Suspicious Circumstances

BuzzFeed News Exposed Injustice And Amplified The Voices Of Victims With Powerful Crime Reporting
These stories resonated with readers because of their fierce reporting, gripping narratives, and above all, compassion and sensitivity for the victims at their center.

Lori Vallow Daybell Trial: The Biggest Bombshells So Far
From details about how her children’s remains were treated to an attempted shooting of another relative, here are the most shocking moments of the triple murder trial so far.

Here’s How Cadaver Dogs Are Trained To Find Dead Bodies
A surprising number of different dog breeds can be trained to detect human remains, but assisting police can be grueling work for cadaver dog handlers.

Online Sleuths Can Help — And Hurt — Murder Investigations, According To Paul Holes, Whose Team Identified The Golden State Killer
The true crime celebrity and his Buried Bones podcast cohost Kate Winkler Dawson warned about the dangers of online speculation and amateur sleuths potentially derailing police investigations.

Magic Didn’t Fix Maya Millete’s Marriage, So Prosecutors Say Her Husband Killed Her
"She did not just fall off the face of the earth," Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles argued earlier this year. “She lived for and adored her children. She would not and did not leave, voluntarily, her children.”

Juries Visited The Crime Scenes In These Five Murder Trials. Here’s Why That Can't Happen In The Idaho Stabbings Case.
“Evidence that jurors can see for themselves and feel personally involved in, compiling in their heads, is going to be much more powerful ... than what they were just told by someone else like an expert,” one jury consultant told BuzzFeed News.

A Con Woman, Two Guns, And The Stunt Performers Who Refused A Hit: The Details Of Actor Robert Blake’s Murder Trial Are As Dramatic As Any Role He Played Onscreen
Blake died last week at age 89 and always maintained he was innocent, even though a civil suit found him responsible for his wife’s death.

5 Infamous Cases Of Men Who Murdered Their Families
A forensic psychiatrist coined the term “family annihilator” in the 1980s, and it’s been used to describe Alex Murdaugh and other murderers.

The People Closest To Alex Murdaugh Provided Key Testimony Against Him In His Murder Trial
BuzzFeed News reporter David Mack reflected on the twists and turns of the trial as the defense rested its case.

Crime Scene Cleaners Told Us About Their Memorable Cases And Why They Stick With A Messy Job
“Helping others is a daily motivation for me to continue going, despite the mess and the trauma.”

These True Crime Series Are Revisiting The Women Of Notorious Cases From The ’50s And ’60s
Murf the Surf and The 12th Victim give back some humanity to women involved in headline-grabbing cases from history.

The 10 Biggest Bombshells From The Alex Murdaugh Trial So Far
From a blown-up alibi to COVID in the courtroom, here are the standout moments.

This Courtroom Sketch Artist “Captures” Killers And Celebrities
“Sometimes it's very, very sad and scary. Sometimes when justice really is served, it's very uplifting.”

7 Murder Cases Where A Body Was Never Found
“The fact that a murderer may successfully dispose of the body of the victim does not entitle him to an acquittal.”

The Owner Of The Restaurant Where Two Idaho Stabbings Victims Worked Said A Report That The Suspect Came In For Pizza Is "Completely Fabricated," But People Magazine Is Standing By Its Reporting
“This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators,” the owner of the Mad Greek restaurant said.

“Abducted In Plain Sight” Director Skye Borgman Said She Tries To Unravel The Layers Of True Crime Cases In Her Documentaries
"Most people imagine that as soon as the cameras roll, the interviewee would close off emotionally. But the opposite is usually true. It’s a moment of listening, and I don’t feel that people experience being listened to that often."

TikTokers Are Vilifying The Idaho Stabbing Victims’ Roommate For Not Getting Help Immediately After Seeing The Suspect, But Others Are Pointing Out She Deserves Empathy
“Imagine being more scrutinous and angry at a college girl who survived a psychopath in her home killing her friends and roommates, than the actual psychopath who killed her friends and roommates."

Here Is Everything We Know So Far About The Idaho Murder Suspect
The PhD student suspected in the fatal stabbings of four undergrads was arrested Dec. 30 in Pennsylvania, but he is waiving extradition to Idaho.

The “Goldilocks” Killings Of A Japanese Family Remain Unsolved 22 Years Later, And The Details Are Baffling
An intruder who viciously killed a married couple and their two children has never been caught, despite leaving his bloodstained clothes, fingerprints, shoe prints, and an unflushed toilet.

“Dateline” Star Keith Morrison Opened Up About “Second-Guessing” Interviews, The Longest Cases He’s Covered, And His Rivalry With Josh Mankiewicz
The true crime (and Christmas?) icon took a break from his Dateline reporting and podcasting to answer our serious and silly questions.

JonBenét Ramsey’s Dad Reflected On The “Fools” Who Investigated The Case, The True Crime Boom, And The People Who Still Think He Killed His Daughter
After being indicted in his daughter’s death, then formally cleared, John Ramsey wants to keep the pressure on authorities to solve one of true crime’s most infamous cases.

Newly Released Details About The Delphi Murders Show How Police Came To Arrest A 50-Year-Old Man. His Lawyers Say He Has “Nothing To Hide.”
An unsealed affidavit revealed new details about the 2017 killings of Libby German and Abby Williams — including that the suspect told police five years ago he'd been near the crime scene.

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Idaho Student Killings: Separating Facts From Theories
No arrests have been made, no suspect has been identified, and any motive remains unknown — but that hasn't stopped people from speculating.

JonBenét Ramsey’s Death Will Be Reviewed By A Cold Case Team And Private DNA Labs After Pressure By Her Father, John Ramsey
Boulder police's handling of the case has been criticized from the start, most vocally by John Ramsey, JonBenét’s father.

5 True Crime Podcasts Credited With Convictions — Or Exonerations
Serial isn’t the only true crime podcast to have reignited public interest in a case and changed the course of an investigation.

CrimeCon's Founder Is Hoping The Families Of The Delphi Murders Victims Finally Get Justice
“The family of the Delphi victims" — 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams — "has joined us every year for a packed session to ensure the case never went cold,” CrimeCon founder and executive producer Kevin Balfe told BuzzFeed News after police announced the arrest Monday.

A Man Has Been Arrested More Than Five Years After The Delphi Murders Of Two Girls
Images of an unidentified suspect in the deaths of 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams had haunted their small community for years.

These True Stories Of Murder On Halloween Are Scarier Than A Horror Movie
Forget about Michael Myers — here are five terrifying true stories of murder on Halloween.

Adnan Syed Is Not Guilty, But Is He Innocent?
Some people who have followed the Serial subject's case believe that if there were a new trial — without the failures of the original process — a jury could still rule to convict Syed. Here are some reasons why.