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Under Her Eye
Charles Sobhraj – aka ‘The Serpent’ – is the subject of Channel 4’s new true crime documentary
1 year ago
3 min read
New three-part docuseries, The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer, will offer viewers “unprecedented access” to Interpol’s once most-wanted man, Charles Sobhraj.
Back in 2021, The Serpent – which aired on BBC One – introduced viewers to Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim), the serial killer and conman who was linked with murdering around 20 tourists along the so-called ‘hippie trail’ between 1972 and 1982.
Now, a new Channel 4 documentary is set to re-examine the case in The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer, a unique three-part series that “sees Sobhraj agree to a number of psychological and criminal interrogations about murders he has never been tried for”.
“Sobhraj has been convicted of two killings but admitted to 10 murders in 1977, only to later withdraw the confessions,” reads the official synopsis, which notes that the so-called Bikini Killer is suspected of many more murders, but has never been tried for the majority of them, leaving the families of the victims with “no closure or accountability”.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer about?
In the documentary, Sobhraj voluntarily puts himself forward to be interviewed by forensic psychologist Paul Britton about five killings in Thailand in 1975. Former senior Metropolitan police detectives Jackie Malton and Gary Copson then re-examine the murders and interview key protagonists and witnesses to challenge Sobhraj’s claims that he did not kill anyone and to try to discover the truth about the crimes.
“The three-part series from Monster Films is a unique attempt to get to the truth of the horrific crimes; to explore whether there is any hope of accountability and justice for the victims; and to understand why Sobhraj, who is so closely linked to so many murders, is able to roam free all over the world,” reads the official synopsis.
What are people saying about The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer?
In a statement, Shaminder Nahal, commissioning editor and head of specialist factual at Channel 4, said: “In the 70s, thousands of young people flocked to Asia to have adventures and learn about the world. Some of them ended up dead because of Charles Sobhraj. Today he is a free man, never having stood trial for many of the murders he is linked to.
Credit: Getty
“The big questions underpinning this series are whether 50 years on, there is any hope of getting the truth of these historic crimes and to get some accountability for the victims and their families,” continues Nahal. “And how it is possible that a man believed to be one of the 20th century’s most devious and ruthless serial killers, is no longer in prison.”
Why might The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer be considered controversial?
Sobhraj’s story and his crimes, mostly committed between 1970 and 1976, have fascinated the media and been the subject of several bestselling books.
Since being released from prison in 2022, the serial killer continues to court the press as he hunts for someone to ghostwrite his autobiography. And he continues to revel in his notoriety, all while “never showing the slightest regret for the devastation he had wrought or the lives he’d ruined”.
Surely a documentary that shines a spotlight on Sobhraj, then, only feeds into the narcissist’s cult of celebrity?
When can we watch The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer?
The Real Serpent: Investigating A Serial Killer airs on Channel 4 at 9pm, Tuesday 19 March.
Will you be watching?
Images: Getty
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