Published 12:19 14 Sep 2024 GMT+1
Harrowing true story behind 'tragic' new Netflix true crime documentary which left viewers divided
The new Netflix documentary follows a woman's 10-year search
Jess Battison
I know we’re only halfway through but what a month of bangers on Netflix September has been.
From everyone getting obsessed with The Perfect Couple to the addition of 2023’s ‘creepiest film', we’ve had plenty of things to watch.
Others might be scratching their true crime itch with one of the latest documentaries.
And a ‘tragic’ new one in particular has a harrowing story behind it, leaving some viewers divided.
'Tragic' new Netflix true crime documentary
Credit: Netflix
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Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter landed on Netflix on Thursday (12 September) and is co-produced by star Charlize Theron.
The documentary follows Cathy Terkanian who, 35 years after giving her daughter up for adoption, receives the devastating news that she is ‘missing and feared dead’.
“With the support of an amateur detective and local authorities, Cathy begins an exhaustive ten-year mission to uncover the truth about her daughter's fate, delving deep into the shadowy realm of missing persons,” the synopsis explains.
In 2010, the woman was told that her daughter had disappeared from her adoptive home back in 1989 and she goes onto a 10-year search to find out what happened.
She spent 10 years searching for answers (Netflix)During the documentary, Terkanian learns her daughter was renamed Aundria Michelle Bowman and was adopted by Dennis and Brenda Bowman.
She connects with a woman who believes the man looked like the same person who kidnapped her as a child (which can never be proven) and also with people who were friends with Aundria growing up. One claimed that her adoptive father would hit her.
In 2019, Dennis was arrested and confessed to the murder of a local woman in 1980 and footage from his meeting with his wife is included in the doc.
He tells her: “Aundria’s dead. She’s been dead from the start.”
The man reveals he got into an argument with the daughter and when she tried to run away, he hit her and she fell backwards down the stairs.
The daughter had been tragically murdered (Netflix)Dennis says he cut her legs off and stuffed the remains in a barrel which he put out with his neighbour’s rubbish. But he changes this story in letters while in prison and it is revealed the barrel with the remains was buried in their back garden.
In February 2022, Dennis was sentenced to second degree murder.
With all of this playing out in the documentary, viewers called Terkanian a ‘incredible titan of a human’ and say: “A mother’s intuition is like no other.”
Many said it’s the ‘most riveting documentaries’ and is ‘guaranteed to make you want to throw bricks through a few windows’.
However, there has been the odd complaint that Terkanian ‘repeats herself’ a lot.
One user on Reddit wrote: “The facts of the case are sad, the story quite riveting. I did have a couple of moments where I realised why editors say ‘less is more. U said that already. U don’t have to keep hitting the readers over the head w a hammer again and again’ when the bio mom kept repeating how mad she was… I get that her tenacity is what 1. Probably solved the case and 2. Was the arc for the movie but had they trimmed about 20-30 min of her talking, I think it would have been stronger.”
You can watch Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter on Netflix.Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Documentaries, True Crime
Jess Battison
Published 16:12 9 Feb 2024 GMT
Netflix viewers urge people to watch new 'absolute mind f**k' true crime documentary that dropped today
The true crime doc explores a deadly love triangle
Jess Battison
Every now and again there’s a new drop on Netflix that gets the group chats spiking up.
And today (9 February) there’s a new documentary that’s got viewers gripped already as they call it an ‘absolute mind f**k’.
This new true crime Netflix doc explores a love triangle gone very, very wrong. Watch the trailer here:
Lover Stalker Killer Official Trailer
Credit: Netflix
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Lover, Stalker, Killer landed on Netflix this morning and brings viewers into the ‘tension and paranoia of Dave Kroupa’s four-year nightmare’.
Mechanic Dave had recently come out of a long-term relationship when he decided to dip his toes into the world of dating.
And what led from there ended up being much more deadly than just a bit of ghosting.
The American bloke met single mum Liz Golyar online but after seeing each other regularly, told her he wasn’t ready to commit.
Later, he met another single mum, Cari Farver, when she walked into his auto shop to have her car fixed up. This time, he instantly felt a connection.
NetflixAfter one of their early dates, Cari was leaving Dave’s apartment when Liz passed her on the hallway – claiming she was stopping by to pick up her things.
That meeting then led to a ‘twisted, tragic love triangle that put Dave and everyone he cared about at risk’.
After weeks of dating Cari, she disappeared but remained in contact with the mechanic, sending him threatening texts.
The story gets a whole lot darker and it was determined years later that Cari had actually been murdered.
Lover, Stalker, Killer uses interviews of those involved as well as ‘vivid re-enactments’ to assemble the pieces of ‘a mind-bending true tale of harassment, digital deception, and murder in America’s heartland’.
NetflixViewers are already raving about it on X as they write: “Omgg yall gotta watch lover, stalker, killer on Netflix.”
And one wrote: “Lover, Stalker, Killer on Netflix is an absolute mind f**k holy sh*t," while another simply put: “Lover, Stalker, Killer wtf.”
Others warned people to ‘get ready for a wild ride’ as people called it ‘pure insanity’ that’s ‘definitely’ worth watching.
One posted: “Lover, Stalker, Killer is a shocking and disturbing documentary.”
Another said: “Add this to your queue quick fast!”
As others echoed: “Y’all need to watch Lover, Stalker, Killer on Netflix. The plot twist got me shocked af.”
And one even called it ‘probably one of the best I’ve seen so far.”
You can stream Lover, Stalker, Killer on Netflix.Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Documentaries, Netflix, Sex and Relationships, True Crime
Jess Battison
Updated 15:57 20 May 2024 GMT+1Published 15:39 20 May 2024 GMT+1
True story behind twisted new Netflix documentary that knocked Baby Reindeer off number one spot
The documentary reveals how the cheating was exposed, and the aftermath
Joe Harker
For weeks now Baby Reindeer has dominated the Netflix viewing schedules, with Richard Gadd's harrowing account of being stalked hitting close to home for many viewers.
The fallout from the show has been quite substantial too, what with the furore over people tracking down the real 'Martha' despite Gadd's pleas not to.
Now, there's a documentary taking the top spot on Netflix (at least until Bridgerton showed up), and those involved have signed up to speak on it themselves as the true story of the scandal behind extramarital affairs website was revealed.
Baby Reindeer was top spot for weeks on the streaming site. (Netflix)Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal digs deep into the 2015 cyberattack on the affairs site which bore the phrase: "Life is short. Have an affair."
Some of the people who used the site for just that purpose ended up appearing on Netflix in person to try and explain what they'd been doing.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal - Trailer
Credit: Netflix
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For those not in the know about where to go if you want to cheat on your spouse, the website Ashley Madison was a dating site designed to cater to this niche.
This was apparently a popular enough niche that the site's user base grew to over 30 million people, and then in 2015 Ashley Madison got a warning from hackers who said they must shut it down or data about the people on the site would be released.
In 2015 a website for people who wanted to have an affair was hacked, releasing their data. (Netflix)That'd mean a lot of cheating was about to be exposed, as the data included people's email addresses, login details and payment information.
Basically, the information the hackers obtained could blow the lid off any anonymity the site attempted to provide, and throughout the Netflix documentary attention was drawn to messages on the dating site's page which claimed it was safe.
The release of data led to the exposure of celebrities, politicians, public figures and pretty much anyone and everyone who'd been on Ashley Madison, which resulted in some devastating consequences.
The documentary recounts that marriages were destroyed, reputations ruined and lives were even lost. (Netflix)The Netflix documentary recounts how marriages were destroyed and reputations ruined, as well as how some people even took their lives after the data was released.
The controversy and catastrophe surrounding the hack did not seem to slow the pace of the site's growth, as a report from 2020 claimed that the user base had grown to 70 million.
In the documentary, there are claims that many of the accounts for women on the site were actually fake.
People watching the documentary have been stunned to see the true story all put together, saying they were 'not prepared for just how f**ked up' it would be to watch and that they were 'rooting for the hackers'.
"Probably the most insane documentary I've ever seen, and I'm only 20 minutes in," was one viewer's verdict.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is available to stream now on Netflix.Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Documentaries, Netflix, Sex and Relationships, TV, US News, True Crime
Joe Harker
Published 15:59 10 Feb 2024 GMT
Netflix's new true crime documentary leaves viewers vowing to never use dating sites again
Viewers of Netflix's latest true crime documentary have vowed to stay away from dating apps
Joe Harker
If you were wanting some motivation to quit the dating apps ahead of Valentine's Day then all you need to do is watch Netflix's new true crime documentary.
It's only just released and viewers have been calling it an 'absolute mind f**k' as it tells the tale of a love triangle gone horribly wrong.
Watch the trailer:
Lover Stalker Killer Official Trailer
Credit: Netflix
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Lover, Stalker, Killer dropped on Netflix just yesterday (9 February) and follows the story of Dave Kroupa, who had just come out of a long-term relationship and decided to try online dating.
Pretty soon he was in touch with Liz Golyar and Cari Farver, kicking off a 'twisted, tragic love triangle that put Dave and everyone he cared about at risk'.
The true crime documentary uses interviews with those involved as well as dramatic re-enactments to tell the story, but it's left some viewers thinking they ought to get themselves off the apps.
NetflixIt's been described by viewers as 'one of the most mental true crime documentaries I have ever seen', and for good reason.
Someone else said they were 'NEVER signing up for those dating/hookup/romance kinda sites' after watching Lover, Stalker, Killer.
That kind of reaction is pretty unsurprising considering what happens in the documentary, which might make you think twice about getting on the apps and swiping away to your heart's content.
Of course the documentary pulls no punches as it delves into the truth of what really happened, as Farver ended up going missing before Dave got a series of angry messages from her phone.
Nobody saw Farver for weeks as she missed her son's birthday, Thanksgiving and her father's funeral.
NetflixAfter more than two years a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office investigator heard about the case and decided to re-examine the evidence.
Fresh eyes on the case uncovered the truth, Golyar murdered Farver and kept her phone to pose as her, with the murderer ultimately ending up serving a life sentence behind bars.
It was certainly a story that documentary director Sam Hobkinson found compelling.
He said: "We enter this story from the perspective of Dave, who is caught in a complete web of falsehood.
"I wanted the storytelling to somehow reflect that confusion, and ultimately, his total disbelief when he realizes what’s happened.
"As a director, it was a gift of a story, especially if you’re interested in making structured narratives that are about deception and identity."
Lover, Stalker, Killer is available to stream now on Netflix.Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, Documentaries, Sex and Relationships
Published 15:22 5 Jan 2024 GMT
Netflix true crime which left US viewers 'too scared to sleep' is finally dropping in UK this weekend
This should settle the true crime itch
Jess Battison
While Netflix might be full of recommendations for the Harlan Coben collection right now, you might be after something a little more real.
Sure, the new Fool Me Once is great for a binge but it doesn’t quite scratch that true crime itch.
But a series is set to drop on the streaming site that should definitely satisfy the true crime-heads.
It was released in the US back in 2022 and will finally land on UK Netflix this Sunday (7 January).
Watch the trailer here:
Netflix True Crime series coming to UK
Credit: Netflix
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The true crime show reportedly left US viewers ‘too scared to sleep’ when they watched it, as it is rather haunting.
It was actually released for us British viewers on Crime + Investigation back in October 2022 but is a Netflix production.
Titled I Am a Stalker, the documentary series quite literally is about, well, real-life stalkers.
The synopsis reads: “Convicted stalkers tell the programme, in their own chilling words, how love turned into a deadly obsession in face first, captivating in-depth interviews.”
During the documentary, convicted stalkers discuss their crimes on camera and some of them explain how their love turned into a deep obsession.
NetflixWhen it was originally released in the US, Netflix warned viewers to expect ‘harrowing accounts of harassment, abuse and other crimes’ not just from stalkers but also from their survivors.
Another description for the true crime hit reads: “The results of stalking range from the annoying (persistently receiving loads of email or letters) to the intrusive (being secretly watched or followed) to the most severe (kidnapping and/or murder).”
I Am a Stalker became one of the most watched crime series in the US when it was initially launched on Netflix and even put viewers off dating.
NetflixOne wrote on X: “Y’all, I’m watching #IAmAStalker on Netflix and y’all…I’m totally A-OK with never dating ever again. I’m good.”
Another put: “One of the craziest show you’ll watch on #Netflix some people aren’t aware of what “stalking” is! Stalking is punishable under the law.”
Others simply called the show ‘crazy’ and ‘mind-blowing’.
One posted: “On the 2nd episode of #iAmAStalker (I have to take this sh*t in small doses), and this man is god-damn WILD.”
While one user even wrote: “I certainly can’t be the only one who watches #IAmAStalker on #Netflix before bed, and therefore will be too scared to sleep?"
I Am a Stalker lands on Netflix UK this Sunday 7 January.
