10 True Crime Cases That Need a Netflix Doc Yesterday

You’ve stayed up too late with Making a Murderer, questioned your moral compass during Don’t F**k With Cats, and side-eyed every staircase since The Staircase. But those were just the hits. The greatest true crime stories haven’t hit your screen yet—they’re buried in court transcripts, whispered on podcasts, or shoved into a single episode of Unsolved Mysteries and then forgotten. These ten twisted cases? They aren’t just worthy of a Netflix deal—they’re begging for one. Sure, some have gotten the occasional spotlight on 48 Hours or in a book, but it’s time for a deep dive, start to finish. Because if you think Tiger King was wild… you haven’t seen anything yet. 

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This list includes references to extreme violence, torture, sexual assault, and crimes involving minors. Proceed with caution. ⚠️

NUMBER 10- The Circleville Letters – Anonymous, Unrelenting, and Still Unsolved

In small-town Ohio, someone started sending poison pen letters in 1977—accusations, threats, and blackmail scrawled in blocky handwriting. They knew everything. Mary Gillispie was the main target, but no one was safe—teachers, officials, even school buses weren’t off limits. Then things escalated: a booby-trapped sign with a loaded gun, a wrongful conviction, and a town that turned on itself in a haze of suspicion. The accused man went to prison, the letters kept coming, and the writer? Never caught. Was it revenge? Paranoia? Or a puppet master pulling strings for two decades? Either way, Circleville deserves its own Netflix doc—and then some.

NUMBER 9- The Disappearance of Brandon Swanson – One Call, One Expletive, and Then Nothing

Brandon Swanson drove into a ditch in rural Minnesota after a night out in 2008, called his parents for help, and stayed on the phone with them for 47 minutes as they tried to find him. He was calm. Clear. Kept talking. Then suddenly: “Oh, shit.” And silence. His phone went dead, and Brandon was never seen again. His car was found 25 miles from where he said he was. Dogs traced his scent to a river—then across it. No body. No signs of foul play. Just vanished. It’s a quiet case, but one of the most chilling, unsolved disappearances of our time. And yes, a state law had to be passed just to make sure police actually look for missing adults now. If that doesn’t scream docuseries potential, nothing does.

NUMBER 8- The Eriksson Twins – Folie à Deux on the Freeway

Identical twins Ursula and Sabina Eriksson ran into oncoming traffic on a UK motorway twice—on camera—after claiming people were trying to steal their organs. Sabina survived the collision, was released the next day, and within 24 hours fatally stabbed a Good Samaritan who had taken her in. There were no drugs. No alcohol. Just one of the most baffling, terrifying shared psychosis cases ever caught on film. Diagnosed with folie à deux, Sabina served just five years for the killing, and to this day, no one fully understands what the hell happened. If this story were fictional, you’d say it was too far-fetched. But it’s all real—and somehow still hasn’t gotten the prestige doc treatment it deserves.

NUMBER 7- The Setagaya Family Murders – The Killer Who Stayed for Ice Cream

On New Year’s Eve 2000, an entire family—Mikio, Yasuko, and their two young children—was brutally murdered in their Tokyo home. But it’s what happened after the murders that’s truly haunting: the killer stayed for hours. Ate their ice cream. Used their computer. Treated his wounds. And then disappeared without a trace. Despite DNA, fingerprints, and bizarre clues (including sand from California and unflushed feces), no suspect has ever been found. With international mystery, eerie details, and the quiet horror of a killer making himself comfortable in the home of the dead, this case is tailor-made for a prestige docuseries that will keep viewers up at night—and checking their windows.

NUMBER 6- The Keddie Cabin Murders – A Slaughter in the Sierras with Too Many Secrets

In 1981, a mother, her teenage son, his friend, and eventually her daughter were murdered in a remote California cabin so viciously, it looked ritualistic—except the real horror might be how badly the investigation was bungled. Sue Sharp, her son John, and his friend Dana were found bound, beaten, and stabbed in Cabin 28. Tina Sharp vanished that night and wasn’t found for three years. The suspects? A neighbor with a missing hammer who wrote a confession-letter-that-wasn’t, and a known mob associate. Evidence? Mishandled. Witness sketches? Drawn by a guy with no training. This is the kind of case that makes you side-eye every rural sheriff’s department and demand a Netflix doc that starts with, “So, about that hammer in the pond...”

NUMBER 5- Jenelle Potter – The Facebook Feud That Ended in Murder

Jenelle Potter wasn’t your average small-town girl—sickly, isolated, and sheltered to the extreme, she lived more online than off. But when a petty social media feud spiraled out of control in Mountain City, Tennessee, two people were executed in their home while holding their baby. The killer? Jenelle’s father. But behind it all was an imaginary CIA agent named “Chris” who sent thousands of emails... emails that all traced back to Jenelle’s own IP address. Using fake identities and parental paranoia, Jenelle orchestrated a revenge plot so convoluted it sounds fictional—but it’s very real, and very deadly. 20/20 gave it airtime, but this digital-era tragedy of manipulation, obsession, and murder deserves the deepest dive streaming can offer.

NUMBER 4- Diane Downs – The Mother Who Shot Her Children to Win a Man

In 1983, Diane Downs pulled over on a quiet Oregon road and shot her three children—killing one, paralyzing another, and leaving the third with a stroke. Then she shot herself in the arm and spun a tale about a “bushy-haired stranger” carjacking gone wrong. The truth? Downs wanted to be free of her kids so she could pursue a married lover who didn’t want children. The case that followed had everything: courtroom gasps, a daughter’s damning testimony, a jailhouse escape, and a parole board that’s still slamming the door shut. Downs remains one of the most cold-blooded killers to ever feign a mother’s love—and somehow she still claims she’s innocent. Small Sacrifices covered the case decades ago, but a full documentary treatment? Long overdue.

NUMBER 3-Margaret Anderson – The Night the Back Forty Became a Killing Floor

On the night after Christmas in 1983, Margaret Anderson walked into a bar in Green Bay, Wisconsin—and into the hands of monsters. What started as a drunken scuffle ended in one of the most horrifying, sadistic murders in the state’s history. Beaten, tortured, raped, and mutilated by members of two biker gangs over the course of hours, Anderson’s final moments were a blur of cruelty and snow. The case went cold, until years later America’s Most Wanted aired the story—and one of the killers was recognized within days. All four men were eventually convicted, but most served barely two decades before walking free. It’s the kind of case the public barely remembers—but it should never be forgotten. And it deserves a documentary that doesn’t flinch.

NUMBER 2- The Ant Hill Kids – The Cult So Vile It Makes Every Other Cult Look Mild

Led by a drunk self-proclaimed prophet named Roch Thériault—who went by Moïse because of course he did—this Canadian cult was a grotesque blend of end-times paranoia, sexual violence, and torture masquerading as religion. Thériault claimed he could perform miracles, but what he really performed were amateur surgeries, mutilations, and assaults on his own followers—including children. One woman had her arm amputated. Another follower died after he ripped out part of her intestines and attempted to resurrect her by ejaculating on her exposed brain. This isn’t just one of the most twisted cults in Canadian history—it’s one of the most sadistically surreal cases ever recorded. How this hasn’t become a prestige miniseries is beyond me… and maybe that’s mercy.

NUMBER 1- The Hello Kitty Murder – A Real-Life Horror So Unthinkable, It Sounds Made Up

In 1999 Hong Kong, a young woman named Fan Man-yee was abducted, tortured for weeks, and ultimately killed by a group led by a triad member—over a stolen wallet. Her remains? Dismembered, boiled, and partially stuffed inside a Hello Kitty mermaid plushie. No, that’s not a metaphor. This case blends drugs, cult-like sadism, and a level of depravity that even the courts called “unprecedented.” The girl who helped led investigators to the body was 14. The verdict? Manslaughter. And somehow, despite all that, this nightmare has never gotten the Netflix treatment it so chillingly deserves.

So, what do you think—did I miss any twisted tales that scream for a streaming deal? Which of these unsolved, underexposed, or just plain unbelievable cases would you want to see turned into a full-blown documentary first? Drop your thoughts, theories, and personal Netflix pitches in the comments. Because let’s face it: the true crime queue is never long enough, and justice—much like a greenlit docuseries—sometimes needs a little public pressure.

Case closed.🔍 Verdict delivered. ⚖️

Stay hydrated.💧  Don’t let the Hollywood decide which victims matter.🎬

🕵️‍♀️The Emerald Sleuth, calling it a night. 💚