NETFLIX has released a new three-part documentary to tell the real-life story of a series of murders in Berlin.
Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer puts a spotlight on a true crime tale that still shakes investigators to this day.
What is Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer about?
The documentary is set in the German capital of Berlin and its bustling nightlife.
When three young men from the queer community were murdered in 2012 and a fourth victim barely survived, grief and fear are said to have descended on the party scene.
The series will feature voices from investigators on the case, relatives of the men who were killed, and a survivor who narrowly escaped the same fate.
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Crime Scene is a franchise created by Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich filmmaker Joe Berlinger.
They have already explored the widely-discussed death of Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel and the 1970s serial killer Richard Cottingham, also known as the Times Square Killer.
This is the first time the franchise is going international.
The executive producers for the series are the Beetz Brothers’ Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Florian Fettweis and Christian Beetz.
“The true-crime genre is important than ever in our documentary industry, so, we will release a bigger slate of true-crime documentaries and series,” said Beetz.
“We will invest in the future more in its development and storytelling. I am very excited to work in these field with our showrunner and CCO Georg Tschurtschenthaler and with the EP Joe Berlinger.”
Is Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer based on true events?
The documentary is based on real events targeting individuals in gay bars.
In 2012, Berlin was the scene of a grim series of events where three men were murdered and robbed after being secretly drugged.
Initially, the unidentified assailant was labelled The Darkroom Murderer, though only one murder occurred in a dark room of a gay club in Berlin.
The perpetrator then targeted men within the city's nightlife for his attacks.
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The breakthrough in the investigation came when one intended victim survived an attack, and the murderer attempted to purchase a train ticket using a credit card from one of his deceased victims, leading investigators to intensify their pursuit.
The crimes are said to have taken place within a few days.
According to German news agency Tagesspiegel, the triple murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2013.
The 39-year-old killer, identified as Dirk P., was to spend at least 25 years in prison.
A German court believed that greed was the main motive, even though the total loot was only 500 euros.
However, Judge Peter Schuster also stated in his verdict, "He also wanted to feel total power over others and revel in it."
Before committing the crime, he served as a trainee teacher at an elementary school in Brandenburg.
Originally, his training was in nursing, which equipped him with knowledge about the deadly impact of liquid ecstasy or GHB.
Prior to these murders, his criminal record was clean.
The killer took his own life in 2014 while inside.
In 2019, a German crime drama called Darkroom – Tödliche Tropfen, also reported on the case.
How to watch Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer
The series, which is likely to pave the way for the international expansion of Crime Scene, is set to debut on Netflix on April 3.
The entire series will be in German, however it can be subtitled.
Nightlife Killer will be broken into three episodes, similar to The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.
