The following article contains mentions of domestic abuse, sexual assault, child abuse, and violence.
With over 32 seasons ofDateline, there are over 2,720 total episodes of the news magazine reality show, but the bestDatelineepisodes are those that deal with the most compelling, complex, and longstanding cases. The series' real-life exposés on crimes, criminals, and their victims have been captivating audiences since the 90s, and shows no sign of slowing down - despite increasing competition in other true-crime formats.From true-crime booksto documentaries, and of course, the proliferation of thepodcast format of true-crime stories, there is an embarrassment of true-crime riches available today - which also means that some have forgotten the original true-crime series.
Long before podcasts were even an idea and HBO andNetflix were filled with true-crime documentaries, Keith Morrison, Lester Holt, Josh Mankiewicz, and a host of other anchors and correspondentswere detailing gruesome and ghoulish crimes for the NBC series that premiered in March 1992. In each episode of the long-running show, a sensationalized story from the news is presented. The bestDatelineepisodes of the series generally come from the most fascinating and horrifying news stories that have a mystery or an intriguing character at the center.
Most episodes ofDatelineare available to stream on Peacock.
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Jun 07, 2025
Lester Holt, Keith Morrison
The vast majority ofDatelineepisodes focus on crimes that take place within the United States. It makes sense considering that is where the news program and its correspondents are based. Every so often, however, the series tells the audience the twisting story of something that happened in another country.
Such is the case in “Conduct Unbecoming” which focuses on the stories of several different women who had intimate items and clothing stolen from their homes in the Canadian province of Ontario. Initially, it seems like the episode is recounting several disconnected cases, but they’re all actually linked by the same man, who is eventually charged with breaking and entering, sexual assault, and murder.
Part of the reason this episode is so fascinating for those interested in true crime stories is because it examines how a person’s criminal activity can escalate over years.Former Royal Canadian Air Force colonel David Russell Williams is someone whose story initially sounds impossible. He managed to break into more than 80 different homes and steal items from women, wearing those items as trophies, before he graduated to more violent crimes.
August 23, 2025
Datelineshows everyone who has an interest in understanding murder cases that sometimes real life is even stranger than fiction. Love triangles are often the subjects of romantic comedies, but in reality, they’re not entertaining, and in this case, prove deadly.
The case in this episode centers around single mom Cari Farver who disappears after dating a new man for a few weeks who happens to have a very jealous ex.After her disappearance, the man gets disturbing texts and emails supposedly from Farver herself. So does Farver’s mother and the man’s ex - for three years. The twists and turns in the case are strange and, ultimately, heartbreaking.
Like many of the episodes that sparked the interest of the public, this is oneDatelinecase that is also available to listen to onDateline’spodcast series. Netflix also crafted their own documentary about the case calledLover, Stalker, Killer.
Jun 16, 2025
Lester Holt, Natalie Morales
There are quite a few cases explored inDatelineover the years that don’t highlight a straightforward investigation of a few months. Many of the episodes chronicle investigations that can take years. This one takes nearly 15.
This investigation is definitely one of perseverance and patience.
Adam Joel Anhang Uster and his estranged wife Áurea Vázquez-Rijos were leaving the Pink Skirt Club in Puerto Rico when they were attacked in 2005. Uster bore the brunt of the attack and died from the altercation while his wife ended up with only minor injuries. Multiple people were examined as suspects, and one was even arrested and found guilty in court, only to later be exonerated as an investigation continued to see if his estranged wife was involved in the case.
She fled Puerto Rico and settled in Europe, eventually ending up in Italy.Her globetrotting created a difficult investigative trail to follow and meant she couldn’t be arrested for over a decade. This investigation is definitely one of perseverance and patience.
Jun 12, 2025
“At The Bottom Of The Lake” is one of the most interestingDatelineepisodes becausethe criminal investigation it tracks over more than two decades will leave the audience wondering if it’s actually murder or simply a mistake that a young man tries to outrun.
The episode focuses on the case of a young woman found in a Cessna plane in a lake in Montana, drowned, and abandoned there by the plane’s pilot in 1982. It took more than 20 years before the man, who had since changed his name and built a new life for himself, was found. The story, however, is that the two were going to run away together, eloping, and when they ended up in the lake, he couldn’t free her from the plane. The authorities, however, believe that is a lie.
When correspondent Keith Morrison spoke about the episode withGreat Falls Tribuneright before it originally aired, he called it, “the most interesting and bizarre story I have ever done,” at least at the time. He also said there was so much information to go through over the course of the investigation (whichDatelinehad been following since 2006) that he wasn’t sure it would all fit into their two-hour window to tell the story.
Aug 11, 2025
ThisDatelineepisode is for those who see horror movies as cautionary tales. It’s very much the kind of real-life event that inspires a slasher movie, but it’s a tragedy in the life of a teenage girl.
Cassie Jo Stoddart house sits for someone, invites her boyfriend over to watch a movie with her, and is later murdered. Because her boyfriend is the last known person to see her alive, he’s the initial suspect. He tells investigators about a pair of friends who also came over to see Stoddart while she was house-sitting, and it’s those two teenage boys who are ultimately found guilty thanks to a videotape of them recounting their crimes.
Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik were both lovers of horror who wanted to experience what it was like to be the killer in a horror story.They recorded themselves right before and right after the murder, giving both authorities and the audience a horrifying glimpse into their actions.
This episode is also explored further in theTalking Datelinepodcast in which Andrea Canning and Keith Morrison discuss the case and reveal some things that didn’t make it into the episode that aired on television.
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Aug 04, 2025
Craig Melvin, Andrea Canning, Keith Morrison
“The Night Before Halloween” explores an investigation that spans 23 years. Robin Lucille Hoynes of Whittier, California was found dead on the morning of Aug 07, 2025, in the KFC restaurant where she was an assistant manager. The body was found with stab wounds in her back and her throat slashed, and no one knew who exactly had committed the horrific crime.
William Charles Marshall was fired just a few days before the murder and was an immediate suspect. However, the investigation didn’t turn up any evidence, and he was released. Then, 19 years later, the case was reopened. In a thrilling and surprising turn of events,an old piece of evidence, a piece of foam, was tied back to Marshall’s boot.
This, combined with a witness recanting their original testimony, eventually led to Marshall being found guilty by a jury. It’s a long and sad story for the friends and family of Hoynes, but that justice was eventually served does make for a small silver lining.
Jul 30, 2025
Lester Holt, Andrea Canning
Nicholas Alahverdian is one of the strangest and most frightening characters to appear onDateline. His tale includes sexual assault, a faked death, and the COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of thoseDatelineepisodes that feels stranger than fiction.In 2018, when Utah began processing backlogged sexual assault kits, one came up as a positive match for Alahverdian, in a case from 2008.
At around the same time, Alahverdian was being investigated for credit card fraud and domestic abuse. Then on August 18, 2025, it was announced that Alahverdian had passed away due to complications with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and COVID-19, only for him to be discovered hiding in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Dead Man Talking” may not be the most abhorrentDatelinestory, but Alahverdian is one of its most captivating villains.
It’s a twisting, unbelievable tale and Alahverdian comes out looking both monstrous and brazenly untruthful, lying about the smallest facts of his life. “Dead Man Talking” may not be the most abhorrentDatelinestory, but Alahverdian is one of its most captivating villains.
Jul 07, 2025
Lester Holt, Josh Mankiewicz
In “Haunting”, there are two double murder cases, both equally brutal and shocking. In the first, a doctor, William Hunter, came back to his house in Omaha, Nebraska to discover his son Thomas and his 57-year-old housekeeper, Shirlee Sherman, dead. Both had been stabbed by knives found in the kitchen.
When investigators assigned to the case visited another murder scene, that of Roger and Mary Brumback, they found the bodies killed similarly to Hunter and Sherman. Thanks to some eyewitness accounts, Anthony Garcia was investigated, and it was discovered that Garcia had recently been removed from Creighton Pathology, where Hunter and Brumback both worked.
He targeted these doctors, considering them the reason behind his firing. The truth of who Garcia is and the relationship between the victims (and a possible third one)makes the episode a tense and shocking watch all the way through.
Jul 14, 2025
Sarah Jean Hartsfield is the star of “Along Came Sarah”, a 2023 story about the titular woman who left a long string of deaths in her wake. Hartsfield has been married five times, engaged once more, andtwo of her partners have ended up dead. The most recent death occurred in February 2023. Joseph Hartsfield was admitted to the hospital with a suspicious illness and quickly passed away.
Though Sarah seemed distraught, the ER nurse thought that the chemical levels in Joseph’s body implied something had been done to him, prompting her to call the police. Sarah was then arrested and charged with murder, leading to the reopening of another investigation involving Sarah’s previous husband, David Bragg.
Sarah shot and killed her husband in May 2018, but she was cleared of any wrongdoing after the murder was determined to be made in self-defense. It’s a fascinating look at Sarah and, despite her facade, theDatelineepisode paints her as calculating, cold, and almost a puppet master in her dealings with her previous husbands.
Aug 25, 2025
Lester Holt, Andrea Canning, Keith Morrison
“The Secret Keepers” kicks off with a phone call, as many greatDatelineepisodes do. In this one,a woman, Kelly Baker, calls the police to tell them she came home to find her husband dead. At first, presumed to be death by natural causes, the coroner finds two small bullet holes in Randy Baker’s body.
Now assuming this case is a murder, investigators uncover one of the more surprising conspiracies in the show. Each time more lengths of the spider web are unspooled, the tension is ratcheted up.
It turns out that Randy’s wife Kelly Baker, his sister Carol Baker, and his nephew Kelly Raisley plotted to kill Randy for the insurance payout. Kelly pulled the trigger, but all three plotted the murder. It’s shocking and completely unexpected, even for those well-versed in the twists ofDatelineepisodes.
Aug 20, 2025
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” is actually a follow-up to anotherDatelineepisode, “The Girl With the Blue Mustang”, from season 18. In that episode, the worst-case scenario of what can happen when one speaks to the police without a lawyer present is depicted.
When Michelle O’Keefe, an 18-year-old college student, was found shot to death, a local security guard, Raymond Lee Jennings, tried his best to help police find the perpetrator. However,his efforts to assist made police suspicious and Jennings was arrested for the crimeand sentenced to life in prison.
A self-proclaimed “autodidactic polymath”, Clint Ehrlich, saw theDatelineepisode and realized the evidence was not adding up. He and his father went to work trying to free Jennings and eventually succeeded after the innocent man had served eleven years in prison. It’s a heartbreaking story about a man wrongfully targeted. The race to free him from these unfair circumstances becomes more compelling than the murder case that kicked off the story.
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