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[Vikki Nagindas]

Truecrime documentaries on Netflix come with the kind of real-life drama so gripping that for that hour or so, you forget everything else in life. It's for this reason that we can't. Get. Enough. And we're not the only ones.

There are also those stories that really have us emotional and hit too close to home, such as that of 21-year-old Lucie Blackman, who journeyed to Tokyo before her body was found months after her disappearance. Her case is covered in Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case.

So, have you got your notepad at the ready and detective hat on? Great. Because when it comes to the murky world of true crime docs, nothing is ever what it seems. From stories that tap into secret lives, dangerous roommates, and tales of millennial scamming and murder, these are the best true crime documentaries to watch on Netflix right now.

This one is a harrowing watch. It recounts the actions of one of history's most prolific cyber stalkers Matthew Hardy, how the law failed his victims and the impact his relentless stalking and manipulation had on his victims, who were predominantly young women.

Isabella Nardoni was only five years old when she fell to her death from the sixth floor of her father and stepmother's apartment building in So Paulo, Brazil, in 2008. It quickly became one of the country's most infamous cases, with the girl's mother embarking on a quest for justice. The same year, Isabella's father and stepmother were arrested and charged with Isabella's mother. They both remain behind bars to this very day, where they both maintain their innocence. The documentary explores the official investigation which was carried out.

Capturing the Killer Nurse focuses on how investigators proved that serial killer Charles Cullen was killing patients while working in various hospitals and nursing homes across New Jersey and Philadelphia. Charles is currently incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison and is not eligible for parole until June 2388. Eddie Redmayne also played Charles in a movie called The Good Nurse alongside Jessica Chastain, released on Netflix in 2022.

In this true crime documentary, the story of Lucie Blackman is told. The 21-year-old Brit's disappearance and later murder in the early noughties sparked a major international investigation in Tokyo, Japan, with authorities believing that a serial killer was on the loose as a massive mountain of evidence piled up.

Directed and produced by Nancy Schwartzman, Victim/Suspect sees Emmy-winning investigative journalist, Rae de Leon, examine the widespread pattern of women across the United States not being taken seriously by authorities after being sexually assaulted and instead charged for making false rape accusations.

This harrowing four-part documentary series looks at the rise and fall of controlling cult leader Warren Jeffs and the institutionalised child abuse, sexual assault and manipulation that took place under his rule as the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Those who broke free of the community now reflect and bravely tell their stories about everyday life under Warren's restrictions and rituals and what the final catalyst was that made them flee.

Probably one of the most bizarre crime stories on our list, this documentary tells the story of a 43-year-old pizza delivery guy who walked into a bank with a bomb tied around his neck and armed with a shotgun demanding $250,000 in cash. When cornered by police outside the bank, he pleaded with them that he didn't have much time to live and that the bomb would go on any minute, which it ultimately did and led to his death. So what happened in the actual "pizza bomber" case, and who was behind this shocking heist?

Another fascinating look into the terrifying extremes of cult leadership and abuse of power, this series chronicles how hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury managed to build a global empire in the seventies before recent allegations of rape and sexual harassment by his countless followers exposed the corrupt system that helped him succeed and ultimately led to his unravelling and downfall.

In a massive fall from grace, Aaron Hernandez went from a celebrated NFL star to a convicted killer who was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd. This documentary features in-depth interviews with his friends, fellow NFL players and insiders to offer further insight into how his life unravelled the way it did despite him seemingly being at the top of the sporting world.

In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was only sixteen when she was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 43-year-old man who picked her up for sex. In 2019, Governor Bill Haslam granted her request for clemency following a series of legislative changes in juvenile sentencing laws in Tennessee. This documentary examines Cyntoia's past, physiology and the changing law, which has enabled her to be a free woman today.

The rise and fall of American financier Bernie Madoff is explored in the docuseries Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street. The American financier orchestrated one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the history of Wall Street, worth about $64.8 billion. It left the lives of his victims upended before he was eventually exposed amid the 2008 financial market crisis.

Focusing on the shocking true story of one of South Carolina's most powerful legal families being exposed for their darkest and deepest secrets, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal sees the series of horrifying events which ultimately led to the arrest of Alex Murdaugh for double murder. Earlier, in March 2023, the jury in his case found him guilty of killing his wife and son. He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The series is critical in shining a light on just how much those in power can get away with before their harmful actions eventually catch up with them.

From social media fame to imprisonment, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker chronicles the fall-from-grace journey of homeless surfer-dude Kai Lawrence, who won thousands of fans on the internet thanks to a viral meme in 2013. However, what could have been a pathway to a better future led Kai to a conviction of double murder in 2019. He was sentenced to 57 years in prison and remains imprisoned in New Jersey today.

Strong Island follows the story of an unarmed Black man named William Ford Jr, who was killed by a 19-year-old white man. This documentary looks at the parallels between crime and racism as Ford became the prime suspect of his own murder during the police investigation. Unbelievably sad and shocking.

My Daughter's Killer is a very distressing look at devoted father Andre Bamberski, who refused to accept that his daughter Kalinka died under normal circumstances, which in return leads to a never-ending battle against the system to bring justice for his late daughter. You'll need tissues for this one!

Nothing is more shocking than the documentary Our Father - the story of an Indiana-based doctor Donald Cline, who worked at a women's fertility. While he seemed normal on the surface, his fertility patients were unaware that he was inseminating them using his own sperm without their consent.

The Burari Deaths is a bizarre documentary that centres on eleven family members that were killed by hanging or strangulation in the Burari neighbourhood of Delhi, India, in 2018. The random killings of the seemingly typical, middle-class family rocked India and hit the headlines - prompting the nation to get to the bottom of their murders.

The Most Hated Man On The Internet centres on Hunter Moore, aka the self-proclaimed "King of Revenge Porn" and "professional life ruiner" who profited from sharing explicit images of women and men online without their permission. One mother's unwavering pursuit to bring justice to his victims, including her own daughter, eventually took him down.

Family is everything, right? Well, you'll rethink that when you watch Sins Of Our Mother. The harrowing documentary follows the story of mother Lori Vallow, who was supposedly brainwashed by a cult leader and subsequently accused of killing her two children. The case is still ongoing in the US. Still, the documentary is helmed by director Skye Borgman, from the other hugely popular (and distressing) documentary, Girl In The Picture - so you're guaranteed a chilling watch.

Probably one of the most chilling things we have seen in a long time - the Girl in the Picture, which Skye Borgman directs, is centred around a young mother whose tragic and mysterious passing is followed by the shocking kidnapping of her son. The events that follow during the subsequent decades are unbelievable...

Bad Vegan has received mixed reviews, and it's hard to sum up exactly what it is about, but, in short, it follows the story of a New York socialite, Sharma Melngailis, who starts up a popular vegan restaurant. Everything seems to be going well until she married a mysterious man who claims he can make her dog immortal, from here, he sets her a series of bizarre and controlling tasks, forcing her life off track and into chaos. This four-part series is intense, bizarre and at times, pretty confusing.

Jimmy Savile was one of the United Kingdom's most beloved TV personalities. Shortly after his death in 2011, an investigation prompted more than 450 horrific allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with victims as young as five. This true crime series in two parts reveals Savile's relationship with the public and how the former DJ and children's charity fundraiser tricked an entire country.

Perhaps the most-talked about true crime series of 2022, the Tinder Swindler, told through the first-person stories of his victims, follows the pretty unbelievable tale of an Israeli con man, Simon Leviev (real name, Shimon Hayut) who poses as the heir to a diamond business and manages to trick women in funding his lavish lifestyle.

You might think that your sock-stealing, food-eating, messy housemate is pretty bad, but wait until you watch this docuseries about the actual worst roommates of all time. The show tells the story of four different roommates who are seemingly harmless, many of whom target people seeking financial relief via living with roommates or shared boarding. These four roommate stories follow subjects ranging from malicious monetary intentions to cons to downright evil, violent actions against innocent victims.

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