Suspense, horror, cruelty – Netflix has long since noticed that true crime is incredibly popular and has expanded its range tremendously. TECHBOOK reveals which 6 series are really worthwhile and how “Unsolved Mysteries” even helped to solve a case.
When true crime becomes entertainment, some find it distasteful, others are mesmerized by the horror and cruelty of the perpetrators. Still others hope to gain insights into the work of the police, youth welfare office and public prosecutor’s office through true crime formats, because often enough one question remains after the crime: How could it happen? Why wasn’t anyone looking, and why wasn’t anyone helping? The Netflix streaming service in particular offers its subscribers a wide range of true crime series and films. Thanks to a format dealing with open cases, even the case of a missing girl could be solved. But what other true crime content should you have seen on Netflix?
Year-old case solved thanks to Netflix series
Even if it’s 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. For those who haven’t seen the episode: On July 5, 2017, the then nine-year-old Kayla set off with her mother on a camping trip in the US state of Wisconsin. Father Ryan Iskerka, who has sole custody of his daughter at the time, stays behind and will not see his daughter again for the next six years. Because Heather Unbehaun, Kayla’s mother, disappears without a trace with her daughter.
She doesn’t show up for a court date, turns off her cell phone, deletes her social media profiles. When Heather and Kayla fail to return on July 7, 2017, Iskerka calls the police. A few days later, the FBI got involved. Since Heather with Kayla is already swallowed up by the face of the earth. How she managed to remain undiscovered for six years is one of the great mysteries that investigators must now solve.
True crime fan recognizes kidnapping victims
Kayla and father Ryan Ikserka are thanks to a thoughtful woman at a store in Ashvielle, North Carolina, who seems to have a penchant for true-crime documentaries. She must have seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode on Netflix recently and recognized the teen as the missing Kayla. The woman then called an employee and then the police.
Kayla now lives with her father again. According to investigators, she is fine. Ryan Iskerka issued a statement through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: “I am over the moon that Kayla is safe at home. I would like to ask for privacy during this time, in which we get to know each other again and dare to start again.
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Relatives turn to true crime makers and via social media
Incidentally, it is no coincidence that the episode of a true crime documentary provided the decisive clue to Kayla’s discovery. Because with 30,000 reported kidnappings per year, the US authorities are simply extremely busy. The so-called “Amber Alerts”, which the police send to people, are intended to help spread reports of missing persons, but are mostly regionally limited. In order to still find the missing person, relatives often turn to social networks or true crime formats.
Kayla’s father did the same and said in his statement: “I would like to thank the members of the Facebook forum ‘Bring Kayla Home’; they kept the story alive and attracted constant attention.” After all, half a year after the “Unsolved Mysteries” episode appeared on Netflix in November, Kayla was found. On German television, too, there are formats comparable to programs such as “Aktenzeichen xy … unsolved”, which sometimes lead to the investigators receiving crucial information.
Also read: The best true crime podcasts on Spotify and Co
The best true crime series on Netflix
Curious about 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 Revival on Netflix
“Unsolved Mysteries” is actually old hat, since the series already existed in the USA in the eighties. But on January 8, 2019, Netflix decided to bring the format back, and in 2022 “Unsolved Mysteries” became an absolute surprise hit. The third season is now streaming on Netflix. Each episode sheds light on unsolved missing persons, mafia schemes, child abductions and supernatural, or at least previously unexplained, phenomena. The last hope in these cold cases is pertinent hints from the audience – as in the case of Kayla Unbehaun.
“Missing: Dead or Alive?” – looking over the sheriff’s shoulder
Brand new, a hot case so to speak, is the series “Missing: Dead or Alive?”, which recently appeared on Netflix on May 10, 2023 with four episodes. The concept is pleasantly original: We follow the employees of a sheriff’s office in South Carolina, who solve various missing person cases. Disturbing discoveries, unexpected resolutions and an empathetic investigative team turn the Netflix evening into a true crime highlight. The individual episodes are based on true cases from the years 2019 to 2021, including the story of David, whose truck is discovered abandoned on the side of the highway. However, there is no sign of David, nor of his $10,000 lottery ticket…
“Dahmer” – successful, but reprehensible?
After its release, the feature film series “Dahmer – Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer” was discussed controversially. The miniseries is ten episodes long and tells the story of the American serial killer, superbly played by Evan Peters. Dahmer brutally killed at least 17 young men between 1978 and 1991. First he lured his victims into his apartment and drugged them there. In painful detail, the series shows him sexually abusing them, strangling them, performing necrophilic acts on the corpses and finally dismembering them, sometimes even eating them. Dahmer documents these crimes with an instant camera. So it’s not for nothing that the series is only 18+. And as if Dahmer’s cruelty wasn’t enough, the police make blatant mistakes in the investigation, partly for racist reasons, so that Dahmer can continue killing undisturbed. The audience on the couch can get the creeps. In the week of its release, the series is considered one of the most watched series in English.
Despite the brilliant staging, one thing must not be forgotten: the series is based on true events, Dahmer’s victims are real people. In 2022, their relatives had to experience the hype surrounding the series about the murderer of their loved ones. Was it absolutely necessary to exploit the Dahmer case in such a visually stunning and detailed way? Apparently it’s already been worth it for Netflix, because the streaming provider has already announced a second season of “Monster”, which is said to be about the brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez, who murdered their parents in 1989.
“The Nurse” – Angel of Death in the hospital
Only men kill? No! With “The Nurse” Netflix dedicates a mini-series to the newly minted Danish nurse Pernille Kurzmann Larsen – but who is not the murderer! As the protagonist of this feature film series and the new girl in the hospital, she meets her charismatic colleague Christina Aistrup Hansen. But Christina is not only likeable and open, she is downright addicted to attention. This gives Pernille the suspicion that her new friend might have something to do with the death toll in the hospital. But how is she supposed to prove that if she doesn’t want to believe anyone?
This excellently implemented series is based on the crime novel of the same name by Kristian Corfixen. So our heroine Pernille is a fictional character, but her antagonist Christina Aistrup Hansen is real. In June 2016, the former nurse was found guilty of quadruple murder and attempted manslaughter. Not to be confused is “The Nurse” with the Netflix feature film “The Good Nurse”, also a true crime format that revolves around the male nurse and serial killer Charles Cullen.
“Be nice” – the horror of everyday cult life
Cults aren’t exactly known for being safe spaces. But what the mini-series Be Kind: Pray and Obey reveals can be blood-curdling. The Netflix production is not the first format to deal with the American fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FLDS for short, and its leader Warren Jeffs. His father, Rulon Warren, was considered an immortal prophet, God’s representative on earth, and a polygamist. He is said to have had between 19 and 75 wives and over 60 children. Three wives – that’s the minimum a man needs to get into heaven. But if he violates the rules of the cult society, “Uncle Rulon” can simply take away his house, children and wife and award him 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 FLDS rested.
In the first part, the series sheds light on Rulon Jeff’s life and the beginnings of his sect. The next three parts then deal with the rise and fall of Warren Jeffs, who after the death of his father – who was apparently more mortal than expected – takes his place. It is precisely the experience reports and statements of the witnesses that make “Be kind: pray and obey” so under your skin.