Credit: Netflix

Following in the footsteps of Netflix’s latest true-crime documentaries, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare brings to light one of the most chilling murder cases of recent memory: the quadruple homicide that left the tight-knit town of Moscow, Idaho, scarred beyond repair in 2022.

The three-part docu-series has three distinct focuses: the tragic night of the murder, the intense manhunt, and the ultimate breakthrough, resulting in the arrest of Bryan Kohberger.

Directed by Skye Borgman and executive produced by Joe Berlinger, the documentary is constructed in a victim-forward approach that takes the primary spotlight away from the perpetrator to focus intimately on the lives, memories, and families of four young victims.

While the documentary highlights a real-life case unlike any other, the streamer’s library is not exactly short of true-crime stories that capture a similar kind of darkness. So, if you’re ready to go further down the rabbit hole, follow up with these five Netflix documentaries after The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare.

Five documentaries to stream after The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare

American Nightmare (Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris, 2024)

If the most baffling aspects of the case at the centre of The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare were the initial confusion, police scepticism, and the sheer terror of home invasion, you need to watch American Nightmare on Netflix. The documentary sheds light on one of the most alarming miscarriages of injustices with the true story of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, a Californian couple who were victims of a terrifying break-in.

The invasion also resulted in Denise’s abduction, leading Aaron to report the crime to the police. However, instead of believing Quinn, the police immediately cast suspicion on him. American Nightmare recounts a case that’s largely described as the real-life Gone Girl, detailing how law enforcement botched the initial investigation and subjected the victims to harassment until the real truth surfaced.

Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (Mark Lewis, 2019)

A massive consequence of the tragedy at the centre of The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare was the intense, chaotic explosion of online sleuths on TikTok and Reddit who were on a mission to track down the killer using digital breadcrumbs. Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer showcases the immense power and intense obsession of internet amateur detectives who came together digitally to track down a murderer.

Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer revolves around the online manhunt for a viral animal abuser, which began when a video emerged on social media of a young man torturing and killing two kittens, sparking relentless outrage online. The Netflix documentary focuses on how a group of unrelated amateur digital sleuths came together and created a Facebook group to find the perpetrator before law enforcement could catch up.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (JennerFurst, Julia Willoughby Nason, and Michael Gasparro, 2019)

If you’re looking for another recent true crime event like the Idaho murders that completely dominated the news cycle and internet forums, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix fits the bill. The documentary revolves around the powerful Southern Carolina family, a fatal 2019 boat crash, the subsequent murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the internal unravelling, the trial, and the fallout.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal opens with an unimaginable inciting incident: a boat driven by an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh in 2019, which crashed and resulted in the death of teenager Mallory Beach. The documentary details how the influential family used their power and sway with local law enforcement to shield Paul from accountability, sparking community outrage, media scrutiny, and a consequence no one dared to think.

Why Did You Kill Me? (Fredrick Munk, 2021)

While different aspects of The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare may fascinate different people, if the most moving part of it was watching the families fight to keep the focus on their loved ones rather than the killer, Why Did You Kill Me? will match the emotional core. The documentary follows a grieving mother who refuses to let her 24-year-old daughter Crystal’s murder become a cold case.

Crystal was shot during a 2006 drive-by shooting in Riverside, California, as she was riding in a car with her boyfriend and brother when a rival gang mistook them for targets. Why Did You Kill Me? centres on the heartbroken mother’s desperate efforts to track down the culprits, which start with a fake MySpace profile and lead up to a dangerous infiltration into a local gang.

Murder Among the Mormons (Jared Hess and Tyler Measom, 2021)

Lastly, for those who couldn’t believe how a seemingly quiet, tight-knit community could be completely destroyed by a sudden, calculated string of violence from College Nightmare, watch Murder Among the Mormons, an incredibly gripping three-part series about the 1985 bombings in Salt Lake City that resulted in the tragic death of two people and the injury of a third, shaking the community with fear and panic.

As the targeted attacks serve as a setback for the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, priceless early Mormon letters and diaries are seemingly destroyed in the vehicle of the third blast victim. Murder Among the Mormons centres on the exposure of a rare-document dealer and master forger who went to great lengths to con the church in an attempt to cover up his mounting debts. Like the hunt for the Idaho suspect, the investigation relies on meticulous forensic puzzle-piecing.