A harrowing true crime series has raced to the top of Netflix‘s charts – and it is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Two-part documentary Manhunt: The Child Snatcher initially aired on Channel 5 in 2023.
It follows the lengthy police pursuit of 1980s serial killer Robert Black, who was ultimately convicted of four child killings and suspected of even more.
The child murderer died in prison back in 2016, aged 68, following a heart attack.
Black’s career as a delivery driver allowed him to remain undetected for a number of years – as he had been able to abduct children and transport them in his van.Â
Meanwhile, the docuseries features first-hand testimonies from people directly impacted by the heartbreaking case.
A harrowing true crime documentary has raced to the top of Netflix charts after being added to the streamer
Manhunt: The Child Snatcher highlights the lengthy police pursuit of 1980s killer Robert Black, who was ultimately convicted of four child killings and suspected of even moreÂ
Meanwhile, the docuseries features first-hand testimonies from people directly impacted by the heartbreaking case.
It soon reached the top of the Netflix charts upon being added to the streaming service.
The crimes took place over the course of a decade, although Black was finally apprehended in 1990.
He was seen abducting a six-year-old girl from the Scottish village of Stow, with the eyewitness soon alerting the authorities.
Upon finding the van, officers discovered the girl hooded, bound, gagged and stuffed in a sleeping bag – and alive.Â
During their investigation, police subsequently linked this incident to prior murders committed by Black.
In 1994, he was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of three girls: Susan Maxwell (11), Caroline Hogg (5) and Sarah Harper (10).
Black was then convicted in 2011 for the sexual assault and murder of a fourth girl, nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy, in 1981.
At the time of his death in 2016, Devon and Cornwall Police revealed they had been weeks away from pursuing action with the 1978 disappearance of Gennette Tate.
It comes as viewers previously hailed a true crime documentary about an unsolved murder as ‘one of the best Netflix has ever made’.
Who Killed Little Gregory? examines the case of Gregory Villemin, a French boy who was abducted from his home and murdered aged four, with his body found like two-and-a-half miles from his home.
In particular, it takes a closer look at the events leading up to Gregory’s disappearance, as well as the eerie events that began after his death.Â
On the day Gregory vanished, his mother first raised the alarm – and within half an hour, his uncle claimed he’d been contacted anonymously with the chilling news the child had been thrown into the nearby River Vologne.
Netflix is no stranger to a chart-topping true crime documentary, viewers previously hailed one of their quietly-added productions as ‘their best yet’
The child’s body was found at 9pm that evening just a short journey from his home, bound with rope and with a woollen hat pulled over his face.
His family received an anonymous letter, reading: ‘I have taken vengeance,’ after the killing – following months of phone calls from a man threatening to hurt the family for reasons that were never explained.
Since it was released on Netflix, in 2019, there have been a resurgence of true-crime fans tuning in to watch it – calling it ‘superb and harrowing’.
Writing on IMDb, one fan penned: ‘Home with a cold so I binge-watched this in the morning and it is a truly harrowing and shocking documentary.
‘It explores not just grief, a judiciary gone astray but the ability of the public to act as like a mob with pitchfork and burning torch in another. A study of humanity.’
Another chimed in: ‘A brilliant and breathtaking reconstitution of a multifaceted investigation, an allegorical epic on media and justice, secrets and lies, ambitions and misfortunes, community and individualism, violence and envy.
‘All through highly fanciful, quixotic and controversial real-life characters. This documentary series is one of the best Netflix has ever produced.’
A third wrote: ‘The storytelling keeps you hooked, gradually introducing viewers to the complexities of the investigation without ever losing you or making the story confusing.
‘If you enjoy true crime stories that are thoughtfully produced and well-paced, I definitely recommend giving Who Killed Little Gregory a watch