The fascination with true crime remains as strong as ever, captivating audiences who are drawn to these real-life narratives. The allure of mysterious events, unexpected plot developments, and shocking courtroom dramas continues to engage viewers, transforming them into eager armchair detectives.

In a world brimming with true crime series, enthusiasts have an abundance of gripping stories to delve into. There’s no shortage of chilling accounts to capture your attention and feed your curiosity.

However, with such a vast array of options, choosing where to start can be daunting. To help navigate this abundance, we turned to reporters and editors who specialize in crime coverage, including the high-profile cases that often make headlines. They provided their top recommendations for the most riveting documentaries and series available right now.

One of the platforms where you can find these enthralling true crime offerings is Hulu, which hosts a variety of must-watch content for any fan of the genre.

Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Streaming on Hulu

For years, the Murdaugh name was synonymous with power and influence, with the legal dynasty ruling over the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Now, the family name is synonymous with murder and betrayal, after the spectacular fall from grace of its heir Alex Murdaugh.

Hulu’s drama series Murdaugh: Death in the Family – starring Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette – tells the story of the collapse of the scandal-plagued family, from a shocking double homicide and a deadly boat crash to a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme and a bizarre botched hitman plot.

It’s a story where reality is far more shocking than fiction. (chosen by Rachel Sharp, Crime Correspondent) 

The Carman Family Deaths 

Streaming on Netflix 

At first, it appeared to be nothing more than an unfortunate tragedy.

In 2016, Linda and Nathan Carman had set off on a mother-son fishing trip off the coast of Rhode Island. Only Nathan made it home alive, found eight days later clinging to a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean.

His mother, and his boat Chicken Pox, were nowhere to be found.

When Nathan’s story began to unravel, it raised questions about not only his mom’s death but the unsolved murder of his wealthy grandfather three years earlier.

(Rachel Sharp) 

The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets

Streaming on Peacock

When body after body was found around Gilgo Beach, police on Long Island confirmed the worst: a serial killer was at large.

More than a decade would pass before a suspect was arrested: a local man, an architect, a husband, and a father. 

In Peacock’s docuseries, the people who thought they knew suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann best speak out for the first time – and take viewers inside their family home where he is alleged to have tortured and murdered his victims.

(Rachel Sharp) 

One Night in Idaho: The College Murders

Streaming on Prime Video 

It was the early hours of November 13, 2022 when Bryan Kohberger broke into a student home in Moscow, Idaho, and murdered Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in a stabbing rampage.

In Prime Video’s docuseries One Night in Idaho: The College Murders – filmed prior to Kohberger pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison – some of the victims’ families and friends break their silence for the first time.

Chapin’s parents Stacy and Jim Chapin and his triplet siblings Maizie and Hunter share their final moments with the 20-year-old freshman, while friends Hunter Johnson and Emily Alandt reveal the terrifying moment they discovered their friends’ bodies. 

(Rachel Sharp) 

American Murder: Laci Peterson 

Streaming on Netflix 

American Murder: Laci Peterson is a three-part docuseries that revisits the disappearance and brutal murder of Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas Eve 2002.

It was a case that captivated and horrified the nation, and questions still linger two decades on.

Directed by Skye Borgman, the series delves into the events surrounding Laci’s disappearance, the subsequent investigation, and the trial of her husband, Scott Peterson, who was ultimately convicted of murdering Laci and their unborn son, Conner, but continues to protest his innocence from behind bars.

(Luke Kenton, Senior Reporter)

A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read 

Streaming on MAX

It was a trial that split public opinion in two. On the one side stood those who believe Karen Read killed her Boston cop boyfriend John O’Keefe by drunkenly ramming him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a blizzard. 

On the other stood those who believe Read was framed by a group of corrupt cops who killed the victim and dumped his body in the snow.

This documentary gives you behind-the-scenes access to Read and her legal team during her first trial as well as emotional interviews with O’Keefe’s family and friends. Read has since been acquitted of murder and manslaughter at her second trial.

(Rachel Sharp) 

Making Manson 

Streaming Peacock 

Making Manson is a gripping three-part docuseries offering an unprecedented glimpse into the mind of Charles Manson, one of the most notorious criminals and cult leaders in American history, best known for masterminding the Manson Family Murders, which brought a violent and horrifying close to the Swinging Sixties.

Each episode delves into over 100 hours of previously unheard recordings between Charles Manson and his longtime pen pal, John Michael Jones. 

The series also features interviews with former Manson Family members, victims’ families, and individuals connected to the case, providing a multidimensional view of Manson’s life and disturbing legacy, making it essential viewing for true crime fans.

(Luke Kenton) 

Girl in the Picture 

Streaming on Netflix 

This chilling documentary looks into the 30-year-mystery of Shannon Marshall, who was abducted by a federal fugitive Franklin Delano Floyd when she was a child and raised as his daughter.

Floyd, who was on the run for nearly two decades, had a history of violence and was a master of disguise. Marshall, who had dreams of becoming an aerospace engineer and earned a scholarship to Georgia Tech, was forced to work at strip clubs to earn money for Floyd. She later became pregnant.

It was her tragic murder and the two-year-old son she left behind that led investigators to search for her true identity.

(Ruth Bashinsky, Senior Reporter) 

Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie 

Streaming on Max and Hulu 

ID’s four-part docuseries explores the twists and turns of the 2016 ‘Gone Girl’ case of Sherri Papini, the California woman who disappeared while out on a jog in 2016.

The case spurred national attention and a frantic search for the pretty blonde mother-of-two, until Papini was suddenly found 22 days later Thanksgiving Day. She claimed two Hispanic women beat, branded and kidnapped her until it was revealed the whole incident was a hoax.

Papini tells her side of the story for the first time and claims it was an ex-boyfriend who kidnapped her after she had an affair with him. Her story begins to unravel, however, and viewers are left to wonder whether Papini is a true kidnapping survivor or a convincing liar.

(Marjorie Hernandez, West Coast News Editor)

The Mortician 

Streaming on Max 

This three-part series examines the gruesome story of David Sconce, a California mortician who was convicted of deliberately desecrating human remains for financial gain.

Sconce ran his family’s Pasadena business, Lamb Funeral Home, in the 1980s when he expanded crematory services throughout Southern California. As more remains started streaming into his business, Sconce saw it as an opportunity to make even more profit. Investigators found Sconce harvested organs and body parts and even extracted gold filings from the teeth of the deceased.

Sconce was eventually convicted and sent to prison. Now free, he provides jaw-dropping details of his crimes in MAX’s documentary. 

(Marjorie Hernandez) 

A Deadly American Marriage 

Streaming on Netflix

They look like the picture-perfect family living in an upscale North Carolina neighborhood but behind the smiles lies a tangled web of lies, alleged abuse and secret recordings that end in a brick and baseball bat bloodbath.

This compelling documentary is rare in that it doesn’t ask who killed Jason Corbett but whether his second wife Molly and her ex-FBI father Thomas Martens did so in self-defense.

With many twists and surprises, you hear from Corbett’s children, sister and from Molly and Thomas themselves, leaving it ultimately up to you to decide who is telling the truth.

(Michelle Curran, US Weekend Editor) 

Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story 

Streaming on Netflix

These aren’t just your ‘typical’ serial killers, they’re a notorious husband and wife tag-team who murdered 12 young women, including two of their daughters.

Police recordings and first-person accounts from the people who knew Fred and Rose West, and escaped them, provide an on-the-edge-of-your-seat nail-biter of what went on inside 25 Cromwell Street – a true ‘house of horrors’.

The most haunting interviews in the three-part documentary are that of Caroline Roberts – the ‘one who got away’ after being abducted and tortured by them and Janet Leach, who became Fred’s confidant following his arrest and is thought to have helped elicit his confessions. The toll of what happened to them clearly still haunts them today and it will haunt you too.

(Michelle Curran)

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders 

Streaming on Netflix

This three-part docuseries takes a little while to get going but bear with it as by the end of episode one you will be gripped. 

It explores how back in 1982, people in the Chicago area were literally dropping dead after taking a Tylenol unaware that it was laced with cyanide. Prime suspect James Lewis who admits he sent a ransom note to Johnson & Johnson but denies tampering with and lacing the capsules is the most compelling thing about this series as he speaks on camera showing no remorse. 

His dark and twisted background is frightening but the lack of solid evidence in the Tylenol case against him even more so. The series will leave you with more questions than answers.

(Michelle Curran) 

Jailbreak: Love on the Run 

Streaming on Netflix

It’s a tale as old as time: girl meets boy, but their love was doomed from the start. But in this Netflix documentary, Florida veteran corrections officer Vicky White fell in love with alleged murderer Casey White and orchestrated a jail break that rocked the country.

The documentary provides an inside look into Vicky’s lonely life with interviews from family, inmates and colleagues who were shocked to learn how the lonely officer fell in love with the charming convict.

The film details the nationwide manhunt for Vicky and Casey, which ended in the shocking death of the once-respected correctional officer and the final fate of her convict lover.

(Marjorie Hernandez) 

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel 

Streaming on Netflix

This docuseries investigates the bizarre death of Canadian tourist Elisa Lam, whose body was found in a water tank of the infamous Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles in 2013.

The series also delves into the dark history of the Cecil Hotel, which gained its own infamous for housing devious former tenants and visitors, including serial killer Richard ‘The Night Stalker’ Ramirez.

The Cecil, which was once known as the crown jewel of Downtown LA when it first opened in 1927, gained its own lore after numerous patrons died on the property over the years, mostly from suicide.

With its the deadly history, the Cecil gained the reputation as ‘haunted’ hotel and has viewers wondering if Lam’s disappearance was a suicide, foul play or caused by a supernatural entity.

(Marjorie Hernandez)

The Keepers 

Streaming on Netflix

This seven-part docuseries explores the decades-old murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik and the suspected link to a priest accused of abuse.

The 26-year-old beloved nun and Catholic high school teacher from Baltimore disappeared in November 7, 1969 after she went out by herself to go Christmas shopping. 

Two months after she went missing her body was found near a garbage dump outside Baltimore.

The case garnered interested in the early 1990s after one of Cesnik’s former students accused the high-school chaplain of sexual abuse. The student claims that she was taken to Cesnik’s then undiscovered corpse and threatened.

More than 50 years later, Sister Catherine’s mysterious death remains unsolved, and sinister connections between some of the key figures involved have emerged.

Interviews by relatives, friends, journalists, government officials and a group of devoted Baltimore citizens work together to try to find the truth.

(Ruth Bashinsky)