The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith

Were the suspects ever tested for gunshot residue? Nothing was ever mentioned about anyone involved being tested. I hate to say , "I saw them do it on a TV crime show..." but I am just wondering if this would not be one of the first protocols alongside interviewing people as a way to rule them out.

What a story. I think this could have been done with fewer episodes and not so much repetition. The case itself is interesting with twists and turns and kooky characters, but in the end there was no resolution. This is fine if they were just trying to bring a cold case to light and get some justice.

It also felt as if the family and others were all holding back information. This could have been the fault of the doc makers though.

I do suggest watching it if you like true crime and unsolved crimes.

The sound quality on this is so poor that it is completely unwatchable. The background "music" is not background, and drowns out everything else. I'm disappointed, because I really wanted to watch this.

As Episode 1 of "The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Smith" (2022 release from Canada; 4 episodes of about 45 min each) opens, we are in "Oshawa, Ontario" and various talking heads, including crime reporter and author Jeff Mitchell, but also Wendy, the twin sister of Beverly, and Alan Smith, one of the original suspects, talk about the terrible events that resulted in the murder of Beverly Smith in December of 1974. At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Canadian director Nathalie Bibeau ("The Walrus and the Whistleblower"). Here she looks back to the events surrounding the murder of home maker Beverly Smith, whose husband may or may not have been involved in drug dealing. More importantly, Bibeau looks at the subsequent police investigation and the long-term fallout of same. I'll be honest: I was not impressed/taken in by the opening episode, and I was almost ready to bail on this, but for some reason I decided to give Episode 2 a chance, and by the time that was over, I just needed to stick around and find out how all of this played out. It was well worth it, as there are several unexpected (and major) developments (sorry, I can't spoil) that are sprung upon us in the last 2 episodes.

"The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith" premiered recently on Amazon Prime. I caught it this past weekend, and watched all 4 episodes in a single setting. Time just flew by. If you like true crime and documentaries, and you aren't impressed with the opening episode, be sure to give it one more episode. I think you won't regret it.

With all due respect to the victim's family and friends, it's a story that should be told but it's a shame it was this gang who told it. This is another 'gibney' type clone where the producers seem to think that splashing a lot of images and using quick edits you won't notice that the film is dragging way behind the story. You could write the whole story down in 100 words or less but they take 3 hrs to tell it in film. I won't give away the story because that would be unfair to those who want to waste 3 hrs watching this but trust me, you can use fast forward and you won't miss a thing. Don't look for the plot twists they promise at the beginning because they're not there, and there's no closure at the end either despite the interviews.