Plot Synopsis

Directed and executive produced by Joe Berlinger, CRIME SCENE: THE TIMES SQUARE KILLER is a three-episode documentary series that centers on the "Torso Killer," who preyed on women to fulfill his grotesque fantasies while eluding police in 1970s New York City. The series begins as firemen respond to a call at a seedy hotel in the middle of Times Square in December 1979. What they discover among the smoke and ash shocks even the most seasoned NYC homicide detectives, triggering a hunt for a vicious serial killer who preyed upon sex workers operating within Times Square's then-booming, anything-goes sex industry. The three-part series takes viewers deep into the investigation, detailing the social and systemic forces at play in a near-lawless area in the center of Manhattan that allowed multiple horrific crimes to go unnoticed for too long. A wide range of subjects are profiled to bring the era to life, from Times Square denizens to beat cops to the daughter of New York's self-proclaimed "porno king." With exclusive access to Jennifer Weiss, the daughter of one of the victims, the series also underscores her efforts to identify others who have remained Jane Does, lost to an infamous, long-gone time and place. All three episodes dropped on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 on Netflix.