10 True Crime Series Based on Real Cases
The real criminal cases that became must-watch documentaries and drama series
Quick facts
This is a curated selection by the truecrime.news editorial team of the real criminal cases that became the backbone of major true crime television series — documentaries, dramatisations and docuseries that reached millions of viewers worldwide. Each case here has a dedicated case page on truecrime.news, and each was chosen because a well-known series drew directly from its facts, court records and protagonists.
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1. The Joe Exotic Case — Tiger King's Murder-for-Hire Plot
The 2020 Netflix docuseries Tiger King made Joseph Maldonado-Passage — "Joe Exotic" — a household name almost overnight. The Oklahoma big-cat breeder was convicted in 2019 of a murder-for-hire plot against animal-rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as multiple wildlife-trafficking and animal-cruelty charges. The series exposed the chaotic, often dangerous world of private exotic-animal ownership in America and sparked a national debate about wildlife legislation that continued long after the credits rolled.
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2. The Jeffrey Dahmer Case — The Milwaukee Cannibal
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer murdered seventeen men and boys in the American Midwest, committing acts of necrophilia and cannibalism. He was convicted on fifteen counts of murder in 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Netflix's 2022 dramatisation Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters, became one of the platform's most-watched series ever, reigniting debate about the ethics of dramatising the suffering of victims' families — many of whom had not been consulted before production.
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3. Steven Avery Case — Wisconsin Murder Conviction After Exoneration
Steven Avery was exonerated by DNA evidence in 2003 after serving eighteen years for a rape he did not commit, only to be arrested two years later for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. His 2007 conviction became the subject of Netflix's landmark 2015 docuseries Making a Murderer, which drew global attention to questions of evidence integrity, prosecutorial conduct and wrongful conviction. The case and the series are widely credited with reviving the true crime genre on streaming platforms.
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4. The NXIVM Case — Sex Cult Disguised as Self-Help Empire
NXIVM, founded by Keith Raniere, presented itself as an executive coaching organisation but operated as a coercive cult. A secret sorority called DOS branded and blackmailed members. Federal prosecutors charged Raniere with sex trafficking, racketeering and other crimes; he was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 120 years. The HBO docuseries The Vow (2020) and Starz's dramatisation Seduced gave extensive coverage to the organisation's inner workings, using testimony from former members including actress Allison Mack.
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5. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell — Idaho Doomsday Murders
Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell, self-styled doomsday prophets in Idaho, were charged with murdering Lori's two children — Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow — and Chad's former wife Tammy Daybell. The children's remains were found buried on Daybell's property in 2020. Both were convicted: Lori in 2023, Chad in 2024. The case, covered extensively in multiple docuseries including Doomsday Mom on Lifetime and several podcast-to-screen adaptations, highlighted the lethal intersection of religious extremism and family violence.
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6. The Menendez Brothers — 1989 Beverly Hills Parental Murders
On 20 August 1989, brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents — entertainment executive José Menendez and his wife Kitty — in their Beverly Hills mansion. Both were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to life without parole. The case became one of the most televised trials of the 1990s. Ryan Murphy's 2024 Netflix dramatisation Monsters: The Menendez Brothers Story reignited public debate about the brothers' abuse claims and prompted renewed legal proceedings.
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7. The Manson Family Murders — Cult Killings in Los Angeles
In August 1969, members of Charles Manson's cult carried out two nights of brutal murders in Los Angeles, killing seven people including actress Sharon Tate. Manson and key followers were convicted of murder and conspiracy in 1971. The case has inspired more screen adaptations than almost any other in American true crime history, including Netflix's docuseries Charles Manson: The Final Words, Quentin Tarantino's dramatisation Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and numerous documentary series examining cult psychology.
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8. The Watts Family Murders — Colorado Family Annihilation Case
In August 2018, Christopher Watts strangled his pregnant wife Shanann and smothered their two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, at their home in Frederick, Colorado. He buried Shanann's body in a shallow grave and submerged the girls in oil tanks at an Anadarko Petroleum site where he worked. Watts pleaded guilty and received five consecutive life sentences. The case was the subject of Netflix's 2020 documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door, constructed almost entirely from home videos, social media posts and police body-cam footage.
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9. The Sarma Melngailis Case — The 'Bad Vegan' Fraud
New York celebrity restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, owner of the upscale vegan restaurant Pure Food and Wine, fell under the influence of a man calling himself Anthony Strangis, who convinced her to wire him over $1.6 million, ultimately running the business into the ground. She was arrested in 2016 after the couple was tracked down at a Tennessee motel. Melngailis pleaded guilty to grand larceny and tax fraud. The four-part Netflix docuseries Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. (2022) turned the case into a viral cultural moment.
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10. The Elisa Lam Case — Death at the Cecil Hotel
In January 2013, twenty-one-year-old Canadian student Elisa Lam disappeared while staying at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Her body was discovered weeks later in a rooftop water tank, after hotel guests complained about the water supply. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled her death an accidental drowning, citing her bipolar disorder and the effects of her medication. Eerie elevator surveillance footage of Lam went viral. Netflix's 2021 docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel explored the case and the hotel's dark history.
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All cases featured above have dedicated case pages on truecrime.news with full legal timelines, verdicts and background reporting.
