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Frederick, Colorado, August 2018. A pregnant mother and her two young daughters are reported missing. Her husband appears on camera, pleading for their safe return. Within days, the story took a turn that shocked the nation.
American Murder: The Family Next Door is a Netflix documentary about the Watts family. It was directed by Jenny Popplewell. There are no narrators and no talking-head experts. The story is told almost entirely through real footage: police body camera video, interrogation tapes, 911 calls, text messages, and the family's own social media posts and home videos.
That approach is what makes it so unsettling. You watch the polished online image of a happy family. Then you watch investigators start to see the cracks. The footage lets you see the case unfold in real time, and it raises hard questions about how well we really know the people next door. It also treats the victims with respect, keeping the focus on the family they were and the lives they lost. The case ended in a conviction, and the documentary lays out how investigators got there.
It's a tough watch, and it's one you won't be able to look away from. Start it tonight and find where to stream it on Netflix.
