Mysterious Deaths & Complicated Trials Highlight a Trio of Crime Docs on HBO

Every crime has a story in HBO’s trilogy of compelling two-part documentaries, beginning Tuesday, July 9. The films explore a wide range of issues, including race, gender and class bias, and offer new insights into cases involving young adults and children that received national and international attention.

With exclusive access to family members, law enforcement officials and criminal justice proceedings, the documentaries reveal the complex stories behind the crimes.

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Debuting on successive Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the trilogy kicks off with Erin Lee Carr’s I Love You, Now Die, which explores a 2014 texting suicide case. After 18-year-old Conrad Roy killed himself in his car in Fairhaven, Mass., police discovered text messages in which his girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, seemed to encourage him to commit suicide.

The case sparked sensational headlines nationwide, leading to a trial that raised difficult questions about technology, social media and mental health, while asking if one person can be held responsible for the suicide of another.

Courtesy of HBO

The trilogy continues on July 16 with P.A. Carter’s riveting Behind Closed Doors, examining the mystery behind the double murder of a 13-year-old girl, Aarushi Talwar, and her family’s servant, Hemraj Banjade, in their home in Noida, India, which sparked a media frenzy and has haunted an entire nation for more than a decade.

The film reconstructs the story, beginning with the early-morning discovery of the murders, charting the initial missteps by local police, the hurried transfer of the case to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, the use of dubious interrogation techniques, the sensational criminal trial and the multiple legal appeals. The documentary explores how class divisions and cultural biases clouded the search for answers, which remain elusive today.

Courtesy of HBO

The trilogy concludes with two-time Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® winner Liz Garbus’ Who Killed Garrett Phillips?, which examines the 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips and the subsequent trial of Clarkson University soccer coach Oral “Nick” Hillary.

The engrossing documentary chronicles the five years following the murder, as Phillips’ family and community relentlessly seek justice, and Hillary fights to prove his innocence and take back control of his life while raising five children.

I Love You, Now Die – Part 1, Premiere, Tuesday, July 9, 8/7c, followed by Part 2, Wednesday, July 10, 8/7c, HBO

Behind Closed Doors – Part 1, Premiere, Tuesday, July 16, 8/7c, followed by Part 2, Wednesday, July 17, 8/7c, HBO

Who Killed Garrett Phillips? – Part 1, Premiere, Tuesday, July 23, 8/7c, followed by Part 2, Wednesday, July 24, 8/7c, HBO