16 Violent New York Murders Featured On True Crime Shows

I am a true crime buff who is addicted to Investigation Discovery, Oxygen, First 48, Forensic Files, etc. When I watch all of my different shows, I've taken note of whenever New York crimes are featured. Many of the stories are recycled and featured in different shows. While I am sure there are shows I have missed, here are 16 times New York has been featured in true crime shows.

1. Killer Kids - A Scream & Banana Split

Season 1, episode 14 features the murder of a 4-year-old child near the WNY region, in the Village of Savona, south of Rochester. A 13-year-old named Eric Smith killed a boy named Derrick Joseph Robie. It was the first time Derrick's mother allowed him to walk to a nearby park by himself.

Eric M. Smith is an American murderer who, at the age of thirteen, sexually abused and murdered four-year-old Derrick Joseph Robie, in Steuben County, New York, on August 2, 1993. Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to the maximum term then available for juvenile murderers: nine years to life in prison. Smith was granted parole in October 2021, after 27 years in prison. ~ WikiPedia

Credit: LMN via Youtube

2. Born Evil: The Serial Killer and the Savior

Episode 3 of season 1, tells the horrific story of Hadden Irving Clark, a murderer and suspected serial killer, from Troy, New York.

Hadden Irving Clark is an American murderer and suspected serial killer currently serving two 30-year sentences for the murders of 6-year-old Michele Lee Dorr in 1986, and 23-year-old Laura Houghteling in 1992. He was also given a 10-year sentence for robbery after stealing from a former landlord. ~ Wikipedia

Credit: Investigation Discovery via Youtube

3. The Lake Erie Murders - The Butcher of Buffalo

Episode 6 of season 1 features the murder of a Buffalo mother,

Mother of three Joan Giambra is discovered strangled, lying naked under her comatose young daughter, Kat. In a close-knit community, ex-husband Sam rapidly becomes the prime suspect but without hard evidence, the investigation hangs on Kat. ~ IMDb

 

Credit: The Lake Erie Murders via Youtube

4. Twisted Killers - Overkilled

The murders happened in the Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York. You can watch the episode (Season 1, Episode 3) on a variety of streaming platforms.

In upstate New York, a series of brutally violent stabbings sets police on the trail of a spree killer who targets women with increasing ferocity; three experts unpack this twisted killer's unusual compulsion to kill. ~ Rotten Tomatoes

 

5. Fatal Vows - Hell On Wheels

The teens met in their hometown, the Village of Sodus, which is located between Rochester and Syracuse. Season 7, Episode 4 is available on Max or via YouTube. The story was also featured on Oxygen's Killer Couples.

Charlene attracts more than one man with her beauty and one by one they all go crazy vying for her love; love may be heavenly, but for some it can be hell. ~ Direct TV

6. Fear They Neighbor - Burn Neighbor, Burn

The deadly fight between two brothers who are also neighbors in Alden was featured on Fear Thy Neighbor.

Credit: Cream via Youtube

7. Still A Mystery - Small Town Secrets

The episode (season 3, episode 11), which is about the murder of a mother in Jamestown, first aired on June 29, 2021.

In Jamestown, New York, Yolanda, a young mother of four disappears, her car the only trace left behind. When a massive search is undertaken, secrets rise to the surface, and the town discovers a clandestine tryst with one of the officers searching for Yolanda. ~ IMDb

 

Credit: Still A Mystery via Youtube

8. She Made Me Do It? - Cheryl Gasper

The show, season 2, episode 6, aired on Oxygen. The story, which took place in Cattaraugus County, was also featured on FBI: Criminal Pursuit - Pierced Heart. The story was also featured on FBI: Criminal Pursuit - Pierced Heart and Snapped on Oxygen.

A loving husband and father is found dead and all clues point to his wife's lover. Was this crime the result of lust and jealousy, or did a relentless seductress use her lover as a pawn to gain a huge life insurance policy for herself? ~ Youtube

 

9. Solved - Bike Path Killer

The first episode of the Investigation Discovery channel show aired on August 9, 2010.

A University at Buffalo student is found raped and murdered on a Bike Path in upstate New York. Police connect her murder to a series of rapes and later to two more murders. After more than a decade, they manage to connect the evidence and discover the murderer. ~ IMDb

 

Credit: Solved via Youtube

It was also featured in an episode of To Catch a Serial Killer.

10. Heist - Sex Magick Money Murder

The first two episodes of this Netflix docu-series follow Buffalo native Heather Tallchief,

Heather Tallchief gives in to hypnosis and aids career criminal Roberto Solis in a plot to steal $3.1 million from an armored truck in Las Vegas. ~ IMDb

 

11. Final Moments - Myrtle Beach Mystery

A young lady from Rochester goes missing in Myrtle Beach after she takes a trip there without her mother's permission. Final Moments (Season 2, Episode 8) aired on Oxygen.

A spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., is irresistible to teenager Brittanee Drexel, despite her mother’s opposition. When she disappears from the beach town, it will take years for her family to learn the truth about what happened to her. ~ Oxygen

Credit: Oxygen via Youtube

12. FBI: Criminal Pursuit - Pierced Heart

The episode first aired on the Oxygen channel on aired May 9, 2012. The crime was committed in Cattaraugus County.

Small-town family man Andie Gasper is murdered behind a shopping center in broad daylight, and the tragic case goes unsolved for 15 years. FBI agents are brought into the cold case, and uncover a twisted tale of sex, greed and broken promises. ~IMDb

The murder was also featured on a cold case episode of Snapped on Oxygen.

Credit: WIVBTV via Youtube

13. Forensic Files - Bad Medicine

This Forensic Files episode is about Dr. Anthony Pignataro, a WNY plastic surgeon, who tried to kill his wife.

Bad Medicine tells of how a cosmetic surgeon accidentally kills a patient, then deliberately poisons his wife. ~ Forensic Files Now

Credit: FilmRise True Crime via Youtube

Dr. Pignataro's case was also featured on Oxygen's License To Kill.

Credit: Oxygen via Youtube

14. The Bride Killa - The Ultimate Pledge

Season 1, episode 1, features a story about a woman who was from Buffalo, although the story doesn't take place in Buffalo. It's available on Demand on Amazon.

New Years Eve 2014 a holiday full of anger destroys a young Ohio couple when one is charged with the other's murder. But this marriage is not a story of deceit and betrayal but rather a cautionary tale of how a volatile relationship can develop. ~ Amazon

 

15. American Monster - A Mother's Work

The episode (Season 3, Episode 4)  is about Lanny and Donna Horwitz. The couple are from Buffalo where they met and became high school sweethearts. The crime took place in Florida. It was also featured on Oxygen's Ice Cold Blood.

Never-before-seen home movies reveal the fabulous lifestyle of a family in their Florida mansion. But when their lives are upended by a ghastly shooting, everyone in this eccentric family becomes a suspect. ~ Amazon

16. The First 48 - Kiss of Death

Season 14, Episode 8 of The First 48 is set in Rochester. It first aired on November 14, 2013.

In Rochester, a man from a neighboring suburb is found shot to death on a city street. The Major Crimes Unit tries to piece together the last hours of the victim’s life to discover what may have brought him there, and find that his wife may hold the key to solving the murder. ~A&E

Get our free mobile app