September 17, 2024, 6:14 am | Read time: 9 minutes
Suspense, horror, gruesomeness – Netflix has long since realized that true crime is incredibly popular and has expanded its range like crazy. TECHBOOK reveals which 6 series are really worthwhile and how “Unsolved Mysteries” even helped solve a case.
When a true crime becomes entertainment, some find it distasteful, while others are fascinated by the horror and cruelty of the perpetrators. Still, others hope that true crime formats will provide insights into the work of the police, youth welfare office, and public prosecutor’s office. Often enough, one question remains after the crime: How could this happen? Why didn’t anyone look, why didn’t anyone help? Streaming service Netflix, in particular, offers its subscribers a wide range of true crime series and films. Thanks to a format that deals with open cases, it was even possible to solve the case of a missing girl. But what other true crime content should you have seen on Netflix?
Years-old case solved thanks to Netflix series
Even if it is a morbid pleasure, true crime formats remain as popular as ever. And in the case of 15-year-old Kayla Unbehaun, a six-year-old kidnapping case was finally solved in 2023 – thanks to the Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries. If you haven’t seen the episode: On July 5, 2017, Kayla, then nine years old, sets off with her mother on a camping trip in the US state of Wisconsin. Her father, Ryan Iskerka, who had sole custody of his daughter at the time, stayed behind. He would not see his daughter again for the next six years. Heather Unbehaun, Kayla’s mother, disappears with her daughter without a trace.
She doesn’t show up for a court hearing, switches off her cell phone, and deletes her social media profiles. When Heather and Kayla do not return on July 7, 2017, Iskerka informs the police. The FBI is only called in a few days later. By then, Heather and Kayla have disappeared from the face of the earth. How she remained undetected for six years is one of the great mysteries that the investigators must now solve.
True crime fan recognizes kidnap victim
Kayla and her father, Ryan Iskerka, are now reunited thanks to an observant woman in a store in Asheville, North Carolina, who seems to have a penchant for true-crime documentaries. She had probably only recently seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode on Netflix and recognized the teenager as the missing Kayla. The woman then alerted a store employee and subsequently called the police.
Kayla is now living with her father again. According to investigators, she is doing well. Ryan Iskerka released a statement through the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children: “I am overjoyed that Kayla is safe at home. I would like to ask for privacy during this time as we get to know each other and start over.”
Relatives turn to true-crime makers and social media
Incidentally, it is no coincidence that an episode of a true crime documentary provided the crucial clue to Kayla’s discovery. With 30,000 reported kidnappings per year, the US authorities are simply working at full capacity. The so-called “Amber Alerts,” which the police send out to people, are intended to help spread the word about missing person reports. However, they are usually regionally limited. In order to find the missing person anyway, relatives often turn to social networks or even true crime formats.
Kayla’s father also did this and said in his statement: “I would like to thank the members of the Facebook forum ‘Bring Kayla Home’; they have kept the story alive and ensured constant attention.” After all, six months after the Unsolved Mysteries episode was released on Netflix in November, Kayla was found. There are also comparable formats on German television with programs such as “Aktenzeichen xy … ungelöst.” These sometimes lead to the investigators receiving decisive clues.
The best true crime series on Netflix
Curious to find out which crimes are still waiting to be solved or have been solved in a particularly spectacular way? TECHBOOK reveals which true crime series are worth watching on Netflix, even if there may not yet be a happy ending in sight.
“Unsolved Mysteries” – the revival on Netflix
Unsolved Mysteries is actually an old hat, as the series already existed in the USA in the 1980s. However, on January 8, 2019, Netflix decided to bring the format back. In 2022, Unsolved Mysteries became an absolute surprise success. The third season is now airing on Netflix. Each episode sheds light on unsolved missing persons cases, mafia machinations, child abductions, and supernatural, or at least previously unexplained, phenomena. The last hope in these cold cases is pertinent information from the audience – as in the case of Kayla Unbehaun.
“Missing: Dead or Alive?” – Looking over the sheriff’s shoulder
The series Missing: Dead or Alive? is brand new, a hot case, so to speak, and only recently appeared on Netflix with four episodes on May 10, 2023. The concept is pleasantly original. We follow the employees of a sheriff’s office in South Carolina as they solve various cases of missing persons. Disturbing discoveries, unexpected solutions, and an empathetic investigative team transform the Netflix series into a true-crime highlight. The individual episodes are based on actual cases from 2019 to 2021. They include the story of David, whose truck was discovered abandoned on the side of the highway. However, there is no trace of David, just like his lottery ticket worth 10,000 US dollars …
“Dahmer” – successful but reprehensible?
The miniseries Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story sparked controversy upon its release. The miniseries is ten episodes long and tells the story of the American serial killer, played brilliantly by Evan Peters. Dahmer killed at least 17 young men between 1978 and 1991 in the most brutal of ways. First, he lured his victims into his apartment and drugged them. The series shows in painful detail how he sexually abused them, strangled them, performed necrophiliac acts on the corpses, and finally dismembered them, sometimes even eating them. Dahmer documents these crimes with an instant camera. And as if Dahmer’s cruelty wasn’t enough, the police make blatant mistakes during the investigation, partly for racist reasons, so that Dahmer can continue to murder unhindered. The series is sure to send chills down the spine of viewers. In the week of its release, it was already one of the most-watched English series.
Despite the brilliant production, one thing must not be forgotten: The series is based on true events; Dahmer’s victims are real people. Their relatives had to witness the hype surrounding the series about the murderer of their loved ones in 2022. Was it absolutely necessary to exploit the Dahmer case in such a visually stunning and detailed way? This approach appears to have been financially successful for Netflix, as the streaming provider has already announced a second Monster season. This will focus on the brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez, who murdered their parents in 1989.
“The Nurse” – Angel of Death in the hospital
Do only men actually murder? No! With The Nurse, Netflix dedicates a miniseries to the newly qualified Danish nurse Pernille Kurzmann Larsen – but she is not the murderer! As the protagonist of this feature film series and the new girl at the hospital, she gets to know her charismatic colleague, Christina Aistrup Hansen. But Christina is not only likeable and open, she is also addicted to attention. This gives Pernille a dark suspicion that her new friend might have something to do with the high number of deaths at the hospital. But how can she prove it if no one will believe her?
This excellently filmed series is based on the crime novel of the same name by Kristian Corfixen. Our heroine Pernille is therefore a fictional character, but her antagonist Christina Aistrup Hansen is real. In June 2016, the former nurse was found guilty of four counts of murder and attempted manslaughter. The Nurse is not to be confused with the Netflix feature film The Good Nurse. The latter is also a true-crime format that revolves around the nurse and serial killer Charles Cullen.
“Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey”
Cults are not typically regarded as safe environments. But what the miniseries Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey reveals can make your blood run cold. The Netflix production is not the first format to deal with the US Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, LDS for short, and its leader, Warren Jeffs. His father, Rulon Jeffs, was regarded as an immortal prophet, a representative of God on earth, and a polygamist. He is said to have had between 19 and 75 wives and over 60 children.
Three wives – that is the minimum number a man needs to get to heaven. However, if the man violates the rules of the sect society, “Uncle Rulon” can simply take away his house, children, and wives and award them to another man. Women and children as possessions and sex objects, child brides as wages and leverage – this is one of the pillars on which the LDS rested.
In the first part, the series sheds light on Rulon Jeff’s life and the beginnings of his sect. The following three parts then deal with the rise and fall of Warren Jeffs, who takes over his father’s position after his death – who was apparently more mortal than expected. It is precisely the accounts and testimonies of the witnesses that make Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey get under your skin.
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Sources
- Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Crime solved – thanks to a Netflix documentary” (accessed on 05.22.2023)