“It’s sad that they’re just making money off this tragedy. That’s just greed”.
Those are the words of Rita Isbell. You may not know her name or her face, but she appears as a character in Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
But Rita is more than a character, and her brother, Errol Lindsey, murdered by Dahmer, is more than a plotline. Netflix has been collecting a pile of similar complaints from various families of Dahmer’s victims–it appears they have yet to acknowledge a single one. Lindsey’s cousin has said the show is re-traumatising for his family and accused the streaming service of not consulting them at all.
Sympathy for victims of murder, rape, or assault seems in short supply in the genre of True Crime. Podcasts are titled things like My Favourite Murder, and YouTubers upload Hello Fresh-sponsored videos where they detail gruesome real-life stories while applying glitter eyeshadow and a false eyelash.
Errol Lindsey’s case is not the only one that has resurfaced this year. This month, the brother of Hae Min Lee (whose murder was made famous by the 2014 podcast Serial) spoke virtually to a court room at the overturning of Adnan Syed’s conviction.
“This is not a podcast for me,” he reportedly said. “It’s real life that will never end. It’s been 20-plus years. It’s a nightmare”.
I found something sinister about podcast-host Sarah Koenig referencing Young Lee’s pleas in a 16-minute update episode for the series’ breakout story to an audience of millions. It almost feels like the sympathy this media claims it holds for victims and their loved one falls just short of them begging to be left alone.
Theories are pondered by cult-like followers as if they’re discussing the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Hosts and actors are fawned over like new puppies. 17 names are harder to remember than one, so focus drifts onto potential suspects and serial killers for the benefit of the audience. Little regard seems to be paid to the inevitable damage caused.
Controversial conclusions are encouraged for ratings, and it is evident some conclusions are drawn before the start. Hosts like Serial’s Sarah Koenig form what they believe are strong friendships with who they’re investigating, making it near impossible for a listener to form any independent judgement of character. Documentaries like Making a Murderer let their bias slip through in the title itself.
Drama and controversy feed the beast that is true crime’s global audience. The great pretence is that it has no impact on people’s lives, or even legal proceedings. If only that were the case. Earlier this year, Christopher Dawson was charged with the murder of his wife, Lynette, after the podcast The Teacher’s Pet (hosted by Hedley Thomas) pushed the case into the mainstream in 2018.
The lead investigator argued in court that Thomas may have contaminated evidence and heavily influenced multiple witnesses’ recollection of events. The trial was delayed by nine months given the newfound infamy of the case, and no jury was present after concerns that the podcast’s popularity denied Dawson a fair trial.
Legal systems do make mistakes – sometimes terrible ones. But are these solved by turning some cases into entertainment for millions – therefore possibly prejudicing any future trial? And does the voyeuristic interest in the dead – who through no fault of their own have their lives defined by their killers – help still living friends and family grieve and reach peace? It’s time true crime fans stopped peering into the lives of others and took a long hard look in the mirror instead.
