Look, I love true crime. Documentaries, podcasts, books, you name it. I’ve been consuming true crime content my whole life - my mother got me into it. Half of my desire to become a paralegal was founded in my passion for true crime, and I’m planning on volunteering for The Innocence Project once my life settles down a bit.

I joined some Facebook groups and subreddits surrounding the theme during lockdown. I very quickly learned there are a lot of people out there that don’t enjoy content about unsolved cases. This was a new thing to me: people having a preference about where in the murder investigation the case ends because they don’t enjoy the cliff hanger. It’s still weird to me.

The larger narrative now surrounds the idea of responsibly consuming true crime content. While that can come off as preachy, we are listening to stories about the worst day in someone’s life, in a mother/father/husband/wife/sister/brother/friend’s life; the idea that their tragedy is fodder for the masses sucks. Those “call to action” bits to sign a petition or write a congressman allow us to help… and feel better about enjoying the gruesome details of someone’s loved one’s death.

All this to say… Unsolved cases are the most important for us to listen to. They need more attention. Sure, the story isn’t wrapped up in a neat little bow with a conviction or execution. If we don’t have closure at the end of the story, you can bet your ass there’s someone out there who wants that closure much more than we do.