General True Crime Shows

[Rina99]

I'm currently watching a repeat of Motives and Murder about the case of a 17-year old girl murdered in Florida, and good ol' Dale Hinman pops up as a special investigator.  Her stilted line delivery that NEVER improved on her old show used to have me in stitches, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that did not sound like a complete robot in her appearance.

[jenkait]

Oh, applecrisp, we apparently have so much TV in common :)  Law & Order?  If I have a son I'm naming him Logan...

 

Feeling so left out here...so many of these shows I'm hearing of we aren't getting on the Canadian ID yet!  Something to look forward to in 6 months I suppose...

[applecrisp]

Logan was the best.  

[applecrisp]

Murder Book  this week was sad.  A dead mummified body is found and the police desperately try to find out his identity.  Almost 30 years later they found both the victim's name and the killer.  

 

No one claims the body and he is buried in an unmarked grave.  He was a small time criminal.  He partners up with another criminal, named Spence, when he comes on to his partner,(sexual advance).  Spence said "I knew I was going to kill him."  

 

I thought to myself, is this a hate crime?  Probably not.  We have been talking about how all victims are not saints, in this case even though he was a criminal, I just wish someone had claimed his body.  Still makes me cry.  The police were compassionate about it.

[auntjess]

In the Unusual Suspects show on the tax accountant in Florida, that was a pretty big blunder on the coroner's part, who originally agreed that the body had been set on fire, rather than burned with drain cleaner.
Wouldn't fire leave soot?

And again, the perp got cocky after a month or so, and told someone.
Who does that?

[Maizie131]

In the Unusual Suspects show on the tax accountant in Florida, that was a pretty big blunder on the coroner's part, who originally agreed that the body had been set on fire, rather than burned with drain cleaner.

Wouldn't fire leave soot?

And again, the perp got cocky after a month or so, and told someone.

Who does that?

Auntjess - Ha!  Yeah - I watched it, too.  I always ask myself that same question (re: perps who blab).  They're dumb shits.  I wonder what percentage of murders are solved by this - I'll bet a good bunch.

[druzy]

I watched Vanity Fair Confidential about the O’hair’s last night. They also ran the O’hair Disappeared episode earlier in the day. Neither of the shows explained how the reporter and investigator were able to gain access to all of these cell phone records. I thought the authorities didn’t get involved for years. Is there another way other than a subpoena or warrant to get these records?

[auntjess]

 

Neither of the shows explained how the reporter and investigator were able to gain access to all of these cell phone records. I thought the authorities didn’t get involved for years. Is there another way other than a subpoena or warrant to get these records?

I didn't watch this, but as a guess, if the authorities had had her under surveillance, a reporter might have filed a FOIA to see what they had.

[cbetsky]

I didn't watch this, but as a guess, if the authorities had had her under surveillance, a reporter might have filed a FOIA to see what they had.

I haven't watched this one yet, either - but if the phone records were for the O'Hare's, and the phones were actually contracted to the American Atheist organization, the AA's could have given the info to the investigator and reporter. Don't need a subpoena to access your own info.

[auntjess]

I didn't watch, because I've seen it on another show, and read enough about it in the news at the time.
I'm that way too on some of these Crime to Remember shows.

[Maizie131]

OK - Obsession: Dark Desires episode last nite about the woman in Tuscon who went out with a Vietnam vet twice & he became obsessed/stalking her.  First of all, she never told him until much later not to call her anymore & to leave her alone.  Of course, any man in his right mind would stop calling after countless calls weren't returned, but whatever.  Then it gets so threatening that she finally calls the police, but always gets a cop's voice mail.  Excuse me, but I wouldn't have bothered calling the police in the first place- I would've gotten in my car and driven there to file a report.  I won't continue in case you haven't seen it yet.  Some of these shows make me absolutely NUTS!  Arghhhhhh!

 

Many years ago I was a stalking victim (a 300-lb. man who lived in my apartment building).  I moved to another city, went to court - got a PPO (Personal Protection Order), and that was the end of it.  Must say for several years thereafter I looked over my shoulder.  Damn scary stuff.

[Cobb Salad]

I saw Obsessions last night too and was a little perplexed by her statement to the effect of how all of this could have been avoided ... Um, ok. Seems like if your life is in danger and the police aren't as responsive as you'd like maybe you should go see them? Then with her leaving the kids at home while they were in danger too ... Hello?

[TattleTeeny]

The police really did seem exceptionally lax in this episode. I guess maybe most people assume that they're dealing with a socially inept nuisance* as opposed to a real-deal crazy (plus there is that whole thing about women, in general, being groomed by society to be "nice" at all costs).

 

* As in the only type of stalkers who are likely to even acknowledge a OOP/RO in the first place.

Edited February 12, 2015 by TattleTeeny

[applecrisp]

 

* As in the only type of stalkers who are likely to even acknowledge a OOP/RO in the first place.

TT could you explain what OOP/RO means.  

 

I am having a hard time watching the stalker shows because it all seem so futile.  I get frustrated.  I do have a lot of sympathy for the victims.

 

Watched Unraveled and felt Travis did kill his mother.  I am a little unsure about the sentence, it was a little harsh.

Edited February 13, 2015 by applecrisp

[auntjess]

My guess is order of protection, and restraining order.
I knew of several people who died because a piece of paper just didn't cut it, as protection.

[applecrisp]

auntjess sorry to hear that.  I have a friend who is getting the runaround right now.  They seem to think her ex is an okay guy.

[auntjess]

A woman from church was killed by her ex's brother, so I guess there'd have been no order against him, and in the same year, the daughter of a co-worker was killed by a boyfriend.
 

[TattleTeeny]

TT could you explain what OOP/RO means.  

 

I am having a hard time watching the stalker shows because it all seem so futile.  I get frustrated.  I do have a lot of sympathy for the victims.

 

Watched Unraveled and felt Travis did kill his mother.  I am a little unsure about the sentence, it was a little harsh.

Oh, I'm sorry! auntjess covered it!

[friendperidot]

one of the few things I like about Oklahoma is that they are responsive to people who are being threatened and have a non threatening way of getting Orders of Protection. This may vary from county to county, but my experience with the system is good. I filed one on my brother after my mother's death. He tried intimidation and bullying me, but I didn't accept that. I didn't go through with the court date, because I had put him on notice and stood up to him. We didn't speak for over a year and now have a so/so relationship. And I understand that my case was no where near as serious as others, I've lost a couple of friends with OOP/ROs. 

[Maizie131]

Just watched See No Evil - pretty riveting & got my heart pumping -- highly recommend.  Thanks to Target for having such great surveillance systems in place - apparently they're state-of-the-art. 

[Cobb Salad]

Re: See No Evil, plus some pretty detail oriented and patient Detectives - that guy grabbing Kelsey wasn't easy to spot. Pretty scary story, getting grabbed in broad daylight in a seemingly public area.

[auntjess]

To be fair though, some of the stores in question probably don't have a very high profit margin.

In the UK, they seem to have a lot of street cameras.
The only time I saw that here, was the guy who threw the woman in the back of his pickup, and you could see it in the video.

[smittykins]

Glad to be back among my ID peeps! My apartment building was condemned in late December, and I spent two months in a motel with an ID-less cable package until I was able to find another apartment.

Was the Kelsey Smith case originally covered on Disappeared? The name sounds familiar.

Edited February 24, 2015 by smittykins

[roamyn]

Was the Kelsey Smith case originally covered on Disappeared? The name sounds familiar.

Kind of. It was a brief part of another girl's disappearance because they happened so close to each other, time wise & location wise.

I just can't remember who that other girl was.

[smittykins]

I know who you mean but can't remember her name either. :(

I think I remember now: Kara Kopetsky?

Edited February 24, 2015 by smittykins

[roamyn]

I know who you mean but can't remember her name either. :(

I think I remember now: Kara Kopetsky?

That's it, smitty! Thanx!

[applecrisp]

This thread has been slow.  Have been watching some shows but the same old stories.  I tried to watch Mind Of A Murderer but have a hard time listening to these people. 

 

They seem like regular people and I just don't want them to get any more attention.

 

I still want a show about the exonerated.  I think it would be fascinating and may help others. On 48 Hours they had a case where they are trying to get a new trial for a young woman who gave a false confession.  They do exist and I want the public to know.

[slensam]

This thread has been slow.  Have been watching some shows but the same old stories.  I tried to watch Mind Of A Murderer but have a hard time listening to these people. 

 

 

 

This is the problem. They keep regurgitating the same stories. One case gets passed around by 4 or 5 different shows.

[roamyn]

I still want a show about the exonerated. I think it would be fascinating and may help others. On 48 Hours they had a case where they are trying to get a new trial for a young woman who gave a false confession. They do exist and I want the public to know.

That actually sounds like a good & interesting idea for a show, applecrisp.

And not just the exoneration, but the difficulties in merging back into the mainstream of society.

[Yeldarbe]

Oh man I know I'm late to the party but Cry Wolfe is reeealllly terrible. I am watching the one with the crazy barista who sent herself flowers. I can understand recreations but the acting is awful.

[Maizie131]

Finally a show last night w/storyline that hasn't been re-hashed dozens of times ... it was new to me!  Web of Lies was really pretty good - about the Texas A&M prof who got into trouble on an internet chat room.  I'd even go as far as saying Web of Lies is one of my favorite shows on ID - right up there with A Crime to Remember.  The internet can be a very dangerous place, indeedy. 

[methodwriter85]

I'd really love to see a story about a man being stalked by another man. I don't think I've ever seen an ID episode like that.

[auntjess]

I'm really enjoying See No Evil.  I love surveillance camera stories.
I couldn't get into the one with the shrink visiting prisons.
As far as a man being stalked by another man, I suppose there are lots, but the motive isn't attraction, but retribution for something.

[InDueTime]

I'd really love to see a story about a man being stalked by another man. I don't think I've ever seen an ID episode like that.

The show A Stranger in My Home had an episode called "Star-Crossed Murder".  It was about a man who fell in love with and stalked another man from his job.

Edited March 9, 2015 by InDueTime

[methodwriter85]

Yeah, ever since I read "Enduring Love" by Ian McEwan I've thought the idea of a man stalking another man was pretty fascinating, because it's not really something people heard about.

 

I think my favorite cases have been the one about Patrick Macchione, who stalked his prey through YouTube videos (you can't find them anymore but his Twitter account is still up), and the one about a girl who meets a seriously disturbed guy online who wants to rape and likely murder her, but she plays along sexually, which bothers him because he was clearly a sociopath. I've always wondered if anyone else managed to talk down a would-be killer by not acting afraid and pretending to go along with it.

[roamyn]

Oh man... I just saw the episode of Murder Comes To Town in which a young divorced mother and her 8 yr old child were killed, and 20 years later the ex-husband/father is still sobbing abt it.

That really got to me.

[applecrisp]

Just wanted to say, I really like Web of Lies, too, Maizie.  The one with Texas A&M professor was heartbreaking. His poor wife.

 

Also, the latest Vanity Fair Confidential with J.R. Robinson was crazy.  So sad nobody looked for the Dr.'s ex wife.

[Maizie131]

Just wanted to say, I really like Web of Lies, too, Maizie.  The one with Texas A&M professor was heartbreaking. His poor wife.

 

Also, the latest Vanity Fair Confidential with J.R. Robinson was crazy.  So sad nobody looked for the Dr.'s ex wife.

applecrisp - did you happen to catch last night's ep. of Web of Lies - Pipe Nightmare?  That was pretty gripping, too!  (Although I'm still shaking my head when the father bends down over the "pipe", decides not to pick it up ... cuz I'm guessing he thinks it MAY be a bomb ... and then KICKS IT???!!!!  WTF!!!) 

 

I'm still a little undecided about Vanity Fair Confidential.  For me it's a little hard to follow, and that ticking sound they use drives me nuts, just like the gonging church bells in Deadly Sins.  Why do they use irritating sound effects in these shows?  Grrrr...  Although I DO love Darren Kavinoky's snarky comments - make me LOL  In the last ep. he made the comment about the scumbag kid "His parents must be so proud."

Edited March 12, 2015 by Maizie131

[methodwriter85]

Obsession: Dark Desires just did this pretty interesting case about a lawyer who got stalked in the 1980's by one of his former clients who had dissociative disorder, and who basically destroyed his ability to adopt because she accused him of rape, even though he was exonerated. It was crazy to watch because he was a guy who had access to judges, to courts, to policemen, and there just wasn't much he could do in the 1980's.

Edited March 14, 2015 by methodwriter85

[walnutqueen]

I actually just finished watching the last two Obsession: Dark Desires episodes I had recorded and have been avoiding, and they were much better than I thought they would be.  Both victims had their lives practically ruined and suffered long term consequences because of a mentally disturbed person: the lawyer methodwriter85 mentioned above, and the postal worker whose obsessed coworker went on a shooting rampage after stalking her for a long time.  I can't believe that crazy woman is STILL contacting the lawyer after 30 years - that is some fucked up shit.

[Queena]

Did My Evil Sister come on ID channel? If so, anyone remember the episode with Jossie and Sandra?

[Taylorh2]

I usually watch Obsessed: Dark Desires in total Disbelief.

 

I wonder how the psychopath knew how to find the lawyer after all those yrs. Was she contacting him the entire time that she was in prison ?

 

 We know now where the term "Going Postal" comes from.  Creepy.

[applecrisp]

Did anyone see the most recent Deadly Sins?  Well, I was kind of shocked.  There is a kid who is adopted to an upscale family.  They take in some foster kids and he is sexually abused by one.

 

He has some deep emotional problems and likes to go into people's house to rob them and watch them sleep.  He meets up with a guy in a halfway house.  They attack a family, force the mother to take out some cash.

 

The bank knows her and can tell she is under duress.  They call the cops.  This part is so crazy to me. The cops just wait outside!! Meanwhile the two bad guys see the unmarked police car and they proceed to rape and murder the woman and her two children,  the youngest is 11 years old.

 

Why didn't the cops move in and try to help?  There was a case just last week about a woman killed with police outside on Dateline.  I thought this was pretty bad.

 

The icing-he got a weak sentence, I think 16 to 20 years. 

[Rina99]

The new season of Redrum premiered tonight. I had guessed from the previews that this was the same story about Christine Paolilla that I've seen a lot of, but I was hoping to be wrong.  What really made last season disappointing was that they seemed to resort to using the same stories that had been done to death on other shows, and I'm afraid this season will follow suit.

[Josette]

 

Did anyone see the most recent Deadly Sins?

 

 I watched it.  Of course, this is an infamous crime, which generated huge publicity at the time, so I was very familiar with it.  The background on the killers was newish for me, I guess.  Anyhow, they both were sentenced to death.

[applecrisp]

 Thanks Josette, I am embarrassed now but am so happy they got a stiff sentence.  i had never heard this story before.

[Josette]

I've found that's easy to get mixed up when you watch a lot of these shows like I do.   If you're interested, Wikipedia has an article on the crime.

[aurora296]

I'm sad that this thread isn't more active. I LIVE off of true crime shows. Yes, I'm the creepy one in the family.

 

Anyway, I know some of you don't like it, but I really like The Mind of a Murderer. I'm fascinated at the "play by play" aspect of it, seeing things from a psychological point of view. The denial these convicts have and the body language and how they try to BS their way out of things. It's always someone else's fault that they ended up killing. I know people like that in real life, who blame everyone else.

 

I'm a fan of Michelle Ward. I read up on her and she has some impressive credentials. 

 

The guy last night who killed his mom, the guy had zero feelings. he was just a ball of anger. Michelle Ward seemed to think he was just born that way. Things like that scare me since I have a little son and sometimes genetics is all it takes to become a person to be feared in society. 

 

I felt sorry for his daughter that was interviewed, but I don't understand the victim (his own mother). Why was she still trying to "mother" him and get him to change his ways? He's well into middle age and still a raging asshole. He's never gonna change. He scared me from behind the jail glass. he just had that evil/ no soul look in his eyes. Yes, you will always love your son, but if he was mine, I'd tread lightly. 

 

Funny how after he strangled her he found a way to blame her for it. "She was always trying to get me arrested and she finally succeeded when I killed her, that bitch!"

[Taylorh2]

I watched the "Mind of a Murder" 

 

I don't think he was sorry even being just days/weeks away from his execution date, that he killed his mother. He believes that she deserved it. Notice how many times he called her "bitch"

[Maizie131]

Aurora296 - I wish this thread was more active, too, but the problem is that the ID Channel seldom has a "new" crime show on which we can comment!  They do a constant re-hash of crimes & slap a new title on it. 

 

I like Michelle Ward, too, but I have a hard time watching Mind of a Murderer, altho I did catch some of the last one.  After these assholes/nut jobs are convicted, I don't care to hear any more from them or about them so long as they never see the light of day again.  I liked Stalked: Someone's Watching, but that one scared the shit outta me just about every episode.