It’s no secret that audiences love a true crime stories, with documentaries about serial killers, strange disappearances and murders continuing to pop up on pretty much every channel. Netflix, of course, has long been hailed as the true crime supremo, thanks to its bevy of documentary films and TV series. But with so many on offer, which ones are really worth your time? 

Here, we’ve picked out the most important true crime documentaries on Netflix, from new releases to classic series.

On 23 March 2015, Denise Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, were woken in the dead of night by a home invader. Huskins was kidnapped, and what transpired next in the terrifying tale is the subject of American Nightmare. Across the US, the story of Huskins’ disappearance invited national media scrutiny, with many comparing it to Gone Girl, the hit 2014 film adapted from Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel. But what really happened, and how did the victim of an awful crime end up accused of staging her own kidnapping?

In 2022, The Guardian published an investigation into one of the UK’s worst cyberstalkers, examining why it took so long to bring him to justice. Matthew Hardy had been harassing women for over a decade until he was finally prosecuted and sentenced to nine years in prison in January 2022 – the longest custodial sentence in British history for online stalking.

Can I Tell You A Secret? tells the stories of some of the women targeted by Hardy who endured online harassment for years before bringing him to justice themselves.

The Man With 1000 Kids tells the true story of Jonathan Meijer, who stands accused of deceiving mothers all over the world into having his babies “on a mass scale”. As per the official synopsis, three-episode docuseries shines a spotlight on “the havoc wreaked by Meijer across several countries and continents — in addition to 11 sperm banks in the Netherlands and private donations, Meijer had been donating sperm all over the globe”.

The Dutch musician has potentially fathered over 500 children through his donations, but has since been banned from making any more donations when the families affected took action.

Tracing the story of an internet romance gone terrifyingly wrong, this documentary takes us back to 2012, when a newly single Dave Kroupa moved to Omaha, Nebraska. He created an online dating profile, made it abundantly clear he wasn’t looking for anything serious and soon met Liz Golyar, a single mum and animal lover. Soon after that, though, a woman named Cari Farver walked into Kroupa’s auto shop to have her car repaired, and he felt a connection instantly.

“It should have been an opportunity for this hard-working, devoted dad to enjoy a second chance at casual romance,” reads the official synopsis, “but it turned into a twisted love triangle, putting Dave and everyone he cared about at risk”.

After a chance meeting between the two women in the hallway of Kroupa’s apartment building, Farver seemingly disappeared without a trace – although she made her presence known via a series of terrifying texts to Kroupa’s phone. “You’ve ruined my life,” read one. “I can see you at work,” read another. “I will destroy your life and take your happiness,” read yet another.

Golyar claimed she received similar texts from Farver, warning her to leave Kroupa alone. And, over the course of the film, director Sam Hobkinson (Fear City) pieces the story together using interviews with those involved – including the law enforcement officers who cracked the twisted case – alongside vivid reenactments that bring viewers into the tension and paranoia of Kroupa’s four-year nightmare.

Warren Jeffs saw himself as the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an extremist offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. In reality, he created a system of abuse and coercion, forcing members of his congregation – often underage – into marriage, blind obedience, and isolation. In this docuseries, former FLDS members and survivors come forward to share their stories. Using never-before-seen VCR footage from within the FLDS community, this series provides the well-known story with a deeply human and relatable face – told through current interviews with his wives and congregation. 

While on a foreign exchange trip in Perugia, Italy, Amanda Knox, an American college student, was accused of brutally murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox became a media sensation and served almost four years in an Italian prison before Italy’s highest court exonerated her in 2015. This illuminating documentary gives Knox a chance to speak on her own terms. 

If you’re into true crime, you’ll have likely heard of the intriguing case of Elisa Lam. Her body was discovered in the water tank on the roof of one of LA’s most prominent hotels, the Cecil Hotel. The resounding mystery of it all though is the fact that investigators have not been able to determine how she got into the tank in the first place.

The notorious hotel skyrocketed in popularity on the announcement of Lam’s disappearance back in 2013 and is known to many as “LA’s deadliest hotel.”

This documentary talks to those who worked there, were drawn to the hotel after Lam’s disappearance and the internet sleuths that attempted to unpick every detail of the case in order to find out what happened to Lam.

‪Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez is a three-part documentary series that you’ll likely watch in one devoted go but will leave you thinking about it for days afterwards.  Examining what led to the murderous fall and shocking death of former NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez, we watch as friends, family and insiders all share anecdotes in a bid to uncover how Hernandez went from lauded sportsman to a convicted killer.

Simon Leviev (legal name: Shimon Hayut) lived a life of luxury, donning designer clothing and flying in private jets. To some women, he was an absolute catch. Little did they know that Leviev’s opulent lifestyle was funded by defrauding women through Tinder. 

Athlete A “follows the IndyStar reporters as they reveal the extensive cover-up and culture of cruelty that was allowed to thrive within elite gymnastics, the attorney fighting the institutions, and most importantly, the brave whistle-blowers who refuse to be silenced.”

Filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk made nearly a dozen visits to Indianapolis after IndyStar published its initial report, titled Out of Balance, on 4 Aug 2016. As in, yes, the same report that led to more than 500 women coming forward to accuse Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. Working closely with the IndyStar team, the documentary-makers were able to capture Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia, Tim Evans, Steve Berta, and Robert Scheer’s award-winning investigation of Nassar’s abuse from start to finish.

As such, Athlete A details how IndyStar’s reporting led to the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Nassar, the resignation of the organisation’s longtime president, Steve Penny, and bipartisan federal legislation co-sponsored by 16 senators and signed into law by President Donald Trump to prevent amateur athletes from being abused.

In the years leading up to his arrest in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was accused of abusing women and underage girls for decades, assembling a network of enablers to help carry out and cover up his crimes.  We already, though, know a lot about the disgraced tycoon, which is why it’s so refreshing that Epstein’s accusers are the leading voices in director Lisa Bryant’s four-part docuseries.  “By revealing their emotional scars, some for the very first time, the sisterhood of survivors intend to stop predators – and the American justice system – from silencing the next generation,” promises the synopsis.

In 2004, 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murdering a 43-year-old man. She told the courts that Johnny Allen had picked her up for sex, and that she had been forced to shoot him in self-defence. Despite this, and despite her young age, she was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. 

Just seven days later, documentarian Dan Birman began recording her story. Since then, he has collected over 200 hours of footage – and this forms the basis of Netflix’s Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story.

This three-part series examines one of Ireland’s most famous murder cases, the death of French producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in the town of Schull, West Cork in 1996. The brutal murder, which shocked the country, triggered one of the biggest murder investigations Ireland had ever seen and became a national obsession. 

The documentary, which has been praised by viewers (not to mention been in Netflix’s Top 10 since its premiere on 30 June), charts the circumstances of her death, unravelling the extraordinary story from its beginning, 24 years ago to the present day. And, with exclusive access to Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s family, the series brings together, for the first time, the views of her family with Ian Bailey, the man at the centre of the investigation.

Night Stalker: The Hunt For A Serial Killer tells “the spellbinding true story of how one of the most notorious serial killers in American history was hunted down and brought to justice.”

It continues: “In the sweltering summer of 1985, a record-breaking heatwave hit Los Angeles, along with a series of murders and sexual assaults that at first seemed disconnected. The victims were men, women, and children. They ranged in age from six to 82. They came from different neighborhoods, racial backgrounds and socioeconomic levels. Never before in criminal history had a single killer been responsible for such a grisly array of crimes.

“Racing against the clock to stop this nocturnal monster were a young detective named Gil Carrillo from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the legendary homicide investigator Frank Salerno. As they worked tirelessly to solve the case, the media hounded their tracks, and panic gripped California.”     

When the body of pioneering transgender activist Marsha P Johnson was found in the Hudson River, her death was ruled a suicide by New York City police – much to the disbelief of her friends and fellow activists. Years later, Netflix’s The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson explores her little-investigated death while celebrating her integral role in the Stonewall riots. 

Of course, The Death And Life Of Marsha P. Johnson is by no means a perfect film. Indeed, there’s almost too much here for a standalone 105-minute format, which means that not nearly enough time is devoted to Johnson’s formative years. While her legacy is explored in great detail, her life is not – and hers is, undeniably, a life that deserves more screentime.

Saying that, though, the film highlights the extraordinary effect that Johnson had on the people around her. The importance of her activism. And the continued violence felt by the trans community. In doing so, The Death And Life Of Marsha P. Johnson shines a light on the continuing fight for justice by the LGBTQ+ community.

Almost everyone on the face of the earth has seen Tiger King, Netflix’s documentary about Joe Exotic – a gun-toting polygamist who presided over an Oklahoma animal park – and the murder-for-hire plot against animal activist Carole Baskin that led to his arrest. But if you somehow missed the lockdown TV sensation, go forth and start streaming now.

Abducted In Plain Sight isn’t just the story of a kidnapped girl. It’s the story of how that teenager was abducted twice by her neighbour and family friend Robert ‘B’ Berchtold, and the circumstances that allowed such a shocking crime to occur on more than one occasion.

The 10-part Netflix series that turned us all into amateur sleuths, Making A Murderer – which took a decade to film and construct – follows the story of Wisconsin-based Steven Avery. In the first episode, we learn of how Avery served 18 years of a rape sentence, that began in 1985, but was exonerated by DNA evidence which it is suggested the police previously had access to.

Images: Netflix