True-crime series for DStv detectives

Get ready for some of this year’s most unusual true crime cases as three moms band together to find out what happened to their missing and murdered children in The Bakersfield 3: A Tale Of Murder And Motherhood. Wildlife biologist and adventurer Forrest Galante reveals how a human drug epidemic is changing animal behaviour around the world in Animals on Drugs. And abusive parenting vloggers and instagrammers like Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt come under the spotlight in Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence. You’ll find all this and more on DStv this September.

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On the case with 10 true-crime series

1. The Bakersfield 3: A Tale Of Murder And Motherhood

When three adult friends – Micah Holsonbake, Bayley Despot, and James Kulstad – went missing or were murdered within the space of 34 days in 2018, their grieving mothers Cheryl Holsonbake, Jane Parrent and Di Byrne, banded together to drive the investigation, convinced that the cases were connected. This three-episode series explores the friends’ connection to Matthew Queen, a man known as the Boogieman of Bakersfield. And it asks where Bayley Despot is today: on the run, or six feet under.

Binge The Bakersfield 3: A Tale Of Murder And Motherhood Season 1 on Sunday, 28 September from 9PM on ID Channel 171. 

2. Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth?

Ten-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and her eight-year-old cousin Elizabeth Collins vanished while out riding their bicycles on 13 July 2012. Seven months later, hunters found their remains in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Park. Their killer has never been found. The crime tore their community apart as suspicion fell on a number of local men, including Lyric’s father, Dan, along with known child killers like Michael Klunder. This three-part documentary explores the investigation, the theories, the suspects, and the impact on local families.

Binge Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth? Season 1 on Sunday, 21 September from 9PM on ID Channel 171. Or binge all episodes on DStv Stream.

3. A Killer Among Friends

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is the executive producer and narrator of this six-episode true-crime series, which focuses on the impact that murder has on close-knit groups of friends … especially when the killer is one of their own. The cases tackled include the 1994 shooting of college football player Trent DiGiuro, the ritual murder of 15-year-old schoolgirl Elyse Pahler, the kidnapping and group murder of 13-year-old Maryann Measles, and the deadly Las Vegas girls trip from which Michele Carson never returned.

Stream A Killer Among Friends Season 1 on Fridays at 9PM on ID Channel 171. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream. 

4. Murder UK

Professor David Wilson turns his attention to 10 recent British murder cases, exploring common factors like coercive control in relationships. Coming up, an inquest verdict is overturned as a recording exposes David Roustoby’s role in the death of his neighbour, David Clarke. Professor Wilson also analyses the gender-based violence underpinning the murders of pharmacist Jessica Patel, Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, and Arlene Fraser, whose husband was convicted of her murder despite her body never being found.

Stream Murder UK Season 1 on Saturdays at 8PM and 9PM on CBS Justice Channel 170.

5. Animals on Drugs

Wildlife biologist and adventurer Forrest Galante is on a quest to expose the impact of mankind’s drug use and abuse on our animal neighbours. Whenever police burn drug stashes, whenever flood waters sweep through homes and hospitals, or whenever we flush a toilet, human drugs are sent into the environment. Forrest reveals surprising facts about their impact – including a meth-driven increase in aggression in Florida’s alligators, and a look at what happened to drug lord Pablo Escobar’s cocaine-addicted hippopotamus pets. 

Stream Animals on Drugs Season 1 on Saturdays at 9PM on Discovery Channel 121. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream. 

6. Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence

This four-part investigative series explores what was happening behind the spotlight, as Mormon mom vlogger Ruby Franke documented her six children’s lives without their consent on the YouTube channel 8 Passengers, inflicting cruel punishments to “discipline” them, which she justified on religious grounds. After separating from her husband, Ruby joined forces with counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt, a fellow Mormon, and the two formed the parenting group Moms of Truth. But in 2023, they were arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse.

Binge Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence Season 1 on DStv Stream. Previously on ID Channel 171. 

7. Trapped: What is Happening to Wendy Williams?

In March 2025, former celebrity talk show host Wendy Williams threw a note out of the window of an assisted living facility begging for help. She claimed that she’s been misdiagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and was being held against her will thanks to a court-appointed guardianship put in place in 2023. This documentary reaches out to former Wendy Williams Show senior producer Yazmin Ramos, along with medical and legal experts, to ask questions about the legitimacy of the conservatorship.

Watch Trapped: What is Happening to Wendy Williams? on DStv Stream. Previously on TLC Channel 135.

8. Dark Side of Glory

This two-part documentary uncovers shocking cases of murder in the world of sport. Find out how Blue Bulls rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana became known as The Durban Axe Murderer after he attacked four men in 2011 to avenge the gang rape of his daughter. And get to grips with how success can become a death sentence for women, as the series explores the murder of three of Kenya’s top woman athletes, including Agnes Tirop, who became victims of gender-based violence. 

Binge Dark Side of Glory Season 1 on DStv Stream and on Showmax. Previously on M-Net Channel 101. 

9. In The Grip of Gazprom

As Russia continues its war on Ukraine, this documentary digs into the country’s monopoly on the supply of natural gas in Germany, through one intensively secretive company: Gazprom. Using footage shot before Russia’s 2002 invasion of Ukraine, the filmmakers trace the Gazprom story over decades, from the fall of the USSR, to the rise of President Vladimir Putin and the impact of his regime’s financial restrictions, arrests, and increasingly aggressive foreign policy, as Russia gained control of energy supply across Europe.

Watch In The Grip of Gazprom on DStv Stream. Previously on Curiosity Channel 185.

10. The Playboy Murders

Former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison hosts and acts as executive producer on this series, which exposes suspicious deaths linked to the Playboy world of adult entertainment. Explore the murders of former casting agent Kimberly Fattorini and freelance photographer Linda Lansen (who’d just worked on the Bunny of the Year photoshoot). Uncover Playboy Bunny Jackie Hendrickson’s murder of her married lover, Dr Warren Brown, and find out about Playboy’s dark underbelly through the death of 23-year-old Bunny Adrienne Pollack in 1973.

Binge The Playboy Murders Season 3 on DStv Stream. Previous on ID Channel 171.