6 True-Crime Documentaries For Your Inner Detective

Over the last month or so I’ve been on a bit of a true-crime documentary binge. I just can’t get enough! There’s something about the unanswered questions, colorful cast of characters, and inevitable courtroom drama that captivates my little “Law & Order” lovin’ heart. So, I decided to round-up a few of my recent faves in case you’re feeling a similar urge.

If you binge watched The Jinx or Making a Murderer in a matter of days or waited anxiously for the release of each new episode of Serial, may I suggest giving one of these bad boys a try…

The Fear of 13

After more than 20 years on death row, a convicted murderer petitions the court for his long awaited execution. But as he tells his story, it becomes clear that nothing is quite what it seems.

Amanda Knox

Follow the trial, conviction and acquittal of Amanda Knox for the murder of a fellow exchange student in Italy.

Who Took Johnny

An investigation of a cold case tries to determine what became of Iowa paperboy Johnny Gosch, who disappeared 30 years earlier.

There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane

The accident made national headlines: a suburban mother drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway in upstate New York and crashed head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others. But was she the monster the public made her out to be?

Beware the Slenderman

The mythos of a faceless, digital-age bogeyman known as Slenderman was created on the Internet, but his influence was felt in the real world when two 12-year-old girls lured their friend into the woods for a brutal murder.

Paradise Lost Trilogy

Note: The previous five are all fairly new but Paradise Lost is more of a classic. If you’ve never seen the full trilogy, I definitely recommend watching all three. They’re pretty incredible and the filmmakers paved the way for this sort of storytelling. (Buy the DVD’s HERE.)

The landmark documentary that sparked an international movement to ‘Free the West Memphis Three’, PARADISE LOST investigates the gruesome 1993 murder of three eight-year-old boys and the three teenagers accused of killing them as part of a Satanic ritual. REVELATIONS delves deeply into the shocking aftermath of the trials, updating the story seven years after the murders. PURGATORY picks up the story and reexamines the horrifying crime with fresh insights that only the passage of time can provide.