The 26 Best True Crime Documentaries to Watch on Netflix: From Uncovering the ‘“Gone Girl” Kidnapping’ to Reexamining the Night Stalker’s Murder Spree

We’re all hooked on true crime, and according to scientists, there’s a good reason why.

Our brains are hardwired to naturally be curious about crime and the motives of criminals because it helps us as a society to better protect ourselves from them, per BBC. On top of that, it’s hard to resist a great whodunnit and watching a criminal be brought to justice.

For fans of the genre, Netflix is a great place to find tons of true crime content. The streamer has both documentaries and docuseries that focus on a wide range of crimes, like serial killers, fraud, heists and more.

Related: The Best True Crime Documentaries to Stream Now

Whether you want to dig into the so-called "Gone Girl kidnapping" or reexamine the case of the Night Stalker, Netflix has a wide range of true crime docs to add to your queue.

Here are the best true crime documentaries on Netflix to stream now.

American Nightmare

In 2015, Denise Huskins was kidnapped after a man broke into her boyfriend’s home and sedated them both. Police initially blamed her boyfriend for the crime, then deemed the entire ordeal a hoax, calling it the "Gone Girl kidnapping."

Related: American Nightmare: Where Are Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn Now After the 'Gone Girl Kidnapping'?

But months later, surprise evidence finally led an investigator to the real culprit. American Nightmare tells the story of the crime, how law enforcement got it all wrong and the eventual clues that helped solve the case.

Watch American Nightmare on Netflix

Get Gotti

This three-part 2023 docuseries follows the rise and fall of mob boss John Gotti. Once the organized crime leader was put on trial, his casual attitude turned him into a tabloid celebrity and media favorite, all while the FBI was trying to prosecute him for murder, racketeering, tax evasion and more.

Related: John Gotti: What to Know About the Life and Death of the Infamous Mob Boss

Gotti’s celebrity status was carried on by his daughter Victoria, who had her own reality show, Growing Up Gotti, in 2004.

Watch Get Gotti on Netflix

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey

2022’s Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey investigates the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and its leader, Warren Jeffs.

The docuseries features interviews with some of Jeffs' former wives (he had over 70) and recounts his alleged rampant abuse of power. Criminal trials shown in the series later found that Jeffs sexually abused women and children, which eventually sent him to prison for life.

Watch Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal

Now with two seasons, this 2022 docuseries covers the bizarre and ever-growing scandal around the Murdaugh family.

The docuseries begins with the death of Mallory Beach, who died after Alex Murdaugh's son, Paul Murdaugh, crashed a boat. But things take an even stranger turn when Paul and his mother are found shot to death two years later.

What unfolds in the series is a web of not just murderous lies, but fraud, money laundering and corruption, too.

Watch Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix

Wild Wild Country

2018’s Wild Wild Country quickly became a smash hit. An official Sundance selection, the docuseries told the story of Rajneeshpuram, a cult-like commune in Oregon that initially seemed peaceful.

But conflicts with the wider community led to an almost unbelievable series of events that included alleged attempted murder, voter fraud, immigration fraud and even a bioterror attack. The series was nominated for five Emmys and won for outstanding documentary.

Watch Wild Wild Country on Netflix

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer

The 2021 four-part docuseries Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer examines the killing spree of Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker.

Ramirez seemed to have no pattern or motive for his killings and would attack whomever he pleased, often by sneaking into their homes as they slept. He was eventually convicted of more than a dozen murders, as well as rape and theft.

Related: Where Is the Night Stalker Richard Ramirez's Wife Now? All About Doreen Lioy, Who Married the Serial Killer in Prison

Beyond the docuseries, Ramirez's crimes also inspired the 2024 horror film MaXXXine.

Watch Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer on Netflix

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

Caleb Lawrence McGillvary became a viral sensation in 2013 when he recounted how he allegedly saved a woman’s life in a local news segment. But the fame turned to infamy when McGillvary later became the prime suspect in the murder of a 73-year-old man.

The 2023 documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker follows McGillvary’s rise to internet stardom and his disastrous journey to conviction.

Watch The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker on Netflix

Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street

Netflix’s 2023 docuseries Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street dives into the crimes of financier Bernie Madoff, who died in prison in 2021.

Related: 'Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street' : The True Story Behind the Netflix Docuseries About Bernie Madoff

Madoff created one of history's largest Ponzi schemes by defrauding investors for years, but eventually, his lies crumbled around him and he was charged with a laundry list of crimes. Charges of fraud, perjury, theft and false filings ultimately landed him a 150-year prison sentence.

Watch Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street on Netflix

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami

Set in Miami during the '80s, Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami shows how two high school best friends went on to create one of the largest drug smuggling operations in the city’s history.

Sal Magluta and Willy Falcon amassed riches, power and influence, all by trafficking drugs in South Florida but eventually, the feds caught up with the duo. Although initially found not guilty of drug-related crimes, they were later charged with illegal weapon possession, bribing the jury and money laundering.

Watch Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami on Netflix

American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing

In 2013, remote bombs were detonated at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds. What followed was one of the largest manhunts in American history, where the two brothers who perpetrated the attack tried to evade police.

American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing chronicles the heart-racing manhunt throughout Boston that resulted in one of the brothers being killed and the other surrendering.

Watch American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing on Netflix

Waco: American Apocalypse

2023’s docuseries Waco: American Apocalypse recounts the 1993 explosive standoff between the federal government and the Branch Davidians, a religious cult led by David Koresh.

Related: What Happened During the Waco Massacre? How the Horror Unfolded in April 1993 and Left Nearly 80 Dead

On top of analyzing the deadly 51-day “Waco siege," the documentary also dives deeper into the bizarre culture that Koresh fostered within his compound, one filled with corruption and brainwashing.

Watch Waco: American Apocalypse on Netflix

Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

Infamy, the dark web and murder all collide in Don’t F**k with Cats. The hit docuseries follows a group of internet sleuths who stumbled upon a video of a young man murdering kittens.

Outraged, the group enlisted others through social media to find out who the culprit was. Little did they know, he was enjoying his newfound fame and was about to film himself murdering a person.

Watch Don’t F*** With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer on Netflix

The Tinder Swindler

Simon Leviev (who has used many other names) is a conman who allegedly used dating apps to steal an estimated $10 million dollars from unsuspecting women.

As The Tinder Swindler dives deeper into Leviev's story, it also reveals that those crimes aren’t his only ones. As the doc explains, he held multiple identities and fake passports and was wanted in numerous countries.

Watch The Tinder Swindler on Netflix

The Keepers

In 2017’s The Keepers, the mysterious death of Baltimore nun Catherine Cesnik is reexamined by her former students.

Cesnik worked at an all-girls Catholic school whose priest was accused of sexual misconduct by numerous students. The Keepers sets out to connect the dots between her death and the alleged rampant sexual abuse taking place in the school.

The series became a massive hit and even received an Emmy nomination for outstanding documentary.

Watch The Keepers on Netflix

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

The 2021 docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel investigates the mysterious death of Elisa Lam. After a bizarre 2013 security video captured Lam acting erratically, she was never seen alive again. A few weeks later, her body was found in a water tank on the roof of the Los Angeles hotel.

The docuseries not only looks into her mysterious death but also the numerous other murders and suicides that have riddled the hotel's history for almost 100 years — the Night Stalker even lived in the hotel during his killing spree.

Watch Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel on Netflix

Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich

While Jeffrey Epstein’s history of sexual abuse is well-documented, stories of his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, are far harder to find.

Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich covers the socialite's crimes as well as her sex trafficking trial which landed her 20 years behind bars.

Watch Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich on Netflix

Athlete A

Athlete A is a 2020 documentary that centers around gymnast Maggie Nichols, her family and reporters at The Indianapolis Star who worked to expose sexual abuse committed by sports doctor Larry Nassar.

As they dug deeper, they discovered that multiple complaints had been made about Nassar and then covered up. Athlete A was an official selection at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and shed light on the shocking crimes that rocked the gymnastics world.

Watch Athlete A on Netflix

This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist

In 1990, two burglars dressed as police officers incapacitated security guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and stole 13 works of art, including pieces by Rembrandt, Degas and Manet.

To date, the art is still missing and the culprits have never been identified. There’s also a $10 million dollar reward for anyone who returns one of the stolen paintings.

This Is a Robbery investigates the infamous heist and the ongoing quest to solve it.

Watch This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist on Netflix

The Devil on Trial

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It presented a fantastical and embellished retelling of the infamous trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson — who claims he murdered his landlord only because he was possessed by Satan.

But the 2023 documentary The Devil on Trial gives a more evidence-based approach and questions why Johnson was motivated to kill. Viewers also get to know Ed and Lorraine Warren, who played an integral part in defending Johnson.

Watch The Devil on Trial on Netflix

The Ripper

Known as the Yorkshire Ripper, serial killer Peter Sutcliffe stalked the British city's streets at night, initially murdering sex workers before turning his hatred towards women regardless of their profession.

From 1975 to 1980, he murdered 13 women and attempted to kill many more. Netflix’s 2020 docuseries The Ripper shows how the police tracked down the elusive killer and eventually brought him to justice.

Watch The Ripper on Netflix

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing

The once-renowned aircraft manufacturer Boeing began its downward spiral in the early 2010s when its new 787 aircrafts started having a litany of technical issues. At the end of the decade, things took a tragic turn when Boeing’s other new aircraft, the 737 Max, was involved in two fatal crashes, killing over 300 people.

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing follows investigators as they uncover issues with Boeing’s planes and discover alleged rampant negligence and corruption that has since led to a massive (and ongoing) lawsuit and criminal case.

Watch Downfall: The Case Against Boeing on Netflix

Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case

Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case was an official selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and tells the story of Peter Madsen, an amateur submarine builder who brutally murdered and dismembered a journalist while she was submerged on one of his submarines.

The documentary chronicles the events leading up to the grisly murder and the investigation that followed.

Watch Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case on Netflix

Blackfish

Blackfish was a groundbreaking 2013 documentary that, on the surface, was about the orca Tilikum who killed three people throughout his life. But beneath that, the documentary revealed much more, including the alleged mental and physical damage captivity can have on social animals like killer whales.

Blackfish became a phenomenon and even influenced numerous laws around the globe that regulated the treatment and legality of keeping and breeding orcas.

Watch Blackfish on Netflix

Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer

From the early 1970s to 1980, a killer stalked Manhattan, often targeting young sex workers.

The murderer, later identified as Richard Cottingham, would officially be linked to at least 16 murders, though he’s claimed responsibility for more.

The 2021 docuseries Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer chronicles Cottingham’s crimes and the fear that New Yorkers lived in during his murderous reign.

Watch Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer on Netflix

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!

2022’s D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! retells the infamous tale of an unknown man who hijacked a commercial flight in 1971. After demanding and receiving ransom money, he ordered the crew to take off once again.

While the plane was airborne, Cooper put on a parachute, opened a door and jumped out of the plane never to be seen again. The docuseries offers new clues and interviews experts who all try to answer the same question: where is D.B. Cooper?

Watch D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! On Netflix

Why Did You Kill Me?

The 2021 documentary Why Did You Kill Me? follows a grieving mother whose daughter, Crystal Theobald, was murdered. To find out who killed her and to get revenge, the family created a fake MySpace profile.

Why Did You Kill Me? adds a unique twist to the true crime genre thanks to its catfishing revenge story.

Watch Why Did You Kill Me? On Netflix

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