American Murder: The Family Next Door (Netflix)

[Lobster Roll]

So my partner wanted to watch something disturbing last night with it being October and all ... and she has a taste for true crime stories as well, so we landed on "American Murder: The Family Next Door" on Netflix. This apparently launched on September 30, 2020. I went to Era last night after watching to see if there was already a thread, and what I found was this thread from two years ago:

Husband of pregnant Frederick woman detained, has confessed to killing her and 2 daughters

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/crime/sources-husband-of-pregnant-frederick-woman-detained-has-confessed-to-killing-her-and-2-daughters I don’t know if anyone else has been following this story-my family has-but the husband just confessed in the last 30 minutes that he did it.

www.resetera.com

Has anybody else watched this true crime story? It's quite remarkable considering the sheer volume of photos, videos, text messages, and camera footage that exists. While watching, it felt very wrong to watch everything unfold because it felt like I was creeping way too hard on these people and their situation. It's a true crime story that has a truly modern paper trail as the mother was extremely (and I mean extremely) active on social media and connected to her phone at all times. As a courtesy, I must warn people, it's a fucked up story and it's really, really tragic. The story has implanted itself into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it, and not in a positive way.

 

[PintSizedSlasher]

Yeah, I watched this last night.
It's not a complex story like some other true crime documentaries, but the remarkable footage makes it pretty special.

 

[Dark Cloud]

It was hard to watch. I almost wanted to cry

 

[Deleted member 22528]

Haven't seen the doc but I remember watching the bodycam footage and

Spoiler

watching his neighbor immediately putting shit together

which was cool

 

[Drakeon]

Yeah, it's unsettling since you feel like you get to know Shennan and her family from the videos peppered in.

Spoiler: Spoilers

Family Annihilators are always unsettling. Learned that term from my favorite true crime podcast Crime Junkies.

 

[rpm]

I watched it a few days ago. Definitely worth a watch, very unsettling though

 

[RockTiddies]

What got me the most is that the little girls were so enamored with their father.

And how through it all, the stark amount of social media posts from the mother portrays a very real point of view that needs no real assurance: nothing you see in social media is how it is.

 

[NinjaScooter]

This dude was a true sociopath. Haven't watched the doc but I've seen some of the police cam footage. The part where they go over to his neighbor's house and he watches the neighbor's security cam footage that basically blows his bullshit story/alibi wide open is incredible. Reminds me of Scott Pederson. Being able to murder a woman and two children so callously and continue on interacting with their family, friends, police, ect... like nothing happened, all so that you can continue on with whatever affair or midlife crisis they had going on is just mind boggling.

 

[kurahador]

Watching this really ruined my day. I really can't get a read on the husband. Is he a sociopath or really just a normal guy who lost it? The whole thing is so fucked up.

 

[Falcon511]

I read up on this case a year ago and it was unsettling. Somehow he thought he could get away with it. He was that fucking stupid. Its heartbreaking.

 

[Citizencope]

Watched it last night. The footage and texts were wild to follow but when it ended I wasn't sure what to think. I watch a lot of true crime shows but not many with kids involved. Wished I hadn't watched it.

 

[davidnolan13]

I'd not long heard about this case through the red handed podcast and seeing the stuff play out in video form just made it harder to get through and made him look like an even bigger cunt.

 

[futurevoid]

I watched it a few nights ago. It was sickening to watch, frankly. That he was so able to do the things that he did and act as though nothing was wrong was just..wow.

 

[platocplx]

I don't think I could touch this one. kids getting killed is extra disturbing. What stories I've heard was some dad killing his son for insurance money.

 

[DanGo]

Haven't seen the doc but I remember watching the bodycam footage and

Spoiler

watching his neighbor immediately putting shit together

which was cool

Click to shrink...

Watched this last night and I also really appreciated the neighbor immediately pointing out oddities to the police instead of keeping quiet and/or just giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Winstano]

I caught this story from Jim Can't Swim on YouTube earlier this year. Heartbreaking to watch, but the biggest surprise from watching the Netflix doc was how quickly it all unravelled for him. I thought it was a matter of weeks, but the interviewers broke him down in DAYS.

Fascinating but really harrowing watch

 

[Lobster Roll]

Watched this last night and I also really appreciated the neighbor immediately pointing out oddities to the police instead of keeping quiet and/or just giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Click to shrink...

Wife and two kids are missing? Yup. Gonna just be calm, cool, and collected as I emotionlessly go from room to room to confirm missing items.

 

[sfedai0]

Yea, caught this the other night. Short and to the point. No twists or curveballs. It was a good decision to forgo reenactments and tell the story from the wife's video recordings and social media posts.

 

[Conkerkid11]

I'm always impressed with these because they make it sound like everyone in the country was picking this thing apart at the time, but I swear I never heard about it until this Netflix thing dropped.

Spoiler

Kinda crazy how it ends too. I was just thinking the entire time that there's no way it ends up being that obvious. There's gotta be something crazy going on. And then he came in saying she killed the kids, and suddenly we were in some Shutter Island shit. Kind of crazy that there's nothing in there to really suggest why he ended up snapping like this. All it really shows is him being more obvious about cheating on her near the end there. Absolutely insane when his Mom says she forgives him too. Like... Fucking what? How do you look your son in the eyes and forgive him after he murders his family?

 

[Book One]

what exactly is the 'neighbor' footage some of you are referencing?

 

[Rizific]

I watched a series of YouTube videos from JCS Criminal Psychology a while back and it analyzes the behavior (with the abundant video footage+interview footage) of the husband. It's like from the get go dude was obviously full of shit. Definitely recommend as supplemental viewing.

 

[Lobster Roll]

what exactly is the 'neighbor' footage some of you are referencing?

Click to shrink...

Towards the very end, the neighbor whispers to cop (caught on bodycam) "he's not acting right" or something similar to that regarding how he was behaving knowing that his two kids and wife were "missing".

 

[LFMartins86]

Is this the case where

Spoiler

the neighbor says to the police that he has footage of the driveway and then the agent, the neighbor and the killer check out the footage and you can see the killer putting something in his car in the middle of the night?

 

[EternalDarko]

I saw some.youtube docs on this that basically had all the same footage about a year or more ago. The guy is a true disgusting example of the depths that humans can go.

 

[Rizific]

Is this the case where

Spoiler

the neighbor says to the police that he has footage of the driveway and then the agent, the neighbor and the killer check out the footage and you can see the killer putting something in his car in the middle of the night?

Click to shrink...

Yes

 

[Garfield]

Is this the case where

Spoiler

the neighbor says to the police that he has footage of the driveway and then the agent, the neighbor and the killer check out the footage and you can see the killer putting something in his car in the middle of the night?

Click to shrink...

yes, then the neighbour even points that out to the cop, who brushes it off

 

[Kinthey]

Killing your own family is just one of the most messed up things I can imagine. I don't think familicides happen too often but that it's phenomenon at all is curious

Is this the case where

Spoiler

the neighbor says to the police that he has footage of the driveway and then the agent, the neighbor and the killer check out the footage and you can see the killer putting something in his car in the middle of the night?

Click to shrink...

I remember that. Pretty eerie situation

 

[tycoonheart]

Yeah watched it. Him describing how he killed his wife and daughters was honestly difficult to watch.

 

[Igniz12]

I stumbled on this case while going down the youtube true crime rabbit hole and to my surprise I saw this pop up literally a week later. Not gonna watch it cause the story is too damn tragic and I want to spare myself the grizzly details but I recommend people look for the police interview/interrogation videos, the level of sociopathy is just next level.

They were kinda cathartic cause the interrogators let him hang himself before going in for the kill. At one point he tried to fucking blame his wife for the murder of his children and claimed that he killed her as revenge for their deaths.

 

[LFMartins86]

yes, then the neighbour even points that out to the cop, who brushes it off

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I remember seeing the cop say that he did that so the guy wouldn't be alarmed.

 

[Drakeon]

I stumbled on this case while going down the youtube true crime rabbit hole and to my surprise I saw this pop up literally a week later. Not gonna watch it cause the story is too damn tragic and I want to spare myself the grizzly details but I recommend people look for the police interview/interrogation videos, the level of sociopathy is just next level.

They were kinda cathartic cause the interrogators let him hang himself before going in for the kill. At one point he tried to fucking blame his wife for the murder of his children and claimed that he killed her as revenge for their deaths.

Click to shrink...

The interrogation videos are in the Netflix Documentary.

 

[PawPrints]

Props to Shannan's best friend.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I watch loads of stuff like this but man this was hard to watch,
The texts and vlogs and then the security camera just make it way more personal and everything.

Killing your own family is just one of the most messed up things I can imagine. I don't think familicides happen too often but that it's phenomenon at all is curious

Click to shrink...

The French case that was in Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries this season was crazy as well

 

[cmdrshepard]

It really is unbelievable just how much real footage is in there and how the majority of the timeline is completely covered with either personal videos copied from FB, texts provided or police body cams and interviews. To have the timeline all laid out like that was just disturbing - it felt like I was invading this families privacy (even though the victims family was involved with the doco). I think it is disturbing television but also one that has to be seen to appreciate how much is all there and how something so simple lead to someone completely destroying their own and the lives of everyone around them and it was all on film for the world to see.

 

[Reckheim]

Props to Shannan's best friend.

Click to shrink...

yeh, the husband for sure thought that he had more time to make it look like they disappeared. He didn't expect people to be in the house the very next morning.

Also the reason why the wife had such a huge presence on social media was because she was part of an MLM; which I found kind of interesting.

 

[LordFish]

Towards the very end, the neighbor whispers to cop (caught on bodycam) "he's not acting right" or something similar to that regarding how he was behaving knowing that his two kids and wife were "missing".

Click to shrink...

Wanna know whats fucked? From a reddit thread:

[–]ogodtheaftermath 18 points 3 days ago
Not sure if this was said, but if you watch the video when he's at the neighbors house, there is a commercial with a hand dragging a skull into a pile of oil. The chance of being coincidence is soooooo fucking slim that it absolutely terrifies me. I'm not even religious and that shit rattled me.
Dude is beyond fucked up I hope he pays in the afterlife.


[–]montreal2929 10 points 3 days ago*
WHAT THE F———— That's about the scariest thing I've ever seen..... the FETUS and then the oil.


[–]Jesustake_thewheel 7 points 3 days ago
That just about took me out!! What the actual Fuck are the odds of that commerical playing at that time?! Neighbor knew something wasn't right immediately. This case is going to haunt me for years to come.



[–]dickielala 13 points 3 days ago
There's also a fetus shown on the TV, which made him remember to tell the police Shannan was pregnant. The universe does work in mysterious ways!

Click to shrink...

 

[Spinluck]

I watched this last night and couldn't sleep. It fucked me up and I kind of felt like I was invading the privacy of someone dead.

While watching it I wasn't convinced that all the social media stuff helped them solve this crime. Just made this all sadder to me and really drove home how we sometimes really don't know what inhumane things people can be capable of.

The husband was not only a cowardly piece of shit, sociopath, and a liar but also an idiot who the cops and everyone in there neighborhood immediately grew suspicious of.

I'm glad he's rotting in prison but yeah. This felt invasive. I am not sure if this means anything but it looked like the family gave Netflix the go ahead? Anyway, I can't recommend it to anyone who is really sensitive to these type of things.

Just heartbreaking.

 

[Deleted member 24079]

Watching this really ruined my day. I really can't get a read on the husband. Is he a sociopath or really just a normal guy who lost it? The whole thing is so fucked up.

Click to shrink...

Same. My partner and I looked each other and just agreed it was super disturbing. The thing culminates in a very violating way that makes me feel it wasn't a great puzzle to solve. I feel bad for all of them. The father and wife clearly had issues. He could've just left them, she could've moved on.

 

[mookie1515]

Ugh, this happened near miles from me and I had to live with the news updates for months on end. I don't think I can relive it.

 

[RoninZ]

Same. My partner and I looked each other and just agreed it was super disturbing. The thing culminates in a very violating way that makes me feel it wasn't a great puzzle to solve. I feel bad for all of them. The father and wife clearly had issues. He could've just left them, she could've moved on.

Click to shrink...

I watched it like a week ago. Thats the most crazy thing. He could have left, it was over and he had a new girl. It is pure evil what he did to all 3.

 

[ThiefofDreams]

When the neighbor talks to the officer the next day, I had to actually look this up because I thought it was "too" real and convenient. Boy was I wrong.

 

[rycisko]

This is probably one of the most interesting views into a case I've ever seen, and im a true crime junkie whos read and watched a ton of stuff.

Watching the way the killer acts, and seeing him interact and pitch his side of the story from the second he meets the police is insane. You don't see the victims, pictures, anything, the entire episode is tense based off his voice and story alone.

You guys should watch it. Incredibly sad story just broken down piece by piece over an hour and a half almost exclusively from the police point of view (body cams, phones, interrogations, etc)

And of course, a major fuck this guy to wrap up everything. Truly a piece of shit.

 

[BrickArts295]

You know I kinda make fun of the whole "Dad went out to buy a box cigarettes and never came back" but this is one of those times where I wish that was the case. Seems a million times more simpler then what he did.

 

[Meg Cherry]

I'm always impressed with these because they make it sound like everyone in the country was picking this thing apart at the time, but I swear I never heard about it until this Netflix thing dropped.

Spoiler

Kinda crazy how it ends too. I was just thinking the entire time that there's no way it ends up being that obvious. There's gotta be something crazy going on. And then he came in saying she killed the kids, and suddenly we were in some Shutter Island shit. Kind of crazy that there's nothing in there to really suggest why he ended up snapping like this. All it really shows is him being more obvious about cheating on her near the end there. Absolutely insane when his Mom says she forgives him too. Like... Fucking what? How do you look your son in the eyes and forgive him after he murders his family?

Click to shrink...

It does kinda give you a peek into the world of HLN, and the side of 24 cable news that is exclusively focused on this sort of true crime voyeurism. To a certain part of America, this was a major story that really grabbed people's attention. But if you're not in that bubble, it's never going to surface for you - until Netflix repackages it in a flashy, cool documentary.

 

[Spinluck]

This is probably one of the most interesting views into a case I've ever seen, and im a true crime junkie whos read and watched a ton of stuff.

Watching the way the killer acts, and seeing him interact and pitch his side of the story from the second he meets the police is insane. You don't see the victims, pictures, anything, the entire episode is tense based off his voice and story alone.

You guys should watch it. Incredibly sad story just broken down piece by piece over an hour and a half almost exclusively from the police point of view (body cams, phones, interrogations, etc)

And of course, a major fuck this guy to wrap up everything. Truly a piece of shit.

Click to shrink...

The polygraph scene literally doubled my heart rate. Truly harrowing stuff. As you said, not a great puzzle solve, but psychologically speaking, the way both detectives particularly the one who administered the polygraph were a step ahead of him every step of the way was something to behold. They folded him in no time.

 

[Professor Fate]

What got me the most is that the little girls were so enamored with their father.

Click to shrink...

Hearing one of the daughter's last words really did a number on me. I've kind of been off kilter ever since.

 

[ReginaldXIV]

He wasn't a sociopath or a psychopath. He was an narcissistic asshole who couldn't bare the shame of wanting a divorce (or the cost) and got extremely delusional with what was clearly a fling to the younger woman. It makes it much worse that someone so normal could do something this heinous.

It was impressive how quickly detectives solved this. Even down to something simple like him going to the gym and getting fit with that large of a family linking him to an affair. Really sucks watching good police work knowing the whole system is shit.

 

[Dremorak]

Haven't seen the doc but I remember watching the bodycam footage and

Spoiler

watching his neighbor immediately putting shit together

which was cool

Click to shrink...

OOOHHHHH SHIT. This is THAT story?
Now I have to watch it.
Yeah I remember that too, absolutely disturbing but the neighbor figuring it out in real time was NUTS

 

[rycisko]

The polygraph scene literally doubled my heart rate. Truly harrowing stuff. As you said, not a great puzzle solve, but psychologically speaking, the way both detectives particularly the one who administered the polygraph were a step ahead of him every step of the way was something to behold. They folded him in no time.

Click to shrink...

I actually told my fiance the Police in that scene gave me just as creepy vibes as the killer at some points...Much like 'Making a Murderer', you can really see how they mentally dissect you and almost try to implant thoughts and phrases (in this case, they were true and of positive nature) but that shit goes both ways and it's equally as fascinating and scary to watch. Even the shoulder touches as they leave rooms seemed very calculated.

 

[alr1ght]

Sadly, these cases aren't all that uncommon.

I always cringe at the interrogation techniques the cops use when questioning people. Polygraphs are total bullshit, even if it was right in this case.