As published in CLAUDIA

The consumption of true crime series, programs, newspapers, books, films, and documentaries has always been seen as a lever for audience and sales. We complain that the news is always about misfortunes, crimes, and insecurities, but the numbers always show that bizarrely people like the genre.

The origin and popularity of “true crime”

The appeal of “true crime” can be attributed to several factors, each touching on different aspects of human psychology and social behavior that range from a fascination with the Dark Side of Human Nature, which is often disturbing, and which – from a distance – is fascinating to many, as is Psychological Curiosity because people are intrigued by the psychological aspects of crime and want to understand what leads individuals to commit heinous acts, how these criminals think and behave. There is also the Sense of Justice because many cases have punishment, it is satisfying to see that there would be a fair world.

But, in general, what appears to engage the public is Empathy and identification with real crimes that often humanize the victims, allowing the public to identify with their experiences and struggles, a powerful emotional connection that makes the stories more engaging.

The genre’s popularity, as I said, has persisted for centuries, but its modern incarnation began to gain significant strength at the turn of the 20th century, especially with the popularity of Truman Capote‘s classic, In Cold Blood, when the writer created the “nonfiction” genre. ”. Capote’s detailed, narrative account of the Clutter family murders in Kansas set a new standard and is a masterclass in storytelling. Digitization has only accelerated consumption and offers, but television programs such as Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted can also be pointed out as essential contributors to the popularity of True Crime, which is the subject of countless Podcasts, YouTube Channels, and Documentaries, bringing the genre into the mainstream.

And there is an increasingly common characteristic in all content: in general, the victims come in the background, they appear at the opening of the story, but quickly stop playing a leading role. Doesn’t that bother you? Recently, two documentaries made me feel the same thing, the victim loses her life and her voice, and she ends up as a fatality in a killer’s universe. Today I’m talking, in particular, about two documentaries that I recommend everyone watch: The Jinx, whose two seasons are on MAX, and O.J. Simpson: Made in America, from ESPN, which is on the Disney platform (Star Plus). In both, we see two millionaire men – who murdered their wives – escape justice thanks to fame and fortune. And they? Well, let’s talk about them today.

The two victims, Kathie McCormack Durst and Nicole Brown Simpson, are still barely remembered by the public, while the same is not true of their tormentors, Robert Durst and O.J. Simpson. Both men were protagonists of trials closely followed by the media, they became even more famous, they found jurors who had empathy for them, and they were acquitted and free until their respective deaths, in 2022 and 2024. It makes me hugely angry considering that neither Kathie nor Nicole surpassed 35 years of life thanks to them.

Where Nicole and Kathie “meet”

I thought about both a lot for different reasons. Although their deaths are more than a decade apart, we can easily connect the way they were and are still portrayed.

Kathie McCormack Durst was a young woman from a middle-class family who married Robert Durst, a wealthy New York real estate heir. She was last seen on December 31, 1982, and to this day we don’t know what happened, how she was killed, or where she is buried. Described at the time as docile and friendly, she was also presented as opportunistic, drugged, and difficult by Durst’s friends and defenders. What a surprise, right? Blaming the victim if she is a woman? It was common in the 1980s.

The mystery of Kathie’s disappearance prompted director Andrew Jarecki to make the film All Good Things, with Ryan Gosling and Kristen Dunst, in 2011. Years later, he made the award-winning The Jinx, in 2015, the documentary that began sympathetic to Robert Durst, but which, in a sensational twist, landed him in prison for the murder of his friend, Susan Berman.

No matter how hard Jarecki tried, neither in the film nor in the two seasons of The Jinx did we manage to understand who Kathie was, how she fell in love and married the strange Durst, nor did we capture the totality of the physical and psychological abuse she suffered before “to vanish”. As much happens in the true crime genre, the fascination is with the perpetrator. The victim is just the introduction.

The same happened with Nicole brown simpson. Nicole was the ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, a famous football player and actor, she was found brutally murdered in June 1994, on her doorstep, practically slit her throat. The police quickly came to O.J. as the main suspect and soon the couple’s relationship, marked by extreme domestic violence, was discovered by the public. The 911 calls and police reports paint a picture of a woman living in fear of her abusive ex-husband, yet she was still judged because she was young and “achieved fame and fortune through marriage.” In the trial of the century, which took place 30 years ago, we never truly heard Nicole or who she was. What remained were the desperate phone calls and photos of the injuries after her husband’s attacks. Desperate.

Would it be any surprise if I reminded you that both Robert Durst and O.J. Simpson were exonerated by the courts? At best, the two women were portrayed as victims of tragic circumstances, but their stories were sensationalized by the media, which often focused on the dramatic and violent aspects of their lives and little about who they really were.

In life, Robert Durst was never immediately charged with Kathie’s disappearance, but after The Jinx, he was arrested and tried for the murder of Susan Berman, who was connected to Kathie’s case. For the medical student’s family, Durst’s conviction 40 years later seemed like a relief, but a brief one. The millionaire died of COVID-19 before beginning to serve his sentence, which led to a mistrial. To this day, they still don’t have basic answers about what happened or where to find the first woman’s body.

Nicole’s murder led the world to the infamous Trial of the Century, where the player’s defense put the Racism of the Los Angeles police on the agenda, not her murder.

The ESPN documentary is sensational for contextualizing the importance of the event, but Nicole is just a brief quote, something that the family wants to change with another production – The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson – still with no premiere scheduled in Brazil (which I managed to find out!)

The media landscape evolved significantly between the time of Nicole Brown Simpson‘s murder in 1994 and the renewed interest in the Kathie McCormack Durst case in the 2010s, but not enough.

Nicole’s story has been covered primarily by traditional media outlets such as television and newspapers, while Kathie’s story has gained traction through modern platforms such as streaming services and social media.

It’s sad to see how much Kathie McCormack Durst and Nicole Brown Simpson have in common. Their stories share similarities in terms of themes of domestic violence and legal battles, as well as contributing to ongoing conversations about domestic violence and the way the legal system handles such cases. We must all change the narrative where victims are relegated to the background. It’s time for a change.

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