn’t the story, it’s the cover-up of her story that should be the focus. It was believed that Sister Cathy suspected a priest at their school, Joseph Maskell, was involved in sexually abusing students and that she was about to report him for it. Sister Cathy’s death gives a glimpse of the corruption inside the Catholic Church.
Watched any of these documentaries? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
