True crime documentaries

BBC Select delves into the world of past and present true crime, hosting a number of disturbing BBC documentaries. You can watch these studies featuring the likes of Jack the Ripper and Jimmy Saville in the US and Canada today.

Look Away

Stream Look Away on BBC Select

The worlds of TV and film have been rocked by countless shocking stories detailing the abuse and mistreatment of women.

Is the music industry now due its own #MeToo moment?

In this disturbing documentary, women who were groomed in their early teen years come forward to tell their stories. Some of the music business’s biggest stars are implicated.

Married to a Psychopath

Stream Married to a Psychopath on BBC Select

Former police detective Charles Henry had a long and distinguished career. But his most unforgettable assignment was the case of Malcolm Webster, a heartless psychopath who killed his wife and attempted to kill two others.

In this true-crime documentary, Charles revisits the most disturbing case of his career. This is the never-before-told story of how one small-town detective brought a ruthless killer to justice.

Taken: Hunting the Sex Traffickers

Watch on BBC Select as this gripping true crime documentary tackles the distressing world of human trafficking.

Filmed over three years, this is the inside story of a police investigation into a criminal gang, who snatched young girls from the streets of South America and forced them to sell their bodies in the UK.

Can the detectives track down the crime network’s elusive leader?

The Ice Cream Wars

The Ice Cream Wars

In 1984, six Glasgow family members died in an arson attack. Their deaths were the result of an escalating criminal turf war concerning ice cream trucks and lucrative routes. But, as this gripping true crime documentary reveals, the search to find those responsible and the subsequent convictions of two men were highly contentious. Would the families of those murdered ever find justice?

Ep 1: Violence Escalates
The inside story of how Glasgow’s ice cream trucks became central to a criminal war.

In the early 1980s, Glasgow gangsters found themselves fighting over an unlikely commodity: ice cream trucks. As this fascinating true crime documentary shows, competition was fierce and escalated into violence. In 1984, the family of a driver was targeted and killed in an arson attack. It was, in its time, the greatest mass murder in Scottish history. But who was responsible?

Ep 2: Fight For Justice
After a brutal crime and a long court case, are the men in jail responsible?

A criminal turf war over ice cream trucks in 1980s Glasgow culminated in the murder of an entire family. As this gripping true crime documentary continues, police efforts to find those responsible led to one of the biggest trials in Scottish history. But were the men convicted responsible? The next decade would see one of the most dramatic campaigns for justice in history.

Who Killed Lin and Megan?

Who Killed Lin and Megan?

In 1996, Lin Russell and her daughters Megan, 6, and Josie, 9, were viciously attacked whilst walking home from school. Only Josie survived. The man arrested for the crime has always claimed his innocence. This fascinating true crime documentary reinvestigates the case that sent shockwaves through Britain. Is the right person behind bars or could a known serial killer be the real culprit?