True-crime series for DStv detectives

In 2018, chemist Mitesh Patel made a distressed call to a police hotline claiming that his wife Jessica had been attacked and killed during a burglary. While the killer tried to cover their physical “footsteps”, they’d forgotten how incriminating a digital footprint can be. 

There was the internet search history, with queries like "I need to kill my wife", "insulin overdose", and "plot to kill my wife, do I need a co-conspirator?" There were also cellphone health app records, which allowed detectives to follow in Mitesh Patel’s footsteps as he staged the burglary. Then there was his other digital footprint – on a dating app. 

It all comes under the searchlight in the series 999: Murderer Calling. And true-crime buffs can explore more investigations in series like Hollywood Demons, Fraud Squad, and Cold Cases Reopened. So zip up your crime scene coveralls, and press play.

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On the case with true-crime series

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American Monster: Abuse of Power

The odds are stacked against victims the moment a criminal takes a position of power. Robert Firth narrates as survivors and investigators take us inside high-profile cases to explore how criminals were able to play up their reputations, and get those around them to attack and discredit their victims and accusers. Episodes focus on the United States’ women’s national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, pain doctor Randeep Mann, wife-killer Pastor Arthur Schirmer, killer cop Billy Fields, and more. 

Watch Season 1 on Mondays at 21:00 on ID Channel 171. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth

In 1971 Dr Philip Zimbardo and his team of researchers conducted a six-day psychological study of prison life that seemed to hint that the dynamic between those in power and those without it would inevitably turn toxic. His randomly assigned volunteer guards and prisoners turned on one another, and the guards used their power to humiliate and dehumanise the prisoners. Now the surviving volunteers tell their side of the story, shifting perspectives on the nature of evil in this three-episode documentary series. 

Watch new episodes on Sundays at 21:00 on National Geographic Channel 181. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

Hollywood Demons

Six-part documentary series on the dark side of Hollywood, from “cursed” productions, to famous criminals. Discover the truth about Stephen Collins, who played family drama series 7th Heaven’s Reverend Eric Camden while secretly preying on underaged girls. Meet the former child stars who became killers, addicts, criminals and victims. Find out how obsessed fans became deadly stalkers, and hear from reality stars who couldn’t escape the spotlight when family members committed crimes.

Watch Season 1 on Fridays at 21:00 on ID Channel 171. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

999: Murderer Calling Season 1

In some rare, strange cases, the first person to report a crime is the criminal themselves. But the call itself becomes evidence when they slip up on the details. British journalists and forensic investigators explore the cases of fentanyl killer Luke D'Wit, evil stepfather Craig Crouch, wife killers Mitesh Patel and David Pomphret, stalker Andrew Pearson, and cop-killer gangster Dale Cregan, who made a fake 999 call to lure two unarmed officers into his deadly trap. 

Watch on Thursdays at 21:00 on ID Channel 171. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

Cold Cases Reopened

New evidence and new science are helping investigators to reexamine cases in which the trail ran cold decades ago. But with witnesses’ memories fading and physical evidence deteriorating, it’s no simple matter to take it back to trial. This season’s episodes include how recent forensic genetic genealogy connected David Rojas to not only the 1989 murder of Mary Hague Kelly, but the sexual abuse of young girls and women in his own family. And we find out how a steering wheel, kept in a police evidence locker since 1995, tied a woman’s unsolved murder to convicted rapist Danny Ross Giles.

Watch Season 1 on Thursdays at 09:20 on CBS Justice Channel 170. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

Fraud Squad

Ride along with Michelle Ackerley as she takes us inside a crack team of investigators who “follow the money” to uncover the UK’s worst scammers, tax dodgers, embezzlers, charity cheats, rip off artists, polluters, and cons. This season we see what happens when Headteacher James Stewart is caught using school funds to build a sex dungeon in his office. We join the Environment Agency as they chase down a company that’s illegally dumping toxic waste in a quarry. And we find out how a removals company boss got caught out by his own dashcam footage. 

Watch on Mondays at 12:45 on CBS Reality Channel 132. All previous episodes available on DStv Stream.

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The Curious Case Of…

Legal analyst Beth Karas is our guide to six truly jaw dropping investigations. The series kicks off with lawyer BJ Corville sounding the alarm over the conservatorship he believed was exploiting former Jackass star Bam Margera. Find out how sex offender and men’s rights activist Nicholas Alahverdian faked his own death before reinventing himself as Arthur Knight. Go inside the “funeral home of horrors”. And uncover the bizarre beliefs that united “couples therapist” Jodi Hildebrandt and Mormon mommy vlogger Ruby Franke – until a 911 call exposed their house of horrors, leading to child abuse convictions.

Binge Season 1 on DStv Stream now (previously on ID Channel 171).

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Coming soon: Toxic

True-crime documentary series about the dark side of love. In 2020, Elizabeth Chambers filed for divorce from actor Armie Hammer. Two years later, she watched in horror as Armie, father of their two young children, was accused of serious sexual misconduct by multiple women. Now she’s talking to domestic violence survivors like Kelly Sutliff in an effort to understand the lasting impact that abusive relationships can have. Along the way Elizabeth hopes to showcase the struggles involved in exiting a toxic relationship when little is done to stop violent abusers and stalkers until after they kill.

Watch Toxic Season 1 from Friday, 27 June at 21:00 on ID Channel 171.