Series Review
Storyline
This 3-episode docuseries tells the story of mysterious deaths along the I-45 highway in Texas, and more specifically in Houston. In the mid-1980s, the bodies of three women were found in the Calder Road area. Fast forward to 1991 and another body is found, the area eventually being dubbed the "Texas Killing Fields."
As more victims are found - despite all the bad police work, suspected perpetrators and shocking revelations - it soon becomes clear that this case is much bigger than it first appears. But who is responsible? Is this a serial killer? Are there multiple killers? Or is there a conspiracy with law enforcement agencies? All of this is explored in more detail, although those looking for all the answers may be a little confused by the ending.
The show mainly focuses on what happened in the first episode in 1984, although there is a tendency to jump back and forth between different months before and after the events, and the show even repeats the same sequence again with a bit more information. Stylistically, it's an interesting approach, but sometimes it feels like it's stepping back from familiar ground when it really doesn't need to.
Main Case
While the focus is mostly on the murders and the main case, the show is really about the sacrifices for two of the murdered girls - Laura Miller and Heide Fye. Hearing their families' accounts of what happened is particularly gut-wrenching, and there's a sequence in episode 3 that sees a distraught Tim sifting through old boxes of Laura's belongings and complaining about bad police work.
The fact that the League City Police Department declined to do an interview here is self-explanatory, although it's a little frustrating, but it's left up to investigative reporters and those looking into the case to try and give a balanced perspective instead. Hearing from this police department feels like an important piece of the puzzle that is frustratingly missing.
Stylistically, the series is good, and there's a nice recurring visual motif of polaroids and pictures laid out on a wooden table, which is a nice touch. Along with the camera shots of I-45, there is, as expected, plenty of footage of the Killing Fields. What's particularly cool here is that a transparent map appears on top of it, marking the exact location where these victims were found.
Although it is a bit long and tends to repeat the same information several times, The Texas Killing Fields is another compelling addition to the ongoing Crime Scene series and a genuine documentary worth watching.