General True Crime Shows

[LuvMyShows]

I can't remember which show I saw, but a guy had disappeared without a trace, and his best friend said that he had left town with a girl who said she could get him a good job.  And that was it, case closed.  Even though he had a son (not custody, but still he loved the boy very much and was involved in his life), the detectives apparently didn't ask anyone else who was close to him whether he was the kind of guy who would leave his son like that.  So several years later, when new detectives were on the case, they spoke to someone who said the guy would never leave his son, and the case was re-opened. 

I always wonder at the enormous number of people these detectives must have encountered in their lives who just up and leave everything without a trace, and without saying a word about it to anyone, given how frequently they conclude that that's what happened in a disappearance. 

So in that same show, they convinced a tipster to have a recorded conversation with the suspect (no surprise, it was that best friend) hoping he would incriminate himself, and it was so clear that they had done absolutely no pre-planning/coaching whatsoever to help the tipster speak to the suspect in a way that didn't sound painfully contrived.  Ugh, it was awkward to hear.

And IIRC, at one point the suspect confessed to someone he was dating, that he had blown someone's head off in the woods, and the woman married him anyway!!!!!!!! 

[nokat]

2 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

I always wonder at the enormous number of people these detectives must have encountered in their lives who just up and leave everything without a trace,

I hate to say it, but I think they just don't want to bother. As in they're an adult, sometimes people just leave. Without a car, a wallet/purse, with kids they love left behind? A "loved one" saying oh, they left to go to some other state, or ran off with their new boyfriend/girlfriend. Hell, they could be standing with a shovel near a fresh mound of dirt sometimes, and detectives will be all okey dokey then.

[SandyToes]

2 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

And IIRC, at one point the suspect confessed to someone he was dating, that he had blown someone's head off in the woods, and the woman married him anyway!!!!!!!! 

Honestly, there are a lot of times when this seems to happen, and then these poor souls (usually women) come on these shows and tell their sad/horrific stories, and I want to be sympathetic, I really do.  But sometimes I just want to throw a shoe at the TV and scream,"You moron! How could you NOT see this is how things would play out?"  Love is blind, truly, sometimes.  And some people are so desperate to feel loved, I guess.  Very sad.

Anyone catch Joe Kenda's new show? I'm not signing up for Discovery Plus, but his show is the only one I'd be interested in.

@nokat - LOVE Bill the Cat!  I went to school with Steve Dallas and Kitzi.  hee. (Oh, and Breathed, too.)   Ack!

[nokat]

3 minutes ago, SandyToes said:

Anyone catch Joe Kenda's new show? I'm not signing up for Discovery Plus, but his show is the only one I'd be interested in.

@nokat - LOVE Bill the Cat!  I went to school with Steve Dallas and Kitzi.  hee. (Oh, and Breathed, too.)   Ack!

I watched an episode because I like Kenda. He makes a good narrator, and it's not just about his past in Colorado Springs.

I often wonder if people question why I have an ugly cat as my avatar, but I love Bloom County. I have a stuffed Opus. Oop Ack!!

[SandyToes]

4 minutes ago, nokat said:

I have a stuffed Opus.

You aren't the only one!

I just loved Joe's show.  My, my, my.  So cool, so droll, and great delivery.  Hopefully will be able to sneak peeks at his show at some time.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by SandyToes

[kathyk24]

5 hours ago, nokat said:

I hate to say it, but I think they just don't want to bother. As in they're an adult, sometimes people just leave. Without a car, a wallet/purse, with kids they love left behind? A "loved one" saying oh, they left to go to some other state, or ran off with their new boyfriend/girlfriend. Hell, they could be standing with a shovel near a fresh mound of dirt sometimes, and detectives will be all okey dokey then.

I think the cops are lazy it happens all the time with teens. Families will come in with a report of a missing child and the cops will claim they ran away. I've even seen shows where two friends went missing at the same time and the cops still claimed they ran away. It's strange how many teens run away with just the clothes on their back.

[Annber03]

It especially drives me nuts when they have that attitude towards runaways who are under the age of 18. Even if they were a runaway, they're still a minor. There's only so many places they'd be able to legally escape to, and they may well be in potential danger. Go find them, for cripes' sakes. 

[Jeeves]

13 hours ago, SandyToes said:

Anyone catch Joe Kenda's new show? I'm not signing up for Discovery Plus, but his show is the only one I'd be interested in.

I have D+ and have watched Kenda's new show; there are I think three or four episodes out. It's pretty good. He narrates cases solved by other detectives who IIRC also appear as THs.

If I still had cable I'd probably not have D+ too, but (1) I dropped cable TV in favor of YouTube TV and am saving $70/month, and (2) I switched my mobile phone service to Verizon and the promo package includes a year free of ad-free D+, as well as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. My YouTube TV subscription includes the ID channel but not DIY network; the D+ library is DEEP on shows that I enjoy including old seasons and new content. And DIY as well as the other Discovery channels.

Much of their "original" content on D+ is the "90 Day Whatever" carp, which I don't watch, and some Chip & Joanna Gaines nonsense (🤮).  IIRC the Kenda show is the only ID type show currently in the lineup that's a D+ "original." 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Jeeves

[One Tough Cookie]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:06 PM, Cherrio said:

 

 I love genetic genealogy.   I wonder why "they" haven't done a search on one of the biggest questions lingering, Who is Ted Bundys father? Maybe they have, but its still under wraps.

I'e read more than one time that his  grandfather was really his father. (shudder)

[LuvMyShows]

 

On 1/29/2021 at 10:49 PM, nokat said:

I watched an episode because I like Kenda. He makes a good narrator, and it's not just about his past in Colorado Springs.

I found it just meh (our Verizon cell pkg includes Discovery+ but Kenda's is the only show I've watched).  The drollness he brought to his old show when describing his own thoughts/actions, is not present here when he's basically just doing barebones plot/show structure.  I've only watched the first episode, but the detective on the case was the one doing almost all of the narration.

[chick binewski]

As of last week ID stopped airing their mondo-marathons (which I look for bc apparently nothing makes me happier than finding a block of Fatal Vows episodes to watch on a Friday afternoon). 

However, I WAS ridiculously excited to see they're airing 2 episodes of Behind Mansion Walls this week. Christopher Mason has all of Candice Delong's judginess but he pulls it off so much better. 

[auntjess]

I'm watching the last season ones of ATL Homicide, and let me again recommend it. It's on TV1.

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I recently saw Kelly Ripa on a late night show and she talked about her new show called Exhumed on Oxygen.

https://www.oxygen.com/exhumed/crime-news/what-does-exhumed-mean-and-why-do-we-do-it

Edited February 8, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[One Tough Cookie]

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I recently saw Kelly Ripa on a late night show and she talked about her new show called Exhumed on Oxygen.

https://www.oxygen.com/exhumed/crime-news/what-does-exhumed-mean-and-why-do-we-do-it

Kelly Ripa? I'm out.

[SunnyBeBe]

I don't think that Kelly is on the show.....more like she and her husband are executive producers.  I'm not a big fan of hers either, but I might check the show out. 

[nokat]

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don't think that Kelly is on the show.....more like she and her husband are executive producers.  I'm not a big fan of hers either, but I might check the show out. 

She is not on the show, and the show is watchable for me anyway. It's about solving crimes that need to go back and redo an autopsy, or do one that was never done because of assumptions.  I'm all for solving crimes and sometimes getting a murderer to justice when it wasn't realized that it was a murder at the time.

[KittyMom4]

 

16 hours ago, nokat said:

She is not on the show, and the show is watchable for me anyway. It's about solving crimes that need to go back and redo an autopsy, or do one that was never done because of assumptions.  I'm all for solving crimes and sometimes getting a murderer to justice when it wasn't realized that it was a murder at the time.

I watched several episodes over the weekend, I was pretty impressed. 

I do wonder though, why do people get so upset about exhuming a body if it will solve a possible crime? And I don't mean the spouse who may be the killer, I am referring to parents, sibilings, children, etc. Families object, get upset, one guy (a cousin of the victim) showed up at the exhumation with a shotgun, not wanting his cousin's body "disturbed". In that case the victim had been shot in the head by a shotgun, most of it was missing, wouldn't you want to find out who could do that? I'm pretty sure the victim would want his or her killer found, afterall the body is of no use to them at that point. 

Edited February 10, 2021 by BexKeps

[nokat]

1 hour ago, BexKeps said:

why do people get so upset about exhuming a body

That is something I don't understand either. It's a shell, and even if you're religious that soul left. I also don't need to visit a grave because I have items that make me feel close, like a crocheted afghan from my grandma. That brings me so much more comfort than a cold grave.

[KittyMom4]

1 hour ago, nokat said:

I also don't need to visit a grave because I have items that make me feel close,

Halleluiah! I am going to be cremated or have my body donated to science so my kids won't drag themselves to my headstone on my birthday just to throw some flowers on it and say a prayer. My parents used to drag me and my siblings to cemetaries to 'honor' our dead ancestors. I remember being cold, bored, scared and bewildered. I get much more comfort from the tea cup set that was my grandmother's and the beautifully framed picture of my great-grandmother as a young girl than I ever would from staring at her name engraved in granite. 

Getting back to the exhumations, my best friend had a stillborn sister (born in the late 60's) who was buried in a grave in our hometown. When my friend's mother passed away a few years ago she was buried in a cemetary an hour and half away (it was the mom's hometown) and they had the baby girl's body exhumed and moved to be buried with her mom. I thought that was very touching, yet there were people who were 'horrified' that the baby was 'disturbed'. Wth? 

Edited February 10, 2021 by BexKeps

[nokat]

1 minute ago, BexKeps said:

I thought that was very touching, yet there were people who were 'horrified' that the baby was 'disturbed'. Wth? 

Yeah, I don't get that either. Disturbed? If the remains can be moved it's for the living. If some people like to visit graves, I don't care. You deal with grief in your own way. I wore my dad's hunting coat for years after he died. Every fall, I wore it.  Even walking in a forest makes me feel close still.

[Persnickety1]

Is anyone watching ID Discovery's new "Fear Thy Roommate"?  

I never saw a promo for it but stumbled across it listed on my cable guide.  I thought it might just be a repackaging of episodes from other shows, but I've never seen any of these.  

I think there are about 6 episodes so far, and they've all been pretty good.  

 

[nokat]

13 minutes ago, Persnickety1 said:

Is anyone watching ID Discovery's new "Fear Thy Roommate"?  

I never saw a promo for it but stumbled across it listed on my cable guide.  I thought it might just be a repackaging of episodes from other shows, but I've never seen any of these.  

I think there are about 6 episodes so far, and they've all been pretty good.  

 

Yes, I've been watching, and it gives me so much stress, like Fear Thy Neighbor. I hadn't seen these cases before, and being a nice person and allowing someone in your home rent free is a definite NO. If you give someone a house key  or allow them in for over a month, good luck getting rid of them.

I actually was the roommate at one time. The good kind, because I cooked, did dishes, and paid rent on time. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by nokat

[Persnickety1]

21 minutes ago, nokat said:

Yes, I've been watching, and it gives me so much stress, like Fear Thy Neighbor. I hadn't seen these cases before, and being a nice person and allowing someone in your home rent free is a definite NO. If you give someone a house key  or allow them in for over a month, good luck getting rid of them.

I actually was the roommate at one time. The good kind, because I cooked, did dishes, and paid rent on time. 

A few of these episodes remind me of that saying, "No good deed goes unpunished."  

I was lucky and never required a roommate situation.  I can't imagine ever opening my home to someone I didn't know really well, whether it was a co-worker or an acquaintance from my past.  Just...no.  Like you said, once they're in, they have tenant rights, and good luck getting rid of them in a peaceful, civil manner.  

[Annber03]

I've been watching that "Fear Thy Roommate" show, too, yeah. I saw one a while back that involved a woman and a man fighting over rent and accusations of sexual harassment and so forth, and at one point there was a bunny involved. It got very disturbing and horrifying very quickly. 

[Jeeves]

I just can't watch either Fear Thy Neighbor or the Roommate version. Too unsettling for me, although I'm generally able to watch true crime shows without being traumatized.

[nokat]

18 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I've been watching that "Fear Thy Roommate" show, too, yeah. I saw one a while back that involved a woman and a man fighting over rent and accusations of sexual harassment and so forth, and at one point there was a bunny involved. It got very disturbing and horrifying very quickly. 

I think that one is on the DVR. I have to space my murder shows so I don't watch too much at a time.

[hoosiermom]

I am 67 and recently had to move into an Airbnb with my 2 dogs for 4 months while my place was being built. The host was a lovely young man (31) also with 2 dogs. Luckily it worked out beautifully but I was glad “Fear Thy Roommate” didn’t start until I was settled in my new place. I just know it would have put suspicious thoughts in my head. Lol

[Persnickety1]

16 hours ago, Jeeves said:

I just can't watch either Fear Thy Neighbor or the Roommate version. Too unsettling for me, although I'm generally able to watch true crime shows without being traumatized.

I get what you mean.  I've seen episodes of various ID Discovery shows that had me looking over my shoulder in my own living room.  "Home Alone" usually creeps me out the most but Dead Silent has a couple of times, too.  

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, nokat said:

I think that one is on the DVR. I have to space my murder shows so I don't watch too much at a time.

Good idea. Especially with that episode. Like I said, it involves a bunny, so....heads up. 

[funky-rat]

Salvatore Anello - the guy who dangled his step-granddaughter out of the cruise ship window and dropped her - was sentenced to probation, just in time for his family to sue the cruise line.  🙄  I get incredibly weird vibes about him.  He seemed to be obsessed with her.  I don't think that he was doing anything bad to her, but he seemed to have a weird obsession with her.  I hope this lawsuit goes nowhere.  He couldn't even keep his story straight.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I find it ridiculous that Salvatore Anello can plead guilty, and then the family can try to blame the cruise line and sue them.    I think part of his probation should be that he never is alone with any children.      Even if it was a total accident, the little girl died, and all the family had were excuses about how it wasn't his fault, and how the cruise line caused it.   I've never been near a window that was so clear and clean that you couldn't tell if the window pane was there or not.     The excuse that he couldn't tell that there was no glass is a  not credible.   I couldn't even sit on a jury in this case, because I have my mind up, and wouldn't give the family a penny.  

Some witness said it went beyond him sitting her on the window ledge, and actually was holding so she was leaning outside, totally trashing the family claim that he didn't know there was an opening, and not a window pane.  

Edited February 16, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I find it ridiculous that Salvatore Anello can plead guilty, and then the family can try to blame the cruise line and sue them.    I think part of his probation should be that he never is alone with any children.      Even if it was a total accident, the little girl died, and all the family had were excuses about how it wasn't his fault, and how the cruise line caused it.   I've never been near a window that was so clear and clean that you couldn't tell if the window pane was there or not.     The excuse that he couldn't tell that there was no glass is a  not credible.   I couldn't even sit on a jury in this case, because I have my mind up, and wouldn't give the family a penny.  

Same here. Maybe its true and it was an accident. But he's still the one who picked her up, who held her up to sit on the glass and she fell. Whether she squearmed or he lost his grip, what happened to her was his fault. Not the cruise line. Instead of showing remorse he turns around and blames the cruise line. For what? Him being unable to tell the window was open (which still makes no sense). That's not their fault. That's his. And decides to sue the cruise line The rest of the family are also quick to blame the cruise line. 

[SandyToes]

 

On 2/15/2021 at 2:08 AM, andromeda331 said:

he turns around and blames the cruise line. For what?

Deep pockets, plus victim  mentality.  The "Fear My Neighbor" doesn't creep me out nearly as much as the family-oriented ones.  The neighbor shows usually leave me wondering why people don't just move.  Expensive, I know, property values, dream home, yada yada, I know.  But man.  Quality of life ought to come into play at some time. 

[LexieLily]

I don't know if this is the right place to bring this up but - Investigation Discovery. Did all their new content move to the streaming station/app or whatever Discovery Plus is? I don't see any new shows but Evil Lives Here coming up on the network and even that is only two episodes. I'll miss watching all of the shows but I'm not paying more money for a stupid streaming app.

Edited February 21, 2021 by LexieLily

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet they will premiere some ID shows, but will then move them to their cable channel.     I think the D+ is trying desperately to keep the people who get trial subscriptions, and I hope they fail miserably.    They do have original D+ shows, but I bet the ID shows will be like the Magnolia network previews, and will be back on the regular cable channels.    I'm not buying a device to stream anything, or upgrading to smart TVs either.  I guess I'll just have to miss some ID shows until they, hopefully, start putting them on the ID channel.  

[LuvMyShows]

I had forgotten about the absolute unmitigated awfulness of Stacy Castor, until I watched Oxygen's Exhumed, "Poison in the Plot".  She poisoned and killed her first husband, poisoned and killed her second husband, and then as the police were closing in on her, poisoned her daughter and penned a fake suicide note supposedly from her daughter in which the daughter said that she had been the one to kill her father and step-father.  Thankfully the daughter lived (the sister found her in time to get her to the hospital), and Stacy was convicted, and had a heart attack in jail and died at age 48.

[Jeeves]

Oh, wow. Stacy Castor. What an evil person. She may have died relatively young, but sadly she didn't die before she murdered two husbands and tried to kill her own daughter. In the immortal words of Moms Mabley, edited for the appropriate gender: "They say you shouldn't say nothin' about the dead unless it's good. She's dead. Good!"

ETA: I feel much the same about Lynn Turner, another woman who killed a husband and then a boyfriend with antifreeze poison. She was convicted of the latter murder both murders (edited later to correct that) and died in prison a few years later, apparently a suicide by means of an overdose of medication that she'd secretly accumulated. At least she didn't try to kill one of her children. I suppose that's something.

And I can't think of those two killers without remembering Barbara Stager, who is alive and still imprisoned at age 72. She's the one who lost two husbands in a row to "accidental" gunshots to the head, at home. Again, she got away with one murder and therefore was free to commit the second. 

One does wonder how many people get away with one spousal murder and don't push their luck by committing a second one. And thus live out their days in freedom. Hmm.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jeeves

[smittykins]

For several years, I worked with Rosemary Corbett, Michael Wallace’s sister(she appeared on several shows about the Castor case).  She said that authorities eventually decided against trying Stacey for Michael’s murder(although I believe she was indicted)in order to spare Ashley from another trial.

[Jeeves]

1 hour ago, smittykins said:

For several years, I worked with Rosemary Corbett, Michael Wallace’s sister(she appeared on several shows about the Castor case).  She said that authorities eventually decided against trying Stacey for Michael’s murder(although I believe she was indicted)in order to spare Ashley from another trial.

Thanks for that info. I had a vague memory that Stacey wasn't tried for that murder although they had evidence. Which they didn't obtain until she was under investigation for David Castor's death. Unlike Lynn Turner, who was eventually convicted of both the murders she committed. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jeeves

[auntjess]

On 2/20/2021 at 9:16 PM, LexieLily said:

I don't know if this is the right place to bring this up but - Investigation Discovery. Did all their new content move to the streaming station/app or whatever Discovery Plus is? I don't see any new shows but Evil Lives Here coming up on the network and even that is only two episodes. I'll miss watching all of the shows but I'm not paying more money for a stupid streaming app.

I know, and I agree.  
Oxygen, TV1, and A&E have shows.
I'm more upset about them taking my Dr. Pimple Popper from me, but at least she has youtubes.

 

[LexieLily]

33 minutes ago, auntjess said:

I know, and I agree.  
Oxygen, TV1, and A&E have shows.
I'm more upset about them taking my Dr. Pimple Popper from me, but at least she has youtubes.

I found Oxygen a couple of months ago and yes, they have true crime. I'm recording a few series' from there.

[LuvMyShows]

 

On 2/20/2021 at 9:16 PM, LexieLily said:

I don't know if this is the right place to bring this up but - Investigation Discovery. Did all their new content move to the streaming station/app or whatever Discovery Plus is? I don't see any new shows but Evil Lives Here coming up on the network and even that is only two episodes. I'll miss watching all of the shows but I'm not paying more money for a stupid streaming app.

OK, I am very confused.  I saw on the ID schedule that a new show debuted yesterday at 10 pm called Murder in the Middle.  Replays are not on ID nor are they on Discovery+.  Same with The Truth in the Casket and Field of Nightmares, that also debut at 10 pm this week.  So where on earth are these shows available???  The shows don't even turn up with any listings in Google, where I've always been able to find out about new shows. 

 

[LexieLily]

10 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

 

OK, I am very confused.  I saw on the ID schedule that a new show debuted yesterday at 10 pm called Murder in the Middle.  Replays are not on ID nor are they on Discovery+.  Same with The Truth in the Casket and Field of Nightmares, that also debut at 10 pm this week.  So where on earth are these shows available???  The shows don't even turn up with any listings in Google, where I've always been able to find out about new shows. 

 

This happens every so often on ID and I think when that happens, they are just regular ID series' shows (Disappeared, Betrayed, etc.) under a different name so they can be packaged as "New."

[smittykins]

13 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I found Oxygen a couple of months ago and yes, they have true crime. I'm recording a few series' from there.

Unfortunately, Oxygen isn’t on my DirecTV package(and my bill is high enough as it is).

[auntjess]

24 minutes ago, smittykins said:

14 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I found Oxygen a couple of months ago and yes, they have true crime. I'm recording a few series' from there.

Unfortunately, Oxygen isn’t on my DirecTV package(and my bill is high enough as it is).

A&E has The First 48, and other shows, and TV1 has ATL Homicide, my new favorite, plus Fatal Attraction.

[Schnickelfritz]

1 hour ago, auntjess said:

1 hour ago, smittykins said:

15 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I found Oxygen a couple of months ago and yes, they have true crime. I'm recording a few series' from there.

Unfortunately, Oxygen isn’t on my DirecTV package(and my bill is high enough as it is).

A&E has The First 48, and other shows, and TV1 has ATL Homicide, my new favorite, plus Fatal Attraction.

HLN and True Crime Network have true crime also. There are several channels dedicated to true crime on YouTube. So nanner nanner boo boo to Discovery

[Writing Wrongs]

SNL has our number

This is so me.

[InDueTime]

On 2/12/2021 at 1:37 PM, Annber03 said:

I've been watching that "Fear Thy Roommate" show, too, yeah. I saw one a while back that involved a woman and a man fighting over rent and accusations of sexual harassment and so forth, and at one point there was a bunny involved. It got very disturbing and horrifying very quickly. 

I saw that episode too. It's one of those cases where I would have to see it on different show because the way it was shown on there was bizarre. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by InDueTime

[Jeeves]

N/M

Edited March 1, 2021 by Jeeves

[renatae]

I'm watching "Evil Lives Here" Was It Worth Killing For? The father is an abusive monster, but the mother started grooming her son to kill him when he was only 8 years old! She convinced him this was his responsibility and even kept asking him to come up with ways not to get caught. It gets much worse, if that's imaginable. I won't commit any more spoilers, but it's chilling.

Regarding the execrable Discovery+, Court TV also has reruns, and I think the new and old Forensic Files. We have Comcast, and we can still get many of the series' episodes the next day and beyond as usual. No intention of subscribing. I hope they flop.

Edited March 2, 2021 by renatae