An Almanac of Infamy

Even if you're not a gamer, I think you true crime fans will enjoy Body of Evidence . The new game, which comes out this winter, makes players race against the clock to clean up crime scenes and hide dead bodies. Kotaku writer and fellow murderino, Keoni Nguyen, has played a preview build of the game and says she's already hooked. If you're in search of something new to watch, check out the documentary Killing For Love . In the crowded genre of true crime docs, this one stands out. Released in 2016, it explores the double murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom and the doomed romance between their daughter Elizabeth and her fellow student Jen Söring. Decider calls it the best true crime doc you've never seen. Another must-watch for true crime fans is the "Buzzfeed Unsolved" series, which just started its new season on July 13. The series covers a variety of unsolved cases ranging from true crime to the supernatural, and whether you're a skeptic or a believ...

Big true crime news from Netflix! The streaming service recently announced that Ava DuVernay is set to write and direct a new narrative series about the Central Park Five case. The series's opening episode will take place in the spring of 1989 when five teenagers of color were coerced into confessing to the rape of a Central Park jogger and will cover the events that led to their conviction and eventual exoneration in 2014. Michael K. Williams (from The Wire ), Vera Farmiga (star of Bates Motel and The Conjuring ) and John Leguizamo are lined up to star in the series, which unfortunately we'll have to wait until next year to watch. Something we don't have to wait that long for is Investigation Discovery's new summer lineup. New shows include Dark Waters: Murder In The Deep , which will explore maritime crimes and Someone You Thought You Knew , which will explore murders committed by the people you'd least suspect. Fan favorites like Fatal Vows and Homicide Hun...

Hello, readers! It's been quite some time since my last True Crime Tidbits column, but now that I'm finally getting over an awful summer cold, it's time to dive back in. This week's biggest news, of course, involves the Netflix docuseries Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G . The series creator has called for the arrest of a former gangster who confessed on camera to his involvement in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Kyle Long says it's outrageous that Keffe D, who also spoke about his role in the Shakur murder in the Death Row Chronicles , is not sitting in prison. Many believe that Keffe D's nephew, Orlando Anderson, was the main shooter in the murder along with Keffe D and several other accomplices. KTNV , a Las Vegas news outlet, is reporting that an arrest in the case is imminent. Fans of Chris Pine will be pleased to know that he is teaming up again with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, this time for a project with true crime roots. T...

Mark your calendars, true crime buffs, because on July 24, Investigation Discovery premieres its new documentary, Bad Henry . This will be the first time that the case of serial killer Henry Louis Wallace has been discussed at length on television. In the early '90s, Wallace murdered 10 young African-American women and many believe the status of his victims led the Charlotte, North Carolina, police department and the media to ignore the murders as they were being committed. At the time, the city was heavily divided by racial tensions. Over at Buzzfeed , Pier Dominguez takes a look at our obsession with moms who murder and compares the cases of Casey Anthony and Darlie Routier. And while it's not a true story, I think many of us, especially those of us who grew up in the 1980s, will be interested in a new movie coming out in August called Summer of '84 . The movie takes place in a small Oregon town where a serial killer is preying on teenaged boys. A group of teens dec...

One of my favorite feminist websites/magazines, Bustle , has also become one of my favorite sources for a true crime fix. Check out their current lists of creepy British documentaries and unsolved true crime docs . After you've finished bingeing, go outside and get some fresh air. If you're in Los Angeles take the Haunted Tales of Downtown L.A. tour. Over at The Outline , Rose Eveleth takes a look at internet sleuths and whether or not their crime-solving efforts ever really pay off. And if you have the chance, please tune in to my new twitch stream True Crime Review . Every Tuesday at 4 PM Eastern, I'll be discussing all the latest true crime and case updates and if there's something you'd like to hear discussed, please let me know here in the comments.

The subject of false confessions has been in the spotlight ever since the case of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey was featured in Making A Murderer . Many of Dassey's supporters believe that he was coerced by police into falsely confessing to taking part in the murder of Teresa Halbach. One might wonder why anyone would ever confess to a crime that they didn't commit, but it does happen, and it happens more often then one might think, according to another Netflix documentary, The Confession Tapes . While it hasn't received as much hype as Making A Murderer or The Staircase , The Confession Tapes is probably the most important true crime docuseries ever produced. It's a searing indictment of a system that is all too often in search of a quick fix instead of a true solution. In podcast news, How Stuff Works takes a look at the murky world of serial killer memorabilia. I highly recommend this essay by Dan Savage. It's a very interesting take on two very infamou...

If you've finished reading Michelle McNamara's amazing book I'll Be Gone In The Dark and are hungry for more, then I have good news for you. McNamara's writing partner Billy Jensen is now working on a memoir, Chase Darkness With Me that will also serve as a companion piece to the book he co-authored with McNamara. The book will detail Jensen's relentless work with homicide departments across the country to bring closure to cold cases. Another memoir in the works is that of child abduction survivor Shasta Groene . Readers may remember in 2005 when the entire nation was both captivated and horrified by the murder of Groene's mother, stepfather, and older brother. The perpetrator, Joseph Duncan, then kidnapped Shasta and her brother Dylan. Duncan later murdered Dylan while on the run. Groene says she is writing her story in an attempt to gain some peace in life, which she certainly deserves. She also hopes to produce a documentary. If you're a true crime ...

Dr. Donald Grant , a former government psychiatrist turned true crime writer, has been referred to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission by Queensland Health. The hospital has concerns about possible patient confidentiality breaches in Grant's newly published book Killer Instinct . In the book, Grant recounts the murderers he examined in a professional capacity. One such murderer was Rhys Austin. In 2010, Austin throttled his girlfriend Bianca Girven and left her for dead in a van. She died of her injuries the next day in the hospital. Austin was sent to a psychiatric hospital after being found by the courts to be of unsound mind and that's where he came in contact with Dr. Grant. He revealed to Grant several intimate details of Girven's last moments, including her last words. These details ended up in Grant's book and he was recently confronted by Bianca Girven's mother Sonia Anderson at a book reading. She expressed her outrage over the fact that she neve...

Director and screenwriter Deborah S. Esquenazi has launched her own production company, Myth of Monsters, to address stories and myths about women of color and the LGBTQ community. One project of particular interest to true crime fans is a planned adaptation of her documentary Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four . The 2016 doc tells the story of four women who were wrongfully convicted of rape in the "Satanic Panic" era and it helped to exonerate its subjects. Speaking of adaptations, here's a list of true crimes that would benefit from the Netflix treatment. And here's what it's like to be a re-enactor on one of those true crime shows that we all love.

Everybody's favorite thriller subscription service, Hunt A Killer, is teaming up with the Cold Case Foundation in hopes of solving real cases. For each box purchased, HAK will provide the foundation with the means to facilitate expert consultation, forensic assistance, officer training, funding and victim support. HAK is encouraging its members to spread the word about the Foundation and its mission. When you're not immersed in catching a fictional killer, try out these true crime podcasts from across the pond. I've listened to All Killa No Filla and highly recommend it. I'm eager to check out the others on the list. For you true crime bookworms out there, Dead Girls by Alice Bolin comes out on June 26. It's a collection of essays about our obsession with various dead girls both in fiction and in reality. Over at the Phoenix New Times , Bolin discusses her own obsessions that led her to write the book. And finally, if you haven't heard, the director o...

The Last Defense , premiering June 12 on ABC, will examine the conviction of Darlie Routier in the murder of her two sons. Routier has spent the last 20 years on Death Row and there has been a lot of debate over whether she committed the crimes. I have to admit, based on what I've heard about the case I'm one of those who doubt that they convicted the right person in this case so I'm really looking forward to her story being told. The series will also look at the case of Julius Jones, a former college student now on death row for the carjacking murder of a father of two. Over at Den of Geek Paradise Lost director Joe Berlinger discusses his new Starz docu-series Wrong Man . The series examines the case of Christopher Tapp, who confessed to a brutal sexual assault and murder. Many, including the victim's mother, believe that the confession was coerced. The series also profiles the cases of Evaristo Salas and Curtis Flowers. It should be noted that the newest season o...

True crime fans in Sacramento are in for a very special treat next week as Patton Oswalt is set to visit a Citrus Heights Barnes and Noble to discuss "I'll Be Gone In The Dark", written by his late wife Michelle McNamara. Oswalt has mentioned that he would love to sit down with Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, and ask him all of the questions that McNamara will never have the chance to ask. I think that would be amazing. If you're in the Toronto area, mark your calendars for the Toronto True Crime Film Festival on June 8th and June 9th. Five movies based on true crimes (including one of my favorites, Monster, starring Charlize Theron) will be screened and there will be three symposiums for discussion of the true crime genre. Sounds like a blast! If you'd prefer to Netflix and chill, the streaming service has got you covered in terms of true crime. These eight true crime shows are worthy of a rewatch if you've already seen them. ...