Natural Causes
Confronting a Serial Killer: Episode #4: Restoring Their Names (2021): 7 out of 10: Jillian continues her search for the identity of Sam’s victims. Confronting a Serial Killer makes a trip to Louisiana to give us a thorough analysis into the life and family and friends of one of Sam’s victims. Jillian and a retired LA detective attempt to identify another of Sam’s victims.
Evil Incarnate
Sam explains he owns the souls of every one of his victims. He would often make them pledge their souls before he killed them.
Jillian talks about how moved she feels talking to the families of the cold cases that are now solved. She feels a tremendous responsibility to find the identity of these ninety-three women and bring closure to thier families.
Daisy McGuire
Very good, and thorough coverage of the death of Daisy McGuire in Louisiana. The indifferent (and incompetent Sherrif) and the general indifference to her death. Daisy was an addict and a mental patient. So, though she was clearly beaten to death and her body was placed under a building, it was listed as natural causes. Did they have Sam Little as a suspect at the time? Yup. But he had left town, so they dropped that lead.
Once again, the obvious is the obvious. Sam picked his victims carefully, almost instinctively. He didn’t care about race or even looks. Sam cared about vulnerability and isolation from society. He cared they lived in communities that would not cooperate with law enforcement or make a fuss about another dead body.
Walking Tour
The last twenty minutes are Jillian and a retired detective Rick Jackson investigating the identification of an LA victim of Sam’s. All they have to go on is the name Alice, a drawing of her, the date she was killed and where her body was dumped. Anyone who thinks this ought to be wrapped up in time for dinner is in for a surprise.
Jillian and Rick tour LA visiting the hotel/ apartments that Sam picked her up at. (It’s now a hardware store). Visiting the location where Alice smoked crack. And driving towards the beach to find the overpass near a bike path where Sam dumped the body. They come up empty-handed, but there is one more episode left. Perhaps in that episode Jillian learns of a thing called Google Maps and Google Street view. (Spoiler alert she doesn’t.)
In Conclusion
Confronting a Serial Killer gives us another fairly solid episode. Yes, Jillian cries on camera and seems even more self-involved. And the last twenty minutes of Jillian and Rick touring LA strip malls seems a little like padding. But the investigation in Louisiana is very solid. My rant hat is back from the cleaners, but I didn’t need it today. One more episode to go.
I believe the proper nomenclature is crack.
Director Joe Berlinger really could have used more creative shots like this.
And less stock footage/ model railroad establishing shots.
I am not sure I would have gone with the erotic look for Jillian listening to Sam, but you be you Confronting a Serial Killer.
I see Jillian has shortened her title to author/journalist. (Wikipedia has her listed as an American writer, performer, adoption advocate, and former call girl for Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei. Which admittedly is a bit long.) She cannot sell backlist copies of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem if she can’t sneak it into each episode. Well, there is one more episode to go. Perhaps she will come across some copies of her book while searching for clues. (Spoiler alert she does. It is why my rant hat is back from the cleaners.)
