We’ve all overheard \ stories on the news, from friends or seen a trailer for a doco and just wondered, ‘And then what?’
It’s overwhelming the number of new documentaries coming out but we have you covered!
We’ve recapped and listed the craziest true documentaries you need to watch below:
The Tinder Swindler – Netflix
This hit 2022 documentary told the story of Israeli conman Simon Leviev (born Shimon Hayut), who used dating app Tinder to connect with women who he manipulated into financially supporting his lavish lifestyle.
The show heard from three of his victims, Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Koeleman, who all lost thousands of dollars to Leviev.
He was jailed for 15 months but only served five because of the COVID pandemic.
His former Israeli model girlfriend, Kate Konlin, who supported him throughout the documentary, has since come out to say she was also a victim, and the pair have split.
Cecilie, Pernilla and Ayleen have set up a crowdfunding page to claw back some of the debts they and other victims have amassed.
Cecilie also founded a non-profit organisation to support victims of fraud.
Leviev, 33, promises he’ll tell his side of the story soon.
Tiger King – Netflix
One of the biggest Netflix phenomenons in recent years, Tiger King follows the lives of big cat zookeeper Joe Exotic and his nemesis Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue.
Exotic was ultimately jailed on animal abuse charges as well as attempted murder-for-hire counts against Carole, 62.
Since shooting to stardom, Exotic, 33, has been removed from prison isolation after fan requests.
In 2021, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and his diagnosis saw his jail sentence reduced from 22 to 21 years. He is now in remission.
Exotic divorced husband Dillon Passage after beginning a relationship with a fellow inmate. Following another relationship with the winner of his “Bachelor King” competition, Seth Posey, he is currently single.
Carole continues to run Big Cat Rescue with her husband Howard. She slammed Tiger King 2 as a “reality show dumpster fire” but lost her lawsuit against Netflix to remove footage of her from it.
She now has her own docuseries, Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight.
Her ex-husband Don Lewis, who Exotic alleged she killed, is reportedly alive in Costa Rica.
Dirty John – Netflix
This doco was based on the podcast of the same name, which explored the true story of John Meehan, a conman who wormed his way into the life of Debra Newell.
After controlling and manipulating her, Meehan was killed by Debra’s daughter Terra, who acted in self-defence when he tried to abduct her.
Since the series was shown in 2018, Debra has reunited with her daughters, Jacquelyn and Terra, and moved to live closer to them.
She runs an interior design company and says she is in constant contact with women who are experiencing domestic violence or are victims of coercive control like she was.
Terra has been open about getting therapy and suffering PTSD since the attack, but is working through it.
She even went back to the parking lot where John attacked her.
Her sister Jacquelyn has continued to shun the spotlight and like Meehan’s two daughters, Emily and Abigail, has managed to live a normal life away from the media glare.
Three Identical Strangers – Apple TV
This 2018 documentary film charted the lives of Edward Galland, David Kellman and Robert “Bobby” Shafran, a set of identical triplet brothers adopted as infants by separate families.
The boys discovered one another by chance in New York when they were 19 and unearthed that their adoption was part of an undisclosed scientific “nature versus nurture” study of genetically identical siblings raised differently.
They became celebrities and seemed to enjoy their fame but tragically in 1995, Edward took his own life at 33.
David and Bobby grew apart but since making the documentary have worked on maintaining a relationship. David also remains in touch with Edward’s wife and daughter.
More than 10,000 pages of research were released to Bobby and David, now 62, about the scientific experiment they were unwittingly a part of, but much of the information was redacted.
With the leaders of the study having long passed away, nobody has been held responsible for what happened.
However, the film brought together another family. Michele Mordkoff, 59, knew she’d been adopted using the same agency as the triplets, and after taking a DNA test and searching on ancestry.com, she found her twin sister Allison Kanter.
The Staircase – Binge
After Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs, her crime novelist husband Michael Peterson was charged with murder.
The ensuing trial was full of twists, and even after Michael was found guilty in 2003 it wasn’t over, with a retrial and him ultimately becoming a free man.
Since then, 80-year-old Michael has lived in a stair-less ground floor apartment and published two books on his case, with the profits all going to charity.
He split from Sophie Burnett, one of the editors of the must-watch 2018 Netflix documentary after a 15-year relationship and lived with his first wife Patty Peterson as a “companion” until her death in July 2021.
His children, who stood by him during the trial, are still in touch with him, with the exception of Todd, who now believes his father is guilty.
His eldest son Clayton has shunned the spotlight but remains close to his dad, and adopted daughters Margaret and Martha support him.
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker – Netflix
In 2013, homeless hitchhiker Caleb “Kai” McGillvary used a hatchet to help save a woman from a random attack, and the footage of his account of the incident went viral.
The documentary charts his quick ascent to stardom and then steep downward spiral when it became clear he had mental health challenges and then killed 73-year-old Joseph Galfy, resulting in a 57-year prison term.
McGillvary, 35, has always claimed his actions were self-defence against being sexually assaulted.
He filed an appeal in 2021 but was unsuccessful and is since said to have struggled in prison and even attempted suicide.
His family, from whom he is estranged, have stayed out of the spotlight but his mother Shirley, who was interviewed in the documentary, says she has reached out to him but he has not responded.
Abducted in Plain Sight – Netflix
This true crime documentary covered the kidnappings of Jan Broberg, an Idaho child who was abducted by her neighbour Robert Berchtold in the 1970s – twice.
It’s a strange and twisted story revealing Berchtold to be a sick, master manipulator who seduced 12-year-old Jan’s parents as well as abusing her.
After spending various stints in jail, Berchtold overdosed and died in 2005.
Jan, now 61, is the producer on a new drama retelling of her life, A Friend Of The Family.
Jan’s mother Mary Ann also worked on the show, which explores how the whole family were victims, groomed and manipulated for years.
Her husband Bob died in 2018 at the age of 80. Jan’s two publicity-shy sisters Susan and Karen recently did press for the new series.
