There are enough questions in this crazy, old world we can’t answer, like “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” and “Is the moon made of soy cheese?” that we simply don’t need any more mysteries. Well, too bad, because we have ten of the most must-see murder mystery documentaries right here, awaiting your suspicions. From popular court cases to hip hop murders to lesser known thriller stories, we’ve got a little of everything here for you. But just so you know, the moon is not made of soy cheese. Or is it?
So time to binge-watch these docs and try to figure out just what the hell is really going on. Good luck!
Speaking of murder: 13 Common Life Occurrences That Made You Question If You Can Ever Murder Someone
Murder Mystery Docs
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“Amanda Knox”
One of the new Netflix fall originals, “Amanda Knox” goes in depth with the woman who spent four years in prison before being acquitted for the murder of her British roommate in Italy. The “wrongfully convicted” aims to set the record straight after traipsing down memory lane.
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“The Staircase”
Novelist Michael Peterson was accused of the mysterious death of his wife, Kathleen, who was found dead at the bottom of her North Carolina home. The high-profile case became an eight-part miniseries, which examines the case in great detail. This style of docu-series was an inspiration for binge-worthy cases like “Serial” and has led to other multi-layered documentary series like “Making a Murderer.”
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“Biggie and Tupac”
Something of a true crime rockumentary, filmmaker Nick Broomfield (“Kurt & Courtney”) takes us into the unsolved underground work of the hip hop scene in 2002. The documentary examines the murders of both Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls while hitting hard on the east coast v. west coast hip hop rivalry in the late 1990s.
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“Tales of the Grim Sleeper”
Bloomfield also directed a broader case of Los Angeles unsolved murders in his 2014 crime documentary about the South Central serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper. A case that span for 25 years has now been immortalized by the mystery documentary director, chasing up to the point of conviction of Lonnie David Franklin, Jr.
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“Dear Zachary”
The touching 2008 crime drama covers on the 2001 death of a young Andrew Bagby, a twenty-eight-year-old doctor, directed by the victim’s best friend. Bagby was shot by his pregnant ex-girlfriend, who then fled to Canada and managed to escape on bail. The documentary shows Bagby’s parents’ attempt to gain custody of the child, convict their son’s killer and make changes to Canadian law.
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“The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey”
The two-part four-hour documentary aired on CBS in September, touching back on the open murder case of the little girl using original evidence and investigators, met by new pairs of analytical eyes. The Boulder, Colorado case has been unsolved for two decades.
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“O.J.: Made in America”
Ezra Edelman’s five-part 30 for 30 series was all anyone could talk about this year, considered one of the most ambitious and indulging documentaries, encasing the life of O.J. Simpson. Starting with an early O.J., viewers get a taste of just how big of an athlete and celebrity he was, how close he flew to the sun and recounts in great detail a perspective people may not have had about one of America’s most infamous athletes.
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“The Imposter”
A documentary that borders on thriller, Bart Layton directs and tells the story of a young boy who went missing and the family that desperately searched for answers, just before he returned three years later. The only thing is the boy who returned was an imposter, posing and conning the Texas family into believing he was their missing boy.
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"A Murder in the Park"
Anthony Porter was a death-row inmate who was acquitted and freed by another man’s confession just hours before Porter’s planned execution. The crime thriller takes you down the rabbit hole where the innocence of both men are questioned, and the possibility of a much larger scheme at play becomes another piece in the puzzle.
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"The Jinx"
The life and deaths of Robert Durst, a suspected man of multiple homicide in the early ‘80s, one of which being his wife, along with their friend and neighbor. The documentary interviews Durst himself, containing along with him a series of new footage, police files and tangible proof that was all formerly unseen during the height of Durst’s popularity. This raises the question we ask in many of these films, “So, did he do it or what?”
