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Watching Crime Documentaries is a different fetish with a different fan base. Not everyone is capable or strong enough to watch everything that is shown on the web. Amongst these best crime documentaries on Netflix in UK exist some of the most chilling series and documentaries that will definitely make you question your faith in humanity.
Most of these titles are available in various countries, but if any movie seems to be unavailable on Netflix UK, a reliable Netflix VPN will be able to make it all good for you in that regard. And that’s not it; besides these best crime documentaries on Netflix, you can also enjoy a series of best shows and some of the best films available on Netflix UK for the viewers to stream without a hassle.
Best Crime Documentaries on Netflix to Watch in UK
So without further waiting, let’s get straight into the list of best crime documentaries on Netflix in UK and start from one of the most gut-wrenching cases of murders in American history:
1. American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.2
Director: Jenny Popplewell
Stars: Nickole Atkinson, Jim Benemann, Luke Epple
Once a happy family, Shannan Watts, a pregnant mother of two toddler girls, suddenly disappears with her girls after coming home from a business meeting at 2 am. This begins a series of investigations and unfolding of numerous chilling events that will definitely put you in a shocking state.
2. The Staircase (2004)
Documentary, Crime, Drama
IMDb: 7.9
Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Stars: Michael Peterson, David Rudolf, Ron Guerette
Take a look at the rare and thrilling courtroom exchange of the high-profile murder of the famous author Michael Peterson’s wife, Kathleen. Whom she claimed to have slipped from a flight of stairs, but the medical investigation revealed concerning details about the spouse’s relationship with each other.
3. Making a Murderer (2015)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 8.6
Stars: Dolores Avery, Steven Avery, Laura Nirider
After getting released 2 decades later for a crime he did not commit, Steven Avery is all set to sue all the people involved in his arrest, but soon he finds his way back behind bars, this time for a different and more serious allegation of murder. Making a Murderer is one of the most popular and good murder documentaries on Netflix.
4. Evil Genius (2018)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.5
Stars: Kevin G. Calkins, Ann Smith
A four-part documentary series about the most cynical bank heist of all times where the robber had a bomb taped up to his neck which got him famous by the name of the ‘Pizza Bomber Heist.’
5. Trial By Media (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.2
Stars: Al Sharpton, Frank Amedure Jr., Patti Blagojevich
A walk down the memory lane of some of the most iconic trials in the history of the courtrooms that created a media frenzy and may or may not have influenced the verdict.
6. The Confession Killer (2019)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.4
Stars: Nan Cuba, Bob Prince, Hugh Aynesworth
Henry Lee Lucas, a convicted serial killer who confessed to having murdered over 100 people, does not make a pretty good statement. His story has numerous loopholes making it impossible for him to be the reason behind all these murders. If he isn’t the culprit, then who is?
7. The Confession Tapes (2017)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.5
Creator: Kelly Loudenberg
Stars: David Burns, Loretta Fisher, Brian Hutchinson
What to do when criminals turn back from their potential confession? You try to find other ways to get the truth out of them, by hook or by crook. With zero physical evidence to look out for, experts delve into a far symbolic method of extracting the truth out of the killers.
8. Confessions with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
Documentary, Biography, Crime
IMDb: 7.8
Creator: Joe Berlinger
Stars: Stephen Michaud, Bob Keppel, Kathleen McChesney
One of the most popular serial killer documentary series, taking a look inside the mind and life of the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, as the docuseries conduct various interviews of the killer while he is on death row.
9. Strong Island (2017)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 6.4
Director: Yance Ford
Stars: Yance Ford, Harvey Walker, Kevin Myers
A personal project for the filmmaker Yance Ford, who goes deep inside the murder investigation of a 24-year old young black man William Ford Jr, who also happens to be Yance’s brother.
10. Casting JonBenét (2017)
Documentary, Crime, Drama
IMDb: 6.1
Director: Kitty Green
Stars: Hannah Cagwin, Aeona Cruz, Liv Bagley
Two decades later, the sensational unsolved murder of the six-year-old beauty queen of America has turned into a vicarious opportunity for the filmmakers to create a memoir for the young JonBenét.
11. The Keepers (2017)
Documentary, Crime, Mystery
IMDb: 8.1
Stars: Gemma Hoskins, Abbie Schaub, Virginia Anzengruber
A seven-episode series about the disappearance and murder of the Nun and Catholic high school teacher in the city of Baltimore. After the discovery of her body 2 months after she disappeared, a series of sinister events and accusations came to light linked to Cathy Cesnik’s murder.
12. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 8.2
Stars: William Guirola, Wyatt Hinz, Rodrigo Alfonso
Sadly, one of the best true-crime series, award-winning documentarian Brian Knappenberger’s take on the heart-wrenching trial of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old boy in California who dies facing abuse from the hands of his mother and her boyfriend.
13. Unsolved Mysteries (2020)
Documentary, Crime, Mystery
IMDb: 7.3
Stars: Pistol Black, Myrtle Carter, Jane Green
A series of events and tales revolving around numerous unsolved murder mysteries with no chance of getting justice, but a viewer’s perspective might give them the insight they had been missing all this time.
14. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (2020)
Documentary, Biography, Crime
IMDb: 7.6
Stars: John Reinke, Kelci Saffery, John Finlay
Enter the eccentric world of Joe Exotic, a big-cat breeder who runs a zoo filled with wild cats open to people of all ages and sizes. All is good until he finds himself entangled in a murder accusation.
15. Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 6.8
Director: Skye Borgman
Stars: Jan Broberg, Bob Broberg, Mary Ann Broberg
Jan Broberg, an innocent 12-year old didn’t know that her trusted neighbor and a family friend would be the one behind her abduction, not once but twice!
16. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)
Documentary, Crime, Mystery
IMDb: 6.6
Stars: Anthony Summers, Gonçalo Amaral, Robbyn Swan
The story of a 3-year old Madeleine McCann who disappeared while on holiday with her family in Portugal. Even after all these years, she was never found, which redirected the focus to her parents and their involvement in this case.
17. I Am a Killer (2018)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.5
Stars: Swaylee Loughnane, Reece Putinas, David Galea
A tough watch where you may or may not develop a sympathetic point of view towards the convicted killer on death row. Each episode takes a deep look inside the convicted killer’s life, their account of all that they did, and how things have changed for them now.
18. Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 8.0
Stars: Deanna Thompson, John Green, Claudette Hamlin
Kittens are our best friends, and if anyone tries to hurt them, people will not spare anyone, and this is what happened with Luka Magnotta. He was man hunted and arrested for his viral gruesome video of killing a baby cat.
19. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.1
Stars: Michael Reiter, Annie Farmer, Shawna Rivera
A key to the biggest sex-trafficking ring in the world involving the rich convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein who’s 2019 arrest exposed various big-shot names of all those involved, resulting in the sudden death/murder of Epstein.
20. Under Suspicion: Uncovering the Wesphael Case (2021)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 6.3
Creators: Georges Huercano, Pascal Vrebos
Stars: Nadine Pirotton, Bernard Sohet, Bernard Wesphael
Belgian politician Bernard Wesphael is under fire for the charge of murder of his wife in their hotel room in 2013. One of the anticipated Netflix crime documentaries in 2021.
21. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021)
Documentary, Crime, Mystery
IMDb: 5.9
Stars: Tim Marcia, Amy Price, Josh Dean
After the disappearance of Elisa Lam, a tourist, and a college student, leaving behind everything, the Hotel Cecil suddenly turns into a diabolical existence altogether, haunting the place and its inhabitants.
22. Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? (2020)
Documentary, Crime, Mystery
IMDb: 7.1
Stars: Rolando Barbano, Carlos Carrascosa, Pablo Duggan
One of the best crime documentaries on Netflix, and one of the most controversial cases in Argentina the murder of María Marta García Belsunce. The documentary series revolves around the series of the event surrounding her murder.
23. The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 8.2
Director: Carlos Perez Osorio
Stars: Juan Manuel Fraire Escobedo, Alejandro Fraire, Blanca Escobedo
Trying to find justice for her dead daughter, after the Mexican justice system seemed to fail, the documentary revolves around the struggles the mom had to face in order to give her daughter’s case the rightful attention it required.
24. The Ripper (2020)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 7.1
Stars: Alan Whitehouse, Keith Hellawell, Andrew Laptew
The real-life depiction of “Jack the Ripper” had overshadowed the North of England and terrorized the whole area with his murdering spree.
25. Out of Thin Air (2017)
Documentary, Crime
IMDb: 6.3
Director: Dylan Howitt
Stars: Erla Bolladóttir, Sævar Ciesiekski, Tryggvi Leifsson
After 40 years, an old case resurfaced after 6 suspects confessed to a deadly crime. But not every confession is true to its nature, and there is more to it that was revealed upon investigation.
26. The Devil Next Door (2019)
Documentary, Crime, History
IMDb: 7.6
Stars: Eli Gabay, Eli Rosenbaum, Michael Shaked
Investigation discovery on Netflix brings an old grandfather from Cleveland to trial in Israel because he is accused of being a German guard from a Nazi Camp known as Ivan the Terrible.