The Vengeful True Crime Documentary That's Dominating Netflix
Where does justice end and revenge begin? This might seem like the tagline of another take on Batman fighting his parents' murderers, but it also describes Netflix's newest documentary. Why Did You Kill Me? tells the story of Crystal Theobald, a 24-year-old resident of the Arlanza neighborhood in Riverside, California. In 2006, she was caught in the middle of a shooting when members of the 5150 gang mistook her car for one owned by a rival group, MD (via Radio Times). Neither Theobald, her brother nor her boyfriend, who were all in the car, had any affiliations with local gangs.
While Theobald is the center of the narrative, the meat of Why Did You Kill Me? follows her mother, Belinda Lane, and cousin, Jaimie McIntyre, who catfished suspects with a fake Myspace profile featuring Theobald's picture. As history shows, her murderers, including William Sotelo and Julio Heredia, were found guilty and convicted of manslaughter (via NBC Los Angeles). However, Why Did You Kill Me? focuses on the thought processes of Lane and McIntyre, including the way Lane dealt with the desire to kill her daughter's murderers.
Why Did You Kill Me? is #3 on Netflix
While it's too early to tell if Why Did You Kill Me? will gain recognition as one of 2021's best documentaries, it has already become extremely popular.
According to Netflix's proprietary software and third-party sites such as Flix Patrol, Why Did You Kill Me? is the third-most popular program on Netflix among U.S. audiences, right between the sitcom Dad Stop Embarrassing Me and the game show The Circle. However, since those are categorized as TV shows, Why Did You Kill Me? is elevated to the position of second-most popular Netflix movie in the United States, barely losing to Thunder Force.
Currently, Flix Patrol lists Why Did You Kill Me? as the sixth most-watched choice on Netflix across the planet. While more popular than the psychological thriller Run (which is only available on Hulu within the U.S.), the documentary isn't quite in the same league as the animated martial arts movie New Gods: Nezha Reborn.
Even though the events of Why Did You Kill Me? took place in the early 2000s, the tragedy reentered the public eye following the suspects' conviction in 2020. Only time will tell if Why Did You Kill Me? will increase or decrease in viewership, but you won't have to spend a long time searching Netflix for it.