10 Horrific Murders in WNY That Were On True Crime Shows [List]
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 Western 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 10 times WNY has been featured in true crime shows.
1. 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
2. Fear They Neighbor - Burn Neighbor, Burn
The deadly fight between two brothers who are also neighbors in Alden was featured on Fear Thy Neighbor,
In peaceful Alden, New York, Helena Sindrewicz and husband David Ward have built the house of their dreams right beside Sindrewicz’s childhood home. Her brother Andrew still lives in the family home where he tends their ailing mother, Anneliese. All is well between the neighboring siblings until their other brother, Raymond, returns after many years away and moves in with Sindrewicz. Old tensions and grudges erupt between the brothers, and things get ugly, threatening, even physical. When Sindrewicz finally decides to sell the family home out from under Andrew, he brings their civil war to a shocking, fiery conclusion.
Credit: Cream via Youtube
3. 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
4. Solved - Bike Path Killer
The episode first 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.
Credit: Dan Oshier Productions via Youtube
5. Heist - Sex Magick Money Murder
The first two episodes of this Netflix docu-series follows 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
Credit: Netflix via Youtube
6. 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
7. 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: Medical Detectives - Full Episodes via Youtube
8. The First 48 - Kiss of Death
Season 14, Episode 8 of The First 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
9. Talhotblond
Talhotblond is a docu-movie about a "catfish" story that ended in murder in Erie County.
Thomas Montgomery (screen name: marinesniper), a 47-year-old married man, pleaded guilty to murdering his 22-year-old co-worker Brian Barrett (screen name: beefcake). The two men were involved in a love triangle with "Katie", who they thought to be an 18-year-old girl with the screen name 'talhotblond'. While both men knew each other from work, neither had ever met "Katie" in person. ~Wikipedia
Credit: Movieclips Classic Trailers via Youtube
10. Crime 360 - Nowhere to Run
Season 2, Episode 9 of Crime 360 follows detectives in Rochester, who are trying to solve the murder you a teenage boy.
A 15 year-old boy is shot to death on a neighborhood street. Investigators Tom Cassidy and C.J. Dominic interview a witness who saw two unknown men attack and shoot the boy.
Credit: Crime 360 via Youtube