Shocking true crime shows available on streaming

'True crime' is a really big hit among viewers, listeners, and readers. They often even get involved with the plot of investigations and start making their own guesses of who could be the culprit of the crime. While aiming at entertainment, the true crime genre also offers reflections on society. Let's have a look at some documentaries of the genre, and see if there's any you haven't caught yet!

For those impressed by the series 'Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story', and still looking for answers about the heinous crimes committed by Jeffrey Dahmer between 1978 and 1991, one option is to watch 'Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes' on Netflix.

In the documentary series, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer exposes the sickness of his mind, while legal professionals draw a meticulous timeline to place each event in his criminal career.

Known as the Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy killed 33 men and buried them in a small space in his house, between 1972 and 1978. For this series, the production had access to 60 hours of conversations with Gacy where he remembers the crimes committed, as well as his judgment and mental state after everything was discovered.

The series delves into the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy, whose crimes were committed in six different states of the United States between the years 1974 and 1978. Sociable and good-looking, he provoked a kind of problematic adoration on the part of many women.

In this documentary, Ted Bundy survivors break their silence and talk about their relationship with a murderer who posed as a "harmless" aspiring lawyer.

Divided into six episodes, this Chilean documentary series is an impressive record of how history is capable of repeating itself as a tragedy. The production shows that, for almost 50 years, Chile was home to Paul Schäfer, a fugitive from the German government and a former soldier of Hitler. He continued to commit crimes in his new homeland.

Photo: Prime Video

Convicted of child abuse in Germany, Schäfer managed to escape to Chile and found the Colonia Dignidad, a sect with Nazi practices. It served as a center for torture and the disposal of bodies of opponents of the Pinochet regime.

Photo: Prime Video

Produced by Netflix, the series is a meticulous account of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the English Madeleine McCann. She vanished in 2007, in the Algarve, Portugal, and her disappearance mobilized the world. To date, the kidnapping and possible murder is unsolved.

'John of God: The Crimes of a Spiritual Healer', produced by Netflix, show us the infamous life of an idolized medium who rises to international fame. Victims recount the horrible crimes committed by this man.

The series 'The Staircase' addresses the mystery surrounding the murder of the wife of the American writer Michael Peterson in 2001. He was found guilty of the crime but has always insisted on his innocence.

Photo: Netflix

In the late 1970s, in the United States, Billy Milligan was accused of serial assault. During the trial, the criminal's defense claimed that he suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder and had 24 personalities.

Photo: Netflix

This docuseries brought to light what is undoubtedly one of the most striking unsolved cases from the past in Italy.

Over the course of 4 episodes, the series shows the sad story of a teenager's disappearance in Vatican City. It has new interviews with the family and, above all, a number of testimonies by people who may have been involved and who have never spoken before.

Behind the tough body and happy face of Sally lies a world of sadness. The series recounts how a couple of bodybuilders had a lot of marital problems behind the screens. The final outcome was the death of Sally's husband, Ray McNeil.

This documentary tells the horrible story of a nurse, Charles Cullen, who is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. It is based on Charles Graeber's book, 'The Good Nurse' - a work on which also a feature film was based (with Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne).