25 true crime documentaries to binge on Netflix

Swipe, swipe, swipe… It's not easy to find love online, so when Cecilie matches with a handsome billionaire playboy, she can't quite believe it when he turns out to be the man of her dreams. But dreams aren't reality and by the time she discovers this international businessman isn't who he says he is, it's too late. He's taken her for everything. Where this fairytale ends, a revenge thriller begins. Cecilie discovers his other targets and once they band together, they're victims no more: THE TINDER SWINDLER meets his match. From the producers of 'The Imposter' and 'Don't F**k with Cats', this riveting feature documentary follows as they uncover his true identity and fight to bring him to justice.

Jimmy Savile rose to prominence in a career spanning decades in the entertainment industry in the UK. He had raised millions for charity, been knighted by the Queen and achieved national treasure status by the time he died on the 29th October 2011. His funeral was broadcast live on the BBC. Since his death, independent investigations and those made by Scotland Yard uncovered that Savile had been a prolific and predatory sex offender, abusing hundreds of people, some as young as 5.To date, more than 450 allegations of sexual assault and abuse have been made against him. The documentary examines, through extensive archive footage, Savile's relationship with the British people, the establishment and the media to understand how he managed to fool an entire nation for so long.

In the paranoid world of cryptocurrency there's only one rule – Trust No One. So when Gerry Cotten, the CEO of Canada's largest Cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, dies in mysterious circumstances, he takes the password to $250 million of customers' funds to the grave.A group of horrified investors refuse to accept the official narrative. They believe Gerry's 'death' has all the hallmarks of an 'exit scam,' that he is still alive and has run off with their money. This is the thrilling story of their investigation into a dark world where no one and nothing is what it seems. Will they be able to unravel the mystery at the heart of Quadriga, find Gerry Cotten, and finally get their money back?

Chronicling the twists and turns of the largest police manhunt in British police history, this evocative four part series re-examines the crimes within the context of England in the late 1970s: a time of radical change, de-industrialisation, poverty, masculinity and misogyny, all of which contributed to the Ripper evading capture for so long.

After a video of a mysterious figure killing two kittens is posted online, a group of amateur online sleuths launches a risky manhunt to find and catch the killer. In an insane game of cat-and-mouse, they follow him around the world until they uncover his true identity, bringing them into a dark underworld.

Athlete A follows the heart-breaking true story of Maggie Nichols and other USA gymnasts as they were betrayed by USA Gymnastics, the organisation that should have been keeping them safe. Led by reporters from The Indianapolis Star, this documentary gives an inside look at how Dr Larry Nassar's sexual abuse of young gymnasts was exposed, landing him behind bars.

34-year-old Shanann Watts and her two young daughters went missing in Colorado in 2018. This documentary, led entirely by archival footage and social media posts, pieces together the hours and days after their disappearance, giving a voice to the victims for the first time.

This six-part Netflix documentary series reflects on how some of the most dramatic and memorable trials in recent history have been transformed into a form of entertainment by the media.

In 2004, 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was arrested for the murder of a 43-year-old man who had picked her up for sex. Tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison, Cyntoia's fate seemed sealed, but in 2019 – after a decade of legal challenges – Governor Bill Haslam granted her request for clemency.

After being charged as a teenager in the 1993 killing of a Boston police officer, Sean K Ellis faces his fourth trial as he fights to prove his innocence and expose the corrupt system that put him away for over two decades.

Told through interviews with friends, former teammates, and insiders to the case, this docu-series looks at how NFL star Aaron Hernandez went from a rising American football player to a convicted killer.

This shocking, heart-breaking series looks at how the case of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez was able to fall through the cracks of the LA government systems that were there to protect him, despite multiple reports to authorities and warning signs.

Abducted in Plain Sight is a wild ride, so buckle up. The story starts in 1974 when 12-year-old Jan Broberg is abducted from her small community in Idaho by a trusted neighbour and close family friend. She's then returned home to her parents...only to be adducted again by the same man. It'll shock you the whole way through.

Child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was killed in her family home in Boulder, Colorado in 1996 at only six years old. A handwritten ransom note was found in the house and her father found her body in their basement eight hours after she was reported missing, but her murder has never been solved. This documentary explores the case two decades later.

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a case that most of us are familiar with as the tragedy was felt around the world. This documentary series looks into the details of the 3-year-old's disappearance from the seaside resort of Praia de Luz, Portugal while on holiday with her family.

In November 1992, three girls — Miriam García Iborra, Antonia "Toñi" Gómez Rodríguez and Desirée Hernández Folch — in Valencia, Spain were kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered after hitchhiking a ride to a nearby nightclub. This Spanish docu-series looks into new interviews and evidence to try to shine light on their murders.

This documentary picks up 40 years after six people were convicted for two unusual murders in Iceland, proving that confessions aren't always what they seem.

Before being caught in 1978, notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was able to hide in plain sight for years while committing the horrific rapes and murders of more than 30 women. This documentary allows us to get inside the head of one of America's worst killers in a way never before possible by showing exclusive, never-before-heard interviews with Bundy himself.

American serial killer Henry Lee Lucas was convicted of murdering eleven people between 1960-1983; however, he rose to infamy after confessing to hundreds of murders to the Texas Rangers. This documentary tries to find the truth about how many people he was guilty of killing.

This six-part documentary, based on John Grisham's best-selling book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, focuses on two murders that shook the small town of Ada, Oklahoma in the 1980s.

In 2001, Kathleen Peterson, wife of novelist Michael Peterson, was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their family home. Michael claimed she fell down the stairs, but the medical examiner determined she had been beaten with a weapon, leading to Michael becoming a murder suspect. This series, which began in 2005 and was then updated in 2013 and 2018, follows the investigation of Michael Peterson for his wife's murder.

This documentary looks at the way the rich are able to get richer through stories of scandal and corruption — including the shady deals in Donald Trump's empire.

It's a story we're all familiar with — American study abroad student Amanda Knox is is accused of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher. This documentary explores the infamous case that shocked the world.

This docu-series was filmed over a 10-year period and tells the real-life story of DNA exoneree Steven Avery who finds himself the prime suspect of a murder investigation while in the middle of exposing corruption within local law enforcement.

Part two picks up where part one left off, this time with a focus on Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey.

This documentary focuses on the mysterious disappearance of Carole Packman, who vanished without a trace in 1985, and the man convicted of her murder — her husband.

This documentary tells the real-life story of Debra Newell, who falls in love with serial con-man John Meehan.

This is a fictionalised version of the story of Debra Newell and John Meehan. Newell is played by Connie Britton and her amazing hair, so it's definitely worth a watch.

In 1994, American footballer and actor O.J. Simpson was charged with the murder of his wife, Nicole. This dramatisation of the murder trial looks at both sides.

Based on true events, this series tells the story of FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they found the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and begin to investigate the minds of serial killers with help from psychologist Wendy Carr. They meet and interview notorious serial killers, such as Ed Kemper, Montie Rissell, and Jerry Brudos.

Season two picks up where season one left off, and sees Agent Ford focuses on the Atlanta Child Murders in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1980s.

This documentary tells the crazy-but-true story of John Demjanjuk, a retired Ukranian-American autoworker living in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio in the 1980s with his wife and children, who is accused by Holocaust survivors of being 'Ivan the Terrible,' a notorious Nazi death camp guard who is known for torturing and killing nearly 1 million Jewish prisoners.

In 1997, Gianni Versace is shot in front of his Miami mansion by Andrew Cunanan. This fictionalised version of the facts looks at defining moments in Andrew Cunanan's life, starting in childhood and leading up to his murder spree.

When a controversial guru builds his utopian city in the Oregon desert, the local ranchers are none too happy. This documentary shows the conflict between the two, which led to the first bioterrorism attack in the US.

Known as the 'pizza bomber heist,' this four-part documentary tells the story of a botched robbery and horrifying murder in Erie, Pennsylvania that captured the world's attention.

In November 1969, Sister Cathy Cesnik, a beloved Catholic nun and high school teacher, went missing. Two months later, he body was found and her murder has never been solved. This seven-part documentary tells the story of her death and the secrets it uncovered.

18-year-old Alex Lewis wakes up from a coma after being in a motorcycle accident and can't remember anything — his home, his parents, his name. The only thing he remembers is his identical twin brother, Marcus, who he relies on to teach him everything. But Marcus leaves a dark family secret out of the story he tells Alex and now, after decades of lying, he comes clean to his twin brother.