Mind Over Murder

This is one of the few series that I feel really used the length to build an emotional story for the audience too. The ending episode had a feeling a catharsis for me as well. You'll see some complaints about the length, but it's necessary to look at this from all angles. The individuals testimony were heartfelt.

Burt Searcy is an asshole though, and the guy in the play did him perfect. Looking at his phone because that's easier than facing the pain he caused these people just because they were "undesirables." He wants to talk about how this is hurtful to Helen's family, this is just capitalizing on their pain, but who's the one who inserted himself into this and whined about his legacy to the cameras? He didn't "solve" this case because he's a kind person, he did it because he wanted to live forever through it and erase his cloud that came with leaving the Beatrice PD. A very repulsive man.

This is one of the best documentaries we have ever watched. The director did an excellent job of making you feel a certain way in the first half of the series and then completely flip the switch in the second half. You cannot make up the crazy crap that happened in this case! The only part of this documentary I was not a fan of was the parts showing the town play being discussed with the actors and the play itself. I get why the director put it in there because by the end of the play, one of the family members finally got to see/hear all of the facts of the case. So I get it, but found that aspect of it quite boring and almost unnecessary. Whatever you do, do NOT start googling the case, I know it gets slow sometimes, but hang in there because it's so worth it! This case will sit with me for a bit. It's insane!

Can't stand how ignorant that Burdette guy is. He should spend as much time in jail as these people had to. This guys clearly has no empathy whatsoever. Just protecting his image and lying to himself and the people around him. Should be ashamed.

Other than that pretty interesting documentary. It took some time to really take me in. But after two episodes it started to get twisted. Before that I didn't really care a lot.

Sad that this was possible. To just put people in that position by pressure.

It's annoying that the review needs a certain amount of words. I don't know what to say more. I recommend it if you don't know what to watch else and you're into true crime.

As Episode 1 of "Mind Over Murder" (2022 release; 6 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we find ourselves in a remote small Nebraska town called Beatrice, population 12,669. Various Beatrice residents introduce themselves and speak directly into the camera. Then we learn that in February, 1985, a 68 yr old grandma called Helen Wilson was brutally raped and murdered, causing a seismic shock in the small community. Who could've done such a horrible and heinous crime? At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary of Nanfy Wang ("One Child Nation"). Here she reassesses the events of February, 1985 and how it all plays out afterwards. I don't want to go into more specifics in case you are not fully aware of this case. Let's just say that there are quite a number of "twists" along the way, I mean you can't make this stuff up because it wouldn't be believable. Indeed once again these facts are stranger than fiction. The film makers do a good job of covering all the different possibilities. It's truly like making a 1,500 pieces puzzle, one piece at the time.

"Mind Over Murder" premiered a couple of weeks ago on HBO and a new episode comes out every Monday (and then stream on HBO Max). We are now 3 episodes into it, and I can't wait to see the remaining 3 episodes. If you love true crime and a good documentary, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

For the people that didn't understand why it was included then gave up before the final episode: you missed something that the rest of us would say was amazing.

Not the quality of the production itself, which seemed well done, but for the impact it had on the locals and particularly on the families involved, some of whom were in the audience.

I'll admit that I did wonder why they were spending any time on it, but it paid off spectacularly.

Most people would have realised that Burt had employed some fairly dodgy interviewing techniques by about episode 4, but seeing his reaction to both the documentary and what he had been told about the play was illuminating.