35 Best True-Crime TV Shows - Biographical Crime Dramas to Stream
35 True-Crime TV Shows That Prove Fact Is Def Stranger Than Fiction · What Jennifer Did (2024) · Griselda (2024) · Love & Death (2023) · The Act ( ...
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I'm guessing that since you've come to this corner of le internet, it's safe to say that you feel the same way...or you're at least interested to see what all the hype is about. Luckily, you've come to the right place, and boyyy, do I have a killer lineup (pun intended) of the best true-crime shows for ya. V similar to movies based on true stories, these shows range from dramatized portrayals of real-life events like Griselda and Mindhunter to those that literally nail every devastating detail like The Act and When They See Us. From cult leaders and infamous <anchor>serial killers</anchor> to love gone wrong and fraud, here are all the best true-crime TV series to start streaming rn.
The Craziest Ways Serial Killers Have Been Caught
The Craziest Ways Serial Killers Have Been Caught

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3. [These Are the Most Unbelievable Ways Serial Killers Have Been Caught](/entertainment/tv/a28860447/how-serial-killers-have-been-caught-mindhunter/)

# These Are the Most Unbelievable Ways Serial Killers Have Been Caught

Son of Sam from _Mindhunter_? Parking ticket.

By [Hannah Chambers](/author/221125/hannah-chambers/ "Hannah Chambers")Published: Aug 29, 2019 6:50 PM EDT

![bookmarks](/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/saved.ad81f1a.svg?primary=%2523000000)Save Article

![Son of Sam Mindhunter ](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/sonofsam-1567117138.jpg?crop=0.638xw:1.00xh;0.233xw,0&resize=640:*)

Netflix

While watching _[Mindhunter](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g28675539/mindhunter-netflix-cast-vs-real-life-counterparts/)_, I took a quick little break from being horrified by all the terrifying things serial killers say when my roommate paused the show while Son of Sam was speaking. “Didn’t this guy get caught because of, like, a parking ticket or something?” she asked. Obviously, this sent me into a Google frenzy and I quickly learned that plenty of murderers have been caught for the most ridiculous reasons.

It’s pretty insane to think that the people who have committed some of the most atrocious crimes of all time were taken down by something as random as a parking ticket, floppy disk, or ancestry DNA test. I guess that’s just showbiz the justice system, baby. Here are the most unbelievable (or, um, easily believable?) ways real killers have been caught.

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## Son of Sam: parking ticket

Yep, Son of Sam, whose real name was David Berkowitz, got busted over a GD parking ticket. He was the killer known for [trolling police](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g28675539/mindhunter-netflix-cast-vs-real-life-counterparts/) after his murders because he loved to leave creepy letters all over the place.

Police eventually [received a tip](https://time.com/3979004/son-of-sam-caught/) from a woman named Cacilia Davis, who noticed that a guy with a weird vibe had walked past her strangely, “like a cat.” Moments later, she heard shots. Davis also noticed that around that same time, cops were giving a ticket at a car that had been parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant. It turned out that this car belonged to Son of Sam (he didn’t even have fake plates), and this is the detail that got him caught.

## BTK Killer: floppy disk

You know that terrible moment when you tell someone something but only if they promise “not to get mad”? But then...they get mad anyway? Well, that’s kind of what happened with [BTK](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g28675539/mindhunter-netflix-cast-vs-real-life-counterparts/), the killer known for binding, torturing, and killing his victims.

[Twenty years after the murders](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/the-floppy-did-me-in/283132/), BTK (Dennis Raid) was caught when he left a mysterious box containing documents detailing the murders at a Home Depot. One of the documents asked if it would be “secure” to communicate with police through the use of a floppy disk. Of course, the police said yes but then used it to track him down and arrest him.

## The Coed Killer: phone call

[Ed Kemper](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g28675539/mindhunter-netflix-cast-vs-real-life-counterparts/), known as the Coed Killer, was a necrophiliac who murdered 10 people. He even killed his own mother and grandparents.

He fully just [called the police](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201403/the-real-life-horror-tale-the-twisted-co-ed-killer) and turned himself in, which was so unbelievable that they actually thought it was a prank.

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## Ted Bundy: stolen car

Ted Bundy, the ’70s serial killer and rapist, successfully escaped prison enough times that it truly seemed like he would never be caught. However, after his last escape, Bundy was [caught driving a stolen car](https://www.grunge.com/137599/how-these-notorious-serial-killers-were-really-caught/) in Florida. The officer who pulled him over did not initially know who he was, but after the two had a brutal struggle, Bundy was finally arrested.

## The Golden State Killer: ancestry test

[The Golden State Killer](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a20065634/golden-state-killer-case-arrest-joseph-james-deangelo/) (Joseph James DeAngelo) was connected to 12 murders and 45 sexual assaults in the ’70s and ’80s, but the case remained cold until 2018. Investigator [Paul Holes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/to-find-alleged-golden-state-killer-investigators-first-found-his-great-great-great-grandparents/2018/04/30/3c865fe7-dfcc-4a0e-b6b2-0bec548d501f_story.html?noredirect=on) was able to use DNA to track the killer’s great-great-great-grandparents. He then used a tool called [GEDMatch](https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/27/golden-state-killer-gedmatch/) (it’s kind of like 23andMe or Ancestry) to search the branches of the family tree to find the Golden State Killer.

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