True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines a crime and details the actions of people associated with and affected by criminal events.
Citizen X is a 1995 American television film which covers the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture an unknown serial killer of women and children in the 1980s, and the bureaucratic obstacles they encounter. The film is based upon the true story of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of 52 women and children committed between 1978 and 1990. It stars Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, and Max Von Sydow. The film is based on Robert Cullen's non-fiction book The Killer Department, published in 1993.
Charles Edmund Cullen is an American serial killer. Cullen, a nurse, murdered dozens—possibly hundreds—of patients during a 16-year career spanning several New Jersey medical centers until being arrested in 2003. He confessed to committing as many as 40 murders at least 29 of which have been confirmed; though interviews with police, psychiatrists and journalists suggest he committed many more. Researchers who are intimately involved in the case believe Cullen may have murdered as many as 400 people. However, most murders cannot be confirmed due to lack of records.
John Edward Douglas is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Joseph Berlinger is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such films as Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Crude, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger and Intent To Destroy: Death, Denial and Depiction.
Beverley Gail Allitt is an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering four infants, attempting to murder three others, and causing grievous bodily harm to a further six at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Lincolnshire between February and April 1991. She committed the murders as a State Enrolled Nurse on the hospital's children's ward.
Krysty Norma Lesley Wilson-Cairns is a Scottish screenwriter. Born and raised in Glasgow, she studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the National Film and Television School. During her teenage years, she was a runner on television series including the detective show Taggart. Her script for the unproduced science fiction thriller Aether made the 2014 Black List and led to a staff writer role on the television show Penny Dreadful. Her feature film debut was the screenplay for the Sam Mendes-directed 2019 war film 1917. She co-wrote it with Mendes and received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The Pembrokeshire Murders is a Welsh three-part television drama miniseries based on the Pembrokeshire murders by Welsh serial killer John Cooper. In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins decided to reopen two unsolved 1980s murder cases linked with a string of burglaries. New advances in technology for forensic DNA analysis, witness reports and artists impressions of the suspect led to Dyfed-Powys Police reviewing a 1989 episode of Bullseye, which led to the serial killer finally being caught. It premiered on ITV on 11 January 2021.
The Good Nurse is a 2022 American drama film starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne and features the serial killer Charles Cullen and the fellow nurse who suspects him. The film is based on the 2013 true-crime book of the same name by Charles Graeber. It is directed by Tobias Lindholm and written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The film also stars Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens, and Noah Emmerich.
The Serpent is a British crime drama serial developed by Mammoth Screen and commissioned by the BBC. The eight-part limited series is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix. It is based on the crimes of serial killer Charles "the Serpent" Sobhraj, who murdered young tourists from 1975 to 1976. The series stars Tahar Rahim in the lead role as Sobhraj.
Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer is a 2021 American four-part true crime documentary miniseries about the serial killer Richard Ramirez. The series was executive produced by Tiller Russel, Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman and Tim Walsh.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness is a 2021 docuseries that premiered on Netflix on May 5, 2021. The show profiles Maury Terry, a journalist who spent 40 years trying to prove that the notorious serial killer David Berkowitz did not act alone. The series is directed by Joshua Zeman and features Paul Giamatti as the voice of Maury Terry.
Catching Killers is a true crime docuseries produced by RAW, released on Netflix on November 4, 2021. The series follows police and prosecutors as they investigate, arrest and convict the world's most violent killers.
Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes is a British documentary film created for Netflix and directed by Michael Harte. The film details the life and murders of Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen, first-hand through audiotapes which were recorded from his jail cell.
Indian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi is an Indian Netflix true crime docuseries which premiered on 20 July 2022. Produced by VICE India and directed by Ayesha Sood, The Butcher of Delhi explores both the police investigation and the motives of Chandrakant Jha, a serial killer who, in 2006–2007, left three decapitated victims outside the Tihar Jail accompanied by mocking notes.
Charles Graeber is an American journalist and author. He published two nonfiction books in the 2010s. He wrote the 2013 book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder about the serial killer Charles Cullen, which was a follow-up to his 2007 article for New York magazine about Cullen, and the 2018 book The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer about cancer immunotherapy.
Amy Loughren is an American reiki master and former registered nurse who is known for assisting in the arrest and prosecution of serial murderer Charlie Cullen.
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder is a 2013 true-crime book about Charles Cullen, a nurse and convicted serial killer, written by American journalist and author Charles Graeber. Graeber documents how Cullen was able to move several times within the health care system in the Northeast of the United States and how police detectives, with the help of a confidential informant, Amy Loughren, were able to bring him to justice. The book also reveals the institutional and moral shortcomings of hospitals and administrators, who enabled Cullen to move from place to place in order to protect bottom lines instead of caring for the well-being of patients. The book is a follow-up to Graeber's 2007 New York magazine article about Cullen.
Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes is a limited true crime docuseries created and directed by Joe Berlinger for Netflix. It is the third installment in the Conversations with a Killer series and succeeds Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. The series depicts the murder spree of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered, dismembered and cannibalized 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 in Wisconsin. The story is told through archival audio footage recorded during Dahmer's incarceration. It was released on October 7, 2022.
