13 Best True Crime Documentaries to Watch on Netflix and More (January 2026): ‘Gone Girls’ and More

Following the release of Hulu’s Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, Netflix released what is essentially a companion documentary to the exposé of abuses of fame, wealth and social media power, Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrant Story. Hildebrant was an essential piece of Ruby’s story, her “live-in spiritual guru” who aided and encouraged the abuse of her eight children. Thus, Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrant Story unravels this twisted case and exposes Hildebrant’s master manipulation.

Fascinating, unsettling and deeply disturbing, Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrant Story widens the scope of an already horrific case, but for some it may prove to be a difficult watch. Ultimately, however, it is an illuminating look at how dangerous unchecked power can be, and how easy it can be to hide that abuse under the guise of religion and family.

Between 1993 and 2011, more than a dozen women were killed and disposed of on or near Long Island near the remote town of Gilgo in Suffolk County. Many of these victims were sex workers, and Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer reveals how prejudice and misogyny helped to delay justice for these women for thirty years, only having recently led to the arrest of Rex Heuermann, charged with seven of the murders.

This documentary is a victim-focused look at a shocking case, told through the perspectives of loved ones, the police and the victims themselves. Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer reveals how systemic failures by the police kept justice out of arm’s reach for too long, but director Liz Garbus allows those affected by it to reclaim their narrative.

To Catch A Predator was once an unnervingly popular show that aired on NBC between 2004 and 2007, which featured televised set-ups and confrontations with pedophiles attempting to have sex with minors executed by the show’s host, Chris Hansen. Nearly two decades later, Predators explores the show’s complicated legacy, its rise and fall, through clips, unseen footage and interviews with former decoys, and how it shaped the true crime culture of today.

Predators sports an impressive 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 67 critics, who have praised the documentary for its gripping direction and intelligent way that it asks audiences to question what they truly want from true crime content — something other true crime documentaries might do well to consider.

Barbara Butcher is one of the most esteemed forensic scientists and death examiners in all of New York City, with over twenty years spent in the field, and this true crime series is told through her expert eyes. Butcher sits down to unpack some of the most fascinating murder stories and how exactly she can piece together compelling, conclusive evidence from the crime scene and the bodies themselves.

The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher is a gritty and unflinching look at the world of death investigation in NYC, and Butcher herself is both a compelling subject and storyteller with a wealth of knowledge at her disposal. Overall, the series provides an eye-opening look at homicide investigations and how murder cases get solved through a combination of hard work and relentless determination.

Irish widower John Corbett hires American nanny Molly Martens in 2008, and shortly after she begins working for the Corbett family, she and John start a romance and get married. Corbett transfers his job to America, and the family begins their new life in North Carolina. In 2015, Corbett was brutally murdered by his wife and her father, Tom Martens. While the pair claims self-defense, this documentary reveals a much more coordinated effort to get Tom out of the picture — but the story doesn’t end there.

A Deadly American Marriage is a riveting viewing and a must-watch for fans of true crime. The film is well-made and patient, dispensing the information from the case in a way that keeps viewers wanting more. Presenting both sides of its case, A Deadly American Marriage leaves more questions than answers.

In 1995, an unassuming house in England was dubbed the “House of Horrors” after the bodies of nine young women were found buried in the backyard. But the breadth of the crimes that took place in the house belonging to Fred and Rose West is far more horrific, as Fred committed murders spanning twenty years — the majority alongside his wife, both of whom abused their own children. This documentary takes a look at Britain’s infamous serial killer couple and their eventual capture.

Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story pulls back the curtain on two of the most depraved killers in history, featuring interviews and previously unseen police footage. The series does a good job at laying out the facts while not being overly sensationalist, and allowing closure to the loved ones of the victims. 

This four-part series examines the shockingUniversity of Idaho murders in 2022, when Bryan Christopher Kohberger fatally stabbed four students in an off-campus house. The killer was put away for life in prison, but his motives and connection to the victims remain a total mystery. The show not only looks at the crime itself but also the online detectives who took it upon themselves to try solving it, only to the detriment of the victims and their families.

While guilty of being a true crime documentary itself, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders nevertheless doubles as not just a thoughtful and empathetic portrait of a tragedy but also a condemnation of true crime obsessives. The doc humanizes the victims to show that there is a human toll to amateur internet sleuthing.

Travel and vanlife blogger Gabby Petito was on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Christopher Laundrie, in the summer of 2021 when she disappeared in August. When Laundrie drove the van back to his parents’ house and refused to disclose his location, he immediately became the prime suspect and was discovered to have killed Gabby before he took his own life.

The horrific and tragic sequence of events was laid out in Netflix’s American Murder: Gabby Petito, in addition to the nationwide investigation, both offline and online, that occurred to figure out what happened to her, due to her popular presence on social media. For those both unaware of the case and those who followed it, American Murder: Gabby Petito is a heartbreaking story of a life cut too short

The Jinx chronicles the strange story of Robert Durst, a real estate heir who first came to prominence as a suspect in the mysterious disappearance of his wife in 1982, the murder of his friend in 2000, and the murder of his neighbor in 2001. While he was acquitted of the 2003 murder, he was ultimately convicted years later— due to evidence in this very documentary — for the murder of his friend, Susan Berman.

Widely acclaimed by critics and highly popular with audiences, The Jinx not only compiled decades of research, police files, witness testimony, private recordings and previously unreleased footage, but it also includes 20 hours of interview footage with Durst between himself and The Jinx director Andrew Jarecki. A second series came out in 2024 and charts the eight years between the original series and the present day.

For years, the company NXIVM fronted as a “self-improvement group,” but in actuality, it was a cult, with highly devoted recruits led by a charismatic personality named Keith Raniere. Founded in 1998, Raniere was ultimately convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and other crimes in 2019, along with member and actress Allison Mack, who recruited women into the cult.

The Vow follows members who joined the cult and allows them to share their experiences, with the second season following Raniere’s trial and sentencing, as well as taking a look at his ongoing supporters. The Vow was received positively and was praised by critics for its pacing, footage and intimate look at the bizarre inner sanctum of NXIVM, creating a fascinating portrait of how brainwashing into cults occurs.

After delighting 2.5 million viewers with her wholesome family videos on YouTube, “mommy vlogger” Ruby Franke was arrested for child abuse in the summer of 2023. The event shocks her fans across the country, but it is well-known that what people present on social media often hides a different, even darker reality. In interviews with Ruby’s two adult children, the Frankes’ friends and neighbors and unseen footage from their YouTube channel, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke exposes the child abuse at the heart of the family influencer industry.

Affecting, terrifying and incredibly revealing, the three-party documentary series restrains itself from being a pulpy tell-all or a rehash of tabloid fodder that’s been picked over already. Instead, it is a poignant and insightful look at the damaging toll of fame and performance, and how access to social media and monetary incentives for revealing one’s intimate life leave children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

When a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism is adopted by an American family in 2010, she is shockingly abandoned by them two years later. The reason? The family believes that Natalia Grace is not a young girl, but a young adult woman born in 1989. They legally changed her birth date and forced her to live in an apartment by herself, alleging violent behavior from her. Ultimately, DNA tests reveal Natalie to have indeed been a child when the Barnetts adopted her, but the twists and strange revelations don’t stop.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace spans three seasons, first looking at Natalia’s first adoptive family, the Barnetts, and then allowing Natalia to speak for herself in the second season, subtitled Natalia Speaks. The third season, subtitled The Final Chapter, showcases a new chapter of her life that is ultimately thwarted by new developments. Despite how revealing and engrossing this series is, it will leave you with still-unanswered questions.

Women who became intimately acquainted with a man named Simon Leviev over the dating app Tinder fell for a guy who presented himself as the wealthy son of an Israeli diamond mogul, offering them lavish gifts and trips on private jets — all of which was paid for by scamming other Tinder dates out of their money. Basically operating his own Ponzi scheme, Leviev — who’s real name is Shimon Hayut — is estimated to have scammed women out of $10 million.

The Tinder Swindler will make viewers think twice about meeting someone on a dating app. Well-focused and taut, The Tindler Swindler received high praise from critics who felt it was much stronger than most other true crime documentaries. While the nature of the crime is shocking alone, the film plays out beautifully while also being a damning look at the way men manipulate women and how apps like Tinder facilitate it.