Chasing a True Crime Con Man’ Review

Anyone who has read a considerable amount of my work likely knows I take in a lot of true crime content. For me, it has much to do with an empathetic response to the victims’ plight. I want to see them get justice and I want to see their families get the closure they deserve. I yearn to see the responsible parties pay for their misdeeds. Not everyone has altruistic intent when consuming true crime programming, however. For that matter, not everyone involved in true crime journalism is there for the right reasons. The National Geographic docu-series Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man takes an in-depth look at a French journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author who used the cultural obsession with true crime for self-serving gains. The program also introduces viewers to a group of web sleuths who saw through those lies and brought an opportunistic con artist to justice. The series poses some interesting questions about true crime culture and gives the viewer food for thought. If you have ever pondered the cost true crime fandom poses, this series is worth seeking out. 

Killer Lies exposes a self-serving ‘expert’ who bamboozled the general public

The con artist at the center of the program is one Stéphane Bourgoin. We see his story largely through the eyes of Lauren Collins, a staff writer at The New Yorker who extensively profiled Bourgoin’s fraudulent exploits. In partnership with director Ben Selkow, she speaks about Bourgoin’s role in helping to popularize true crime content in his native France. The reporting also painstakingly fact-checks his outlandish claims, many of which are flat-out false or largely exaggerated. 

Bourgoin rose to prominence by falsifying his credentials and experience, lying about his background, and perpetrating a never-ending stream of falsehoods. True crime buffs and the FBI alike bought his lies for decades. But a collective of Internet sleuths who call themselves The 4^th Eye dug into Bourgoin‘s background and exposed his empire of lies. Collins amplified their claims and helped clue the general public into the scope of Bourgoin’s deception. The series examines the cultural elements that paved the way for his rise to prominence and calls out the role the media and true crime buffs play in all of this. 

But how did it take this long?

What might be most shocking about the series is that Bourgoin wasn’t exposed sooner. He is clearly a person who admires the people he’s profiling. That becomes apparent during a jailhouse interview featured early in the series. We watch archival footage of Bourgoin speaking with convicted serial killer and cannibal Ottis Toole. Bourgoin is fawning all over Toole and trying to ingratiate himself with the convicted killer. That’s not journalism and it’s not an objective approach. That’s hero worship, plain and simple. In a subsequent exchange, we witness Bourgoin ask convicted killer Gerald Schaefer to autograph a book for him. It’s especially important for a crime journalist to maintain objectivity and perspective. So, the idea that people gave him a pass for so long is troublesome.

Bourgoin fawning all over convicted killers is just the tip of the iceberg, of course. We eventually learn that he gave away baggies of (what he falsely claimed were) the remains of serial killer Gerard Schaefer to those who bought copies of his book. That is unconscionable, tactless, and disgusting. But he got away with that, and more, for years. 

The inconsistencies and lies continue to mount as the docu-series progresses, culminating in an absolutely unforgivable revelation. I won’t say exactly what I’m referring to because the series is likely to have a greater impact on potential viewers if they go in as cold as possible. But suffice it to say that Bourgoin fabricated one lie in particular that is so sinister it will make your skin crawl. You’ll know exactly what I mean if/when you sit down to watch the program.   

On the whole:

I enjoyed watching a true crime series that isn’t afraid to speak to the harmful effects of true crime fandom. Doing so seems like biting the hand that feeds. But we need to be forthright about the impact of our collective obsession and ensure we are being respectful and considering the human element at the core of these fascinating stories. 

If you are game to check out Killer Lies, you can stream all 3 episodes of the National Geographic series on Hulu now. 

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