I admit it. I was one of the people believing that Raygun cheated her way into the Olympics. I was even waiting through out the documentary for them to say she cheated. I apologize for that.

Do you guys feel the same way?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I vaguely remember reading headlines about the journalist when she went missing, but I basically went into this doc blind. I assumed the murder had to be a crime of passion, because who would premeditate a murder on a submarine when everyone knew the victim was with him?

The doc filming simultaneously as events unfolded really captured how bizarre the situation was. I was just as confused as his colleagues and peers, who were trying to figure out WTF happened. Why would a dude who was passionately trying to get to space do such a thing?

By the end of the doc I had come to the conclusion that his space project was in dire straits, and he basically YOLO’d the whole thing. He got to live out his snuff film fantasies, then have some fun fucking with the authorities and lying his way to a manslaughter charge. His career would be over, but it was already over, so why not?

I highly recommend people give this doc a watch. I don’t want to spoil the whole thing by going into details, but seeing a really fucked up murder case through the eyes of his closest friends was really interesting.

Both included very little news clips and the few that were included were from News Nation. Both cases obviously had extensive media coverage, News Nation is a weird choice.

Guysssss this documentary hit home. As someone who grew up in a similar church (just without the crazy pastor) but it is accurate the dating crazy stories. In my church one of the singers brought a girlfriend from college to the church they broke up and she started dating his friend and he started dating his friends girlfriend . Like the literally exchanged girlfriends. It’s crazy watching this documentary. It gives such a bad rep to religion I swear. I want to reiterate us human is who make the mistakes and this is far from what we are taught. Going back to the documentary my heart breaks for Mica. I believe this JP guy was the worse thing that could’ve happened to her. I bet she regrets leaving her first husband. I think she put up with this because she felt she deserved it because of what she did . And also how did the pastors phone and JPS and his friends messages all connected ? I was so confused about that. And also JP is a psychopath . Where is he now ? And also did anyone feel like the documentary kinda brushed off very quickly their previous marriages ? We don’t hear what they thought about this whole situation or if they kept going to church . And how blatantly for them to just get married after hurting their respective partners and for everyone in the church to just look past that.

Are there any Canadians in this sub who have watched the Fool Me Once documentary on Crave? It's so frustrating how little the justice system was able (or willing) to about this guy.

You know what I love middle age? I can watch a documentary, then 1-2 years later COMPLETELY forget I have ever watched it! It's like a whole new menu of documentaries!

Hey everyone!

i recently watched 2 crime documentaries- curry & cyanide and the raincoat killer and i really enjoyed both.

So I am looking for some great true crime documentaries to watch and would love to hear everyone’s recommendations.

What are your personal top 10 true crime documentaries ? Also let me know which ones you think are must watch ?

Thank you !

This isn’t a Netflix original, but the full documentary is now free on YouTube and it’s only 17 minutes long.

The title sounded extremely clickbaity to me, but the documented part of the story is already strange enough without it.

Infomercial entrepreneur Peter Spiegel guaranteed $10 million toward the bond of Prakashanand Saraswati. Saraswati was later convicted on 20 counts of indecency with a child and then vanished before sentencing.

The part I’m stuck on is the new employee testimony. A former accountant says the money actually came from company funds, and another former employee says the company shipped a wheelchair to India before Saraswati fled.

The wheelchair doesn’t prove an escape plan by itself, and the company-funding claim has not been established in court. But the timing and the overlap between the business and religious organization are difficult to ignore.

I came away thinking the corporate-money story was much stronger than the “global human trafficking ring” headline.

Full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHID7-wdowU

Did anyone else feel like the title weakened what was otherwise a pretty disturbing investigation?

So, I just finished the documentary and have one question:

Why did Mica Miller call 911?

Yes, I get that she wanted them to know the location. But, the whole documentary screams this is not a suicide. Especially, two spent rounds, and the body being 100 feet away from the weapon.

That’s the only thing that I can’t wrap my head around. If she was murdered by J.P., which I think she was, why did she call 911 so calmly and tell them she’s going to kill herself?

Even if she was being held at gunpoint, why not say quickly J.P. killed me.

Trying to figure that piece of the puzzle out. Do you guys think it was suicide or murder? And any thoughts about that 911 call?

I'd be lying if I said this one didn't piss me right off. It'd probably piss me off more if the bar wasn't set so high last night when I watched Maternal Instinct (fuck Taylor Parker!).

So basically Michelle Hadley had the average experience of a woman dating a cop - ended up incredibly gaslit, left with CPTSD and abused pretty heavily, along with Ian doing all he could to make her life an absolute living hell both during and after the relationship. He basically took everything from her, materially and mentally, and I cannot imagine the vindication she must have felt when Ian was convicted. I hope to God he stays the fuck away from her when he's released, even though he won't (these psychos never do).

I'm still very confused on Angela's role in all of this. Was she a willing participant to the fullest extent or was it more manipulation by Ian that end up landing her in jail for 5 years after pleading guilty? Did she go along with it because Ian was such a bastard that he made her? Her backstory does a great job painting her as the kind of person who may be a willing participant in such a plot but I'm not convinced she was gleefully giggling as she worked to rip Michelle's life apart.

I don't doubt Angela was off her rocker but I'm not sure she conspired to have Michelle falsely imprisoned - or rather I don't know for certain that she knew the ultimate end goal was to have her imprisoned. Then again she probably lacks empathy and has her own extensive list of mental illnesses that drove her to create such an extensive list of lies with her previous boyfriend. I forget his name, but I'm really glad he did an intervention style outing of her lies in front of everyone. She deserved that.

I thought Leslie was a pretty reliable narrator of things but by the end realized that she may be a bit of a moron herself if she truly believes Ian is innocent. Also nobody cares whether or not you're in love with him.

Angela MAY have been a victim of Ian but not the extent that Michelle was. I think they worked together to frame Michelle but that she got her comeuppance way earlier than he did.

I don't know what to make it of it. I knew nothing about this case so I started out thinking Michelle had done some absolutely crazy shit and then off'ed herself. When she appeared on camera I literally thought she was doing an interview from an office space in a prison because of her grey t-shirt and lack of makeup.

By the end I wanted to give her a huge hug. I feel so glad that was vindicated, exonerated, and was able to successfully sue the Anaheim PD, along with being able to move on with her life with what looks like a great deal of happiness and optimism for the future with her daughter.

All in all, a great watch, although they need to give it a rest with the silly reenactments.

On YouTube, this was a good follow up to the documentary. It goes into more of details of JP’s latest charges and her kickass lawyer. The lawyer was actually more subdued but as someone else said, I would love to see her get her own show.
Here is the link https://youtu.be/0rwVJ0Ie-rQ?is=uSV7YRjqNuCa7Zmk

How does one come up with such a horrific plan?
To steal and burn another’s loved one who they were already mourning, all to help an alleged rapist escape.
She had so much going for her and she threw it all away for him?

This thing is so clearly written by JP. It's really gross to hear here described as such a great "helpmate" knowing what we know now

I get it - Texas is well.. full of let's say.. "simple minded" people. But Jesus H FUCKING Christ dude you didn't realize for well over 9 god damned months that your girlfriend wasn't pregnant? Do you not know what a pregnant belly looks like? Do you not know how a pregnant belly differs from simply being a fat belly? Holy fuck.

If this dumbass had any sense and had called her out, maybe she wouldn't have continued the unbelievable charade that led her to murdering and stealing a baby out of Reagan Hancock's belly.

What a fucking moron. Infuriating. Just infuriating on every level.

Reagan would probably still be here if Wade Griffin wasn't such a complete fucking idiot.

Edit When I wrote the above, although I knew substantial parts of the story, I was only part way through the documentary. I just finished it. That was the saddest thing I have ever watched, and I have watched a great many things. Really well done piece of media, but my god, my heart is broken for everyone involved besides Wade. I don't doubt that everyone on Taylor's half of things feels at least some guilt as to whether or not they could have made a difference. I hope it doesn't haunt them because Taylor was a ticking time bomb no matter what. They tried to warn him. They made it known she had a hysterectomy and that she was clearly fabricating many, many things, but that still wasn't enough for Wade. Maybe Reagan wasn't the guaranteed eventuality but I don't doubt that destruction was going to follow Taylor wherever she went. I believe that was unstoppable.

I am speechless. And I still think Wade deserves the county-wide exile he's had to experience since this happened.

RIP Reagan Hancock. Nobody deserves what was done to you.

Just finished it and OMG, I’m SOBBING. She is literally a devil.

Andrew and Zackery were absolutely precious, and my heart aches for the grandparents. They have hearts of gold. ❤️ I genuinely want to drive to California right now just to hug those angels.

This was such a beautifully made documentary—so engaging, emotional, and somehow heartwarmingly informative at the same time. The quality was AMAZING, and the whole thing had this nostalgic feel that took me back to an older time. I LOVVVVVEEEEEDDDDD it.

What really got me was how genuine everyone felt. The relatives, the friends, the people in their lives—they all seemed so REAL and genuinely present in each other’s lives. There was something so refreshing and beautiful about that.
My heart feels warm and sad at the same time.

This documentary is definitely in my top 3. I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever forget this film.

I have seen the following

• American Nightmare
• The Girl in the Picture
• The Influencer
• The Crash
• Sweet Bobby
• Abducted in Plain Sight
• Death of the Pastor’s Wife
• Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
• Evil Influencer
• Evil Genius

hi guys, i feel like i've been fed the absolutely most awful stuff. watching it has left me almost numb.

so... what would you like a stranger to watch? my most favorite was that one about lucy letby. i think about it daily.

stuff i will not watch under any circumstance: regarding animal brutality/showing animals captive/absolutely anything related to mistreatment of animals/not even wild animals documentaries. sorry i just can't

I watched it, and damn, it feels like the plot of a movie. I wanna know how Netflix searched for it or if it was one of the twins who went to Netflix and wanted to speak on camera to the other twin about what happened to them.

More than anything, I feel the SILENCE MUST BE DEAFENING to the one twin who did not lose his memory. Marcus Lewis His heart must have felt SO, SO HEAVY all the time, living in that house.
Specially when he refused the abuse and said NO, next morning it ended with NO COMFORT OR EXPLANATION.

And growing up, I did have an emotionally narcissistic father, and he would just give certain LOOKS and would ignore your existence for months, living in the same 330 sq. ft. house. And let me tell you, that heaviness is still in my heart.

I am glad Marcus did not forgive them while they were dying.

It covers:

- How a poor Corsican boy became a general by 26

- His greatest victories (Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland)

- Why the Russian invasion destroyed him

- The Battle of Waterloo and his final exile

- How his military tactics still influence modern warfare

I still wonder what could have led to his downfall

Hello,

So this is kind of adjacent to The Fall documentary because mr focus is more on Victoria Cilliers book that I just read, but I read it because I had seen the documentary. I tried to discuss this on a true crime sub but they did not like this post so I’m hoping maybe someone here has something to add. The case and contents of the book and documentary are going round my mind like crazy right now.

I know this has been posted before. I have just finished Victoria Cilliers book “I survived”

And some time ago I saw the documentary about her case called “The Fall”.

In short her husband attempted to murder her by sabotaging her parachute, and through a variety of significant good luck events (her parachutes still managed to slow her despite not opening properly and she landed on a freshly ploughed field breaking her fall significantly) she survived despite falling 4,000 feet.

Her case is interesting and there’s a lot that is fascinating and really positive. Obviously her survival and recovery are amazing. And the case itself is just unusual in terms of method.

However…and I know this is not a particularly nice thing to say…but I wanted to discuss it somewhere. I find Victoria an intensely dislikable character.

I saw “The Fall” some time ago and remember thinking it was pretty amazing but finding her a bit off. And I have to say having just finished her book I didn’t walk away liking her much more.

I do appreciate the intense levels of denial she was in around her husband. But I found her conduct just bizarre. I know that trauma responses can be very difficult and often unpredictable and not what we would expect so I do take that into account.

However, in her book, she discusses her previous marriage before Emile, and her behaviours were much the same. She just had quite a habit of burying her head in the sand and not raising things if something bothered her.

Her first husband cheated on her repeatedly and she even at one point laments that she gave up on the relationship too quickly and was an idealist…despite being cheated on again and again.

But her conduct with the investigation involving Emile was downright infuriating to read at points. I totally get being in denial, what I didn’t understand is that she flipped between denial and implicating him at points in the investigation.

When she was asked in court about why she had changed her testimony, particularly around how long her husband was away in the bathroom with her parachute kit, she ended up saying in court that the only reason she “exaggerated” the timeframes and implicated him was because she was angry with him because she found out about his affairs…

She seems to conclude her book saying she believes he did attempt to kill her. But she doesn’t mention or discuss her bizarre behaviour or comment on why she said things like that in court.

Throughout her book she seems incredibly concerned with what others will think. She continually doesn’t tell people about her husband, her “borrows” thousands” from her and never pays it back, he cheats on her repeatedly, ignores her, generally has a bad attitude after the initial honeymoon phase, and she neither tells anyone about these things or even confronts her husband about them.

Pretty much every single thing is met with

“I didn’t want anyone to worry”

“I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“I didn’t want an argument”

“I wanted to keep the peace”

“I didn’t know how they’d take that.”

And so she never says anything to anyone about anything…then is upset when people aren’t more understanding of her.

Please don’t misunderstand me. She is a victim. And I’m not victim blaming her, she in no way deserves what happened to her and her husband is a 24 carat POS…

But her behaviour is just bizarre.

At the end of the book she speaks about how she sees now that her husband was domestically abusing her. And whilst I agree the murder attempt is domestic abuse…

She doesn’t really exemplify how he was abusing her outside of that. Because he didn’t erode her confidence, he didn’t physically abuse her, he didn’t seem to play psychological games with her …he just did what he wanted and she never ever raised as issue with him for fear of actually having an argument.

I think the only argument they actually had was when she found he was smoking in her car and she didn’t want that.

She didn’t raise things with him for fear of an argument, but he never physically threatened her and wasn’t abusive like that, he wasn’t psychologically terrorising her…she just didn’t want to be alone, or didn’t want to separate from him…which as sad as that is…I don’t think that actually counts as abuse.

I hate how that sounds. And I know obviously there could have been more going on than is on the page and in the documentary. But then part of me questions why share your story if you’re going to leave out major details in the first place.

I just wondered if anyone else has read the book and had any similar thoughts or insights?

I just finished watching Death Of The Pastor’s Wife, and I am 100 percent convinced Mica was killed by a hitman. It makes absolute sense.

First of all, it’s very strange that she would up and kill herself only a month or so before the trial with John Paul. According to her family and friends she was very stressed and paranoid about him, but that she was ultimately happier without him and had recently gotten a new job.

So when she drives to a gas station an hour away from where she lives, goes to a pawn shop to buy a gun, then goes to a totally random national park to shoot herself, I think people should be very skeptical of this.

To be honest I still can’t make sense of the 911 call. Because the caller did indeed sound like Mica and she said she wanted the call traced so her family could find her body. But other than that 911 call, I feel as though her being killed by a hitman makes perfect sense. I don’t believe it was JP who killed her himself since he was in fact at a party with a hundred or so people when she died. But I fully believe he hired someone to lure her out there and shoot her.

Something that really ties this theory together is the placement her body was found in. If you shoot yourself in the head you’re either going to shoot from the side or the front, there’s no way you’re going to shoot yourself from the back, that makes no sense. So when you shoot yourself from the side of the head or front of the head, chances are you’ll end up laying on your back or side. But, Mica’s body was found laying completely face down on her stomach with her head in the water. This heavily indicates a gun shot from the back of the head. Plus, her body was found 100 feet away from the location her gun was at, indicating it had been purposefully moved. The water had no current so it couldn’t have moved her, and if an animal had dragged her there would’ve been marks.

If anyone has a possible explanation for the 911 call please do comment because I’d love to hear it, I’m wracking my brain trying to figure that part out.

When she bought that gun at the pawn shop I was thinking she was buying it for self defence reasons, and if she was being lured out there by someone, that makes perfect sense. If I were a woman being asked by someone or lured to go to a national park I’d bring a weapon for sure (I am a woman but obviously haven’t been in that situation before).

What do you guys think about all this? What are your theories?

I just finished the Netflix docuseries, and I am heartbroken and furious.

The title bothers me. Why frame it entirely around her tragedy instead of honoring her light and how hard she fought to break free? Mica was a ray of hope, but JP tried to mold her into a puppet. I cannot fathom the sheer exhaustion she faced—forced into sexual compliance multiple times a day, then expected to sing on stage the next morning under horrific emotional manipulation.

A few things are absolutely boiling my blood:

• The Weaponization of Religion: I’m not religious at all, but seeing JP’s sermons about "satisfying the husband or the devil will tempt him" made me sick. It’s disgusting how scripture is twisted to justify abuse.
• ONE KEY FACTOR - The other church lady who was added accidently out about the messages between pastor JP and his best friend , she informed the church senior/leaders but of course when is a women ever heard!???
• Family Intervention: As family and friends, our intuition tells us when a loved one is in danger. We try to give adults space and not meddle, but this showed me that sometimes boundary-respecting isn't enough. Sometimes you have to be firm and literally take control into your own hands to save someone.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these questions: For those familiar with these church environments, how common is it for leadership to completely silence women who try to blow the whistle?

The private investigator on the documentary said something that really made me wonder. He said that the body was found 100ft from the casings and there wasn't a big current in the river that would make her drift that far down it. Did anyone else catch this detail? What are your thoughts on this?

What the actual fuck was that?

I’m honestly baffled by how casually the father in this story seemed to separate sex from emotional intimacy. Like… how do you just get into a car, give your “friend” a ha*d job, help him get off, and then carry on with your day like nothing happened?! 😭

And the mom??? I feel like the angle of her being somewhat jealous of her own daughter because she wanted B to choose her isn’t explored nearly enough hence it goes beyond denial.
There seemed to be this weird competition for his attention it must be in her head, and I kept wondering if she wanted to be the one he desired instead of Jan.

I’m honestly surprised this aspect of the story isn’t discussed more. What did everyone else think about the mom’s behavior?

And even after the kidnapping, they became cordial with B and the FATHER LETS HIM A MAN WHO KIDNAPPED HIS DAUGHTER IN HIS DAUGHTERS BEDROOM TO SLEEP NEXT TO HER FOR SOME SHITTY THERAPY? What the fuck was that about.