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- Calling All True-Crime Fans: These Murder Documentaries on Netflix Are a Must-Watch
Calling All True-Crime Fans: These Murder Documentaries on Netflix Are a Must-Watch
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
True-crime fanatics are fascinated by murder for a variety of reasons. Maybe they like piecing together the evidence and trying to solve the puzzle of why it happened. Perhaps they feel it might better prepare them for a real-life threat on their own life. Or maybe true-crime junkies love it for the same reason people love scary movies: it gives them an adrenaline rush. Whatever the reason, Netflix has plenty of series and films available for your true-crime fix. If stories of serial killers and grisly murders pique your interest, then you’ll want to check out these murder documentaries on Netflix.
Related: These 25 True-Crime Podcasts From 2020 Will Have You Constantly Looking Behind You
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
American Murder: The Family Next Door
This documentary revolves around the 2018 murder of a pregnant woman and her two young daughters at the hand of her husband. Constructed entirely from Facebook posts, body cam videos, text messages, and other raw firsthand footage, American Murder: The Family Next Door shows how a family who appears picture-perfect on social media can actually be hiding some very dark secrets.
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Strong Island
This Oscar-nominated documentary was created by Yance Ford, who tells the story of his 24-year-old brother’s murder in 1992. Killed by a white mechanic who claimed self-defense, Ford reveals how an all-white grand jury in Suffolk County declined to indict his brother’s killer despite the overwhelming evidence.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Making a Murderer
Filmed over 13 years, this two-season docuseries follows the case of Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, who were wrongly accused of raping and murdering a woman named Teresa Halbach in 2005. The first season presents the case, while the second season – released three years later – introduces Steven’s new lawyer, as well as the man who have actually murdered Teresa.
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Amanda Knox
Most people are familiar with Amanda Knox, a woman who was convicted for the 2007 murder of her roommate in Italy, Meredith Kercher, and sentenced to four years in an Italian prison only to eventually be acquitted. However, this documentary tells her story like never before, featuring interviews with Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Italian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, and even Amanda Knox herself.
Everett Collection / Courtesy of Netflix
The Keepers
This seven-part docuseries examines the unsolved murder of Cathy Cesnik, a Catholic high school teacher and nun from in Baltimore who disappeared in 1969. The case was then reopened in the ’90s, when one of Cathy Cesnik’s former students claimed that the high school’s chaplain (who was also accused of abuse) may have been involved.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Released 30 years after Ted Bundy’s execution in Florida, this four-part docuseries features never-before-heard audio interviews with the infamous serial killer (who committed more than 30 violent sex crimes against women before being caught in 1978) during his time on death row. Even if you’re familiar with the story of the Ted Bundy, this one is worth a watch.
Watch Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix.
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I Called Him Morgan
This documentary revolves around the life and death of jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen Morgan, who was later convicted for his murder in 1972. Decades after serving her prison sentence for Lee Morgan’s killing, the documentary allows Helen to reflect on their lives together and the legacy that the musician left behind.
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The Fear of 13
This documentary follows the story of Nick Yarris, who spent 21 years on death row in Pennsylvania after he was convicted of murder, only to be released in 2004 when DNA evidence proved he was innocent. Yarris serves as narrator, and in the documentary, he talks about his early life, his arrest, and why he eventually petitioned the court to be executed.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story
In 2004, a then-16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was convicted of murder and robbery and sentenced to life in prision, though she was involuntarily being prostituted at the time of the murder and claimed she had acted in self-defense. Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story follows Brown’s story from her early childhood to her eventual release in August 2019.
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Casting JonBenét
Created two decades after the murder of child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, this documentary revolves around the casting process for a fictitious JonBenét film. Interviews with the would-be actors – during which they offer their own insight and speculation – reveal the extent of the obsession surrounding the mysterious case, which has yet to be solved.