Murder doesn’t happenhere. But no one is safe from violent crime, and Heartland Homicide tells the stories of those small-town murders no one thought could happen.
It spotlights murders in the “heartland” of the US and Canada and shatters the small-town belief that residents cling to, that murder will never happen in their tranquil communities.
It’s a true crime show that details a bit on each town’s history and culture before relating some background on the victim’s and suspect’s lives, work, family, and relationship prior to the crime. Episodes use third-person narrative as they dive into the murder and its investigation through the end of the trial, sentencing, and any appeals.
Heartland Homicide only sometimes includes detectives and others who have worked on the case (and not much archival news footage), but instead relies heavily on narration and re-creations, along with a stock group of experts, who describe legal concepts, law enforcement techniques, and aspects of forensic pathology relevant to the case. The experts often explain basic concepts like what a dating app, blunt force trauma, or Luminol is, so newbies to true crime shows can jump right in.
Note: Very few episodes include police interviews or trial footage. One notable exception is the Kunz case, detailed in Season 1, Episode 2.
(Note: This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Women commit about 12 percent of the murders in the US, and people want to know about them. From Snapped to Killer Couples, Deadly Wives to Deadly Women to Wives with Knives, and Dateline NBC to Meet, Marry, Murder, female killers get equal time in true crime shows. And in Murder She Solved, the spotlight is on the female investigators who solve murders.
Snapped
Thought women don’t kill? Snapped proves otherwise. Snapped is a long-running show featuring 31 seasons of murders perpetrated by women through various means, from poisoning, to stabbing, to gunshots, to murder-for-hire. It balances narration, re-creations, and the victim’s and suspect’s background and relationship with interviews with detectives, prosecutors, and victims’ families and friends, sprinkling police interviews and trial clips into the story.
The draw of the show is its ability to show how a relationship can devolve and how detectives discover that it isn’t what it first appears to be. Episodes in Seasons 1-23 detail the suspect’s background first; recent seasons tell the victim’s life story first.
Suggested episode: A special 90-minute episode, Season 26, Episode 15 features the case of Sheila Davalloo, a pharmaceutical researcher who not only murdered her romantic competition but also attempted to kill her husband. Davalloo tells her side of the story in a prison interview.
Produced by the same folks who make Snapped, this show (also called Killer Couples) focuses on couples who kill together, mostly heterosexual, with plenty of women taking the lead. Episodes delve into cases involving love triangles, spree killings, serial killers, murder for financial gain, and others.
Suggested episode: Season 3, Episode 9 covers the famous Canadian killer couple of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, who tortured, sexually assaulted, and killed at least three victims.
While Dateline doesn’t only focus on female killers, its dedication to murders of romantic partners qualifies it for this category. Plenty of women hire others to kill or do their own dirty work.
Dateline includes episodes with other investigative pieces than murder (such as the recent Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation case), but it mostly concentrates on true crime.
Although it can sometimes be predictable, the writing leaves the audience wondering until the end as to the identity of the murderer. Dateline’s storytelling and the correspondents’ empathy for victims’ families and friends, makes it a standout in the genre. Correspondents like Keith Morrison often interview suspects before or after conviction, and their hard-nosed questioning is a highlight.
Suggested episode: Dateline has covered many well-known cases, from the Kathleen Peterson case to the Gianni Versace murder, but the lesser-known ones can be just as compelling. Try “The Real Thing About Pam” (Season 30, Episode 22), which is the same case from the Dateline podcast and NBC fictional series, or “The Ascension of Mother God” (Season 30, Episode 4).
Meet, Marry, Murder features disturbing homicide cases committed by one spouse against the other, often preceded by domestic abuse or coercive control, and women are just as likely to be the abuser.
Episodes concentrate on couples from the US and UK and rely on detectives recounting their investigations, along with outside experts like psychologists, former detectives, journalists, criminologists, attorneys, and domestic abuse specialists, who succeed at emphasizing the seriousness of the situation and the dangers of domestic abuse. They not only detail the story, but also the psychology behind the murder, suspect, victim, and their relationship.
Suggested episode: Season 1, Episodes 9 and 42 provide dual coverage of the Kathy Augustine murder by her husband Chaz Higgs and the murder-suicide involving her daughter, Dallas Augustine, and Dallas’ wife.
Where to stream: Tubi, True Crime Network, Peacock, The Roku Channel
Deadly Women answers the question: Do women kill? Yes, they most certainly do. It tells stories of female murderers using all sorts of methods, from poisoning, to stabbing, to guns, just as well as men, if not as prolifically.
Deadly Women groups episodes by theme, such as greed, jealousy, forbidden love, obsession, revenge, and the like, even historical murders, which are not usually covered in other series, and those from countries outside the US. Some of the cases are detailed elsewhere (see Snapped, for example), but Deadly Women presents them using dramatized re-creations, with dialogue, that emphasize the murders themselves, rather than the subsequent investigations.
Suggested episode: Season 3, Episode 8, “Fatal Obsession,” includes the murder of pregnant woman Bobbie Joe Stinnett by a killer who wanted to steal her unborn child.
Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+
At first, Deadly Wives might come across as just another murder show about women who kill, but its draw is the sarcastic narration of actress Christine Estabrook, who delivers the writing with disbelief and an almost audible rolling of her eyes. She comments on trial testimony with asides like “Wait, you’re gonna love this one.” This short-lived show has episodes with 1-2 stories each that scrutinize the lies, alibis, and excuses of wives involved in killing their husbands. The police interview these deadly wives, and prosecutors cross-examine the ones brazen enough to take the witness stand, providing a lighter take on intimate partner homicide and trading suspense and cliffhangers for barbs that might shock some viewers and delight others.
Suggested episode: Season 1, Episode 10 (“Opposites Attract”) includes the murder of Bruce Cleland by his wife and her cousins, along with the murder of Becky Klein by her wife.
Stabbing is the method of choice in this true crime series about female murderers and attempted murderers. Each episode gives viewers an inside look at one case and the motives of a wife or girlfriend who stabbed her romantic partner. The show centers on the stories of the wives themselves, who give their version and provide interviews with criminologist and criminal behavior analyst Casey Jordan, who also adds psychoanalytic commentary.
Wives with Knives also brings on the wives’ families and friends, who detail the context of their lives and background. The show intersperses the competing sides of the story with dramatized re-creations (with dialogue) that tell the story event by event, focusing on what led up to the murder, in some cases abuse, and the murder itself, without a lot of information on the investigation that followed. The show’s unique presentation of both sides of the story makes it a fascinating watch.
Suggested episode: In “Demons, Drugs and Darkness” (Season 2, Episode 4), a woman who battles schizophrenia and meth addiction stabs her ex-boyfriend.
Murder She Solved emphasizes a different side of the coin: investigations involving female detectives, pathologists, and others (like private investigators, forensic scientists, and criminal profilers), who share their experiences solving homicides in the United States and Canada. It eschews fancy prose or cliffhangers and gets right down to business with the details of investigative techniques for each case, from forensics to undercover operations. Hit men, friends, spouses, and strangers kill, and female detectives solve the case.
Suggested episode: In “Never A Doubt” (Season 3, episode 4), the wife of a man wrongfully convicted for killing his mother-in-law investigates the case herself and finds the real killer.
Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video, True Crime Network
Produced by the same folks who make Snapped, this true crime show (also called Killer Couples) has a similar format to Snapped but focuses on couples who kill together, mostly heterosexual, with plenty of women taking the lead in the murders.
Episodes delve into homicide cases involving love triangles, spree killings, serial killers, murder for financial gain, and others. It blends narration, re-creations, interviews with detectives and victims’ loved ones, and police interviews and trial clips to show how two people can inflame each other’s motivations and desires, or one person can pressure another, to the point that they kill together.
Knives are the weapon of choice for these murderous women
About Wives With Knives
Stabbing is the method of choice in this true crime series about female murderers and attempted murderers. Each episode gives viewers an inside look at one case and the motives of a wife or girlfriend who stabbed her romantic partner.
Wives with Knives centers on the stories of the wives themselves, who give their version and provide interviews with criminologist and criminal behavior analyst Casey Jordan, who also adds psychoanalytic commentary.
Wives with Knives also brings on the wives’ families and friends, who share details about the context of the women’s lives and are featured more than the victims or their family and friends. The show intersperses the competing sides of the story with dramatized re-creations (with dialogue) that tell the story event by event, focusing on what led up to the murder, in some cases abuse, and the murder itself. It omits long descriptions of the investigation that followed, excluding the detectives and prosecutors involved for the most part. The show’s unique presentation of both sides of the story makes it a fascinating watch.
Killer women are the focus of this long-running true crime series
About Snapped
Thought women don’t kill? Snapped proves otherwise. Snapped is a long-running true crime show featuring 31 seasons of murders perpetrated by women through various means, from poisoning, to stabbing, to gunshots, to murder-for-hire. It balances narration, re-creations, and the victim’s and suspect’s background and relationship with interviews with detectives, prosecutors, and victims’ families and friends, sprinkling police interviews and trial clips into the story.
The draw of the show is its ability to show how a relationship can devolve and how detectives discover that it isn’t what it first appears to be. Episodes in Seasons 1-23 detail the suspect’s background first; recent seasons tell the victim’s life story first.
Women murderers take center stage in these homicide cases
(Note: This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
About Deadly Women
DeadlyWomen answers the question: Do women kill? Yes, they most certainly do. It tells stories (usually three per episode) of female murderers using all sorts of methods, from poisoning, to stabbing, to guns, just as well as men, if not as prolifically.
Deadly Women groups episodes by theme, such as greed, jealousy, forbidden love, obsession, revenge, and the like, even historical murders, which are not usually covered in other true crime series, and those from countries outside the US. Some of the cases are detailed elsewhere (see Snapped, for example), but Deadly Women presents them using dramatized re-creations with dialogue that emphasize the murders themselves, rather than the subsequent investigations.
Along with detectives from some of the cases, a stock group of experts provides insights, primarily former FBI profiler Candice DeLong and forensic pathologist Janis Amatuzio. DeLong analyzes the murderer’s behavior and the pathology behind it, while Amatuzio discusses the effects of certain homicide methods on the body. They are joined by a variety of historians, who detail the stories of the older cases, sometimes centuries-old.
The Show Elements
Seasons: 14 (2008-2021)
Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+
A look inside murders and other crimes in cities and towns across the US
About City Confidential
City Confidential looks at murders from a different angle: the cities or towns in which they occurred and the high-profile people involved.
Narrated by actors Paul Winfield and Keith David (top-notch among true crime show narrators), City Confidential recounts stories about murder, sex scandals, extortion, and other crimes, detailing cases filled with people in the public eye, such as police officers, mayors and other politicians, doctors, pastors, millionaires, and judges.
The episodes feature cities from Seattle, Washington, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and towns from Virginia City, Nevada, to Ruthton, Minnesota. Each episode begins with a 10-15 minute segment that gives an educational tour of the history and culture of the city first, then gets into the details of the crimes and their investigations through interviews with detectives, colorful locals, and sometimes the convicted killers themselves.
Episodes pepper the story with lines like “The New Orleans police force was as rotten as an old Mississippi River pier,” or “Today, Youngstown’s mafia machine is as wicked and ruined as the abandoned steel mills.” The episodes show how the cases reflect or dismantle the city’s reputation and atmosphere, and change the community and its people for the long term.
A&E revived CityConfidential in 2021, with narration by actor Mike Colter, but the new episodes provide very little background on the history and culture of the city or town and do not focus on high-profile people. Much of the character of the original series is lost.
The Show Elements
Seasons: 12 (1998-2005, 2021-)
Where to stream: Discovery+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Roku Channel
Watch out Angela Lansbury, these real-life women are on the case
About Murder She Solved
Some true crime shows focus on the victim, murderer, or their relationship and the psychology behind it. Murder She Solved: True Crime is a meat-and-potatoes show squarely emphasizing investigations involving female detectives, pathologists, and others like private investigators, forensic scientists, criminal profilers, and even the wife of a wrongfully convicted man. They share their experiences solving homicides in the United States and Canada.
Murder She Solved rejects fancy prose and cliffhangers and gets right down to business with the details of investigative techniques for each case, from forensics to undercover operations. Hit men, friends, spouses, and strangers kill, and female detectives solve the case.
The Show Elements
Seasons: 3 (2010-2013)
Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video, True Crime Network, Roku Channel
More shows like Murder She Solved: Homicide Hunter, The Killer Closer
Dateline NBC: “Under a Halloween Moon” (Season 22, Episode 6)
In this episode, Josh Mankiewicz details the murder of Joel Lovelien, which occurred outside a bar he went to with his fiancée for a Halloween party in 2007 in North Dakota. Lovelien was beaten to death in the parking lot, and police search for the killer among the large group of people in costume. This one has a surprise ending.
Dateline NBC: “The Halloween Party” (Season 26, Episode 5)
Keith Morrison lends his spooky narration to the story of Chelsea Bruck, who attends a Halloween party as Poison Ivy at a rural property in Michigan in 2014. She disappears that night, and police find her body several months later. She had been sexually assaulted and died from blunt force trauma.
Stream on Peacock and Hulu
Killer Kids: “Vampire and the Essay” (Season 4, Episode 8)
The 16-year-old leader of a vampire cult murders Naomi Ruth Queen and Richard Wendorf in 1996 in Florida, the parents of a 15-year-old girl who ran away from home with his group. Although the ringleader was convicted of murder, she was never charged.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video and the Roku Channel
City Confidential: “Monsters on Main Street” (Season 7, Episode 1)
An 11-year-old girl, Shauna Howe, disappears on the way home from a Halloween party in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1992. Police discover her body three days later, but the murder goes unsolved until 2003. The town banned nighttime trick-or-treating for 15 years after the murder. The case is also covered in Cold Case Files.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Discovery+, and the Roku Channel
In 1984, pregnant mother Doreen Erbert is murdered on Halloween in California by a man in a wolf mask wielding a machete. The episode is rare coverage of a male killer on the female-focused series.
In a ritualistic killing, a teen interested in the occult kills an elderly woman, removes her heart, and drinks her blood. The episode is based on the story of the murder of Maybel Leyshon in the UK in 2001.
Stream on Tubi, True Crime Network, and the Roku Channel
Killer Cases: “Murder Under a Blue Moon” (Season 1, Episode 5)
The triple homicide by a man who killed his mother, Voncile Smith, and two half-brothers, Richard Thomas Smith and John William Smith, in Florida in 2015. The murder occurs close to the blue moon, and the positioning of the bodies and the killer’s pagan practices make detectives mistakenly think it is a result of witchcraft. Also featured on Family Massacre.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and True Crime Network
The name says it all: two people meet and marry each other, then one of them murders the other
About Meet, Marry, Murder
Meet, Marry, Murder features disturbing homicide cases committed by one spouse against the other, often in relationships involving domestic abuse or coercive control. Episodes concentrate on couples from the US and UK and rely on detectives recounting their investigations, along with outside experts like psychologists, former detectives, journalists, criminologists, attorneys, and domestic abuse specialists, who succeed at emphasizing the seriousness of the situation and the dangers of domestic abuse. They not only detail the story, but also the psychology behind the murder, suspect, victim, and their relationship.
Some of the cases also appear on Dateline and other true crime shows, with different details (such as the Hall, Novak, McDowell, and Cochran cases). A standout is the dual coverage of the Kathy Augustine murder by her husband Chaz Higgs in one episode and the murder-suicide involving Dallas Augustine (her daughter) and her wife in another.
Will Hanrahan narrates the original series, and an abridged version appears on Tubi as an “original,” but it is really a repackaged version of the first series. It consists of some of the American cases from the first series and is hosted by Michelle Trachtenberg, with new titles and narration. Trachtenberg’s narration attempts at salaciousness, but comes across as slow and forced, and she fails to match Hanrahan’s ease of narration and fluid style.
Helen Hunt hosts a new series on Lifetime with the same name, with actual new cases this time, also produced by Hanrahan.
The Show Elements
Seasons: 2 (2020-)
Where to stream: Tubi, True Crime Network, Roku Channel, Peacock
True Crime Docket 