My husband is ready to take the remote control away from me and reduce my TV time. He has had enough of me mentioning the word ‘murder’. He wants to relax with the woman he married and watch comedies and dramas. But I just can’t give it up. It is an addiction. Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I am a true crime addict!
I am not sure when I got into true crime. I always loved a good murder mystery in my book choices reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and moving on to Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series. My husband and I would watch CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and Without a Trace. It branched off from there with non-fiction true crime shows such as Cold Justice formally on TNT, now on Oxygen. Then one Sunday a year back I got bored and watched a Snapped marathon. I was hooked! It wasn’t just the stories, it was the…
Psychology
I’ve had my fair share of time with therapists and psychiatrists (over two decades worth) that I have gotten into how our brains function. Sitting and watching these true crime sagas, I am in awe of these people. How do they actually think they can get away with murder?! With a year of watching these shows under my belt, I have come to realize criminals are not the brightest of people. One male agreed to kill a woman’s husband for $700. Yes, you read that right, $700! (Side note, he never did get paid). Every episode I try to delve into these people’s brains. What are they actually thinking?!
The psychology as to why these murderous men and women kill usually fall into one of the following three categories:
- Money
- Lust
- Custody
Let’s take a more in depth look into them.
Money – This is usually the #1 reason for the murder in true crime shows. A husband or wife is unhappy in their marriage. If they get divorced they will lose most of their finances due to alimony. So, let’s kill two birds with one stone and kill instead. This way their spouse is out of the picture and they get a huge amount of money from insurance. Perfect, right? How can someone desire money so much that it leads them to actually kill someone?!
Lust – Following closely behind money, lust is the next on the reason people kill. A husband or wife has an affair. They fall deeply in love with someone else and out of love with their spouse. Divorce would cost them too much in both money and public opinion for their affair. What to do, what to do… ah, murder! This way they get to get rid of their spouse and keep their money and girlfriend or boyfriend.
Custody – This reason is not very prevalent. I have only seen a few true crime shows concerning fighting over custody of children. One parent just doesn’t want the other one to gain custody whether joint or full.
Where To Watch True Crime
As I mentioned, over the last year my passion for true crime television has expanded. As much as I still love Law & Order: SVU, I tend to turn most of my attention to reality. The following shows can be found on the Oxygen network:
- Snapped
- Cold Justice
- Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (Dateline can also be found on NBC)
- A Wedding & A Murder
- Buried In The Backyard
- In Ice Cold Blood (With Law & Order: SVU’s very own Odafin Tutuola, Ice-T)
But my addiction doesn’t end there.
What To Do When You’re At Work Needing A True Crime Fix
I am sitting at work drawing up a set of construction documents. I need something to keep me focused. My music has become mundane. What now?
True crime podcasts!
Yes, not only do I watch true crime shows, I need a true crime fix at work. I discovered the podcasts by happenstance while watching an episode of Snapped one day. In the lower right-hand corner I saw an add for Martinis & Murder. It piqued my interest and come that Monday morning, I began listening to true crime podcasts. There are an incredible amount of true crime podcasts out there. Among my favorites are:
- Martinis & Murder
- Wine & Crime
- True Crime Brewery
- True Crime Obsessed
- Moms & Murder
- My Favorite Murder
